Jabir Ibn Haiyan, known as the alchemist Geber of the
Middle Ages, is generally known as the Father of Chemistry.
His full name was Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan. He had established himself as
one of the leading scientist while he practiced medicine and alchemy in Kufa
(in present day Iraq) around 776 C.E. In his early days, he was under the
patronage of the Barmaki Vizier during the Abbasid Caliphate of Haroon
al-Rashid. Jabir died in Kufa in 803 C.E.
Jabir's major contribution was in the field of Chemistry. He is famous for
writing more than one hundred monumental treatises, of which twenty-two deal
with chemistry and alchemy. He introduced experimental investigation into
alchemy (derived from Arabic word al-Kimiya), creating the momentum for the
modern chemistry. Jabir emphasized experimentation and development of
methods to achieve reproducibility in his work. He devoted his effort to the
development of basic chemical methods and the study of various mechanisms of
chemical reactions and thus helped evolve chemistry as a science from the
legends of alchemy. Jabir emphasized that definite quantities of various
substances are involved in a chemical reaction. Therefore, it can be said
that he paved the way for the law of constant proportions.
Jabir discovered mineral and others acids, which he prepared for the first
time in his alembic (Anbique). Apart from several contributions of basic
nature to alchemy, involving largely the preparation of new compounds and
development of chemical methods, he also developed a number of applied
chemical processes, thus becoming a pioneer in the field of applied science.
His achievements in this field include preparation of various metals,
development of steel, dyeing of cloth and tanning of leather, varnishing of
water-proof cloth, use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, prevention of
rusting, lettering in gold, identification of paints, greases, etc. He also
developed aqua regia to dissolve gold. The alembic is his great invention,
which made easy and systematic the process of distillation. Jabir was mostly
interested in experimentation and was well known for his accuracy in his
work.
Jabir's experimental ideas paved the way for now commonly known
classification of substances as metals, nonmetals and volatile substances.
He discussed three distinct types of substances based on their properties:
a) spirits, i.e., those which vaporize on heating, like camphor, arsenic and
ammonium chloride, b) metals, e.g., gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, and c)
compounds that can be converted into powders.
Although known as an alchemist, Jabir did not seem to have seriously pursued
the preparation of noble metals as an alchemist; instead he gave greater
attention to the development of basic chemical methods and study of
mechanisms of chemical reactions in themselves and thus helped evolve
chemistry as a science from the legends of alchemy. He stated that, in
chemical reactions, definite quantities of various substances are involved
and thus can be said to have paved the way for the law of constant
proportions.
Together with chemistry, Jabir was also interested in other sciences such as
medicine and astronomy, and had great achievements and contribution in these
fields. His books on chemistry, including his Kitab-al-Kimya, and Kitab al-Sab'een
were translated into Latin and various European languages. Wit these books
being translated to European languages, Jabir's books became famous in
Europe for several centuries and have influenced the evolution of modern
chemistry.
Jabir invented several technical terms, such as alkali, which are found
today in various European languages and have become part of scientific
vocabulary.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…
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