Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Jabir ibn Hayyan
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== The Jabirian corpus == There are about 600 Arabic works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan that are known by name,<ref>These are listed in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 203–210}}.</ref> approximately 215 of which are still extant today.<ref>{{harvnb|Lory|1983|p=51}}.</ref> Though some of these are full-length works (e.g., ''The Great Book on Specific Properties''),<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 148–152, 205}} (counted as one of the c. 600 works there).</ref> most of them are relatively short treatises and belong to larger collections (''The One Hundred and Twelve Books'', ''The Five Hundred Books'', etc.) in which they function rather more like chapters.<ref>{{harvnb|Lory|1983|pp=51–52}}; {{harvnb|Delva|2017|loc=p. 37, note n. 9}}.</ref> When the individual chapters of some full-length works are counted as separate treatises too,<ref>See, e.g., ''The Great Book on Specific Properties'', whose 71 chapters are counted by {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 148–152}} as nos. 1900–1970. Note, however, that this procedure is not always followed: e.g., even though ''The Book of the Rectifications of Plato'' consists of 90 chapters, it is still counted as only one treatise (Kr. no. 205, see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 64–67}}).</ref> the total length of the corpus may be estimated at 3000 treatises/chapters.<ref>This is the number arrived at by {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I}}. Kraus' method of counting has been criticized by {{harvnb|Nomanul Haq|1994|pp=11–12}}, who warns that "we should view with a great deal of suspicion any arguments for a plurality of authors which is based on Kraus' inflated estimate of the volume of the Jabirian corpus".</ref> The overwhelming majority of Jabirian treatises that are still extant today deal with [[alchemy]] or [[chemistry]] (though these may also contain religious speculations, and discuss a wide range of other topics ranging from [[History of cosmology|cosmology]] to [[Arabic grammar|grammar]]).<ref>See the section 'Alchemical writings' below. Religious speculations occur throughout the corpus (see, e.g., {{harvnb|Lory|2016a}}), but are especially prominent in ''The Five Hundred Books'' (see below). ''The Books of the Balances'' deal with alchemy from a philosophical and theoretical point of view, and contain treatises devoted to a wide range of topics (see below).</ref> Nevertheless, there are also a few extant treatises which deal with [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]], i.e., "the science of [[talisman]]s" (''ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt'', a form of [[theurgy]]) and "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ'', the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits).<ref>See the section 'Writings on magic (talismans, specific properties)' below. Kraus refers to ''ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt'' as "théurgie" ([[theurgy]]) throughout; see, e.g., {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 75, 143, ''et pass.''}} On "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ''), see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 61–95}}.</ref> Other writings dealing with a great variety of subjects were also attributed to Jabir (this includes such subjects as [[History of engineering|engineering]], [[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine]], [[History of pharmacy|pharmacology]], [[History of zoology through 1859|zoology]], [[History of botany|botany]], [[Logic in Islamic philosophy|logic]], [[History of metaphysics|metaphysics]], [[Mathematics in medieval Islam|mathematics]], [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|astronomy]] and [[Astrology in medieval Islam|astrology]]), but almost all of these are lost today.<ref>Only one full work (''The Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects'', ''Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā'', Kr. no. 2145, medical/pharmacological) and a long extract of another one (''The Book of Comprehensiveness'', ''Kitāb al-Ishtimāl'', Kr. no. 2715, philosophical) are still extant today; see the section 'Other writings' below, with {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|pp=264–265}}. {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|pp=268–269}} also lists 30 extant works which were not known to Kraus, and whose subject matter and place in the corpus has not yet been determined.</ref> === Alchemical writings <!-- [[Book of Mercy (alchemical treatise)]], [[One Hundred and Twelve Books]], [[Seventy Books]], [[Books of the Balances]], and [[Five Hundred Books]] all redirect here; please edit the redirect (via 'what links here') when changing the name of the section heading --> === {{Hermeticism|expand=Historical figures}} Note that [[Paul Kraus (Arabist)|Paul Kraus]], who first [[Cataloging|catalogued]] the Jabirian writings and whose numbering is followed here, conceived of his division of Jabir's alchemical writings (Kr. nos. 5–1149) as roughly chronological in order.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I}}. Kraus based this order on an extensive analysis of the many internal references to other treatises in the corpus. A slightly different chronological order is postulated by {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|pp=231–258}} (who places ''The Books of the Balances'' after ''The Five Hundred Books'', see pp. 252–253).</ref> * '''The Great Book of Mercy''' (''Kitāb al-Raḥma al-kabīr'', Kr. no. 5): This was considered by Kraus to be the oldest work in the corpus, from which it may have been relatively independent. Some 10th-century skeptics considered it to be the only authentic work written by Jabir himself.<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 5–9}}.</ref> The Persian physician, alchemist and philosopher [[Abu Bakr al-Razi|Abū Bakr al-Rāzī]] (c. 865–925) appears to have written a (lost) commentary on it.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. lx–lxi}}.</ref> It was [[Latin translations of the 12th century|translated into Latin]] in the 13th century under the title ''Liber Misericordiae''.<ref>Edited by {{harvnb|Darmstaedter|1925}}.</ref> * '''The One Hundred and Twelve Books''' (''al-Kutub al-miʾa wa-l-ithnā ʿashar'', Kr. nos. 6–122): This collection consists of relatively independent treatises dealing with different practical aspects of alchemy, often framed as an explanation of the symbolic allusions of the 'ancients'. An important role is played by [[Organic chemistry|organic]] alchemy. Its theoretical foundations are similar to those of ''The Seventy Books'' (i.e., the reduction of bodies to the elements fire, air, water and earth, and of the elements to the 'natures' hot, cold, moist, and dry), though their exposition is less systematic. Just like in ''The Seventy Books'', the quantitative directions in ''The One Hundred and Twelve Books'' are still of a practical and 'experimental' rather than of a theoretical and speculative nature, such as will be the case in ''The Books of the Balances''.<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 11}}.</ref> The first four treatises in this collection, i.e., the three-part ''Book of the Element of the Foundation'' (''Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss'', Kr. nos. 6–8, the second part of which contains an early version of the famous ''[[Emerald Tablet]]'' attributed to [[Hermes Trismegistus]])<ref>{{harvnb|Zirnis|1979|loc=pp. 64–65, 90}}. Jabir explicitly notes that the version of the ''Emerald Tablet'' quoted by him is taken from "Balīnās the Sage" (i.e., [[Pseudepigrapha|pseudo]]-[[Apollonius of Tyana]]), although it differs slightly from the (probably even earlier) version preserved in pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana's [[Sirr al-khaliqa|''Sirr al-khalīqa'']] (''The Secret of Creation''): see {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=46}}.</ref> and a commentary on it (''Tafsīr kitāb al-usṭuqus'', Kr. no. 9), have been translated into English.<ref>{{harvnb|Zirnis|1979}}. On some [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] aspects of ''The Book of the Element of the Foundation'', see {{harvnb|Lory|2016a}}.</ref> * '''The Seventy Books''' (''al-Kutub al-sabʿūn'', Kr. nos. 123–192) (also called ''The Book of Seventy'', ''Kitāb al-Sabʿīn''): This contains a systematic exposition of Jabirian alchemy, in which the several treatises form a much more unified whole as compared to ''The One Hundred and Twelve Books''.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 43–44}}.</ref> It is organized into seven parts, containing ten treatises each: three parts dealing with the preparation of the elixir from animal, vegetable, and mineral substances, respectively; two parts dealing with the four elements from a theoretical and practical point of view, respectively; one part focusing on the alchemical use of animal substances, and one part focusing on minerals and metals.<ref>{{harvnb|Forster|2018}}.</ref> It was translated into Latin by [[Gerard of Cremona]] (c. 1114–1187) under the title ''Liber de Septuaginta''.<ref>Edited by {{harvnb|Berthelot|1906|pp=310–363}}; the Latin translation of one of the seventy treatises (''The Book of the Thirty Words'', ''Kitāb al-Thalāthīn kalima'', Kr. no. 125, translated as ''Liber XXX verborum'') was separately edited by {{harvnb|Colinet|2000|pp=179–187}}. In the ms. used by Berthelot, the name of the translator appears as a certain ''Renaldus Cremonensis'' ({{harvnb|Berthelot|1906|p=310}}, cf. {{harvnb|Forster|2018}}). However, a medieval list of the works translated by Gerard of Cremona (Latin: ''Gerardus Cremonensis'') mentions the ''Liber de Septuaginta'' as one of the three alchemical works translated by the ''magister'' (see {{harvnb|Burnett|2001|p=280}}, cf. {{harvnb|Moureau|2020|pp=106, 111}}).</ref> * '''Ten books added to the Seventy''' (''ʿasharat kutub muḍāfa ilā l-sabʿīn'', Kr. nos. 193–202): The sole surviving treatise from this small collection (''The Book of Clarification'', ''Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ'', Kr. no. 195) briefly discusses the different methods for preparing the elixir, criticizing the philosophers who have only expounded the method of preparing the elixir starting from mineral substances, to the exclusion of vegetable and animal substances.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 63}}.</ref> * '''The Ten Books of Rectifications''' (''al-Muṣaḥḥaḥāt al-ʿashara'', Kr. nos. 203–212): Relates the successive improvements (“rectifications”, ''muṣaḥḥaḥāt'') brought to the art by such 'alchemists' as '[[Pythagoras]]' (Kr. no. 203), '[[Socrates]]' (Kr. no. 204), '[[Plato]]' (Kr. no. 205), '[[Aristotle]]' (Kr. no. 206), '[[Archigenes]]' (Kr. nos. 207–208), '[[Homer]]' (Kr. no. 209), '[[Democritus]]' (Kr. no. 210), [[Harbi al-Himyari|Ḥarbī al-Ḥimyarī]] (Kr. no. 211),<ref>Ḥarbī al-Ḥimyarī occurs several times in the Jabirian writings as one of Jabir's teachers. He supposedly was 463 years old when Jabir met him (see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. xxxvii}}). According to {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|p=127}}, the fact that Jabir dedicated a book to Ḥarbī's contributions to alchemy points to the existence in Jabir's time of a written work attributed to him.</ref> and Jabir himself (Kr. no. 212). The only surviving treatise from this small collection (''The Book of the Rectifications of Plato'', ''Kitāb Muṣaḥḥaḥāt Iflāṭūn'', Kr. no. 205) is divided into 90 chapters: 20 chapters on processes using only mercury, 10 chapters on processes using mercury and one additional 'medicine' (''dawāʾ''), 30 chapters on processes using mercury and two additional 'medicines', and 30 chapters on processes using mercury and three additional 'medicines'. All of these are preceded by an introduction describing the laboratory equipment mentioned in the treatise.<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 64–67}}. On the meaning here of ''muṣaḥḥaḥāt'', see esp. p. 64 n. 1 and the accompanying text. See also {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|loc=pp. 160–162, 167–168, 246–247}}.</ref> * '''The Twenty Books''' (''al-Kutub al-ʿishrūn'', Kr. nos. 213–232): Only one treatise (''The Book of the Crystal'', ''Kitāb al-Billawra'', Kr. no. 220) and a long extract from another one (''The Book of the Inner Consciousness'', ''Kitāb al-Ḍamīr'', Kr. no. 230) survive.<ref>{{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|p=248}}.</ref> ''The Book of the Inner Consciousness'' appears to deal with the subject of specific properties (''khawāṣṣ'') and with [[talisman]]s (''ṭilasmāt'').<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 69}}. On "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ'', i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits), see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 61–95}}.</ref> * '''The Seventeen Books''' (Kr. nos. 233–249); '''three treatises added to the Seventeen Books''' (Kr. nos. 250–252); '''thirty unnamed books''' (Kr. nos. 253–282); '''The Four Treatises''' and some related treatises (Kr. nos. 283–286, 287–292); '''The Ten Books According to the Opinion of Balīnās, the Master of Talismans''' (Kr. nos. 293–302): Of these, only three treatises appear to be extant, i.e., the ''Kitāb al-Mawāzīn'' (Kr. no. 242), the ''Kitāb al-Istiqṣāʾ'' (Kr. no. 248), and the ''Kitāb al-Kāmil'' (Kr. no. 291).<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 70–74}}; {{harvnb|Sezgin|1971|p=248}}.</ref> * '''The Books of the Balances''' (''Kutub al-Mawāzīn'', Kr. nos. 303–446): This collection appears to have consisted of 144 treatises of medium length, 79 of which are known by name and 44 of which are still extant. Though relatively independent from each other and devoted to a very wide range of topics ([[History of cosmology|cosmology]], [[Arabic grammar|grammar]], [[History of music theory|music theory]], [[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine]], [[Logic in Islamic philosophy|logic]], [[History of metaphysics|metaphysics]], [[Mathematics in medieval Islam|mathematics]], [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|astronomy]], [[Astrology in medieval Islam|astrology]], etc.), they all approach their subject matter from the perspective of "the science of the balance" (''ʿilm al-mīzān'', a theory which aims at reducing all phenomena to a system of measures and quantitative proportions).<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 75–76}}. The theory of the balance is extensively discussed by {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 187–303}}; see also {{harvnb|Lory|1989|pp=130–150}}.</ref> ''The Books of the Balances'' are also an important source for Jabir's speculations regarding the apparition of the "two brothers" (''al-akhawān''),<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 76}}; {{harvnb|Lory|1989|pp=103–105}}.</ref> a doctrine which was later to become of great significance to the Egyptian alchemist [[Muhammed ibn Umail al-Tamimi|Ibn Umayl]] (c. 900–960).<ref>{{harvnb|Starr|2009|pp=74–75}}.</ref> * '''The Five Hundred Books''' (''al-Kutub al-Khamsumiʾa'', Kr. nos. 447–946): Only 29 treatises in this collection are known by name, 15 of which are extant. Its contents appear to have been mainly religious in nature, with moral exhortations and alchemical allegories occupying an important place.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 100–101}}.</ref> Among the extant treatises, ''The Book of the Glorious'' (''Kitāb al-Mājid'', Kr. no. 706) and ''The Book of Explication'' (''Kitāb al-Bayān'', Kr. no. 785) are notable for containing some of the earliest preserved [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] [[Eschatology|eschatological]], [[Soteriology|soteriological]] and [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|imamological]] doctrines.<ref>{{harvnb|Corbin|1950}}; {{harvnb|Lory|2000}}.</ref> Intermittent extracts from ''The Book of Kingship'' (''Kitāb al-Mulk'', Kr. no. 454) exist in a Latin translation under the title ''Liber regni''.<ref>Edited and translated by {{harvnb|Newman|1994|pp=288–293}}.</ref> * '''The Books on the Seven Metals''' (Kr. nos. 947–956): Seven treatises which are closely related to ''The Books of the Balances'', each one dealing with one of Jabir's [[Metals of antiquity|seven metals]] (respectively gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, and ''khārṣīnī'' or "chinese metal"). In one manuscript, these are followed by the related three-part ''Book of Concision'' (''Kitāb al-Ījāz'', Kr. nos. 954–956).<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 111–116}}. On ''khārṣīnī'', see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 22–23}}. Excerpts from the first six ''Books on the Seven Metals'' (the ''Book of Gold'', the ''Book of Silver'', the ''Book of Copper'', the ''Book of Iron'', the ''Book of Tin'', and the ''Book of Lead'') and the full Arabic text of the seventh book (the ''Book of Khārṣīnī'') have been edited by {{harvnb|Watanabe|2023|pp=236–334}}.</ref> * '''Diverse alchemical treatises''' (Kr. nos. 957–1149): In this category, Kraus placed a large number of named treatises which he could not with any confidence attribute to one of the alchemical collections of the corpus. According to Kraus, some of them may actually have been part of ''The Five Hundred Books''.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 117–140}}.</ref> === Writings on magic (talismans, specific properties) === Among the surviving Jabirian treatises, there are also a number of relatively independent treatises dealing with "the science of [[talisman]]s" (''ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt'', a form of [[theurgy]]) and with "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ'', i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits).<ref>A number of non-extant treatises (Kr. nos. 1750, 1778, 1795, 1981, 1987, 1992, 1994) are also discussed by {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 142–154}}. Kraus refers to ''ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt'' as "théurgie" (theurgy) throughout; see, e.g., {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 75, 143, ''et pass.''}} On "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ''), see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 61–95}}.</ref> These are: * '''The Book of the Search''' (''Kitāb al-Baḥth'', also known as ''The Book of Extracts'', ''Kitāb al-Nukhab'', Kr. no. 1800): This long work deals with the philosophical foundations of [[theurgy]] or "the science of talismans" (''ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt''). It is also notable for citing a significant number of Greek authors: there are references to (the works of) [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Archimedes]], [[Galen]], [[Alexander of Aphrodisias]], [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], [[Themistius]], ([[Pseudepigrapha|pseudo]]-)[[Apollonius of Tyana]], and others.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 142–143}}.</ref> * '''The Book of Fifty''' (''Kitāb al-Khamsīn'', perhaps identical to ''The Great Book on Talismans'', ''Kitāb al-Ṭilasmāt al-kabīr'', Kr. nos. 1825–1874): This work, only extracts of which are extant, deals with subjects such as the theoretical basis of [[theurgy]], specific properties, [[astrology]], and [[demonology]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 146–147}}.</ref> * '''The Great Book on Specific Properties''' (''Kitāb al-Khawāṣṣ al-kabīr'', Kr. nos. 1900–1970): This is Jabir's main work on "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ''), i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits.<ref>On "the science of specific properties" (''ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ''), see {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 61–95}}.</ref> However, it also contains a number of chapters on "the science of the balance" (''ʿilm al-mīzān'', a theory which aims at reducing all phenomena to a system of measures and quantitative proportions).<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 148–152}}. The theory of the balance, which is mainly expounded in ''The Books of the Balances'' (Kr. nos. 303–446, see above), is extensively discussed by {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 187–303}}; see also {{harvnb|Lory|1989|pp=130–150}}.</ref> * '''The Book of the King''' (''Kitāb al-Malik'', kr. no. 1985): Short treatise on the effectiveness of [[talisman]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 153}}.</ref> * '''The Book of Black Magic''' (''Kitāb al-Jafr al-aswad'', Kr. no. 1996): This treatise is not mentioned in any other Jabirian work.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 154}}.</ref> === Other extant writings === Writings on a wide variety of other topics were also attributed to Jabir. Most of these are lost (see below), except for: * '''The Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects''' (''Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā'', Kr. no. 2145): on [[History of pharmacy|pharmacology]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 156–159}}; [[facsimile]] in {{harvnb|Siggel|1958}}.</ref> * '''The Book of Comprehensiveness''' (''Kitāb al-Ishtimāl'', Kr. no. 2715): a long extract of this philosophical treatise is preserved by the poet and alchemist [[Al-Tughrai|al-Ṭughrāʾī]] (1061–c. 1121).<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 165}}.</ref> === Lost writings === Although a significant number of the Jabirian treatises on alchemy and magic do survive, many of them are also lost. Apart from two surviving treatises (see immediately above), Jabir's many writings on other topics are all lost: * '''Catalogues''' (Kr. nos. 1–4): There are three [[Cataloging|catalogues]] which Jabir is said to have written of his own works (Kr. nos. 1–3), and one ''Book on the Order of Reading our Books'' (''Kitāb Tartīb qirāʾat kutubinā'', Kr. no. 4). They are all lost.<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 3–4}}.</ref> * '''The Books on Stratagems''' (''Kutub al-Ḥiyal'', Kr. nos. 1150–1449) and '''The Books on Military Stratagems and Tricks''' (''Kutub al-Ḥiyal al-ḥurūbiyya wa-l-makāyid'', Kr. nos. 1450–1749): Two large collections on 'mechanical tricks' (the Arabic word ''ḥiyal'' translates Greek μηχαναί, ''mēchanai'')<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, p. 141, note 1}}.</ref> and military [[History of engineering|engineering]], both lost.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 141–142}}.</ref> * '''[[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|Medical]] and [[History of pharmacy|pharmacological]] writings''' (Kr. nos. 2000–2499): Seven treatises are known by name, the only one extant being ''The Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects'' (''Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā'', Kr. no. 2145). Kraus also included into this category a lost treatise on [[History of zoology through 1859|zoology]] (''The Book of Animals'', ''Kitāb al-Ḥayawān'', Kr. no. 2458) and a lost treatise on [[History of botany|botany]] (''The Book of Plants'' or ''The Book of Herbs'', ''Kitāb al-Nabāt'' or ''Kitāb al-Ḥashāʾish'', Kr. no. 2459).<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 155–160}}.</ref> * '''Philosophical writings''' (''Kutub al-falsafa'', Kr. nos. 2500–2799): Under this heading, Kraus mentioned 23 works, most of which appear to deal with [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian philosophy]] (titles include, e.g., ''The Books of [[Logic in Islamic philosophy|Logic]] According to the Opinion of Aristotle'', Kr. no. 2580; ''The Book of [[Category of being|Categories]]'', Kr. no. 2582; ''The Book on [[History of hermeneutics|Interpretation]]'', Kr. no. 2583; ''The Book of [[History of metaphysics|Metaphysics]]'', Kr. no. 2681; ''The Book of the Refutation of Aristotle in his Book [[On the Soul]]'', Kr. no. 2734). Of one treatise (''The Book of Comprehensiveness'', ''Kitāb al-Ishtimāl'', Kr. no. 2715) a long extract is preserved by the poet and alchemist [[Al-Tughrai|al-Ṭughrāʾī]] (1061–c. 1121), but all other treatises in this group are lost.<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 161–166}}.</ref> * '''[[Mathematics in medieval Islam|Mathematical]], [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|astronomical]] and [[Astrology in medieval Islam|astrological]] writings''' (Kr. nos. 2800–2899): Thirteen treatises in this category are known by name, all of which are lost. Notable titles include a ''Book of Commentary on [[Euclid]]'' (''Kitāb Sharḥ Uqlīdiyas'', Kr. no. 2813), a ''Commentary on the Book of the Weight of the Crown by [[Archimedes]]'' (''Sharḥ kitāb wazn al-tāj li-Arshamīdas'', Kr. no. 2821), a ''Book of Commentary on the [[Almagest]]'' (''Kitāb Sharḥ al-Majisṭī'', Kr. no. 2834), a ''Subtle Book on [[Ephemeris|Astronomical Tables]]'' (''Kitāb al-Zāj al-laṭīf'', Kr. no. 2839), a ''Compendium on the [[Astrolabe]] from a Theoretical and Practical Point of View'' (''Kitāb al-jāmiʿ fī l-asṭurlāb ʿilman wa-ʿamalan'', Kr. no. 2845), and a ''Book of the Explanation of the Figures of the [[Zodiac]] and Their Activities'' (''Kitāb Sharḥ ṣuwar al-burūj wa-afʿālihā'', Kr. no. 2856).<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 167–169}}.</ref> * '''Religious writings''' (Kr. nos. 2900–3000): Apart from those known to belong to ''The Five Hundred Books'' (see above), there are a number of religious treatises whose exact place in the corpus is uncertain, all of which are lost. Notable titles include ''Books on the [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] Schools of Thought'' (''Kutub fī [[madhhab|madhāhib]] al-shīʿa'', Kr. no. 2914), ''Our Books on the [[Metempsychosis|Transmigration of the Soul]]'' (''Kutubunā fī l-tanāsukh'', Kr. no. 2947), ''The Book of the [[Imamate]]'' (''Kitāb al-Imāma'', Kr. no. 2958), and ''The Book in Which I Explained the [[Torah]]'' (''Kitābī alladhī fassartu fīhi al-tawrāt'', Kr. no. 2982).<ref>All of the preceding in {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. I, pp. 170–171}}.</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Jabir ibn Hayyan
(section)
Add topic