Is there a doctor in the house? I’ve always wanted to say that. But on a serious note, the issue of health and health care here and abroad is a very serious issue. Some can afford the benefits of health care through the benefits of their insurance while others may not have the benefit. Yet, good physical health is a need that we all need to be able to deal with the issues of day to day routines. When thinking about topics related to Islamic Spirituality, proper physical health too almost certainly comes to mind as well. Although it may be hard for some of us to grasp, many of the holistic practitioners of medicine advocated preventative health care rather than circumstantial health care; which most of us are used to dealing with now when we feel sick.

Unani medicine is very close to Ayurveda. Both are based on theory of the presence of the elements (in Unani, they are considered to be fire, water, earth and air) in the human body. According to followers of Unani medicine, these elements are present in different fluids and their balance leads to health and their imbalance leads to illness. One major reason why this medical system is so important was for one major reason: the Dynamic Elements of the body starts with the Ruh (Spirit Soul). On a physical level ,the practitioners of the Unani system started the system of restoring balance to the body, through the stomach. Most medicines and remedies (often common herbs and foods) used in Unani are also used in Ayurveda. While Unani was influenced by Islam, Ayurveda is associated with Vedic culture.

The Unani medicine system led the way in the Islamic world and nearby regions with it’s concentration on the use of honey, nigella sativa (black seed), cupping, dhikr and regulation of the digestive track to help many feel better. Real pearls and metal are also used in the making of Unani medicine based on the kind of ailment it is aimed to heal. It is wrongly attributed to Arabic- infact Arabs had no medicinal history prior to the works of renowned Persian physicians of Pre-Islamic era, which like many other sciences the Arabs attribute themselves simply because the majority of Persian and Non-Arabs wrote their scientific books in Arabic. It is just like the present day English.