The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 209
208 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS vertigo, painful flanks, mental constraint, colic, menstrual disorders, gout, muscular spasms, am a reliever of aphorisms, and a remedy for itching and scorpion bites, scabbiness and chronic fatigue, rheuma- tism phlegmatic, choleric, or both—and I am beneficial for all types of melancholy. Rhubarb claims that it is a tonic for the organs and promotes metabolism and causes dryness in the first part of the second stage. And, because I am easily absorbed, I also promote coolness, and possess within me many beneficial juices; I am arid, cause constipation, cleanse the skin, am beneficial in removing viscous matter, and am a remedy for the poisonous organisms which spread in winter, especially for scorpi- ons, and facilitate the excretion of thick and thin humours of the body, facilitate menstruation and bowel movements, and strengthen the liver, and open up obstructions of the spleen and intestine, and dissolve the passing of wind. I am beneficial for chronic cough, and beneficial for the constriction of the heart, ulcer of the lungs, wounds of lungs and intestine, all kinds of oedema, and ulcerous jaundice and loose bowels, and beneficial for the saliva of the mouth, dysentery, disturbance of breathing, and passing of wind, cold sores, cholera, colic, piles, running sores, and intermittent fever. beneficial Zedoary [Curcuma zedoaria] claims that I promote warmth and dryness in the initial part of the third stage and am very for maintaining body temperature, to relax and strengthen the vital organs-heart, brain, and liver—and to strengthen the contents of the belly (bowels, intestines etc. ) and am a panacea for all kinds of poi- sons. Consequently, by the grace of God, I assist greatly, during the epidemic of cholera—if used in combination with a small quantity of saffron, musk, and ginger—along with sulphuric acid and the liquid mixture of white cardamom, mint and anise. Moreover, I relieve pain and strengthen eyesight. I burn up the stones in the bladder and dispel the colic, facilitate bowel movements, and intermittent fever, and am very beneficial for minor snake bites and scorpion stings, so much so that I even dispel the poison of deadly scorpions. With musk and the