Tabi‘at (Physis) - A Distinction of Unani Medicine

Abstract

Certain theories lie at the core of Unani (Greco-Arab) system of medicine providing it a solid foundation. Of these, the prominent ones and widely known are temperamental and humoral theories. But, the one that outshines it from other pathies is the concept of Tab‘iat, which believes that every human body carries its real healer within itself and the role of physician is merely of a supporter. Tab‘iat is the supreme controlling power of the body that governs all body functions and for this purpose it requires some medium at different levels of body organization. These media are basically the structure and temperament of the organs concerned. In this paper, it is aimed to present a comprehensive concept about tab‘iat, its function and tools.