Alchemy according to Ibn Khaldun
azo charif
by
Dr. A. Zahoor
Ibn Khaldun is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology
and Sciences of History. He is best known for his famous 'Muqaddimah,'
(Prolegomena). Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mohammad, generally known as Ibn Khaldun
after a remote ancestor, was born in Tunis in 732 A.H. (1332 C.E.) to an
upper class family that had migrated from Seville in Muslim Spain. His
ancestors were Yemenite Arabs who settled in Spain in the very beginning of
Muslim rule in the eighth century.
During his formative years, Ibn Khaldun experienced his family's active
participation in the intellectual life of the city, and to a lesser degree,
its political life. He was used to frequent visits to his family by the
political and intellectual leaders of western Islamic states (i.e., North
Africa and Spain), many of whom took refuge there. Ibn Khaldun was educated
at Tunis and Fez, and studied the Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad's Traditions and
other branches of Islamic studies such as Dialectical theology, shari'a
(Islamic Law of Jurisprudence, according to the Maliki School). He also
studied Arabic literature, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. While
still in his teens, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Sultan
Barquq.
Ibn Khaldun led a very active political life before he finally settled down
to write his well-known masterpiece on history. He worked for rulers in
Tunis and Fez (in Morocco), Granada (in Muslim Spain) and Biaja (in North
Africa). In 1375, Ibn Khaldun crossed over to Muslim Spain (Granada) as a
tired and embittered man solely for the reasons of escaping the turmoil in
North Africa. Unfortunately, because of his political past, the ruler of
Granada expelled him. He then went back to Algeria to spend four years in
seclusion in Qalat Ibn Salama, a small village. It was in Qalat he wrote
Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world history that won him an immortal
place among historians, sociologists and philosophers. The uncertainty of
his career continued because of unrest in North Africa. Finally, he settled
in Egypt where he spent his last twenty-four years. Here, he lived a life of
fame and respect, marked by his appointment as the Chief Malakite Judge. He
also lectured at the Al-Azhar University.
Ibn Khaldun had to move from one court to another, sometimes at his own
will, but often forced to do so by plotting rivals or despotic rulers. He
learnt much from his encounters with rulers, ambassadors, politicians and
scholars from North Africa, Muslim Spain, Egypt and other parts of the
Muslim world.
Ibn Khaldun is most famous for his book 'Muqaddimah' (Introduction). It is a
masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The main
theme of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic,
environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human
civilization and the currents of history. He analyzed the dynamics of group
relationships and showed how group feelings, al-'Asabiyya, produce the
ascent of a new civilization and political power. He identified an almost
rhythmic repetition of the rise and fall in human civilization, and analyzed
factors contributing to it.
Ibn Khaldun's revolutionary views have attracted the attention of Muslim
scholars as well as many Western thinkers. In his study of history, Ibn
Khaldun was a pioneer in subjecting historical reports to the two basic
criteria of reason and social and physical laws. He pointed out the
following four essential points in the study and analysis of historical
reports: (1) relating events to each other through cause and effect, (2)
drawing analogy between past and present, (3) taking into consideration the
effect of the environment, and (4) taking into consideration the effect of
inherited and economic conditions.
Ibn Khaldun's pioneered the critical study of history. He provided an
analytical study of human civilization, its beginning, factors contributing
to its development and the causes of decline. Thus, he founded a new
science: the science of social development or sociology, as we call it
today. Ibn Khaldun writes, "I have written on history a book in which I
discussed the causes and effects of the development of states and
civilizations, and I followed in arranging the material of the book an
unfamiliar method, and I followed in writing it a strange and innovative
way." By selecting his particular method of analysis, he created two new
sciences: Historiology and Sociology simultaneously.
Ibn Khaldun argued that history is subject to universal laws and states the
criterion for historical truth: "The rule for distinguishing what is true
from what is false in history is based on its possibility or impossibility:
That is to say, we must examine human society and discriminate between the
characteristics which are essential and inherent in its nature and those
which are accidental and need not be taken into account, recognizing further
those which cannot possibly belong to it. If we do this, we have a rule for
separating historical truth from error by means of demonstrative methods
that admits of no doubt. It is a genuine touchstone by which historians may
verify whatever they relate."
Because of his emphasis on reason and its necessity in judging history and
social events, some scholars have claimed that Ibn Khaldun tried to refute
conventional religious knowledge and substitute for it reason and rational
philosophy. This claim is unfounded. It is known that some schools teach
things which are irrational in nature. But this is not true of Islam which
has always encouraged observation and thinking, and reminded the
nonbelievers for not using their reason and thinking. An example is the
Verse 164, Chapter 2 of the Qur'an: "Behold! In the creation of the heavens
and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing
of the ships through the ocean for the benefit of mankind; in the rain which
God sends down from the skies; and the life which He gives therewith to an
earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that he scatters through the
earth; in the change of winds and the clouds which they trail like slaves
between the sky and the earth; - (here) indeed are signs for people that are
wise and think." Qur'an 2:170: "When it is said to them: "Follow what God
hath revealed." They say, "Nay: We shall follow the ways of our fathers."
What! even though their fathers were devoid of wisdom or reason and
guidance?"
Ibn Khaldun remarked that the role of religion is in unifying the Arabs and
bringing progress and development to their society. He pointed out that
injustice, despotism, and tyranny are clear signs of the downfall of the
state. Ibn Khaldun points out that metaphysical philosophy has one advantage
only, which is to sharpen one's wits. He states that the knowledge of the
metaphysical world particularly in matters of belief can only be derived
from revelation.
He was a pioneer in education. He remarked that suppression and use of force
are enemies to learning, and that they lead to laziness, lying and
hypocrisy. He also pointed out to the necessity of good models and practice
for the command of good linguistic habits. Ibn Khaldun lived in the
beginning period of the decline of Muslim civilization. This experience
prompted him to spend most of his efforts on collecting, summarizing and
memorization of the body of knowledge left by the ancestors. He vehemently
attacked those unhealthy practices that created stagnation and stifling of
creativity by Muslim scholars.
Ibn Khaldun emphasized the necessity of subjecting both social and
historical phenomena to scientific and objective analysis. He noted that
those phenomena were not the outcome of chance, but were controlled by laws
of their own, laws that had to be discovered and applied in the study of
society, civilization and history. He remarked that historians have
committed errors in their study of historical events, due to three major
factors: (l) Their ignorance of the natures of civilization and people, (2)
their bias and prejudice, and (3) their blind acceptance of reports given by
others.
Ibn Khaldun pointed out that true progress and development comes through
correct understanding of history, and correct understanding can only be
achieved by observing the following three main points. First, a historian
should not be in any way prejudiced for or against any one or any idea.
Second, he needs to conform and scrutinize the reported information. One
should learn all one could about the historians whose reports one hears or
reads, and one should check their morals and trustworthiness before
accepting their reports. Finally, one should not limit history to the study
of political and military news or to news about rulers and states. For
history should include the study of all social, religious, and economic
conditions.
The Muqaddimah was already recognized as an important work during the
lifetime of Ibn Khaldun. His other volumes on world history Kitab al-I'bar
deal with the history of Arabs, contemporary Muslim rulers, contemporary
European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians,
Islamic History, Egyptian history and North-African history, especially that
of Berbers and tribes living in the adjoining areas. The last volume deals
largely with the events of his own life and is known as Al-Tasrif. As with
his other books, it was also written from an analytical perspective and
initiated a new tradition in the art of writing autobiography. He also wrote
a book on mathematics which is not extant.
Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy of history,
sociology, political science and education has remained paramount down to
our times. He is also recognized as the leader in the art of autobiography,
a renovator in the fields of education and educational psychology and in
Arabic writing stylistics. His books have been translated into many
languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired subsequent
development of these sciences. Prof. Gum Ploughs and Kolosio consider
Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship to Machiavelli's The Prince written a
century later, as the former bases the diagnosis more on cultural,
sociological, economic and psychological factors.
An abridged and edited version of The Muqaddimah, An Introduction to
History, is published by the Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series,
Fifth Printing, 1981.
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Alchemy in Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah
Definition: Ibn Khalddun defines alchemy as "the science that studies the
substance through which the generation of gold and silver may be
artificially accomplished, and comments on the operation leading to it". The
alchemists acquire knowledge of the tempers and powers of all created
things, and they hope that they may come upon the substance that is prepared
to produce gold and silver. They even investigate the waste matter of
animals, such as bones, feathers, hair, eggs, and excrement, not to mention
minerals.
Alchemy in Ibn Khalddun's opinion, comments on the operations through which
such a substance may transformed from potentiality into actuality, as for
example, by the dissolution of bodies (substances) into their natural
components through sublimation and distillation, by the solidification of
meltable substances through calcification, by the pulverization of solid
materials with the help of pestles and mullers and similar things, the
alchemists assume that all techniques lead to the production of a natural
substance which they call "the elixir", and when some mineral substance,
such as lead, tin or copper is heated in fire and some quantity of the
elixir is added to it, the substance turns into pure gold. The alchemists
used special terms for the purpose of mystification - they give the cover
name of 'spirit' to the elixir and that of 'body' to the substance to which
the elixir is added.
The science that comments on this technical terminology and on the form of
the technical operation by which proposed substances are turned into the
form of gold and silver, is the science of alchemy.
The chief systematic writer on alchemy, according to alchemists, is Jabir
ibn Hayyan. Alchemists even consider Jabir's alchemy a special preserve and
call it "the science of Jabir". He wrote seventy treatises on alchemy, all
of them read like puzzles. It is thought that only those who know all that
is in Jabir Ibn Hayyan's treatises can unlock the secrets of alchemy.
Al-Tughrai, a recent Eastern philosopher, wrote systematic works on alchemy
and disputations with alchemists and philosophers.
Maslamah al-Majriti, a spanish philosopher, wrote on alchemy in the Rutbat
al-Hakim. He wrote the Rutbah as a counterpart to his work on sorcery and
talismas entitled Ghayat al-Hakim. He thought that the two arts (alchemy and
sorcery) were both the results and fruits of philosophy and science, and
that those who were not acquainted with them would miss the fruit of
scholarship and philosophy altogether.
Maslamah's discussion in the Rutbah and the discussions of all (alchemists)
in their respective works employ puzzling means of expression which are
difficult to understand for those who have not familiarized themselves with
the technical terminology of alchemists.
Works on alchemy are attributed to al-Ghazzili, but this attribution is not
correct, because al-Ghazzali's lofty perceptions would not have permitted
him to study, or, eventually, to adopt the errors of alchemical theories.
Some alchemical theories and opinions are occasionally attributed to Khalid
b. Yazid b. Mu'iwiyah, a stepson of Marwan ibn al-Hakam.
Ibm Khaldun passes on here an epistle on alchemy written by Bakr b. Bishrun
to Ibn as-Samh. Both were pupils of Maslamah. The discussion of (Ibn
Bishrun) will show Ibn Khaldun's attitude toward alchemy.
Ibn Bishrun's Treatise - [Extracts]
Ibn Bishrun said that: "The premises of this noble craft were mentioned by
the ancients. All of them were reported by the philosophers. Such premises
are knowledge of the generation of minerals, of the creation of rocks and
precious stones, and of the different natures of regions and localities."
Ibn Bishron explains what one needs to know of this craft?
"It has been said: The students of this science must first know three
things: (1) whether exists, (2) what brings it into being, and (3) how it
comes into being. If the student of alchemy knows these three things well,
he achieves his object and knows as much as can be known about this
science."
As to the problem of the existence of alchemy and the proofs for the
(forces) that bring alchemy into existence, the elixir that we have sent to
you is a satisfying answer. "The question of what brings alchemy into being
implies, according to alchemists, search for the stone that makes the
(alchemical) operation possible."
Potentially, the operation may be performed with any (conceivable) thing,
because the (potentiality to perform the operation) comes from the four
natures (elements). It originated from their composition at the beginning
and will revert to them at the end.
However, there are things that might be used for the operation (only)
potentially, not actually. This comes about as follows: There are some
things that can be decomposed. There are others that cannot be decomposed.
Those that can be decomposed can be processed and treated. They are the
things that can be transformed from potentiality into actuality.
On the other hand, the things that cannot be decomposed cannot be processed
and treated, because they have nothing but potentiality in them. They cannot
be decomposed, in order to give some of the elements they contain an
advantage over the others and to have the power of the bigger (elements)
predominate over the lesser ones.
You - may God give you success - must therefore know the most suitable of
the decomposable stones that can be used for the operation. You must know
its genus, power, action, and which kind of dissolution or solidification,
purification, calcification, absorption, or transformation it may be able to
effect. People who do not know these basic principles of alchemy will never
be successful or achieve any good results.
You must know whether (the stone) can be aided by something else or is
sufficient by itself, and whether it is one (thing by itself) at the
beginning or is associated with something else and becomes one (thing by
itself) during the treatment, and is therefore called 'stone'. You must also
know how it works; how much its components must weigh and what times need
for it; how the spirit is inserted and the soul made to enter into it;
whether fire can separate (the soul) from (the stone) after it has been
inserted; if not, why (not), and what makes it necessary that it be that
way.
It should be realized that all philosophers have praised the soul and
thought that it is the soul that governs, sustains, and defends the body and
is active in it. For, when the soul leaves the body, the body dies and gets
cold. It cannot move or defend itself, because there is no life in it and no
light. I have mentioned the body and the soul only because this alchemy
almost is similar to the body which is built up by regular foods and which
persists and is perfected by the living, luminous soul, which enables the
body to do the great and mutual things that only the living power of the
soul can do. Man suffers from the differences of his component elements. If
these elements were in complete harmony, it will not affected by accidents
and contradictions, so the soul would not be able to leave his body, as a
result man would then live endless. Praised be He who governs all things, He
is exalted.
It should be realized that the natures (elements) producing the (alchemical)
operation constitute a quality that pushes forward at the beginning, and
must reach end. When they have reached this limit, they cannot be
transformed (back) into the (state) that (formed the starting point of)
their composition, as we stated at the out-set with regard to man.
The natures of the substance had been separate, but now they adhere to each
other and have become one thing, similar to the soul in power and activity,
become one and similar to the body in having composition and pulse.
An early alchemists has said that: "Decomposition and division mean life and
duration, as far as the alchemical operation is concerned, while composition
means death and non being." This statement has a subtle meaning. The
philosopher meant by 'life and duration' its transformation from
nonexistence into existence. As long as it remains in (the state of) its
first composition, it is, no doubt, non being. But when the second
composition takes place, non being no longer exists.
Now, the second composition comes about only after decomposition and
division. Thus, decomposition and division are peculiar to the (alchemical)
operation. If it is applied to the soluble body (substance), it spreads in
it, because it has no form, since it has come to take in the body the place
of the soul which has no form. This is because it has no weight as far as
(the substance) is concerned.
You must know that mixing a fine thing with another fine thing is easier
than mixing a coarse thing with another coarse thing. This similarity in
form among spirits (on the one hand) and bodies (substances, on the other
hand),because things related to their forms.. I mention this to you, so that
you may know that the alchemical operations is more easier and simpler if it
is undertaken with fine spiritual elements than if it is undertaken with
coarse substances. It is logical that stones are stronger in their
resistance to fire than spirits. Likewise, gold, iron, and copper are
observed to offer more resistance to fire than sulphur, mercury, and other
spirits.
Therefore, I say: The substances were spirits at the beginning. When the
heat of the natural process affects them, they are transformed by it into
coarse, coherent substances and fire is not able to consume them, because
they are exceedingly coarse and coherent. When an exceedingly great amount
of fire is applied to them, it turns them again into spirits, as they had
been when they were first created. If fire (then again) affects the fine
spirits, they flee and are not able to endure it. Thus, you must know what
brought the substances to their particular condition and (what) brought the
spirits to theirs. That is the most important knowledge you can have.
I say: The spirits are burned, because of their combustibility and fineness.
They became combustible because of their great share of humidity. When fire
notices humidity, it attaches itself to it, because humidity is airy and
similar to fire, which does not stop eating it until is consumed. The same
applies to the substances when, they approach of fire, they flee, because
they have little coherence and are coarse. But they are not combustible,
because they are composed of earth and water which offers resistance to
fire, in that the fine components of water unite with its coarse components
through a long cooking which softens and mixes things.
"We are now going to speak about the stone that makes the alchemical
operation possible, as mentioned by the philosophers. They have held
different opinions about it. Some have thought that it is found in animals;
some have thought, in plants; some have thought, in minerals; and, according
to some, in everything. We do not have to examine these claims and enter
into a dispute concerning them with the people who make them, because that
would be a very long discussion.
I have already stated that the alchemical operation might potentially be
performed with anything, because the elements exist in every thing. This is
so. "We want to know what produces the (alchemical) operation (both)
potentially and actually. Therefore, we turn to the statement of al-Harrini
that all dyeing "' consists of two types. One may use a substance such as
saffron, which is used to dye a white garment. The (saffron) eventually
changes in it, vanishing and being decomposed. While the second dyeing is
transformation of the substance of one thing into the substance and color of
something else. Thus trees, for instance, transform the soil into
themselves, and animals the plants, so that eventually the soil becomes
plants, and the plants animals. This can come about only with the help of
the living spirit and the active nature (kiyan) which has the ability to
generate substances and change essences.
........
Here ends the discussion by Ibn Bishrun, one of the great pupils of Maslamah
al-Maj'riti, the Spanish authority on alchemy, letter magic, and sorcery,
for the third [ninth] century and later (times). One can see how all the
expressions used by (alchemists) tend to be secret hints and
puzzles,difficult to explained or understood. This is a proof of the fact
that alchemy is not a natural craft.
The truth with regard to alchemy, which is to be believed and which is
supported by actual fact, is that alchemy is one of the ways in which the
spiritual souls exercise an influence and are active in the world of nature.
(It may) belong among the (miraculous) acts of divine grace, if the souls
are good. Or it may be a kind of sorcery, if the souls are bad and wicked.
It is obvious that (alchemy may materialize) as a (miraculous) act of divine
grace. It may be sorcery, because the sorcerer, as has been established in
the proper place, may change the identity of matter by means of his magic
power. People think that a (sorcerer) must use some substance (in order) for
his magical activity to take place. Thus, certain animals may be created
from the substance of earth, of hair, or of plants, or, in general, from
substances other than their own. That, for example, happened to the
sorcerers of Pharaoh with their ropes and sticks. It also is reported, for
instance, of the Negro and Indian sorcerers in the far south and of the
Turks in the far north, that by sorcery they force the air to produce rain,
and other things.
Now, since alchemy is the creation of gold in a substance other than that of
(gold), it is a kind of sorcery. The famous sages who discussed the subject,
men such as Jabir, Maslamah, and other non Muslim predecessors, followed
this line.Therefore, they used puzzling expressions. They wanted to protect
alchemy from the disapproval that religious laws express for the various
kinds of sorcery. It was not because they were reluctant to communicate it
(to others), as was thought by people who did not investigate the matter
thoroughly. One may compare the fact that Maslamah called his book on
alchemy Rutbat al-hakim, while he called his book on sorcery and talismans
Ghayat al-hakim. He wanted to intimate that the subject of the Ghayah is a
general one, whereas the subject of the Rutbah is a restricted one, for
final goal is a higher (stage in research) than rutbah degree, rank. The
problems of the Rutbah are in a way part of the problems of the Ghayah, or
deal with the same subjects. (Maslamah's) discussion of the two disciplines
clarifies what we have said. Later on, we shall explain that those who
assume that the achievements of alchemy are the result of a natural craft
are wrong.
(Based on the English translation of the "Muqaddimah" by F. Rosenthal)
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