Student Excerpts: Intuition by Avicenna

The following passage came from the homework of student, Ann Neadermann in Norway. I thought it was a wonderful description of Avicenna's views and intuition in general:

Ann Neaderman
Unit Four
Medicine of Avicenna

11. How does Avicenna define intuition? Do you think he believes in using it in healing a patient?

It receives the essences of universal things in so far as they are universal. The perfection of this power is to become an intellect in act. The first way is called reasoning, while the second is called intuition. Yet intuition can be very powerful or weak or mediocre.If the speculative intellect reaches this perfection by having present the first and derived intelligible principles, and these are there actually and in full view without being absent, then the derived principles are related to the first as "light upon light"; this is the acquired intellect, because it derives from both kinds of principles. The soul has mastery of intelligible principles and is able to recall them whenever it wants without effort or assistance, that power is called the intellect in act, and this is the "lamp" that it makes use of whenever it wants. You must know the difference between reasoning and intuition.

Cumin in Healing Animals

A student had the following information in their assignment for unit one in answer to the question, "What are some modern usages for these Ancient Egyptian herbs?"

In diabetic animals, cumin reduces blood glucose levels. Cumin seeds contain flavanoids, which are now generally recognized to have antioxidant activity. (www.NaturalNews.com)

I found that very interesting and wanted to share that!

Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND

Student Excerpts: Homeopathy and Islamic Medicine

A student today compared Homeopathy and Islamic medicine in one of her assignments. I thought the following passage from her work was insightful and thought that many of you would also find it a wonderful insight:


Homeopaths insist that serial dilutions of a substance remove only the toxic effects of that substance, but retain its essence/vibration/energy and, therefore, its medicinal power; they further argue that it is the process of potentisation itself (the vigorous shaking of a substance) which activates and then releases the energy from that substance. From this we can see that homeopathic remedies are derived from a process which is very different from other substances in history who followed the “like cures like” model of healing.

Foods and herbs recommended by Islamic medicine practitioners have been successfully used to treat illness by people from around the world for millennia. Moreover, foods/herbs of the hadith have all been proven as healing medicines by numerous scientific studies carried out for decades by both Muslims and non-Mulims.

Finally, according to Islamic medicine, the energy/vibration of a healing food/herb exists in that food/herb in a synergistic manner along with all the other healing aspects of that divine medicine. The energy from that medicinal food is not activated by potentisation and succussion, but by saying, “Bis mil Lah” and “Alhamdulillah.”

Student Excerpts: Useful Website for Herb Studies

Student, Aida, found the following studies on Cumin for her Unit 1_3 exam. I am posting this link here just in case other students might find the same website helpful.

In studies done on mice, cumin seed (when mixed with lard) has been reported to have antioxidant activity, elevating levels of glutathione and stimulating other antioxidant systems.
Source:

www.Drugs.com

Student Excerpts: The Temperaments

Student Huda, provided an excellent "translation" for her assignment on the Temperments. This is taken from Chauser's "The Four Complexions":

Melancholic:

The water,
which is moyste and cold,
Makth fleume,
which is many fold
Foryetel, slou and wery sone
Of every thing which is to done:
He is of kinde sufficant
To holde love his covenant,
Bot that him lacketh appetit,
Which longeth unto such delit.

Interpretation:
The water, which is moist and cold,
Makes phlegm, which is manifold
Forgetful, slow and wearisome
Of everything which is to be done:
He is of kind sufficient.
To hold love his covenant,
But that he lacks appetite,
Which longs unto such delight

She further shares:
This is very much the typical characteristics of a Phlegmatic, a phlegmatic’s humour is wet (moist) and cold, consequently producing phlegm. Characteristics of the phlegmatic are forgetfulness, slowness and fatigue. Phlegamatics consider love as a covenant, the phlegmatic has many friends and are reliable and compassionate. The phlegmatic suffers from a lack of appetite however; they crave pleasurable foods, which are likely to imbalance them such as milk, sugar and wheat.

Student Excerpts: Listing References

Students - please remember to list your references! This is a good example from a student who turned in a paper last week. She did a fantastic job of listing references at the end of her assignment:


Ali, AB and Blunden, G. (2003). Pharmacological and toxicological properties of Nigella Sativa. John Wiley and Sons. Extract accessed from internet on 26 June 2008 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12722128?dopt=Abstract

Boundok Sahbae. (2006). Barley Talbina : Advice from Prophet & a Scientific Tru. Accessed on July 15 2008 from http://sufi.forumup.co.uk/about357-sufi.html

Burns, K. (2006). Grains of the Prophet. Accessed on July 15 2008. from http://sufi.forumup.co.uk/about357-sufi.html

Burns, K. Islamic healing coursework notes: Unit 1

Burns, K. Islamic healing coursework notes: Unit 2

Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006 accessed on 15 August 2008 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cotton

Ead, H. (1998). Arabic (or Islamic) Influence On the Historical Development of Medicine. Accessed from http://www.levity.com/alchemy/islam19.html
on August 14 2008.

Ehret, C. How the word cotton came to harlem. Liguistic wonders series. Accessed on 15 August 2008 from http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/cotton.html

Huskey, R. J. Immune benefits of breast milk at a glance. Accesed from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8148/bmilk.html

Khan, M.L.A. (unknown). Kalonji (Nigella Sativa). Accesed on 26 June 2008 from http://www.crescentlife.com/dietnutrition/kalonji.htm

Naiman I, (internet source). Black cumin seed. Accessed from www.kitchendoctor.com/articles/blackcumin on 22 June 2008.

Unknown Author, medical discoveries: general information and biographies. Accessed on August 23 2008 from http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/General-Information-and-Biographies/Par-Ambroise.html

Unknown Author, “Ambroise Pare”. Accessed from http://www.comptonhistory.com/compton2/pare.htm
Wikipedia, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi. Accessed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_al-Qasim_al-Zahrawi

Wikipedia, (2008). Nigella Sativa. Accessed on 26 June 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella_sativa

Williams, R.D. Breast-Feeding Best Bet for Babies. Accessed on July 26 from http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/895_brstfeed.html

Student Excerpts: Aisha and the Melancholic Temperament

I really enjoyed Huda's application of the temperaments to different people in Islamic history. Here is her description of Aisha as a person of the melancholic temperament:

‘Aisha (ؓ) was one of the seven who narrated more than a thousand hadiths; she was also one of the seven most prolific in giving legal opinions. In both sets she is the only female, which is a remarkable feat; she was revered by women and men alike. She is known for her deep love for the Prophet (ﷺ); she would sometimes get angered out of love for the Prophet (ﷺ). ‘Aisha had heard news of the Prophet marrying a new wife by the name of Saffiya, she was of Jewish heritage. ‘Aisha went to the wedding and remained veiled, the Prophet noticed her. When the Prophet saw ‘Aisha he asked her what she thought of Saffiya, she answered “she is the same as any other Jewess.” The Prophet (ﷺ) was always patient with ‘Aisha and his other wives, he understood their temperaments and knew how to handle each one. Every one of his wives thought she was the most beloved to him, it was only when he fell ill at the end of his life that his request to stay at ‘Aisha’s house let them know that ‘Aisha was the most beloved to him (although he loved them all very dearly).

Student Excerpts: Olive Oil

Graduated student Monya did a wonderful job on all her assignments during the entire course. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some snippets of hers that I have set aside and will be sharing them with you. The following excerpt is from her essay on Herbs and usage in Middle Eastern countries. I learned some things about olive oil myself and found the local usage of some of the herbs she mentioned very unusual and interesting. It is truly amazing what we can learn from other cultures:

Olive oil – I was born with a hole in heart and was a very weak child. At the age of 5 my mum took me to Morocco and left me there with my grandparents for 6 months. As I was not eating properly due to my condition, my grandmother would feed me everyday a big tablespoon of pure olive oil. I was given this every morning and I remember I would be in tears, as I hated the taste. After the 6 months in Morocco I went back to the UK and had an appointment at the hospital for a check up. The doctors were amazed that the hole in my heart had closed significantly and also the murmur had disappeared. As my health had improved significantly I had also put on a bit of weight as I had built an appetite and was eating really well during those 6 months. My grandma always talks to me about the pure olive oil days. (Bless her)!!! This practice of olive oil is recognized all over morocco. Most people use olive oil for cooking or hair and skin as well as those who are weak. Morocco is second only to Greece in exports of olives to the world market and are one of Morocco's primary exports. Morocco has been producing olives for over 2,000 years. Over 395,000 hectares of cultivated land are devoted today to olive production and they produce 350,000-400,000 tons of olives each year.

Student Excerpts: Great Work from Samina!

Samina Tariq Khan's Unit Ten Quiz was great. Here is an excerpt:

1- Chapter: 30 , Verse: 22
And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colors; most surely there are signs in this for the learned
This is fantastic! I have never really related these quotes in the Qur’an to Color Therapy but they are so appropriate. I can’t believe I missed the reference myself as I have been writing articles about the Qur’an and alternative therapies for 6 years! Very good job!

S 2- Chapter: 39 , Verse: 21
Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the cloud, then makes it go along in the earth in springs, then brings forth therewith herbage of various colors, then it withers so that you see it becoming yellow, then He makes it a thing crushed and broken into pieces? Most surely there is a reminder in this for the men of understanding
S 3- Chapter: 35 , Verse: 27
Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth therewith fruits of various colors; and in the mountains are streaks, white and red, of various hues and (others) intensely black?
The biggest source of light for our planet is sun so in the description I have included sun light also.
The word(s) "sun" appears 50 time(s) in 40 verse(s) in Quran in M. Khan Translation
(6) It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out its (their) stages, that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create this but in truth. He explains the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail for people who have knowledge.
( ÓæÑÉ íæäÓ , Yunus, Chapter #10, Verse )

Pineal glands, which is intimately attached to our brain control the daily rhythms of life, light and colors play a big role in controlling that rhythm. We live in a sea of energy where color is working within us.
Sunlight, or full-spectrum light, holds all the wavelengths of color in the visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and magenta) as well as infrared and ultraviolet light, which cannot be seen. Some of the tools used in color therapy are gemstones, candles, wands, prisms, colored fabrics, bath treatments, and colored eye wear. When light enters through the eyes (or the skin) it travels neurological pathways to pineal glands. It shines with in our divine self, and radiates upon us and traverses through our entire system. Different colors give off different wavelength frequencies and these different frequencies have different effects on physical and psychological functions. Research and observation has shown us that specific colors bring balance to our physical and emotional systems.
Colors of Foods:
It is through the choice of the right color foods that can work every day in our lives to improve health and prevent illness. The specific colour of food contains parallel groups of chemicals and other substances essential for health. Red, orange and yellow foods have an energizing and stimulating effect being acidic in quality, while green and blue foods are cooling and pacifying. These foods are alkaline by nature.
Following are the foods and their corresponding colors:
Red ray foods:
Beetroot, aubergine, red apples, red peppers, tomatoes, kidney beans
Orange ray foods:
Oranges, mangoes, peaches, carrots pulses and grains
Yellow ray foods:
Bananas, corn, peppers, yams, pineapple
Green ray foods lettuce, cucumbers, kivi fruits green vefetables
Blue ray foods:
Plums, blueberries, bilberries and fish
Violet ray foods:
Aubergines, purple, broccoli, beet root top, purple grapes
In the same way as the Orientals use the principle of Yin and yang (the positive and negative energies) as useful tools for working out a balanced diet, we can use color in much the same way.
Balanced Diet:
Man’s natural physiological as a tendency is to run from yellow to red, balance in his diet needs to be maintained by eating plenty of fresh green fruits, vegetables, and some blue foods. Unsaturated oils, yeast, honey, and fish have electromagnetic energy corresponding to the color blue.
Too much food at the infrared and red end of the spectrum such as red meats, eggs, and refined salt can stimulate extreme emotions such as anger, hostility, irritability, and impatience. Many studies have proven that eating too much food at the red end of the spectrum, raises ones chances of heart disease and illness related to high blood pressure so balance is necessary in every aspect of life.
Ultra-violet is the Yin end of the spectrum and infra red is the most Yang. The animal world is mainly yang, red to yellow end of the spectrum. In the west we eat a great deal of yang foods, red meats, eggs, and salt. The plant kingdom is represented by the middle colors of the spectrum, browns, yellows, and greens These foods contain within them transformed light energy from the sun’s rays. Our bodies in the form of essential minerals, nutrients and vitamins absorb this life-giving energy.
Properties of Food Colors:
It has also been found that color influences the evaluation of food and drink. For instance, red is commonly associated with sweetness (cherries and strawberries e. g.). Yellow and green are associated with citrus flavor and green especially with food that is unripe.