Central to the concept of Unani is a belief in an underlying principle of vitality, a mystical force called tabiat or tibb. The function of tabiat is to maintain health, ensuring the smooth function of the various bodily functions, and to provide resistance against disease.
It is a concept that was laid down by Hippocrates when he stated the importance of vis medicatrix naturae, or the 'healing power of nature'. Tabiat is said to promote and regulate normal bodily functions, called attidal or 'dynamic balance'. When people engage in improper activities, eat the wrong kind of food, or are exposed to pathogenic agents attidal is lost and tabiat weakens. In a state of illness, the strength of tabiat is inversely proportional to the duration and severity of the disease.
Unani medicine is divided into two distinct areas of study: theory and practice. The theoretical structure of Unani rests on three parts:
1. the theory of the naturals: comprised of seven components (i.e. elements, temperament, humours, organs, pneuma, faculty and functions) that establish the criteria for normal health, and which disease states can be ascertained by the deviation from these norms;
2. the theory of causes: which identifies and explains the reasons for the deviations from the norms so that they may be corrected;
3. the theory of signs: which presents the main diagnostic features for identifying the specific deviation that is causing the imbalance (disease).
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