Jabir Bin Hayyan: The Father of Chemistry

INTRODUCTION:

internationally recognized and renowned polymaths who laid the foundations of the modern scientific knowledge. From 8th till 13th century, the world witnessed the grandeur of Muslim scientists and artists. One of the earliest and most celebrated scientists was Jabir Bin Hayyan; called Geber in the West. He has been titled “Father of Chemistry” due to his invaluable contribution to the field of chemistry 

He was an Arabic doctor and chemist. Jabber was the one who laid  the foundations for modern scientific chemistry. He studied under the great  teacher Imam Jaffar Alsadik.
Jabir bin Hayyan was born in 721 A.D. in the Persian city of Tus. He gained excellence in the fields of Alchemy, Astronomy, Physics, Pharmacy, Philosophy, Astrology, and Geography. He has been found to acknowledge the early works of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and Pythagoras, as well as, the prominent Muslim jurist Imam Jafar as-Sadiq’s knowledge on alchemy, chemistry, philosophy, and astronomy.

Books and Treatises:

Around 3000 books and treatises are attributed to the name of Jabir bin Hayyan. The topics are diverse in nature; ranging from music, magic, philosophy, logic and metaphysics to chemistry, alchemy, physics, medicine, astrology, geography, and astronomy.

The “Book of Seventy” is a collection of his various works like “Book of Venus”. Other noteworthy works of Jabir bin Hayyan include Book of Stones, Book of 112, Composition of Alchemy, Kitaab-ur-Rahmah, and Kitab-ut-Tajmee.

His research has been translated to many European languages, and has been used in western educational institutions for centuries. This is why he is called the ‘Father of Modern Chemistry’.

works and achievements: 

Other discoveries and Inventions:

Discovery of “caustic soda” 
He was First to evoke water gold.
He was First to introduce the method of separation of NaOH.
He was First to discover nitric acid.
He was First to discover hydrochloric acid .
He was First to retrieve the sulfuric acid and termed it Alzaj oil.
He Introduced improvements to the evaporation methods of liquidation,distillation,  fusion and crystallization.
He had been able to prepare a lot of chemicals like hydrated mercury and arsenous oxide.
He explained in detail how to prepare arsenic, antimony, and purification of metals  and dyeing of fabrics.
He manufactured incombustible paper.
He made some sort of paint that prevents iron rust.
He was the first to introduce the method of separating gold from silver solution by acids, which is the predominant mode to this day.

His LOVE TO HIS TEACHER Imam JAFFAR sadiq (R.A):

According to historians, Jabir respected his mentor Imam Jafar As-Sadiq a lot. To fulfil his teacher’s desire, Jabir bin Hayyan made revolutionary inventions including;

- A Substance that could rust proof iron surfaces, while waterproof cloth.

- A paper that couldn’t catch fire.

- An ink which could be seen and read in the dark (at night time).

Our Misery:

This man was one of the greatest geniuses ever born, but we Muslims totally ignored him. On the other hand the Europeans translated his work into their languages 
  and five hundred books and essays can be found in the national libraries of France, Germany and UK. The Europeans studied his books and continue his work 
  and they made more discoveries but we Muslims were aside from it and never tried  to focus on education and research that’s why we are standing at that 
point  where other world can defeat us in every field. Here we need to do researches,  hard work and get education to gain that glory which our ancestors have  achieved.
Jabir few Quotes:

• Make books your companions; let your bookshelves be your  gardens; bask in their beauty, gather their fruit, pluck their roses, take their  spices and
  myrrh

• In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second  listening, the third  remembering, the fouth practicing, the fifth -- teaching  others

• And
  when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon  the earth, which is of
  like nature; and the first voice which I uttered was  crying, as all others
  do.

• As long as a word remains unspoken, you are its master; once  you utter it, you are
  its slave.

THE BOOKS:

In total, nearly 3,000 treatises and articles are credited to Jabir ibn Hayyan.

• The 112 Books dedicated to the Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. This group includes the Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that proved a recurring foundation of and source for alchemical operations. In the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin (Tabula Smaragdina) and widely diffused among European alchemists.
• The Seventy Books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages. This group includes the Kitab al-Zuhra ("Book of Venus") and the Kitab Al-Ahjar ("Book of Stones").
• The Ten Books on Rectification, containing descriptions of alchemists such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
• The Books on Balance; this group includes his most famous 'Theory of the balance in Nature'.

MAX about GABER:

Max Meyerhoff states the following on Jabir ibn Hayyan: "His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic course of European alchemy and chemistry."

Max Meyerhoff states the following on Jabir ibn Hayyan: "His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic course of European alchemy and chemistry."

SOURCE : 

http://www.dar-e-butool.org/jabir-bin-hayyan.html

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://muslim-academy.com/jabir-bin-hayyan-the-father-of-chemistry/

Encyclopædia Britannica Online