The Father of Chemistry| The Life and Times of Jabir Ibn Hayyan

The Life and Times of Jabir 

The Life and Times Jabir Ibn Hayyan Jabir ibn Hayyan, born in 721AD and died in 815AD, was one if the most famous Islamic thinkers within the 8th and early 9th century.

Jabir was known for his major contributions to alchemy, modern day chemistry as well several other practical and philosophical works. Many of such work were translated throughout learning centers in the medical Europe under his name. Jabir authored so many books including; the 112 books, the ten rectifications, and the books of balance, the seventy books and much more. These books and many other books attributed to him confirm that his contributions to chemistry were indeed substantial. Jabir's major contributions to chemistry include but are not limited to: • Broadening the scope of the investigation, not just minerals but also materials, plants, and animals substances. • He emphasized the importance of practical knowledge gotten through experiment and experience. • Jabir can be credited for creating awareness on the importance of figures in understanding the entire universe. • He also advanced the scope of 21st-century investigations. • He studied the principle of balance in assessing all the properties of substances. • He introduced qualities like, warm, dry, wet, moist and cold, contributing to the Greek categories of life which are, fire, water, earth and air. • He brought about the artificial production of entities and phenomena which could otherwise made to occur naturally. Jabir's contributions to alchemy In medieval times, alchemy was the study of different ways to convert lead or metal into pure gold. Modern science has revealed that the hurdles such attempt face were not good enough to have been adequate Impediment on to the pursuit of alchemy discipline. The major part of his writings was attributed to alchemy, and his system was formulated to obscure phraseology, had unique characteristics when compared to other views by early authors on the subject. In Jabir's statement in the book of stones(4:12), he stated that the purpose is to lead and baffle into error everyone except those loved and provided for by God. His major focus in alchemy was transmutation. He designed an instrument which is similar to the modern day distiller which is for vaporization and condensation of liquids. Apart from that, he practiced filtration of liquids and polarization of various substances and also had a sensitive method of measuring alchemical experiments. His work was the most rigorous attempt in the Middle Ages to unfold quantitative system for natural sciences. His work in transmutation was not just about theories and symbols. He provided explicit descriptions of apparatus and alchemical processes. Jabir also studies various applications other that refinement of metals. Some other applications include preparation of steel, varnishes to waterproof attires, dyeing of cloth and leather, use of manganese dioxide in creating glass using iron pyrites for gold inscriptions distillation of vinegar so as to concentrate acetic acid. Jabir observed the imponderability of a magnetic force. Some books state that several decades after his death, large trucks of gold were discovered during a road construction that required the demolition of his house. This led the world to contemplate the possibility that Jabir may have made success in transmutation by changing the very nature of an element.