Arab scientists are considered the first to discover and isolate several new acids, such as nitric acid and sulfuric acid, using new devices such as the alembic, and chemical processes such as special distillation. Jabir ibn Hayyan manufactured the most important mineral acids, such as nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid, and they remained among the most important compounds in the chemical industry for more than a thousand years.
Alchemy and chemistry in the era of Islamic civilization
Al-Khwarizmi says in his book Keys to Science:
The name of this industry, chemistry, is Arabic, and its derivation is from, “how much is concealed,” if he conceals it, and it is said, “how much the testimony is concealed, if he conceals it.”
This name refers to the study of both alchemy (ancient chemistry) and modern practical chemistry by Muslim scholars and the Islamic world during the Middle Ages. The word alchemy itself is derived from the Arabic word “chemistry.”
After the fall of the Roman Empire, chemical development shifted and was concentrated in the Arab Empire and Islamic civilization. Much of what is known about Islamic alchemy actually comes from writings descended over the years and preserved as Arabic translations. The study of alchemy and chemistry often overlapped in the early Islamic world, but later conflicts arose between traditional alchemists and practical alchemists who rejected alchemy. Muslim alchemists and alchemists are considered to be the first to use the experimental scientific method (as practiced in modern chemistry), while Muslim alchemists theorized about the transmutation of metals, the philosopher's stone, and synthesis (artificial life of life in the laboratory) as was the case with alchemy in medieval Europe. , although these alchemical theories were rejected by practical Muslim alchemists in the ninth century onwards.
Muslims knew the works of alchemists written in Greek, and they were mostly concerned with metals, especially the attempt to produce gold from base metals, or with the idea of prolonging life and preserving youth. During the eighth century AD, the personality of Jabir ibn Hayyan emerged (around the year 815 AD), who is considered the greatest of the Arab alchemists, and about five hundred books are attributed to him, many of which deal with the two aforementioned topics (the production of gold and prolonging life). After Jabir ibn Hayyan, the famous physician Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakaria al-Razi emerged. He had superior mental ability, and he turned from theoretical alchemy to practical chemistry, as is evident in his book “Al-Asrar,” in which he revealed his denial of attempts to produce gold and silver or prolong life. The most famous chemical works after that are those attributed to the Andalusian scientist Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti (ca. The year 1008 AD), then the Egyptian book of Aydmar al-Jaldaki (around the year 1342 AD), and all of these books remained the primary reference for Europeans until recently the modern era.
Al-Razi explained in his book “Al-Asrar” the materials, devices, and machines he used in his laboratory, many of which were mentioned in European translations with their Arabic names. The operations conducted by Al-Razi included: distillation, calcination, dissolution, evaporation, crystallization, sublimation, filtration, and waxing. As for industrial chemistry, it is clear that the Arabs preceded the Europeans by centuries in distilling alcohol, extracting various types of oils, manufacturing perfumes, extracting and refining oil (before it gained global importance), and preparing acids and alkalis.
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