BİRİNCİ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · Sekizinci Madde
Eighteenth Article
It describes the various effects and benefits of the air surrounding us on our bodies and souls, the changing parts of the favorable winds [68/a], and their benefits.
O esteemed one! Know that philosophers have said: If the air becomes excessively heated and undergoes a change, it will induce languor in the bodies and diminish the moisture (rutūbet) which should be present within them. It increases thirst and weakens the body’s strength. It dissolves the natural heat of the body, an instrument of nature, and disrupts the digestive system. It dissolves the ideal mixture found within the texture of the blood and elevates bile over other elements affecting the structure of the blood, thus turning it yellow. Therefore, hot airs are unsuitable for healthy bodies; however, they are beneficial for those suffering from catarrh, those afflicted by cold, and certain paralytic patients. Excessive cold air, on the other hand, retains the body’s natural heat, prevents the flow of fluid substances, and provokes catarrh. It harms the nerves and weakens them; it inflicts severe damage upon the lungs and veins.
If the coldness of the air is moderate, then it proves beneficial to the digestive system, and its positive effect is observed on all internal organs due to the regular functioning of the digestive system. It strengthens all limbs. (Cold airs) are very suitable for healthy bodies. They cause the fine pores (of the skin) to close; they are effective in tightening and strengthening the cavities within the bones. As for moist air, it generally suits the temperament of most bodies. It softens the skin, beautifies its color, enhances appearance, and cleanses the air pores. However, it renders them prone to putrefaction. Dry air has an effect opposite to that of the moist air, about whose various effects we have spoken above.
Winds blowing from the north impart strength to the bodies, bestow endurance, prevent perspiration, and block the air pores in the skin. They strengthen the digestive system, fortify the abdominal region, ease the discharge of urine, and grant vigor. If the western winds are foul-smelling, this wind refines them. And if southern winds precede northern winds, and then the northern winds blow, then the southern wind induces perspiration; the northern wind strengthens and consolidates the interior of a person, causing outward expression. Consequently, the quantity of effusions from the head increases at that time. Diseases of the chest, veins, and uterus become more prevalent. Afflictions such as difficulty in urination, ailments related to cough, joint pains, and skin tremors are observed.
Southern winds relax the bodies, open the air pores, move the various mixtures within the body outward, give weight to sensations, incite sores, increase diseases, cause headaches, and induce sleep. They invite fever. Eastern winds, if they blow at the end of the day and in the early morning, produce a moderate air warmed by the sun’s influence, whose moisture is slight and dryness is temperate. These eastern winds generally blow during the first hours of the day, and they are called *sabā* wind and desert breeze (nesīm-i sahrā). This *sabā* wind bestows freshness upon the bodies, sweetens sleep, and grants relief from diseases. If it blows at the end of the day or in the early hours of the night, its effect is precisely the opposite of the beneficial effects mentioned earlier. The air of the eastern regions is more subtle (latīf) and purer than that of the western regions.
As for the western winds, if they blow at the end of the day or in the early hours of the night, they cause a very dense air to form, laden with sea vapor. If they blow in the morning hours, it is an air that is intensely thick and heavy, not having been tempered by the sun’s influence. Whatever time western winds blow, their effect is precisely the opposite of the beneficial effects of the *sabā* wind. For this reason, these breezes are called *debūr* wind. Indeed, in a hadith it is related: “I was aided by the *sabā* wind. As for the people of ‘Ad, they were destroyed by the *debūr* wind.” Now we shall suffice with mentioning these details about the benefits of air, for this amount is deemed sufficient for those possessing insight to derive instruction from.
“Glory to Him who sends forth the winds and revives souls and refreshes the vegetation and creates causes! The Lord of lords is free from every imperfection. The cause of causes, the Lord of the masters—may He be exalted, His glory; there is no deity worthy of worship but He.” [522]
[519]. Semt (parts): The point on the ecliptic measured by a conventional degree starting from the true ascending node.
[520]. General inclination (gāyat al-mayl); the points farthest from the equator in the ecliptic; the angle between the ecliptic and equatorial circles. “This circle (passing through the poles) cuts the ecliptic at two points. These are the points of greatest inclination, which are north and south, the points farthest from the equator on the ecliptic.”
[521]. This refers to what was previously explained regarding how the four elements undergo change.
[522]. “Glory to Him who sends forth the winds and revives souls and refreshes the vegetation and creates causes! The Lord of lords is free from every imperfection. The cause of causes, the Lord of the masters—may He be exalted, His glory; there is no deity worthy of worship but He.”
The Glorified is the One who sends forth the winds and stirs the spirits and scatters the clouds and causes causes and is Lord of the masters; exalted is Allah, may He be glorified and His glory magnified, and abundant are His gifts, and there is no god but Him.
The alteration in the essence of air occurs through the corruption and transformation of the very substance of that air. It does not occur by an excessive increase or decrease of any quality within the air. Rather, when the essence of the air itself becomes corrupt, it is called pestilence – a putrefaction affecting the air. It is also termed plague. This alteration is like the corruption of water whose taste, smell and color are altered. By "air" here, we do not mean simple and subtle air. We mean that mass of vapor and smoke which surrounds us, composed of earth, fire, water, and air – just as we call seawater “water,” for it is not pure water but a mixture of earth, water, air, and fire, in varying proportions; yet because water prevails within it, it is called water. Thus, the air, being a mixture of different elements, may sometimes putrefy and its essence deteriorate, changing into something else. Just as the water of wide rivers whose beds are paved with pebbles becomes petrified, transforming into stone, so too this air may become corrupted and turn into pestilence. The increase of this corruption in the air, leading to a proliferation of plague outbreaks, generally occurs towards the end of summer and in autumn. However, the true alteration that lies within the qualities of the air is when heat or cold reaches an unbearable degree, rendering agriculture impossible and preventing procreation. It is the extreme heat or cold which prevents these two [procreation and agriculture] from continuing.
*Semt (partes):* The apparent meridian measured from a fixed point on the ecliptic to a specified location along it.
*Meyl-i küllî:* The greatest inclination; the points where the ecliptic is farthest from the equator; the angle between the plane of the ecliptic and the celestial equator. "This circle [passing through the poles] intersects the ecliptic at two points, which are the points of greatest inclination, located north and south, representing the points on the ecliptic that are furthest from the equator."