Mint

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, " Mint is hot and dry. It is the subtlest of all pot herbs. It strengthens the stomach, soothes hiccup, aids sexual intercourse, and if placed in milk prevents it turning into cheese … An infusion of unripe grapes with mint is used to check nausea.”

In Chinese Traditional Medicine, mint is called Bo He and is used, amongst other things, for a runny nose.  headache, cough, sore throat, and red eyes.

The Coffee Bean

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" indicated that coffee is cold and wet, is good for dysentery and enteritis, relieves thirst and softens the constitution.  He advised that it produces wisdom. And that it should be used carefully.

Vermicelli

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" advised that vermicelli (atriyya) is hot and moist, is beneficial for sore throats and diarrhoea, is slowly digested and gives good nourishment.

Image: By [puamelia] (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ykjc9/2770450268) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Salt

In terms of food qualities in Tibb Medicine, salt is classified as hot and moist.

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Ibn Maja relates that … Your chief seasoning is salt … salt preserves man’s food, guards his body and improves everything it is mixed with, even gold and silver, for it contains a power which increases the yellowness of gold and the whiteness of silver. It contains powers to cleanse and dissolve, and expel the thick moistures and dry them up, to strengthen bodies and prevent their putrefaction and corruption; it is beneficial for ulcerated scab.”

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Salt food dries up and emaciates the body … whoever of you being of moderate stature eats salt, he will be afflicted with vitiligo and scabies. And for this blame no one but yourself.”

As-Suyuti refers to “massalah milah” (rectified salt) and said, “rectified salt is hot and dry in the third degree. Moderate use of it beautifies the colour of the skin. It sets up a flow, excites to vomiting, and stimulates the appetite. Immoderate use of it generates itch.”

As-Suyuti also said:

• There is a tradition that the Prophet said: The Lord of your dish is salt. This saying is reported by Ibn Maja.
• In the Ma'alim-ul-Tazayyal occurs the following tradition, quoting Umar: Verily God sent down four blessings from Heaven -iron, fire, water and salt.
• From the man who first eats salt Almighty God wards off three hundred and thirty kinds of disaster, the smallest of these being leprosy.
• Begin with salt, for verily it is remedy for seventy diseases.

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" recommends, “sun-dried, unprocessed sea salt.” And warns against most processed salt because it has an abrasive action internally.

In a western medicine study in August 2017, high salt intake has been associated with a doubled risk of heart failure. (EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

Bananas

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, " Mawz — Bananas are hot and damp in the first degree. Their value as a food is small. People with a cold temperament eat them with honey. Some people say that the word ‘talah’ also means ‘banana’, but more correctly it means the fruit of the palm tree.”

In another entry, as-Suyuti says, “Talh — Banana. This fruit is also called Mawz under which name it will be discussed.  Almighty God has made mention of it.”

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" Allah said: “And (among) talh trees (with fruits) ranged one above another.” (56:29). Most of the commentators say: It is the mawz (banana): and ‘ranged’ (manduud) means ranged one opposite another, like a comb. It is said that talh is a tree with thorns, and ranged in the place of every thorn is fruit. Its fruit has been ranged, some upon others, and it is like the banana. This explanation is more correct. Maybe those ancestors who mentioned the banana meant it by way of comparision, not as identification. And Allah knows best.   It is hot and moist. It is best when ripe and sweet. It is beneficial for roughness of the throat and lung, and for cough, and ulcers of kidneys and bladder. It is a diuretic, aphrodisiac and increases semen. It loosens the belly. If eaten before food it hurts the stomach and increases yellow bile [as-safra] and phlegm [al-balgham]. It’s harmful effect is remedied by sugar or honey.”

In Chinese Traditional Medicine, it is called Xiang Jiao and is used to clear heat, moisten the intestines, remove toxicity.

Bananas mashed into a bowl and mixed with honey is very palatable.

Rabbit Meat

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Rabbit meat was mentioned in the Sahihayn, as Anas said, "We hunted a rabbit after pursuing it for a while. Afterwards, Abu Talhah sent its hip to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who accepted it.
• Rabbit meat is mildly hot and dry, and the best part of it is the hip.
• The best way to eat rabbit meat is by roasting it.
• Rabbit meat constipates, produces urine, as a diuretic, and dissolves stones.

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• The flesh of the rabbit generates spleen.
• The best meat is that of the back and hind leg.

Camel Meat

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Young camel meat is one of the tastiest and most nutritious types of foods, and those who are used to eating it find it as light and beneficial as sheep meat.
• Some doctors did not like eating camel meat for residents of the cities because they are not used to it.
• Camel meat is hot and dry, difficult to digest and begets black bile.
• Camel meat has an especially strong effect on the body and this is why the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered the Muslims to perform ablution after eating it.

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Camel meat is hot and dry and generates spleen.
• That of the young camel is the best.
• Camel meat is fatty, greasy and stinking.

Goat Meat

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" advised that the best part of the goat was the forequarter, that the neck is delicious and quickly digested and that the Prophet (pbuh) said one should be kind to goats because they are one of the animals of paradise.

Sheep's Tail and Sciatica

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" 

Ibn Qayyim said

• Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan (collection of Hadith) that Anas bin Malik said, I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying: "Curing sciatica is accomplished by melting the fat from the tail of a nomad's ewe. Then, the fat is divided into three parts and one part per day is drunk on an empty stomach.
• Sciatica is an ailment that starts from the hip's joint, then descends to the thigh from the backside of the body. Sometimes, sciatica reaches the ankles and the longer the ailment remains, the lower it descends and the weaker the legs and thighs become.

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" 

As-Suyuti said

• Aliya — Sheep’s Tails are hot and damp.
• They damage the stomach but soothe the nerves.
• Said Anas: The Prophet used to prescribe this for sciatica. He was wont to melt down the tails of four sheep. This he divided into three parts. These he would give to drink, on an empty stomach, every day one part.
• Said Anas: The Prophet recommended this for more than three hundred people and all were cured.
• This treatment is good only when the pain is due to dryness. In this case the tails of the sheep produce a relaxation and the smell will cause digestion.
• The Arabs of the desert improve their flocks by feeding them on wormwood and artemisia or on chamomile. The first two are the most effective for the pain of sciatica.

Beef

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Beef is cold and dry, heavy on the stomach and suitable for hard workers.
• The harm that this meat causes will be neutralized when one eats it with spices, garlic, ginger and cinnamon.
• The meat of fat calves is one of the best, mildest and tastiest types of food. It is warm and wet, and if fully digested, it provides good nutrition.

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Beef inclines to coldness and dryness and is hard to digest.
• The fat of beef is a medicine.
• It is best eaten with pepper and cinnamon.

Chicken

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Chicken meat strengthens the mind and increases the production of semen. It also makes the voice softer, the mind stronger and produces healthy blood.
• It was said that eating chicken meat on a regular basis causes gout, but this is not confirmed by fact. (cf as-Suyuti)

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Chicken is the best of bird-meats.
• It is hot and damp in the first degree. (cf Ibn Qayyim)
• It is light in the stomach, quickly digested, and good for the humours.
• It increases the brain and semen and renders beautiful the complexion.
• It strengthens the intelligence of anyone who eats regularly of it. But it causes gout. (cf Ibn Qayyim)

Lamb and Mutton

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to like eating meat, especially the arm and the upper parts of the sheep.
• The best type of roast is the meat of a one-year old sheep, then a fat sheep.
• This type of food is hot and wet, produces black bile, but is one of the most nutritious foods for healthy, ill and recovering persons alike.
• Cooked meat is better, lighter on the stomach and has more wetness. Fried meat is less beneficial while meat dried in the sun is the worst kind.

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said

• Ibn Maja and Abu Harira report the tradition that the Prophet once said: The heart rejoices in the eating of meat.
• A tradition also says that whoever eats meat on forty consecutive days, his heart will harden. It is therefore recommended to eat meat on alternate days throughout the year and on the other days to abstain from it. I think that this advice comes from Umar.
• Physicians say that meat is the most nutritious of foods, making the body fruitful and strong.
• Fine rice with the fat of sheep’s’ kidneys is better than a large purge. This is a medical secret.

Cocoa and Type 2 Diabetes

An August 2017 study by Brigham Young University found that, “certain compounds found in cocoa can actually help your body release more insulin and respond to increased blood glucose better … [and that] beta cells work better and remain stronger with an increased presence of epicatechin monomers, compounds found naturally in cocoa.” (EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

In terms of food qualities, chocolate (containing cocoa) is considered hot and moist in Tibb Medicine.

In Chinese Traditional Medicine, chocolate is considered to be warm, bittersweet and tonifying to the heart.

Everything in moderation ...

Rice - Aruz

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Rice is the most nourishing of grainfood after wheat and excellent in temperament. Some say it is hot and dry, others say cold and dry. It is binding for the bowels, but if cooked with milk is less constipating. If taken with sugar, it will dissolve swellings. Rice makes the body fertile and produces more semen. To eat of it causes pleasant dreams. Fine rice with the fat of sheeps’ kidneys is better than a large purge. This is a medical secret.

As-Suyuti also said, "There is a traditional saying that runs: The Master of your food is meat and rice comes second."

As-Suyuti also said, "From ‘Ayesha comes an apochryphal tradition: Rice has curative powers and contains no sickness within it.” Ibn Qayyim, however, in "Medicine of the Prophet" said that, “there are two spurious hadith [one of which is] ‘everything which the earth brings forth has both illness and healing, except rice; for it contains healing and no illness’. We have mentioned these simply to draw attention to them and give warning that they should not be attributed to [the Prophet, peace be upon him]”.

Ibn Qayyim also says that rice is hot and dry and that it, “gently firms the belly, it strengthens and tans the stomach and remains in it. The Physicians ofIndia claim that it is the most excellent and beneficial of foodstuffs when cooked with cow’s milk. It has an effect on fertility of the body and increases semen; it contains plenty of nourishment, and cleanses the complexion.”

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" recommends basmati rice.

The temperament of the soul

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, " According to physicians the temperament of the soul should follow the constitution of the body, as has already been said. When the body is mid-way between hunger & satiety, sleepiness and wakefulness, and a balance is present, then the soul is brisk and agile and eager for what is good. But when it is loaded with excesses and extravagances, then the soul is distraught. And therefore, the Prophet [pbuh] said: I sleep and I get up: I fast and I break my fast. This is a traditional saying.”

Some signs of heat, cold, damp and dryness

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "[darker shades of] hair and a [darker shades of skin] are signs of heat: the opposite a sign of cold. Similarly, a fat body or a thin body. An excess of flesh is a sign of heat combined with damp. Excess of fat is a sign of cold combined with damp. In the same way, excessive desire for sleep is a sign of damp, whereas a diminished desire is a sign of dryness. A moderate desire is the sign of a balanced temperament.”

Breakfast for children

A King’s College London study in August 2017 found that, “children who skip breakfast regularly may not be consuming the daily amounts of key nutrients for growth and development that are recommended by the UK government.”  (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" said, "Breakfast can be a substantial meal of whole grain cereals and breads, fruits, eggs, cheese and tea. The best time for breakfast is shortly after rising from sleep but after performing ablution and any prayer or meditation practices.”

Of the four temperaments - Blood

Blood - Sanguine, (ad-Dam in Arabic)

One of the four temperaments, someone whose primary temperament is sanguinous (hot and moist) is enthusiastic, active and social.

One of the two extrovert personalities, “the talker”. 

It combines with a secondary temperament to produce variations on the theme. The secondary temperament of phlegmatic tempers the sanguine nature to produce happy, carefree people who like to help others.  Visitors rather than workers.

The Ibn Sina Institute has an excellent resources page giving information about which foods are best for those who are sanguinous.  Cherries, for example.

Grinding Teeth - Bruxism

Hakim Chisti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" in a section called "Gnashing of teeth while sleeping" advises, "Give a purgative for the brain and massage the neck with oil before sleeping."

In the section describing brain purgatives, he advises, "1/2 teaspoon each of chamomile and marshmallow herb. Boil in 1 1/2 cups of water for 5 minutes.  Cool, strain and drink."

Autism

Someone called us today about their son who has autism. We referred them to Hakim Salim M. Khan of Leicester and Hakim Mohammad K Karim of Inverness.  We understand that Hakim Mohamed Karim does hold Clinic sessions in London from time to time.

We also mentioned a BBC Radio 4 interview with Nura Aabe a British Somali woman whose son Zackie has autism.

We also mentioned holding therapy.