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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful introduction to Unani's fascinating story, May 20, 2008
Unani: The Science of Graeco-Arabic Medicine
by Hakim Ashhar Qadeer and Hakim Jamil Ahmad
This book takes the reader to the birth of scientific medicine in the ancient Greece of Hippocrates and traces its subsequent journey into the Persian and Ottoman empires and pre-medieval Arabia, into the Indian subcontinent and the birth there of a new system of healing known as "Unani tibb."
The Unani system of medicine originated in Greece and the term Unani is derived from 'Unan', Arabic and Urdu for 'Greece' (Ionia). The theoretical framework of Unani medicine is based on the work of Hippocrates (460-377 BC). By his method of careful study and comparison of symptoms, he laid down the foundation for clinical medicine based on diet, lifestyle and hygienic observances. Hippocrates advocated the concept that the chief function of a physician is to aid the natural forces of the body in combating a disease. The Unani system of healing follows the humoral theory which postulates the presence of four humors, or subtle energies, in the body: dam (blood), balgham (phlegm), safra (yellow bile) and sauda (black bile), closely paralleling the three doshas in ayurveda: kapha, vata and pitta.
A number of Greek scholars after Hippocrates such as Galen (131-200 AD) followed by Arab physicians like Rhazes (850-932 AD) and Avicenna (980-1037 AD), enriched the system considerably. Rhazes and Avicenna authored Al-Hawi and Al-Qanun respectively, which were compilations of their observations. These were later translated into Latin and other European languages and taught in medieval European universities, greatly influencing Western medical thought for centuries after.
Unani experienced its heyday between 13th and 17th centuries with the contributions of Abu Bakr bin Ali Usman Ksahani, Sadruddin Damashqui, Ali Geelani, Akbal Arzani and Mohammad Hashim Alvi Khan. They subjected Indian drugs to clinical trials and added numerous native drugs to their own system, further enriching its therapeutic armamentarium.
Unani may have disappeared from the Arabia of its origin, but it has found root in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Arab traders who entered the subcontinent through the Western Ghats long before Moghuls, introduced Unani there, and the Khiljis, Tughlaqs and the Moghal emperors provided state patronage to Unani scholars and institutions, and employed many as court physicians. Under the British raj, Unani medicine suffered serious decline, as did Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, but following Indian independence with increased government and popular support has experienced a resurgence.
The authors of "Unani: The Science of Graeco-Arabic Medicine" are Hakim Ashhar Qadeer, Lecturer and Consultant physician in the Faculty of Medicine in Hamdard University, and Hakim Jamil Ahmad, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Hamdard University, a leading Unani medicine teaching and research facility.
This work is a straightforward account of Unani tibb's history, philosophy and applications, charmingly illustrated (with many color plates) and very suitable as an introduction to the subject for secondary school students and for adults interested in getting a very basic conception of Unani's scope and methods. There is also a very informative chapter on home remedies which can be safely tried by readers as Unani medicine prescribes drugs which originate in nature and - with few exceptions - are of a wholly non-toxic character. I recommend this very enjoyable and very informative basic work to all who are interested in Unani's fascinating story.
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