Jabir ibn Hayyan

Circa 725 - CIRCA 815

Alchemist

Sources

Scientific Method . Jabir ibn Hayyan is considered the father of modern chemistry because his work in alchemy led to the development of the scientific method. His books combine science, religion, astrology, and numerology (the belief in the esoteric symbolism of numbers and how they relate to things such as metals and other natural substances).

Life and Legacy . A member of the Azd tribe of southern Arabia, Jabir spent much of his youth in Kufah, in modern-day Iraq. During the reign of the Khalifah Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786-809), Jabir went to Baghdad, where he found employment at the court of this powerful and scholarly ruler. Though he is also known for his contributions to the studies of botany and agriculture, Jabir is remembered most for his long and widely influential Kitab al-Chemi (Book of Chemistry)—the source of the English words alchemy and chemistry. In it he began the tedious job of classifying natural substances into groups according to their physical qualities, gave detailed descriptions of scientific experiments, and—perhaps most important—set the pattern for the scientific method, by which scholars carefully document each of their experiments. After British scholar Robert of Chester translated this work into Latin in 1144, it had a major impact on the teaching of science in European universities, where Jabir was known as Geber. The influence of this text is still apparent in the Arabic derivations of many scientific terms and names for laboratory.

Sources

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study (London: World of Islam Festival Publishing, 1976).