mizaj

In Unani medicine, mizaj refers to an individual's temperament, which is determined by the balance of four fundamental elements: earth, water, fire, and air. These elements combine to create four primary temperaments: hot, cold, moist, and dry, as well as compounded temperaments like hot and dry.1

This concept is closely linked to the doctrine of humours, which posits that health is maintained by the harmonious balance of four bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. An imbalance in these humours, or a predominance of one, was believed to influence a person's physical and mental qualities, leading to specific dispositions such as sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, or melancholic. Mizaj plays a crucial role in Unani medicine, characterizing both a person's normal state and the nature of their ailments.123