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The Use of Attar (essential oils)

. In a hadth we read that the Prophet SAW is reported to have said:From the things of your world, women (wives) and perfume are belovedto me and the comfort of my eye is the Sal h. The pious say that A

pleasant Attar perfume The use of Itr/Attar is an established sunnahpractice of the Prophet Mu ammad SAW strengthens the intelligenceand increases virility. When Sayyidin Al radiallahu anhu offered fragrance to anyone and if he refused it, he would say: Nobody but adonkey refuses the favour (of Allah).

ibb incorporates the use of fragrant oils to treat imbalances. Thenatural oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots or otherparts of a plant are used. The inhaled aroma from these "essential" oilsis widely believed to stimulate brain function. Essential oils can also beabsorbed through the skin, where they travel through the bloodstream

and can promote whole-body healing. Today aromatherapy is gainingmomentum. It is used for a variety of applications, including pain relief,mood enhancement and increased cognitive function. There are severalapproaches to utilizing aromatic oils for therapy. The purpose of theapplication in ibb in not to use the essential oil for its medicinal action per se, but rather as an effective method to quickly adjust the subtleessences of the humors.1

There are a wide number of essential oils available, each with its ownhealing properties. The oils most commonly used are rose, violet,jasmine, frankincense, myrrh and chamomile. The oil may be used for

massage in pure form or mixed with sweet almond or olive oil as anextender. For emotional and mental applications, apply one or two dropsof the oil to a small piece of cotton about the size of the thumbnail. Rollthe cotton into a small ball and insert into the ridge (not the ear canal)of the right ear. The cotton may be placed in place for one to threehours.

Attars or essential oils may also be burned on self igniting charcoal. Afew drops ignited on the charcoal will scent a small room with fragrancefor about twenty minutes.

The oils have qualities associated with them. Listed below are some of

the common aromatherapy oils with their respective qualities.

AROMATHERAPY OIL DOMINANT SUBDOMINANT

Chamomile (Dry & Hot)

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Lavender (Dry & Hot )Lemon grass (Dry & Hot )Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)

Sanguinous Phlegmatic

Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)Grapefruit (Cold & Dry)

Bergamot (Cold & Dry)Rose (Cold & Dry)

Sanguinous Bilious

Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)Rosemary (Hot & Dry)Anise (Hot & Dry)Cinnamon (Dry & Hot)

Phlegmatic Sanguinous

Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)Rosemary (Hot & Dry)Anise (Hot & Dry)Cajuput (Hot & Dry)

Phlegmatic Melancholic

Rosemary (Hot & Dry)Cinnamon (Dry & Hot)Chamomile (Dry & Hot)Lavender (Dry & Hot)

Melancholic Phlegmatic

Clarysage (Hot & Moist)Peppermint (Hot & Moist)Chamomile (Dry & Hot)Lavender (Dry & Hot)

Melancholic Bilious

Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)Jasmine (Cold & Moist)Fennel seeds(Cold & Moist)

Coriander oil (Cold & Moist)

Bilious Melancholic

Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)Jasmine (Cold & Moist)Fennel seeds (Cold & Moist)Rose (Cold & Dry)

Bilious Sanguinous

There is a difference between commercial perfumes and ittar. Alcohol isa common solvent for most perfumes and causes the perfume toevaporate much faster- sometimes upto as much as 10 - 15 times faster.This causes the first impression of the perfume to be overwhelming tohuman senses, but it soon evaporates and loses power. Given its naturalderivation, ittar lasts a long time. Body heat only intensifies its smell.Another major difference between synthetic perfumes and ittar is thatthe oil-based ittar is worn directly on your body. The inside of the wrist,behind the ears, the inside of elbow joints, back of the neck and a fewother parts of your anatomy are directly dabbed with ittar.

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A small drop is enough to be used as a fragrance on the body. A fewdrops can be added to water and used with aromatic vapour lamps. Afew drops of some ittars are used with cold drinks, such as milk, to givefragrance.

Numerous varieties of attar are available for use through the year. Oneshould use attar appropriate to the season and in accordance with onestemperament. This is a very important consideration and people aregenerally unmindful of this when using attars. Remember that your attarnot only affects you but also those around you. You should thereforeconsider carefully and chose the appropriate attar to wear.Ittars can be classified as warm or cool.Warm Ittars' Ittars such as Musk, Amber, Kesar (Saffron), Oud, Hina areused in winters, they increase the body temperature.

Cool Ittars' like Rose, Jasmine, Khus, Kewda, Mogra, are used in

summers and are cooling for the body.Chameli can be used at any time of the year.

We will now mention some details regarding some of the more commonitr.

AmberOil of amber (kahrabah in Persian) or liquid amber, as it is sometimescalled, is derived from a species of pine tree (Picea succinfera). Manypeople have had contact with amber stones and beads, and it is thissame basic substance that is used in healing. But the stones have

hardened for several million more years than the resin, which is used tomanufacture the oil.

There are only three locales in the world where authentic amber can befound. Its colour varies anywhere from a light, translucent pink to aheavy, dark brown. When we realise that the essential sap of thesetrees, to become amber, has been preserved for one to six million years,we understand that we are tapping into a very ancient healing energy.

Some people use the sap from trees and distill out the essence. Butothers, realizing this ancient energy within, prefer to grind down the

stones into powder and then heat it to revive the essence. This latterform of amber is better for healing but very very difficult to locate.

Amber is recommended specifically for any kind of disease or problemassociated with the heart. While the rose is considered the Mother ofScents, amber is called the Father (or King) of Scents.

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An excellent method of using Amber is to put one drop on the tip of thefinger and apply it to the point of the Third Eye (not in the physicaleyes, of course). This is absorbed by the body and stimulates the pinealgland, which activates many of our physiological functions.

FrankincenseFrankincense is hot in the second degree, but is not quite so hot asamber. It is a little less drying, too. Frankincense is also a very powerfulcleanser of the aura and psychic planes

MyrrhMyrrh is hot and drying. There are several varieties but those from Tunisand Morocco seems to be of the finest quality.

VioletViolet is cold and moist in the first degree and can thus be considered

mild in its action. Violet leaves, flowers and oils are used in a greatnumber of healing formulas.

SandalwoodSandal is cold and dry in the second degree. The best and most famousoil of sandal comes from Mysore, India. It is used in many conditions,frequently for genital and urinarly tract infections. Sandal is also used asa base oil into which other oils are extracted or blended. It is a verygood base because it evaporates very slowly and does not spoil overtime. In fact aged sandalwood is better than fresh.Sandalwood is recommended whenever serious meditation and spiritual

practices are being undertaken, because it is quieting to all of theegotisms of the body, especially those relating to sexual urges.

MuskTrue musk oil is derived from the glands of a kind of deer, found only inremote regions of the world. Musk is hot and dry. Musk has been used inmedicine particularly in healing heart and sexual problems.

RoseRose is cold and dry in the second degree. There are perhaps threehundred different species of roses used in aromatherapy. The finest and

most expensive is said to be the Bulgarian rose. Others consider the firstpressing rose oils from India to be superior to the Bulgarian rose. Itrequires 60 000 pounds of rose petals to produce one kilogram of firstpressing rose oil.The rose is the most superior of all scents in the floral realm. Rose workssimultaneously on the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies, purifyingand uplifting all three. It is the least toxic oil. One can make a delicioussummer drink by adding rose oil to water.

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JasmineJasmine is cold and dry. The flowers of jasmine are cold but the essentialoil is heating. This is an important consideration: that not all substanceswork in the same way in all forms, just as water and ice are chemically

the same but quite different in their effects. It is also true that flowersand their oils do not work in the same way in humans as they do inanimals: what is heating to a human may be cooling to a fish. This factmakes random experiments on animals a questionable practice at best.The special quality of jasmine is its unparalleled ability to uplift themood and lessen mental depression.

HinaHina (pronounced heena) is the oil extracted from the flowers of thehenna plant. Hina is very difficult to find and is considered one of thefinest and most refined oils in the world; and its price reflects that too. It

is usually aged over a long period of time and it improves with aging.The curious thing about hina (and of some other oils as well) is that theliking for its fragrance is an acquired one: many people on first smellingfind it repulsive.

dThe rare and costly oil known as d is taken from the wood of the aloeswood tree. The best d comes from India. Its cost can be high but those familiar with its effects do not find the price a consideration. d is hot and dry in the third degree. Oudh oil is used in traditionalmedicine for a number of purposes, including to help in childbirth.

Breathing the smoke from the burning wood will help with respiratoryproblems, colds, coughs and asthma. The oil has been used to helpsufferers of rheumatism, as a stimulant and a tonic combined with otheringredients. It helps lift the spirit and boosts energy levels.

It is necessary to mention here that women going out from their homesshould not use attar in a way that its fragrance attracts the attention ofothers. Attar may be used by them in the confines of their homes. Theinstructions of the shar ah in this regard are clear. Rasulullah(S) says: Any woman, who perfumes herself and leaves the house, is deprivedfrom the blessings of the All h until she returns home.

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1 Chisti Hakim GM, 1991. The Traditional Healers Handbook: A Classic Guide to the Medicine ofAvicenna. P. 176