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Chemistry
 Chemistry is a theoretical and practical science, which is
important to many technologies that rely on chemical
reactions and useful compounds. Artisans and scientists
contributed to theoretical and practical chemistry in Al-Andalus
during the time of Muslim rule and after, through
translation of books, discovery through experimentation, and
by artisans of Al-Andalus, whose traditions were passed on
to Spain and Portugal.
The
science of chemistry is often described as growing out of a
pseudo-science called alchemy. The word for both in Arabic
is
al-kimya. The goal of alchemy was to transform
matter, and especially to make gold out of base metals, to
find elixirs (in Arabic
al-iksir) that could ensure long life, and even
to try and create life. Even though later scientists
dismissed these goals as unreachable or forbidden,
alchemists learned a great deal about the natural elements
by trying to reach these goals.
 Alchemy
and chemistry in the Muslim tradition built on classical and
ancient foundations. The history of knowledge about
chemistry runs on a scale from ordinary to mysterious.
Al-Kindi distinguished investigation of substances from
alchemy, an important step toward science. Physicians
al-Razi (864-930 CE) and Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE) also wrote
and investigated chemical properties and processes,
discouraging alchemy, but encouraging scientific
investigation.
Jabir
ibn Hayyan (died ca. 808 or 815 CE) was an alchemist,
pharmacist, philosopher, astronomer, and physicist who is
called "the father of Arab chemistry" for his important
writings and discoveries. His works and techniques reached
Al-Andalus, where they were translated into Latin under the
name Geber. Jabir's treatises on chemistry became standard
texts in Europe.
The Book of Chemistry,
The Balances, and others were
translated by Robert of Chester (ca. 1144 CE) and Gerard of
Cremona (ca. 1187 CE) at Toledo. A 1545 CE printed edition
of Geber calls it “… Arabic chemical knowledge made
available to Latin reading people… the best Latin knowledge
of chemistry.”
 Among
Jabir ibn Hayyan’s achievements were describing the process
for making sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid
(using saltpeter). He invented
aqua regia, a substance that dissolves gold. This
discovery was important for extracting, purifying and
etching gold, but it was also key to alchemists’ efforts to
transmute metals into gold. He isolated citric acid (what
makes lemons sour), acetic acid (the acid in vinegar), and
tartaric acid (from fermented grapes). Jabir’s work in
chemistry resulted in improvements in metallurgy, dyeing and
pigments in paints and textiles, waterproof fabrics, leather
processing, and glassmaking. He discovered that adding
manganese dioxide removed the green tint from glass to make
it clear.
 Jabir
described how boiling wine released a flammable vapor, or
spirit. Al-Razi is credited with identifying ethanol, or
grain alcohol. The word alcohol in English derives from the
name given to this substance by Muslim chemists. It was
thought to come from
al-kuhl, black antimony powder. A more logical
derivation is the Arabic word
al-ghawl, spirit, or intoxicant (Qur’an 37:47),
source of the English word
ghoul.
Jabir’s
classification of elements into metals and non-metals laid
the foundation for chemical naming systems today. He divided
substances into three categories: "spirits" that turn to
vapor when heated; "metals," such as iron, copper, silver,
gold, zinc, mercury, and lead; and "stones" or minerals that
can be pounded into powdery form and used in many chemical
reactions. Alkaline substances such as natron (sodium
carbonate, or soda) and ash were widely used in
manufacturing during that period in glassmaking, textiles,
and soap.
The Balances describes weights of substances
based on a precise scale he designed and built which could
accurately weigh amounts 6,480 times smaller than a
kilogram.
Al-Majriti (d. 1007 CE) was a chemist from Madrid who built
upon the work in chemistry done in eastern Muslim lands, and
made his own achievements. His books, such as
The Rank of the Wise and
De Aluminibus, described his experiments in
synthetic chemistry, and formulas for purifying precious
metals. Al-Majriti was the first scientist to prove the
principle of conservation of mass.
Practical applications of chemistry in Al-Andalus were found
in all of the major industries. In mining, chemicals were
used to purify and refine metals from ore by heating or
mixing with other substances, and to process metal into
products. Glassware and ceramic industries in Al-Andalus
used sophisticated ovens and chemical substances to make
glass and glazes from silica, adding metal oxides to make
different colors. Minerals were made into acid and alkali
compounds used in manufacturing. Vegetable and animal oils
and even petroleum distillates (naptha:
al-naft, for example) were used for lighting and
solvents. Other artisans in Muslim lands used chemical
processes for refining gems, making fixatives for textile
and leather dyes, inks, paint, lacquer, and wood varnish.
Al-Andalus was a major center for processing flowers and
herbs for medicines and cosmetics, using different chemical
processes. Distillation (boiling and condensing) was one
process described in Arabic books of chemistry, shown in the
illustration. Others are subliming, crystallizing,
dissolving substances in the right concentration, and
preserving them in
alcohol or
syrup (both words from Arabic).
Hospitals and pharmacies in Al-Andalus used these skills and
recorded them in manuals and books. Perfumes, essential
oils, and cosmetics were made out of natural substances that
are weak in their natural form, and must be extracted and
concentrated. They also need to be attractive and pleasant
to apply to the body. In the cities of Al-Andalus,
perfumers’ shops were often located in streets near the main
mosque.
 Production of soap was widespread in Muslim lands during the
Medieval period. Soap is made by mixing oil or fat with an
alkaline substance (the Arabic word
al-kali is the origin), made from ashes of
certain plants. Emulsified, the mixture turns into solid
soap. Castile soap from Spain became famous, and the
Crusaders discovered soap-making centers in the eastern
Mediterranean lands. Olive oil became the preferred type of
oil for soap in Al-Andalus and around the Mediterranean.
Castile soap is still sold in stores today.
Gunpowder is a compound made of potassium nitrate, charcoal
powder, and other substances. It originated in China, where
it was used for fireworks and early types of rockets. Muslim
chemists experimented with this Chinese invention and wrote
formulas for making gunpowder. The book
Liber Ignium of Marcus Graecus, an early source
of gunpowder formulas in Europe, was probably translated
into Latin from an Arabic work found in Spain.
European scientist Roger Bacon published gunpowder recipes
that some historians believe were derived from Arab chemists
through these translations. There is evidence that gunpowder
weapons and rockets were used by Muslim forces during the
Crusades. Archaeological evidence of potassium nitrate has
been found in Egypt from the 12th and 13th
centuries CE. Syrian scholar Hassan Al-Rammah (d. 1295 CE)
wrote a book on military technology that was translated into
European languages. It explained how to purify potassium
nitrate, and contained recipes for making gunpowder with the
correct proportions to achieve an explosion. The first
documented rocket is included in the book, of which a model
is on exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum in
Washington.
Both
practical and theoretical knowledge of chemistry advanced in
Muslim lands, and was transmitted to Al-Andalus, where it
was further developed and transferred to those Europeans who
built upon the collective knowledge of many cultures to
create the science of chemistry as we know it today.
Further Reading:
Robert
E. Krebs.
Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and
Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Greenwood Press, 2004.
Ahmad
Y. al-Hassan and Donald Hill.
Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History.
Cambridge/UNESCO, 1986. pp. 133-176.
Images:
Woodcut
of chemistry apparatus, at Crystallinks: Alchemists, “Geber:
Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan,” retrieved at
http://www.crystalinks.com/geber.html
Woodcut
of al-Razi (Latin: Rhazes) from a Medieval book illustration
at
Chemistry Explained, retrieved at
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/A-Ar/Al-Razi-Abu-Bakr-Muhammed-ibn-Zakariya.html
Title
page of a Latin translation Jabir ibn Hayyan
Alchemiae Gebri. Bern, 1545, From
Alchemy to Chemistry: Five Hundred Years of Rare and
Interesting Books, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign Rare Book Room Exhibit, retrieved at
www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/exhibit/geber.htm
Blown
glass alembic from the virtual exhibit 1001 Inventions
at
http://www.1001inventions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=250
Jean
Kahler and Alena Shumway. Bars of soap, at “Castile Olive
Oil Soap,” Smith College Museum of Ancient Inventions,
retrieved at
http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/hsc07b.htm
Drawing
of a rocket in an Arabic manuscript, at the Foundation
for Science Technology and Civilization, retrieved at
http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=634
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