Journal of - International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine

Md. Nafis IQBAL, Anis A ANSARI, Khalid Z. KHAN
Diagnosis of جازمMizaj - a Unique Tool for Treatment
in Unani Medicine
Encompassing the biological, psychological, emotional and
social dimensions. These assess a number of the patient’s
personal, constitutional and lifestyle factors:
There are ten parameters upon which a person is tested.
Therefore, the signs and symptoms by which the temperament
is diagnosed are classified into following ten divisions.
1. سملمMalmas (tactile sensation)
2. محش و محلLahm-wa-shahm (flesh and fats)
3. Ash’ar راعشا (Texture of hair)
4. Laun-e-badan ندب نول (colour of the body)
5. Hay’at-al-a’za ءاضعا تئیٱ (stature of the organ)
6. Kaifiyat-al-infi’al تایفیک quality‏)لاعفنا of passiveness
of the organs)
7. Naum-wo-yaqzah ٱظقی و مون (sleep and wakefulness)
8. Af’al al-a’za ءاضعالا لاعفا (bodily functions)
9. Fadhlat al-badan ندب تالضف (excreta of the body)
10. Infi’alat nafsaniyah ٱیناسفن لاعفنا (psychic reactions)
11,12
Principle of treatment
In Unani system of Medicine the principle of treatment
is quite different from that of the modern system of mediبطcine.Tibb
adopts a holistic approach to diagnosis, linking
a number of empirical, time proven traditional techniques,
so arriving at an accurate identification of the nature and
cause of the disorder, within the context of the temperamental
and humoural theory. Once this is achieved, the
practitioner is in a position to understand the disorder, and
adopt the appropriate healing strategies.
A lot was done and developed by Hippocrates and Galen,
but the Arabs worked on the theory of temperament
most assiduously and finally established it as a principle or
norm of treatment. With their penetration, they succeeded
in locating the relationship between disease, various humours
and the disturbance of temperament. They emphasized
that the true objective of treatment was the rectification
of this disturbance of temperament. 13 Therapy in Unani
medicine is based on the understanding that a particular
illness has developed in the patient due to a disharmony
in his/her temperament, which has deviated from ideal.
Treatment is therefore aimed directly at restoring balance
to patient’s temperament or humours. Ranges of disease are
specific to the particular Mizaj جازم person and a particular
جازمMizaj person has more tendencies to develop amraze
تیساسح دوز,‏hassasiyat zood ٱیرش,‏shara‏)‏ راح ضارما haar
و ٱدعم ضارما,‏ama amraze meda wa دلج ضارما,‏jild amraze
per- جازم دراب etc.). Similarly barid Mizaj سرقن niqras ءاعما
son are more prone to amraze barida ضارما waja’ul‏)ٱدراب
mafasil لصافملا عجو,‏ simne طرفم نمس,‏mufrat nazlae barid
etc.). دراب ٱلزن
If a person having Barid Mizaj جازم دراب (cold temperament)
adopts cold things like cold diet, cold weather, surely
he/she fall ill and when he/she reaches Sinn-e-Kuhoolat
نس (middle age) and Sinn-e-Shaikhookhat تلوٱک نس
(old age), he/she will not feel better as that of تخوخیش
the persons having Har Mizaj جازم راح (hot temperament).
Similarly, if a person having Ratab Mizaj جازم بطر (moist
temperament) and use Ratab Tadabeer ریبادت بطر (moist
regiemen), he will frequently feel discomfort in comparison
of the person having Yabis Mizaj جازم سبای (dry temperament).
14
So by knowing their Mizaj جازم we can easily design
their life style, dietary habits and other regimens according
to their needs to keep them healthy. Mizaj جازم of a per-
بابسا son is greatly influenced by asbabe sittah zarooriya
en- (six essential factors), occupation and ٱیرورض ٱتس
vironment etc. So if we succeed to make equilibrium between
adaptation of healthy measures and avoiding harmful
measures in respect to factors influencing Mizaj جازم we
can easily avoid the forthcoming health consequences.
The principle of treatment is to treat the disease with
drugs of opposites. There are degrees prescribed to assess
the quantum of the disease and there are similar methods
to assess the quality of medicine. 9
Therapeutics
In Unani system of medicine diseases are treated by
prescribing anti-temperament drugs. As human beings are
endowed with different temperament drugs also have their
own temperament or combination of temperament ranging
from 1 st to 4 th degree. Therefore, a drug may be hot, old,
moist or dry. 15 The disease can be cured by administrating
a drug having a temperament that is exactly opposite to the
pathological shift in the Mizaj, جازم to bring its normal position.
This is a notion of great importance to clinician both
from point of physiology and psychology as well as the diagnosis
and treatment.
Choice of drug of specific quality depends upon the
nature and type of the disease. The proper drug is that
which is contrary to the nature and qualitative pattern
of the disease. The treatment of disease is, thus ‘Bilzid’
(allopathic), where as health is preserved by دضلاب
‘Bilshakal’ لکشلاب (analogue). If the normal and original
temperament of the affected organ is known, it is easy for
the physician to determine the extent of abnormality and
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ISHIM 2011-2012