Who is Jabir ibn Ḥayyān?
Q: Who is Jabir ibn Ḥayyān?
A: Jabir ibn Ḥayyān (Arabic: جابر بن حيان; Latin: Geber) was a writer of a great number of writings in Arabic, collectively known as the Jabirian corpus.
Q: What are some of the topics covered in the Jabirian corpus?
A: The most important subjects addressed in these writings are alchemy, cosmology, numerology, astrology, medicine, magic, mysticism and philosophy.
Q: What did Jabir's writings provide for the first time?
A: For the first time, Jabir's writings provided an explanation of how to produce an inorganic substance (ammonium chloride) from organic substances (such as plants, blood and hair).
Q: Is it likely that one person wrote all of the works attributed to "Jabir"?
A: Modern scholars doubt that one person wrote all of the works attributed to "Jabir". It is more likely that this was a pseudonym used by a group of writers.
Q: How did translations into Latin influence early modern chemists like Robert Boyle?
A: Translations into Latin of some of Jabir's Arabic writings (like the "Book of Mercy", and the "Book of Seventy") came into existence in the Middle Ages. In 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer called pseudo-Geber started producing new writings about alchemy under the name Geber. People still read his work Summa perfectionis magisterii in 17th century which had an influence on early modern chemists like Robert Boyle (1627–1691).
