Hakim Abdul Aziz

Hakim Abdul Aziz
Photograph of Hakim Abdul Aziz
Born	1855 Lucknow, India
Died	1911 Lucknow, India
Cause of death
Resting place	Jhawai tola, Lucknow
Residence	Jhawai tola, Lucknow
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Unani physician
Years active	1877–1911
Known for	Philosophy of Unani medicine, Free treatment, anti-adulteration
Style	Puritan Unani system
Board member of	Committee for Regulation of Medical Formulations
Relatives	Grandfather of Mohammad Shakeel and Late Jamila Sultana W/O late Akbar Khan Lodi

Hakim Abdul Aziz (Muhammad 'Abd al 'Aziz, 1855–1911) was a prominent Unani physician in British India.

Hakim Abdul Aziz was born into a family of Kashmiri migrants, and is regarded as the founder of the Lucknow tradition in Unani medicine. He started practising medicine in 1877. In 1902, he founded the Takmil al Tibb School at Lucknow for research and excellence in Unani Medicine.

The earliest biographical work on Hakim Abdul Aziz and his philosophical approach in Unani medicine was written by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman. He wrote memoirs and life history of ‘Azizi Family’, prescriptions and formulations of Hakim Abdul Waheed,Unani formularies used by Azizi Family of Lucknow.

Abdul Aziz’s approach with regards to Unani medicine was that of a puritan and hence, significantly different from other notable practitioners like Hakim Ajmal Khan who advocated incorporation of concepts from alternative medical systems. Consequently, the Delhi and Lucknow schools of Unani medicine evolved in different directions. Hakim Abdul Aziz wished to systematise Unani instruction at the Lucknow Madrasa around the texts of Ibn Sìnà, supplemented by practical instruction in surgery and anatomy.

Hakim's fame was so widespread that students and practitioners of Unani medicine used to come to study from him, from as far and wide as the Punjab, Afghanistan, Balochistan, Bukhara and the Hejaz. The Takmil al Tibb School established by him at Lucknow, was instrumental in combating the widespread plague of 1902–03.

In 1910, coming to terms with the singular promotion of colonialism to allopathic medicine, Hakim Abdul Aziz, along with Hakim Ajmal Khan and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya formed the All India Ayurvedic and Unani Tibb Conference to defend traditional forms of healing. In 1904, recognizing the Hakim's stringent attitude towards adulteration in medicine, British India invited him to serve on the board of the Committee for Regulation of Medical Formulations.