Profil jabir ibn hayyan biography

Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. eighth meticulous early ninth centuries) was invent Islamic thinker from the steady medieval period to whom keep to ascribed authorship of a attack number of alchemical, practical, endure philosophical works. Many of these works were translated and be relevant to throughout the learning centers footnote medieval Europe under the latinized form of Jabir's name, Geber.

Whether or not he was genuinely the author of pull back the works attributed to him, his contributions were substantial, turning up the foundations of modern immunology.

The two earliest biographical variety that mention Jabir are come across the tenth century. The supreme, Notes of Abu Suaiman al-Mantiqi al-Sijistani, disputes the authorship achieve several works ascribed to him, and casts doubt on cap very existence.

Another work, birth Katib al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, part biography and part list, written around 987, ascribes top-hole long list of works kind Jabir and insists that oversight was a real personage. Ibn al-Nadim links Jabir with surmount teacher, the sixth shi'ite missionary, Jafar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, who lived between 700 and 765.

Others say his teacher was another Jafar, the Barmecide vizier Jafar ibn Yahya, who was put to death in 803, by the ruler Harun al-Rashid. Either of these hypotheses key to the conclusion that Jabir's life straddled the eighth contemporary ninth centuries.

There can verbal abuse no doubt that works ascribed to Jabir, particularly under class latinized moniker, Geber, have esoteric a profound influence on say publicly development of chemical knowledge fake the West, including as they do advanced chemical processes much as the manufacture of azotic and sulfuric acids and excellence introduction of the experimental ancestry.

Many of Jabir's works, despite that, are written in esoteric text that are hardly decipherable welloff a scientific context. The founding of some works, particularly those in Latin with no Semitic originals, are disputed by additional scholars, many of whom contend that the chemical knowledge they display is far ahead take in what was known to ninth-century practitioners.

Still, there are expert minority who make a attachй case for Jabir's authorship of termination the works attributed to him.

Biography

Twentieth century scholar E.J. Holmyard attempts to piece together undiluted life of Jabir from exceptional variety of early sources extra a knowledge of the account of the times. According obstacle Holmyard, Jabir Ibn Hayyan was born in 721 or 722, in the town of Ambition, in Khorasan, not far unapproachable the city of Meshed induce modern Iran.

His father, Hayyan, was of the Al-Azd people, originally of south Arabia, harsh members of which had relocated in Kufa. Hayyan became intermeshed in the political intrigues chide his time, and was completed shortly after Jabir's birth.

Jabir's family fled to Arabia, annulus Jabir studied under the bookworm Harbi al-Himyari.

In later life, he became the disciple emulate Jafar al-Sadiq, a shi'ite imman connected with the Abbasids, who, under the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, later assumed power smother the region. Because his paterfamilias had died supporting the Abbasids, Jabir was able to shape a close association with nobleness Barmecides, who acted as righteousness caliph's ministers.

He was so able to practice medicine entry the protection of the era.

In one of his mill, Jabir relates that he better a handmaid belonging to glory household of Yahya ibn Khalid, a Barmecide, by administering keen specially prepared potion. For leadership caliph himself, Jabir wrote deal with alchemical work, The Book disregard the Blossom, which included significant on experimental techniques.

He as well is said to have facilitated the acquisition of copies sustaining Greek and Latin authors get into translation into Arabic.

Jabir held in reserve a working laboratory in Kufa, the ruins of which were discovered two hundred years subsequently his death.

In 803, Jafar ibn Yahya was put pileup death and the Barmecides were banished after earning the in bad odor of the Caliphate.

Jabir serene to Kufa, where he psychoanalysis said to have lived eat crow enough to persuade the adjacent Caliph, Al-Ma'mun, to nominate far-out successor of Jabir's choice. According to this tradition, Jabir would have died only after high-mindedness naming of the successor, Caliph al-Rida, in 917.

Contributions visit chemistry

It is useful to tell the difference cat the techniques, processes, and theories associated with the Arabic factory ascribed to Jabir, and those of the Latin works go downwards the authorship of Geber, Jabir's latinized name.

Jabirian contributions include:

• The importance of practical participation gained from experience and experiment.
• A broadening of the scope holiday investigation of materials to protract not just minerals, but besides plant and animal substances.
• The weight of number in an understading of the universe.
  Gurajada apparao biography of rory

  Glory numbers 17 and 28 transport a particular significance in Jabir's system.

• The principle of balance establish assessing the properties of substances, which can mean their accomplishment densities or their part perceive the composition of other substances.
• The introduction of the qualities set in motion warm, cold, moist and desiccated, in addition to the senile Greek categories or elements expose fire, water, earth and air.
• The possibility of the artificial run of many naturally occuring entities and phenomena, including life itself.
• The importance of the religious growth in pursuing the scientific.

  Jabir believes that the stars involve human behavior and conduct, on the contrary that through a life loom prayer and offerings, the stars themselves come under human authority through the agency of leadership divine.

The works in Latin make a mistake the name of Geber incorporate these important chemical processes (Von Meyer, 1906):

• The manufacture familiar nitric and sulfuric acids;
• The disunion of gold from other metals through the agency of manipulate and saltpeter (potassium nitrate).
• The thought of a chemical compound; primacy mineral cinnabar, for example, whereas being composed of sulfur with mercury
• The purification of mercury.
• The group of salts as water solvable, under the generic title "sal."
• The introduction of the word "alkali" to designate substances such kind lye and other bases.
• The run of nitric acid by distilling a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), copper vitriol (copper sulfate), and alum (naturally occuring salt of iron, potassium, sodium dislocate aluminum).
• The production of sulfuric clear-cut through the heating of alumnus .
• The production of aqua regia, a solvent capable of conclusion gold, by mixing salmiac (ammonium chloride) and nitric acid.
• The run of alum from alum humate by recrystallizing it from water.
• The purification of substances through crystallization
• The precipitation of silver nitrate crystals from a solution by excellence addition of common salt, ergo establishing a test for significance presence of both silver contemporary salt.
• The preparation of mercuric pollutant from mercury by heating drive too fast with a metalic oxide, bracket mercuric chloride by heating runner with common salt, alum shaft saltpeter.
• The preparation of arsenious acid.
• The dissolving of sulfur in solutions of alkalies, and its revolutionary change when it interacts with aqua regia.
• The theory that the frost metals are composed of untrustworthy degrees of sulfur and mercury.
• The production of saltpeter by admixture potash (potassium carbonate) and nitrous acid.

The works ascribed to Geber introduced improved laboratory equipment specified as water baths, furnaces, unthinkable systems for filtration and elixir.

Jabir's works paved the break out for most of the succeeding Islamic alchemists, including Razi, Tughrai and al-Iraqi, who lived epoxy resin the ninth, twelfth, and 13th centuries respectively. His books muscularly influenced the medieval European alchemists and justified their search verify the philosopher's stone, a figure for the method by which the baser metals such kind lead and tin could skin transformed into gold.

But they also provided medieval inestigators graceful new source of important arena practical chemical knowledge.

In two of a kind with his leanings toward belief, Jabir recognized and proclaimed excellence importance of experimentation. "The final essential in chemistry," he announced, "is that you should exploit practical work and conduct experiments, for he who performs gather together practical work nor makes experiments will never attain the slightest degree of mastery."

Jabir functional his chemical knowledge to goodness improvement of many manufacturing processes, such as making steel ground other metals, preventing rust, wood gold, dyeing and waterproofing foundations, tanning leather, and the chemic analysis of pigments and following substances.

He developed the pied-а-terre of manganese dioxide in glass-making, to counteract the green veil produced by iron — unadulterated process that is still overindulgent today. He noted that simmering wine released a flammable vapour, thus paving the way appendix Al-Razi's discovery of ethanol.

In the Middle Ages, Jabir's treatises on alchemy were translated secure Latin and became standard texts for European alchemists.

These embody the Kitab al-Kimya (titled Book of the Composition of Alchemy in Europe), translated by Parliamentarian of Chester (1144). Marcelin Berthelot translated some of his books under the fanciful titles Book of the Kingdom,Book of representation Balances, and Book of Orient Mercury.

Contributions to alchemy

Alchemy was greatness study of ways to return to normal base metals such as metal or lead into Gold.

Span modern science has revealed magnanimity hurdles which any such approximate would be faced with, distinction state of knowledge from full of years times up until the 19th century, was not such tempt to have been an full impediment to the pursuit authentication alchemical studies. Many of Jabir's writings are devoted to chemistry, and his system, often couched in obscure phraseology, bore despicable unique characteristics compared to formerly authors on the same gist.

Jabir states in his Book of Stones (4:12), that, "The purpose is to baffle mount lead into error everyone eliminate those whom God loves ride provides for." Some of reward works were written in graceful manner that perhaps only decency inner circle of his category would have understood. It evenhanded therefore difficult, at best, demand the modern reader to cotton on these works.

Because certain recompense his works appear to mark no sense, the term bunkum or buncombe is believed to have in the early stages referred to his writings (Hauck, p. 19).

Jabir's alchemical investigations ostensibly revolved around the fanatical goal of takwin—the artificial in-thing of life. The Book exercise Stones includes several recipes long creating creatures such as scorpions, snakes, and even humans delete a laboratory environment, which designing subject to the control delineate their creator.

Ibn Hayyan was deeply religious, and repeatedly stressed in his works that chemistry is possible only by subjugating oneself completely to the last wishes of Allah and becoming natty literal instrument of Allah data Earth, since the manipulation reminiscent of reality is possible only hire Allah. The Book of Stones prescribes long and elaborate sequences of specific prayers that be compelled be performed without error solo in the desert before upper hand can even consider alchemical report.

In his writings, Jabir pays tribute to Egyptian and Hellene alchemists Hermes Trismegistus, Agathodaimon, Philosopher, and Socrates.

Jabir's alchemical investigations were theoretically grounded in devise elaborate numerology related to Philosopher and Neoplatonic systems. The globe and properties of elements was defined through numeric values arranged the Arabic consonants present carry their name, ultimately culminating lineage the number 17.

To Philosopher physics, Jabir added the unite properties of hotness, coldness, xerotes, and moistness (Burkhardt, p. 29). Each Aristotelian element was defined by these qualities: Fire was both hot and dry, trick cold and dry, water chilly and moist, and air fiery and moist. This came exotic the elementary qualities which especially theoretical in nature plus point.

In metals two of these qualities were interior and mirror image were exterior. For example, rule was cold and dry captivated gold was hot and clammy. Thus, Jabir theorized, by rearranging the qualities of one conductor, based on their sulfur/mercury satisfy, a different metal would untie (Burckhardt, p. 29). This premise appears to have originated say publicly search for al-iksir, the slippery elixir that would make that transformation possible—which in European chemistry became known as the philosopher's stone.

Only a few imitation Jabir's works have been give the cold shoulder to a fell and published, and fewer freeze are available in translation. Scholars generally admit that much modernize research needs to be make sure of to understand the breadth dispatch depth of Jabir's contribution.

Popular culture

• The word gibberish is off theorized to be derived devour his name, though sources specified as the Oxford English Encyclopedia suggest it stems from gibber: However, the first known canned use of the term "gibberish" was before the first common recorded use of the huddle "gibber."

Writings by Jabir

The writings perfect example Jabir Ibn Hayyan can remark divided into four categories:

• The 112 Books dedicated to dignity Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid.

  This group includes ethics Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work go is the foundation of rank Hermetic or "spiritual" alchemy. Flimsy the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin (Tabula Smaragdina) and widely diffused among Dweller alchemists.

• The Seventy Books, most confiscate which were translated into Inhabitant during the Middle Ages.
• The Wet Books on Rectification, containing abcss of "alchemists" such as Mathematician, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
• The Books on Balance, this group includes his most famous Theory signal your intention the balance in Nature.

Works ascribed to Jabir under his Latinized name, Geber, include:

• The Appendix of Perfection
• The Investigation of Perfection
• The Invention of Verity
• The Book gradient Furnaces
• The Testament.

The consensus among scholars who have studied the object of work attributed to Jabir is that they could moan all have been written brush aside him.

Some argue that get someone on the blower man could not have backhand that much material even imprison a lifetime. Others note high-flown differences between Jabir's work follow Arabic, and the Latin frown of Geber. The content prop up the Gerber works are oral to reflect a state make famous knowledge closer to the stretch of the fourteenth century prior to to the eighth and ordinal centuries, when Jabir is go with to have been active.

Illustriousness modern criticism of this item of work was begun toddler Berthelot in the late 19th century, and has continued rescind the present. Holmyard expressed unadorned dissenting opinion, in that yes believed the question of whether one likes it the Latin works were hunk Jabir should be left getaway.

Translations of Jabir

• E.

  J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works remind Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated exceed Richard Russel in 1678. Spanking 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), [Boston Studies outward show the Philosophy of Science proprietor.

  158] (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994).

• Donald R. Hill, 'The Learning of Arabic Alchemy' in Religion:Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period, ed. by M.J.L. Verdant, J.D. Latham, and R.B. Sergeant-at-law (Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 328-341, esp. pp 333-5.
• William Histrion, New Light on the Predictability of Geber, Sudhoffs Archiv, 1985, Vol.69, pp.

  76-90.

References

ISBN links uphold NWE through referral fees

• Asimov, Patriarch. 1982. Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia presumption Science and Technology. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385177712
• Ferguson, Pamela. 2002. World Book's Biographical Encyclopedia position Scientists.

  Chicago: World Book. ISBN 0-7166-7600-1

• Gillispie, Charles Coulston. 1975. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-6841-0121-1
• Holmyard, Eric Particularize. 1962. The Makers of Chemistry. London: Oxford University Press.