The Role of Herbal Medicine

Is Covid Still Relevant?

Although it may seem, as far as Covid is concerned, that we are now out of the woods and on the road to recovery, however the stark reality is the opposite. Covid has not disappeared. In fact, according to experts it may mutate into even newer variants (as it has done in the past) and may restrike with greater ferocity. 

The most important question therefore that still remains as relevant is: 

‘How can we protect ourselves and our families from this callous brute, aka ‘Covid’.

As a herbalist my focus is naturally always on natural medicines and herbal remedies for any ailment and disease, and this particular one is no exception.

With the Grace of the Almighty, I have written and published guidelines, conducted webinars, shared healing tips and written articles on ‘herbal remedies for Covid 19’. In today’s piece (as well as the next few) however, I wish to distill all this information and present the essence to the reader; critical info and selected single and compound herbal medicines to address the challenge of Covid and similar viruses.

The History of Plagues

Plagues are no stranger to humans. They have struck multiple times in history with equal and sometimes much greater brutality and savagery, with the deadliest being ‘The Black Death’ (1347 – 1351 C.E.) resulting in over 200 million deaths. 

A more recent one was the Spanish Flu of 1918, caused by the H1N1 virus, with genes of avian origin, and which infected 500 million people worldwide and took the lives of approximately 50 million. 

Sir Hakim Ajmal Khan

Fortunately, for the Spanish Flu we have the formulae and remedies of the great naturopathic physician and herbalist of the 20th century, Sir Hakim Ajmal Khan (from New Delhi, India), who successfully treated many thousands of people. His diagnosis and prognosis was projected in his conception ‘Nazla wa zukam wabai’ (Protocol for acute and long-term complications), which I will share a little later in this series.

A Surprising Fact 

This pandemic has undoubtedly taken a very large number of lives. The website www.statista.com lists all countries affected by Covid to date and the number of deaths caused by it. The highest on the list (as of 25th October 2021) is the USA, with 753,747 deaths, followed by Brazil (604,764), India (453,076) and Mexico (285,669). The UK is eighth on the list with a death toll of 139,146. 

What is most intriguing is the fact that China, where Covid was first discovered – and one would presume where naturally the death toll might have been the highest – is found at number 80 among the list of all countries, with a mere death toll of 4,636, undeniably minuscule by comparison.

The Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

China surely did something which others failed to do, and that is another take-away of this series. Aside from stringent isolation and quarantining, the Chinese, by and large, resorted to Chinese traditional ways of healing. 

Some points mentioned hereunder will serve to clarify this: 

• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been practised continually for over 5000 years.

• The Chinese nation has experienced 300 epidemics to date, and Chinese herbal medicine has been used invariably as a first-line treatment for all epidemics, including Covid-19.

• The efficacy of treatment for Covid-19 with herbal medicine in China was reportedly 90%. 

• “The Chinese method is the only one that has been proven successful”. Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the Director General of World Health Organisation.

• “None of the medical staff was infected in the TCM hospitals or when using TCM methods.” Zhenyu Zhao, et al.

Five Primary Streams of Herbal Remedies

We will take a glance at five primary streams of natural medicine (to address all illnesses including Covid. These are:

1. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

2. Ayurveda

3. Hippocratic or Unani Medicine

4. Prophetic Medicine (Tibb al Nabawi)

5. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)

Though we will touch upon the various streams as and when required, since our target is the average reader, we will not dive deep into the historical and philosophical aspects of these medicines. We will rather suffice with a few simple solutions only; solutions that are safe, effective, affordable and easily accessible.

What is ‘Fitrah’?

Underpinning all the great streams of herbal medicine, particularly, the Unani and Prophetic Medicine is the concept of ‘the healing power of nature’ (Medicatrix Naturae) or ‘Fitrah’; a power endowed by the Creator to every individual for self-preservation. It is this power which is the administrator, protector and healer within each person. 

Prophetic Medicine 

The ‘Prophetic Medicine’ is based on the sayings and directives of Prophet Muhammad pbuh in the domain of natural remedies.   

One of his tradition reads: 

“If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; however, if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place.” Bukhari

The above statement has been the guiding principle for almost a millennium and a half, and it is from here that the idea of isolation and quarantine emerges. 

The Four Herbal Remedies 

The four remedies, emerging from the above-mentioned five streams, are listed below. 

1. The Black Seed (Nigella sativa)

2. Mel – Raw Organic Honey

3. Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

4. Olive Leaf (Olea europaea) 

In the next article we will look at these four remedies in much greater detail.

Principal M. Salim Khan M.D. (M.A.) M.H. D.O. is an international authority on natural medicine – especially the universal healing tradition of Tibb [Whole-Person Healthcare & Medicine]. He has been practising herbal medicine, naturopathy, nutrition and iridology for over 40 years.

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