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tibb nabawi
The Prophet (pbuh) said eat this [raisins], it is a healthy meal, removes tiredness, cools the anger, gives strength, makes food sweet smelling, reduces phlegm and brightens the face. (Dr Mohammed Shakeel Shamsi in, “Tibb-e-Nabawi, Medical Guidance & Teachings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)”)
Paul Robin and Paul Brecher in, “Practical TCM”, say, “To keep the kidneys strong we eat beans … and dates. Then in winter when it is cold our kidneys can stay balanced … instead of saying a food is healthy, we say it is either appropriate or inappropriate. For example, in winter we would choose to eat more foods with warm and hot properties …”
Ibn Sina is quoted as saying in “Avicenna’s Medicine” that “One who is seeking health preservation should endeavour not to have the essence of their food as medicinal foods such as green, leafy vegetables and fruits, and alike.
"The attenuant food [that which thins or dilutes the fluids] chars blood (i.e. oxidizes), and heavy food causes phlegm and weightiness of the body.
"Food should be composed of meat, especially that of the young goat, young beef, and young lamb; wheat that has been cleaned and is free from contamination … sweets that are suitable to [the individual’s] temperament [mijaaz]; and good drinks made of fragrant herbs.
Other than that is used for treatment and preservation.”
“The correction of disease occurs from the top of the body downward and from the inside outward. Thus, the first sign of crisis often is headache, lastly diarrhoea.” (Robert Thomson, in “The Grosset Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine” (1980))
Detoxification
“Detoxification can reduce the toxic overload. Detoxifcation cleansing by fasting, dietary changes, enema, hydrotherapy: sauna/steam, supports immune function.” (Menzies-Trull in "The Herbalist's Prescriber")
David Hoffman in his introduction to “The New Holistic Herbal” states, “Herbs can be used freely and safely as part of one’s lifestyle without thinking of them as ‘medicines’. For specific health needs, their best use would be preventative … There are specific herbs which strengthen and tone specific organs and systems … the following may be safely used over extended periods of time:
Circulatory system: Hawthorn Berries (Crataegus oxyacanthoides) (Shan Zha)
Respiratory system: Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) (Jia Yan Ye)
Digestive system: Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) (Xuan Gao Wen Zi Cao)
Nervous system: Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora -Labiatae) (Not Baical Skullcap Root which is Huang Qin - Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis - Labiatae)
Skin: Nettles (Urtica) (Xun Ma)
Muscular and skeletal system: Celery Seed (Apium Graveolens) (Qin Cai)
Reproductive system: Raspberry Leaves (Rubus idaeus) (Fu Pen Zi)
Urinary system: Buchu** (Agathosma betulina) …”
(We’ve added in italics the Latin and, where known, the Chinese Medicine name.)
**Contraindicated in pregnancy
The healing crisis. In Arabic: al-bahraan. It is, "the sudden change in the condition of the patient suffering from acute fever, which is usually accompanied by excessive sweating and rapid decrease in temperature. The abnormal heat of fever acts on the maturing of the superfluous matters so that they can be dealt with by the body. It is also described as a detoxification process.” Ibn Sina, as quoted in “Avicenna’s Medicine”.
“Crisis in terms of substance repulsed, has five modes: vomiting, diarrhoea, nosebleeding, urination, and perspiration. Crisis by urine or perspiration is incomplete because a thin substance is thrown out and a thick one remains. Crisis by vomiting, nosebleeding, or diarrhoea is complete.” (Robert Thomson, in “The Grosset Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine” (1980))
It is, as they say, a Good Thing.
Peganum harmala, commonly called esfand, wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, spilani, harmel, or aspand.
Not related to rue (ruta graveolens).
Cited by Robert Thomson, in “Natural Medicine” (Wildwood House, London, 1981) as one of the top herbs for a natural medicine herbalist to stock.
It is said to have antioxidant and antimutagenic properties and has been used as an emmenagogue and abortifacient agent. Also as an anthelmintic.
Image: By Lazaregagnidze (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Thomson, in “The Grosset Encyclopaedia of Natural Medicine” says, “…it is used in the treatment of malignant ulcers, scrofula, indolent sores, burns, whooping cough and various spasms, and bronchial and renal conditions. The warm tea is very soothing to the nerves.”
In latin it is called trifolium pratense.
In TCM it is Mu.
Wormwood, also known as sweet wormwood, sweet annie, sweet sagewort, annual mugwort or annual wormwood. In TCM it is Qing Hao. The latin name is artemisia annua.
A December 2016 study found that, “A centuries-old herbal medicine, discovered by Chinese scientists and used to effectively treat malaria, has been found to potentially aid in the treatment of tuberculosis and may slow the evolution of drug resistance.”
In fact, wormwood is well known not just within the TCM system but also in western natural medicine and Unani Tibb.
Menzies-Trull, in "The Herbalist's Prescriber" says it is an anti-infective with cautions for diarrhoea, headache and tinnitus.
Robert Thomson, in “The Grosset Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine” (1980), says, of wormwood (artemisia absinthium), “The tops and leaves are used as a tonic, a stomachic, a stimulant febriluge, an anthelmintic, and a narcotic … it is a first-rate treatment of enfeebled digestion and debility … It is also treated for [amongst other things] loss of appetite … diabetes … obstinate diarrhoea.”
Image
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMing_herbal%3B_(painting)%3B_Sweet_wormwood_Wellcome_L0039414.jpg
Bhikha and Abdul Haq in “Tibb – Traditional Roots of Medicine in Modern Routes to Health” state,
“In spring, the warmer weather brings the formerly latent or dormant humoral excesses of winter up to the surface. Biologically, nature supports cleansing of the body in spring. In Winter, the digestive fire is high and people eat more sweet and heavy food. Most of the time, they aren’t able to assimilate these hard to digest food, and so the phlegmatic humour starts accumulating…"
"In Spring, the hardened phlegmatic humour begins to melt and the volume becomes great in the circulatory channels. As a result of the increased circulating phlegmatic humour, the digestive activity weakens, causing diseases. If you don’t assist these toxins moving out of the body, you become prone to many illness conditions e.g. allergies. Spring is the best time for detoxification because nature is already trying to clear out these toxins. A diet rich in light meals like soup with heating herbs and spices is encouraged to assist the body in the elimination of accumulated phlegmatic humour.”
Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" provides an excellent detox programme.
Robert Thomson, in “Natural Medicine” (Wildwood House, London, 1981) refers to it on several occasions including as part of a formula for roughness of the lungs from smoke or dust, or loud shouting.
In TCM marshmallow root is Yao Shu Kui and is classified as sweet, neutral, and pungent.
Robert Thomson, in “The Grosset Encyclopaedia of Natural Medicine” says, “… prescribed for a variety of ailments, including dropsy, coughs, sore throats, and catarrhal conditions of the urinary tract. The dosage of the powdered root is ½ to 1 teaspoon, as a tea.”
In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), it is classified as hot and moist: food qualities.
It is Gan Cao in TCM.
In Arabic it is called al-Sus and also Urq al-Suws
Robert Thomson, in “Natural Medicine” (Wildwood House, London, 1981) says, “All the Hakims I consulted were in agreement that chicory is the best remedy for bad temperament of the liver.”
Chicory root, is al-hindubaa al-baria in Arabic, and Ju Ju Gen in TCM.
In Tibb it is classified as a tonic, diuretic, hepatic and laxative. It removes phlegm. It is good for the liver.
In TCM it is classified as bitter and diuretic and considered as good for the liver.
In a study published in January 2018 it was found that, “… people who took curcumin experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities, while the subjects who received placebo did not, Small said. In memory tests, the people taking curcumin improved by 28 percent over the 18 months. Those taking curcumin also had mild improvements in mood, and their brain PET scans showed significantly less amyloid and tau signals in the amygdala and hypothalamus than those who took placebos.” (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)
In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), turmeric is classified as hot and moist: food qualities.
A February 2018 study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, published by Oxford University Press, suggests that, “higher yogurt intake is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk among hypertensive men and women.” (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)
In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), yoghurt is classified as cold and dry: food qualities.
“Include in the diet: pomegranate, quince, orange and orange peel, cinnamon, gur, senna, cloves, cardamom, and mint … Everything that strengthens the stomach also strengthens the intestines and throat.”
Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook"
“Include in the diet: chickory, roasted chickory root, pomegranate, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves. Liver weakness comes mainly from things that cause coldness and moisture. Therefore, including heating [garmi] foods and spices.”
Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook"
“Eat peaches, pomegranate, tamarind, apple, rhubarb, cowslip, mint, coriander seeds, orange, cinnamon, senna, gur, saffron, carrot, cardamom…”
Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook"
“Include these items in the diet: quince, apples, orange, rose water, ginger, valerian, cloves, chicken, brains, and goat’s milk."
Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook"
