Journal for the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3 (1979)
Summary: Seyyed Hossein Nasr examines the development of chemistry in the medieval Islamic world, focusing on two influential figures: Jābir ibn Hayyān and Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī. Nasr argues that Islamic alchemy was originally a spiritual and philosophical discipline in which the transformation of materials symbolised the transformation of the human soul. While Jābir approached the natural world through a combination of experimentation, symbolism and religious philosophy, al-Rāzī increasingly treated substances and chemical processes as physical realities that could be studied independently of their spiritual meanings. Nasr identifies this change as a crucial step towards the emergence of chemistry as a distinct science, although he emphasises that alchemy and chemistry continued to coexist in Islamic civilisation. The study also examines how religious and philosophical disagreements, particularly concerning prophecy and the interpretation of nature, influenced their different approaches. Ultimately, Nasr presents the birth of chemistry as not simply a technological or experimental development, but a transformation in how medieval scholars understood the relationship between matter, nature and the spiritual world.
Our thanks to the editors of the Journal for the History of Arabic Sciences for their permission to republish this article. This journal was based out of the University of Aleppo and ceased publication due to the Syrian Civil War. Top Image: Stained-glass window depicting al-Razi (Princeton University Chapel, c. 1924–1928) – Wikimedia Commons
Islamic Alchemy and the Birth of Chemistry
By Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Journal for the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3 (1979)
Summary: Seyyed Hossein Nasr examines the development of chemistry in the medieval Islamic world, focusing on two influential figures: Jābir ibn Hayyān and Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī. Nasr argues that Islamic alchemy was originally a spiritual and philosophical discipline in which the transformation of materials symbolised the transformation of the human soul. While Jābir approached the natural world through a combination of experimentation, symbolism and religious philosophy, al-Rāzī increasingly treated substances and chemical processes as physical realities that could be studied independently of their spiritual meanings. Nasr identifies this change as a crucial step towards the emergence of chemistry as a distinct science, although he emphasises that alchemy and chemistry continued to coexist in Islamic civilisation. The study also examines how religious and philosophical disagreements, particularly concerning prophecy and the interpretation of nature, influenced their different approaches. Ultimately, Nasr presents the birth of chemistry as not simply a technological or experimental development, but a transformation in how medieval scholars understood the relationship between matter, nature and the spiritual world.
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Our thanks to the editors of the Journal for the History of Arabic Sciences for their permission to republish this article. This journal was based out of the University of Aleppo and ceased publication due to the Syrian Civil War. Top Image: Stained-glass window depicting al-Razi (Princeton University Chapel, c. 1924–1928) – Wikimedia Commons
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