Unani Medicine : Arkan

Elements are primary constituents of human bodies. The Physician must accept from physics that elements are only four, neither less nor more, namely :

1. Fire (Naar or Aag)
2. Air (Hawa)
3. Water (Ma or Pani)
4. Earth (Arz or Mitti)

Two of these are light and two are heavy - Fire & Air (light), Water &Earth (Heavy).

These elements symbolize the qualities of mass and energy. All material bodies were composed of four elements in distinctive proportions and these elements were fixed and unalterable entities which changed only in their quantity. The primary qualities which result from the interaction are: Heat, Cold, Dryness, Moisture.

It is these, which are elemental and not the literal fire, air, water or earth. E.g., By air we do not mean air is the element, but the atmospheric air which surrounds us. This is a mixture of:

1. elemental air
2. water in the form of vapour
3. particles of dust and smoke arisen from the earth and
4. fire as the element of heat in it.

Each element symbolizes its qualities -
Fire (Naar) - Hot and Dry Air (Hawa) - Hot and Moist Water (Maa)- Cold and Moist Earth (Arz) - Cold and Dry.