Geber

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{{Infobox_Muslim scholars | region = [Islamic science | era = [Islamic Golden Age | color = #cef2e0 |

image_name = Jabir ibn Hayyan.jpg | image_caption = 15th-century European portrait of "Geber", Codici Ashburnhamiani 1166, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence | signature = |

name = ''Jabir ibn Hayyan''| title= ''Geber''| birth = CE| death = c. CE| Maddhab = | main_interests = [Alchemy (Islam), [Islamic astronomy, [Islamic astrology, [Pharmacy, [Islamic philosophy, [Physics, [Physician| influences = [Ja'far al-Sadiq | influenced = [Chemistry | works = ''[Kitab al-Kimya'', ''[Kitab al-Sab'een'', ''[Book of the Kingdom'', ''[Book of the Balances'' , ''[Book of Eastern Mercury'', etc| --> "Jabir ibn Hayyan" and "Geber" were also pen names of an anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist: see Pseudo-Geber. For the crater, see Geber (crater).

Abu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān (Arabic alphabet: جابر بن حيان) (c. 721–c. 815), known also by his Latin languageised name Geber, was a prominent Muslim polymath: a Alchemy (Islam), Islamic astronomy and Islamic astrology, Muslim inventions, Early Islamic philosophy, Islamic medicine, and Islamic science. He has been widely referred to as the "People known as the father or mother of something of chemistry".Although most sources state that he was an Arab,History of Analytical Chemistry By Ferenc Szabadváry,P 11,ISBN 2881245692.The Historical Background of Chemistry By Henry Marshall Leicester,P 63.Alchemy,Eric John Holmyard,P 68.Dragon's Brain Perfume an Historical Geography of Camphor, Robin Arthur Donkin, P 137.The Grand Contraption The World as Myth, Number, and Chance, David Allen Park, P 229.Cosmology in Gauge Field Theory and String Theory, By David Bailin, Alexander Love, P 181.The New Book of Knowledge, ISBN 0717205177, Page 446.The Biology of Alcoholism, By Benjamin Kissin, Henri Begleiter,P 576.Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine,By Thomas F. Glick, Steven John Livesey,Faith Wallis,ISBN 0415969301,P 280A History of Chemistry By Forris Jewett Moore,P 15.E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936 By M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel,ISBN 9004082654,P 989.In Old Paris,By Robert W. Berger,P 164,ISBN 0934977666.Chemical Essays By Richard Watson,P 68 Jabir, Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-2005. Jabir, Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2004. Jabir, Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2007.other sources describe him as Persian people.A Dictionary of the History of Science by by Anton Sebastian - p. 241 The Alchemical Body By David Gordon - p. 366 The Structure and Properties of Matter by Herman Thompson Briscoe - p. 10 The Tincal Trail: A History of Borax by Edward John Cocks, Norman J. Travis - p. 4

Ibn Hayyan is widely credited with the introduction of the Scientific method in alchemy, and with the invention of numerous important processes still used in modern chemistry today, such as the syntheses of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid acids, distillation, and crystallisation. His original works are highly esoteric and probably coded, though nobody today knows what the code is. On the surface, his alchemical career revolved around an elaborate chemical numerology based on consonants in the Arabic language names of substances and the concept of takwin, the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory.

Biography

Jabir was born in Tus, Khorasan, in Iran, then under the rule of the Umayyads; the date of his birth is disputed, but most sources give 721 or 722. He was the son of Hayyan al-Azdi, a pharmacist of the Arabian Azd tribe who emigrated from Yemen to Kufa (in present-day Iraq) during the Umayyad Caliphate. Hayyan had supported the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads, and was sent by them to the province of Khorasan (in present Iran) to gather support for their cause. He was eventually caught by the Ummayads and executed. His family fled back to Yemen,E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russel in 1678. New York, E. P. Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther. where Jabir grew up and studied the Koran, mathematics and other subjects under a scholar named Harbi al-Himyari. After the Abbasids took power, Jabir went back to Kufa, where he spent most of his career.

Jabir's father's profession may have contributed greatly to his interest in alchemy. In Kufa he became a student of the celebrated Islamic teacher and sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. He began his career practising medicine, under the patronage of the Barmakid Vizir of Caliph Haroun al-Rashid. It is known that in 776 he was engaged in alchemy in Kufa.

His connections to the Barmakid cost him dearly in the end. When that family fell from grace in 803, Jabir was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he remained until his death. The date of his death is given as c.815 by the Encyclopædia Britannica, but as 808 by other sources.

Contributions to chemistry Jabir is mostly renowned for his contributions to the modern discipline of chemistry, though at the time it was pre-alchemy. He emphasised systematic experimentation, and did much to free alchemy from superstition and turn it into a science. He is credited with the invention of many types of now-basic chemical laboratory equipment, and with the discovery and description of many now-commonplace chemical substances and processes – such as the hydrochloric acid and nitric acid acids, distillation, and crystallisation – that have become the foundation of today's chemistry and chemical engineering.

He also paved the way for most of the later Islamic alchemists, including al-Razi, al-Tughrai and Abu al-Qasim al-Iraqi, who lived in the 9th, 12th and 13th centuries respectively. His books strongly influenced the medieval European alchemists and justified their search for the philosopher's stone.

He clearly recognised and proclaimed the importance of experimentation. "The first essential in chemistry", he declared, "is that you should perform practical work and conduct experiments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain the least degree of mastery."

Jabir is also credited with the invention and development of several chemical instruments that are still used today. By distilling various salts together with sulfuric acid, Jabir discovered hydrochloric acid (from sodium chloride) and nitric acid (from sodium nitrate). By combining the two, he invented aqua regia, one of the few substances that can dissolve gold. Besides its obvious applications to gold extraction and purification, this discovery would fuel the dreams and despair of alchemists for the next thousand years. He is also credited with the discovery of citric acid (the sour component of lemons and other unripe fruits), acetic acid (from vinegar), and tartaric acid (from wine-making residues).

Jabir applied science his chemical knowledge to the improvement of many manufacturing processes, such as making steel and other metals, preventing rust, engraving gold, dyeing and waterproofing cloth, tanning leather, and the chemical analysis of pigments and other substances. He developed the use of manganese dioxide in glassmaking, to counteract the green tinge produced by iron — a process that is still used today. He noted that boiling wine released a flammable vapor, thus paving the way to Al-Razi's discovery of ethanol.

The seeds of the modern classification of elements into metals and non-metals could be seen in his chemical nomenclature. He proposed three categories:Georges C. Anawati, "Arabic alchemy", in R. Rashed (1996), The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, p. 853-902 .

"Spirits" which vaporise on heating, like arsenic (realgar, orpiment), camphor, mercury (element), sulfur, sal ammoniac, and ammonium chloride.
"Classical metals", like gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, iron, and khar-sini;
Non-Malleability substances, that can be converted into powders, such as Rock (geology).

In the Middle Ages, Jabir's treatises on alchemy were translated into Latin and became standard texts for European alchemists. These include the Kitab al-Kimya (titled Book of the Composition of Alchemy in Europe), translated by Robert of Chester (1144); and the Kitab al-Sab'een by Gerard of Cremona (before 1187). Marcelin Berthelot translated some of his books under the fanciful titles Book of the Kingdom, Book of the Balances, and Book of Eastern Mercury. Several technical terms introduced by Jabir, such as alkali, have found their way into various European languages and have become part of scientific vocabulary.

Contributions to alchemy Jabir became an alchemist at the court of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, for whom he wrote the Kitab al-Zuhra ("The Book of Venus", on "the noble art of alchemy").

Jabir states in his Book of Stones (4:12) that "The purpose is to baffle and lead into error everyone except those whom God loves and provides for". His works seem to have been deliberately written in highly esoteric code (see steganography), so that only those who had been initiated into his alchemical school could understand them. It is therefore difficult at best for the modern reader to discern which aspects of Jabir's work are to be read as symbols (and what those symbols mean), and what is to be taken literally. Because his works rarely made overt sense, the term gibberish is believed to have originally referred to his writings (Hauck, p. 19).

Jabir's alchemical investigations ostensibly revolved around the ultimate goal of takwin — the artificial creation of life. The Book of Stones includes several recipes for creating creatures such as scorpions, snakes, and even humans in a laboratory environment, which are subject to the control of their creator. What Jabir meant by these recipes is today unknown.

Jabir's interest in alchemy was probably inspired by his teacher Ja'far al-Sadiq. Rumours of him being a Sufi is mostly fabricated for the main reason that no such school (i.e., Sufism) existed during that era of Islamic history. Ibn Hayyan was deeply religious, and repeatedly emphasizes in his works that alchemy is possible only by subjugating oneself completely to the will of Allah and becoming a literal instrument of Allah on Earth, since the manipulation of reality is possible only for Allah. The Book of Stones prescribes long and elaborate sequences of specific prayers that must be performed without error alone in the desert before one can even consider alchemical experimentation. Alchemy had a long relationship with Shi'ite mysticism; according to the first Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib, "alchemy is the sister of prophecy".

In his writings, Jabir pays tribute to Egyptian and Greek alchemists Hermes Trismegistus, Agathodaimon, Pythagoras, and Socrates. He emphasises the long history of alchemy, "whose origin is Arius ... the first man who applied the first experiment on the stone... and he declares that man possesses the ability to imitate the workings of Nature" (Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Science and Civilization of Islam).

Jabir's alchemical investigations were theoretically grounded in an elaborate numerology related to Pythagoras and Neoplatonism systems. The nature and properties of elements was defined through numeric values assigned the Arabic language consonants present in their name, ultimately culminating in the number 17.

To Aristotle physics, Jabir added the four properties of hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness (Johann Ludwig Burkhardt, p. 29). Each Aristotelian element was characterised by these qualities: Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. This came from the elementary qualities which are theoretical in nature plus substance. In metals two of these qualities were interior and two were exterior. For example, lead was cold and dry and gold was hot and moist. Thus, Jabir theorised, by rearranging the qualities of one metal, based on their sulfur/mercury content, a different metal would result. (Burckhardt, p. 29) This theory appears to have originated the search for al-iksir, the elusive elixir that would make this transformation possible — which in European alchemy became known as the philosopher's stone.

Jabir also made important contributions to medicine, astrology and astronomy, and other sciences. Only a few of his books have been edited and published, and fewer still are available in translation. The Geber (crater), located on the Moon, is named after him.

Popular Culture

The word gibberish is sometimes theorized to be derived from his name, though sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary suggest it stems from gibber: However, the first known recorded use of the term "gibberish" was before the first known recorded use of the word "gibber". (See Gibberish)
Geber is mentioned in Paulo Coelho's 1993 bestseller, The Alchemist (novel).Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. ISBN 006112416, p. 82.

Quote

"My wealth let sons and brethren part. Some things they cannot share: my work well done, my noble heart — these are mine own to wear."Holmyard, Eric John. Alchemy. Page 82

What others have said about Jabir

Max Meyerhoff: "His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic course of European alchemy and chemistry."Ḥusain, Muẓaffar. Islam's Contribution to Science. Page 94.

Writings by Jabir The writings of Jabir Ibn Hayyan can be divided into four categories:

The 112 Books dedicated to the Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. This group includes the Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that is the foundation of the Hermetic or "spiritual" alchemy. In the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin (Tabula Smaragdina) and widely diffused among European alchemists.
The Seventy Books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages. This group includes the Kitab al-Zuhra ("Book of Venus") and the Kitab Al-Ahjar ("Book of Stones").
The Ten Books on Rectification, containing descriptions of "alchemists" such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
The Books on Balance; this group includes his most famous 'Theory of the balance in Nature'.

Some scholars suspect that some of these works were not written by Jabir himself, but are instead commentaries and additions by his followers. In any case, they all can be considered works of the 'Jabir' school of alchemy.

Translations of Jabir

E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russel in 1678. New York, E. P. Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther.
Syed Nomanul Haq, Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemists Jabir ibn Hayyan and his Kitab al-Ahjar (Book of Stones), Studies in the Philosophy of Science p. 158 (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994).
Donald R. Hill, 'The Literature of Arabic Alchemy' in Religion: Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period, ed. by M.J.L. Young, J.D. Latham and R.B. Serjeant (Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 328-341, esp. pp 333-5.
William Newman, New Light on the Identity of Geber, Sudhoffs Archiv, 1985, Vol.69, pp. 76-90.

References

External links

Britannica
Encarta Encyclopedia
Columbia Encyclopedia
Chemical Heritage /topics/default.cfm?TaxonomyTypeID=25&TaxonomySubTypeID=-1&TaxonomyThirdLevelID=-1&ArticleID=485 Muslim Heritage article
Article at Islam Online
Article at Famous Muslims
Article at Islam Online
Article at Al Shindagah (includes an extract of Jabir's The Discovery of secrets)
The Time of Jabir ibn Haiyan section from "History of Islamic Science"
SHAC: Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry