Abu Musa Jabir ibn
Hayyan, also known in the Western world as “Geber”, was born in the year 721
A.D. in Tus, Iran. He was one of the most illustrious students and spiritual
follower of the Infallible Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.).
He was a prominent
physicist, philosopher, engineer, geographer, mathematician, and pharmacist.
His pioneering work in Chemistry earned him the title of “The Father of Chemistry”.
He discovered nitric acid and citric Acid and invented many laboratory
equipment used in the fundamental process of distillation and crystallization.
By combining nitric and hydrochloric acid, he invented “aqua regia”, one of
the few substances that can dissolve gold. He also discovered Citric acid (the
sour component of lemon), Acetic acid (of vinegar), and Tartaric acid.
Jabir applied his chemical knowledge to the improvement
of many manufacturing processes such as making steel and other metals,
preventing rust, engraving gold, dyeing and water-proofing cloth, tanning
leather and chemical analysis of pigments and other substances. He developed
the use of manganese dioxide in glassmaking, to counteract the green tinge
produced by iron.
The foundation of the modern classification of elements was laid by Jabir. He proposed three
categories: “Spirits” which vaporize
on heating like camphor, arsenic, and amonium chloride; “Metals” like gold, silver, lead, copper and iron; and “Stones” that can be converted into
powder. In the Middle Ages, Jabir’s treatises were
translated in Latin and became standard texts for the European scholars of
Chemistry. For example, Kitab al Kimiya titled as “Book of the composition of Alchemy
in Europe) translated by Robert of Chester in 1144 and the Kitab al-Sab’een by
Gerard of Cremona before 1187.
Several technical
terms introduced by Jabir like “Alkali” have found their way into European
languages and became a part of scientific vocabulary.
Jabir’s Alchemy had a long relationship with the Shiite mysticism.
Jabir’s interest in Alchemy was inspired by his teacher Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq
(a.s.).
Jabir also made important contributions to medicine,
astronomy, cosmology, biology, chemical technology, geometry, grammar,
metaphysics, astrology, and symbolic Imami myths. Nearly 3,000 treatises and articles have been credited to him. Only a few of his books have been
edited and published, and fewer still are available in translation. The Beger
crater, located on the moon, is named after him.
The writings of Jabir ibn Hayyan may be divided into four
categories:
1.
One hundred and twelve books dedicated to
Barmakids, the Viziers of Haroon-ur-Rashid.
This group includes the Arabic version of Emerald Tablet, an ancient which
is the foundation of Spiritual Alchemy.
2.
The Seventy books most of which were translated
into Latin. This group includes Kitab ul Zuhra (Book of Venus) and Kitab
al-Ahjar (Book of Stones).
3.
The Ten books on Rectification, containing
descriptions of Alchemist such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
4.
The books on Balance. This group includes his
famous “Theory of the balance in Nature.”
Jabir writes in “Book of Stones” (4:12)
that “the purpose is to baffle and lead into error everyone except those whom
God loves and provides for.”
Jabir, when he would talk about Alchemy,
used to say: “My master Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) taught me about calcium,
evaporation, distillation and crystallization and ever thing I learned in
Alchemy was from my master Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.)”. Other famous students of Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq were Imam Abu
Hanifa and Imam Malik ibn Anas. Imam Abu Hanifa is quoted by many sources as
having said: “My knowledge extends to only two years, which I spent with Imam
Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.). Some Islamic scholars have gone so far as to call Imam
Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) as the root of most of Islamic Jurisprudence, having
influence on Hanafi, Malikii and Shia schools of thought extending well into
the mainstream Hanbali and Shafi’i thought. Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq also attained
a surpassing knowledge in astronomy and the science of medicine.
THEORIES: Jabir’s Alchemy
investigations ostensibly revolved around the ultimate goal of “Takwin”-the artificial
creation of life. The book of Stones contained 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!
The
origin of the idea of chemical equivalence might be traced back to Jabir, in
whose time it was recognized that a certain amount of acid is necessary in order to neutralize a base.
According
to Jabir’s mercury-sulfur theory, metals differ from one another in so far as
they contain different proportions of mercury and sulfur.
Jabir’s
chemical investigations were theoretically grounded in an elaborate numerology
related to a Pythagorean and Neo-Platonism system. The nature and properties of
elements was defined through numeric values assigned the Arabic consonants
present in their names, ultimately culminating in number 17.
Jabir ibn Hayyan’s detailed discussion with
the Infallible Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) will be presented in “Jabir ibn
Hayyan, the illustrious student of Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) – 2
Sources
used:
Geber-Abu
Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan Crystalink
WIKIPEDIA
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