Alchemy in the Islamic world[edit]

Main article: Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam

Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber), considered the "father of chemistry", introduced ascientific and experimental approach to alchemy.

After the fall of the oman !mpire, the focus of alchemical de"elopment mo"ed to the #slamic $orld. %uch more is &no'n about #slamic alchemy because it 'as better documented( indeed, most of the earlier 'ritin)s that ha"e come do'n throu)h the years 'ere preser"ed as Arabic translations. [**]+he 'ord alchemy itself 'as deri"ed from the Arabic 'ord ,-./.012 al-kimia. +he #slamic 'orld 'as a meltin) pot for alchemy. 3latonic and Aristotelianthou)ht, 'hich had already been some'hat appropriated into hermetical science, continued to be assimilated durin) the late 4th and early 5th centuries. #n the late 5th century, J6bir ibn Hayy6n (&no'n as "Geber" in !urope) introduced a ne' approach to alchemy, based on scientific methodolo)y and controlled experimentation in the laboratory, in contrast to the ancient Gree& and !)yptian alchemists 'hose 'or&s 'ere often alle)orical and unintelli)ible, 'ith "ery little concern for laboratory 'or&.[*7] Jabir is thus "considered by many to be the father of chemistry",
[*8]

albeit others reser"e that title for ;raus, 'rote(

obert 9oyle or Antoine :a"oisier. +he historian of science, 3aul

+o form an idea of the historical place of Jabir<s alchemy and to tac&le the problem of its sources, it is ad"isable to compare it 'ith 'hat remains to us of the alchemical literature in the Gree& lan)ua)e. =ne &no's in 'hich miserable state this literature reached us. >ollected by 9y?antine scientists from the tenth century, the corpus of the Gree& alchemists is a cluster of incoherent fra)ments, )oin) bac& to all the times since the third century until the end of the %iddle A)es. +he efforts of 9erthelot and uelle to put a little order in this mass of literature led only to poor results, and the later researchers, amon) them in particular %rs. Hammer@Jensen, +annery, :a)ercrant?, "on

:ippmann, detail ....

eit?enstein, us&a, 9ide?, Aestu)iere and others, could ma&e clear only fe' points of

+he study of the Gree& alchemists is not "ery encoura)in). An e"en surface examination of the Gree& texts sho's that a "ery small part only 'as or)ani?ed accordin) to true experiments of laboratory( e"en the supposedly technical 'ritin)s, in the state 'here 'e find them today, are unintelli)ible nonsense 'hich refuses any interpretation. #t is different 'ith Jabir<s alchemy. +he relati"ely clear description of the processes and the alchemical apparati, the methodical classification of the substances, mar& an experimental spirit 'hich is extremely far a'ay from the 'eird and odd esotericism of the Gree& texts. +he theory on 'hich Jabir supports his operations is one of clearness and of an impressi"e unity. %ore than 'ith the other Arab authors, one notes 'ith him a balance bet'een theoretical teachin) and practical teachin), bet'een the `ilm and the `amal. #n "ain one 'ould see& in the Gree& texts a 'or& as systematic as that 'hich is presented, for example, in the Book of Seventy.[*7] Jabir himself clearly reco)ni?ed and proclaimed the importance of experimentation(
+he first essential in chemistry is that thou shouldest perform practical 'or& and conduct experiments, for he 'ho performs not practical 'or& nor ma&es experiments 'ill ne"er attain to the least de)ree of mastery.
[*4]

!arly #slamic chemists such as Jabir #bn Hayyan (F-.G EC BC-D in Arabic, Geberus in :atinH usually rendered in !n)lish as Geber), Al@;indi (Al&indus) and %uhammad ibn Ia&arJya 6?i ( asis or ha?es in :atin) contributed a number of &ey chemical disco"eries, such as the muriatic (hydrochloric acid), sulfuric and nitric acids, and more. +he disco"ery that aKua re)ia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, could dissol"e the noblest metal, )old, 'as to fuel the ima)ination of alchemists for the next millennium. #slamic philosophers also made )reat contributions to alchemical hermeticism. +he most influential author in this re)ard 'as ar)uably Jabir. Jabir<s ultimate )oal 'as Takwin, the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory, up to, and includin), human life. He analy?ed each Aristotelian element in terms of four basic Kualities of hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness.[*5]Accordin) to Jabir, in each metal t'o of these Kualities 'ere interior and t'o 'ere exterior. Aor example, lead 'as externally cold and dry, 'hile )old 'as hot and moist. +hus, Jabir theori?ed, by rearran)in) the Kualities of one metal, a different metal 'ould result.[*5] 9y this reasonin), the search for the philosopher<s stone 'as introduced to $estern alchemy. Jabir de"eloped an elaboratenumerolo)y 'hereby the root letters of a substance<s name in Arabic, 'hen treated 'ith "arious transformations, held correspondences to the element<s physical properties. +he elemental system used in medie"al alchemy also ori)inated 'ith Jabir. His ori)inal system consisted of se"en elements, 'hich included the fi"e classical elements (aether, air, earth, fire and'ater), in addition to t'o chemical elements representin) the metals( sulphur, <the stone 'hich burns<, 'hich characteri?ed the principle of combustibility, and mercury, 'hich contained the ideali?ed principle of

metallic properties. Lhortly thereafter, this e"ol"ed into ei)ht elements, 'ith the Arabic concept of the three metallic principles( sulphur )i"in) flammability or combustion, mercury )i"in) "olatility and stability, and salt )i"in) solidity.[*M] +he atomic theory of corpuscularianism, 'here all physical bodies possess an inner and outer layer of minute particles or corpuscles, also has its ori)ins in the 'or& of Jabir. [7N] Ourin) the Mth to P*th centuries, alchemical theories faced criticism from a "ariety of practical %uslim chemists, includin) Al&indus,[7P] AbQ al@ ayh6n al@9JrQnJ,[7R] A"icenna[7S] and #bn ;haldun. #n particular, they 'rote refutations a)ainst the idea of the transmutation of metals.