In the year 721 CE, when a pharmacist named Hayyan, residing in the city of Tus in the region of Khorasan, received the news of the birth of his son, it was not only his household that was enlivened by the arrival of this newborn, but the world also gained a scholar who would pave the way for the advancement of science for the benefit of humanity. The father named the newborn child Jabir. However, due to the political turmoil of the time, Hayyan was executed in 725, leaving Jabir an orphan at a very young age.
Little is known about the life of this great scholar, but historical records indicate that he spent a significant part of his life in Kufah. Jabir ibn Hayyan mentioned the names of his teachers in his works, allowing some of them to be identified. Among these were Harbi al-Himyari, a teacher known only by the epithet Udhun al Himar al-Mantiqi, and a priest who was a student of Marinus of Neapolis. However, the most influential teacher in Jabir ibn Hayyan’s life was the renowned scholar Ja‘far al-Sadiq, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), whom he encountered in Kufah. Jabir ibn Hayyan referred to his teacher as “the source of wisdom” and shaped his intellect largely based on what he learned from him. Under the influence of Ja‘far al Sadiq’s knowledge and the conducive environment of the time, Jabir ibn Hayyan turned his focus to the field of chemistry. In pursuit of furthering his chemistry research, he later moved to Baghdad. There, with the support of the famous Barmakid family, who served as viziers to the Abbasids, he conducted extensive scientific studies for an extended period. Historical sources also suggest that he undertook long journeys, traveling to regions such as Syria, Egypt, and India. However, after the Barmakid family was removed from power due to political disputes in Baghdad, Jabir ibn Hayyan returned to Kufah, where he stayed until his death.
So, what kind of legacy did Jabir ibn Hayyan leave in the history of science?
The father of modern chemistry
Jabir ibn Hayyan’s name is mentioned alongside figures like Boyle, Priestley, and Lavoisier— the founding fathers of modern chemistry—for a reason. During the Middle Ages, when people were primarily engaged in alchemy, Jabir ibn Hayyan had already employed the experimental method centuries before these Western chemists. For this reason, he is referred to as the father of modern chemistry.
Jabir ibn Hayyan recognized the importance of the experimental method in his scientific work in the field of chemistry and applied it successfully. In his work Mukhtar Rasa’il, he explicitly expressed an idea that would only become prominent in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries: “In this book, we have mentioned not what we heard, what was told to us, or what we read, but only the properties of things we observed after experimentation.”
This Muslim scholar, through his work, became the developer of numerous chemical compounds, various instruments used in experiments, and the chemical experimentation process itself. This is precisely one of the reasons why historians of science consider him the founder of modern chemistry.
The theories of Jabir ibn Hayyan
The work of Jabir ibn Hayyan was naturally rooted in the philosophy of nature, which remained influential from antiquity to the modern age. This philosophy was based on the understanding of the microcosm (human) and the macrocosm (universe) as well as the idea of the influence of celestial forces on the earthly realm. Additionally, Jabir ibn Hayyan placed great emphasis on measurement and experimentation, following in the footsteps of Pythagoras. He argued that the material world operated according to a mathematically structured order.
According to Jabir ibn Hayyan, the essence of all metals is a reflection of the signs of celestial bodies on Earth, and in this respect, they are merely unearthly substances of essence. He proposed that all metals are formed as a result of the combination of sulfur and mercury in varying proportions, under the influence of celestial forces. Among these combinations, the most perfect metal was gold. His assertion that metals possess not only physical but also spiritual properties may seem unusual to modern people. However, centuries before contemporary science recognized the concept of vibrations in matter, Jabir ibn Hayyan had expressed this idea in his own terminology.
Another study of Jabir ibn Hayyan was his classification of substances. According to this classification, substances were divided into three groups, these were; spirits (substances that are entirely volatile when exposed to fire), metals (substances that produce sound and possess luster and can be hammered or shaped), and objects (substances that can either melt or remain unmelted).
Jabir ibn Hayyan’s contributions to the modern era
Jabir ibn Hayyan made significant contributions to the chemical industry, including advancements in metalworking, fabric and leather dyeing, the production of durable textiles, the use of iron pyrite to write on gold, the distillation of vinegar to concentrate acetic acid, and the development of techniques for glassmaking. In addition, he studied and explained the use and oxidation of various metals, as well as the structures of toxic substances such as arsenic. He also invented the distillation apparatus, which is considered indispensable in the field of chemistry.
Another significant discovery by Jabir ibn Hayyan was the production of “aqua regia” (royal water). Aqua regia is particularly important because, while many acids exist in chemistry, they cannot dissolve substances like platinum and gold.
However, the aqua regia introduced by Jabir ibn Hayyan could interact with and dissolve these highly resilient metals, such as gold and platinum.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Jabir ibn Hayyan’s work was his insights about the atom, which would only be fully understood in the 19th and 20th centuries. As early as the 8th century, he possessed the scientific knowledge to state the following about the atom: “In the smallest part of matter (indivisible particle, or atom), there is an intense power. It cannot be definitively said that this small particle cannot be divided further. It, too, can be split, and when it is, such a force is released that it could overturn all of Baghdad. This is a sign of Allah’s power.”
This deeply knowledgeable and accomplished scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, passed on in 815 in the city of Kufah, Iraq. As evidence of a life devoted to science, he left behind over one hundred books, twenty-two of which were specifically related to chemistry. Some of his notable works include: Kutub al-Sab‘in (The Seventy Books), Kitab al-Khawass al-Kabir (On Great Properties), Kutub al-Ajsad al-Sab‘a (On the Seven Metals), Kitab al-Nur (On Light), Kitab al-Ahjar (On Stones), Kitab al-Durrah al-Maknuna (On Precious Stones), Kitab al-Usul (On Methods), Kitab al-Mizan (On Balance).
Jabir ibn Hayyan was also recognized in the Western world as a master in the field of chemistry and became renowned under the name “Geber.” The collection of chemical works derived from translations of Jabir ibn Hayyan’s writings, which emerged in the 13th and 14th centuries, played a pivotal role in the development of modern chemistry over the following six centuries. One of the most striking pieces of evidence of his influence is the origin of the English word “alchemy,” which is derived from the Arabic term “al-kimiya” as a direct result of Jabir ibn Hayyan’s work. The historian and archaeologist Mayerhoff stated unequivocally, “The development of chemistry in Europe is directly based on Jabir”. In recognition of his contributions to chemistry, NASA named a crater on the Moon “Geber Crater”.
