Muslim Alchemist Ibn Hayyan was born in 721 in Al-Kufah, Iraq. He was also been find out to be an apothecary or physician. Some sources claimed that he had remained the student of Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad. He provided a systematic base for the “qualitative” analysis of substance and remained an inspiration to Geber who was a Latin alchemist who developed an important corpuscular theory of matter.
The major of his writing is a type of arithmology (numerology) that referred to the “method of the balance” (Mizan). This composition is based on determining the quantity of the “four natures” (hot, cold, wet, and dry) in a substance utilizing its name. He had given a numerical value to each letter of the Arabic alphabet and applied it to the different “natures”. He is known to believe that all things contain a hidden (batin) and also manifest (zahir) and are dependent on the way of interpretation. The composition of Ibn Hayyan played an important role in the sustenance of the theories. According to them, metals are composed of sulfur and mercury and that provides metallurgical evidence to support this claim. His works gave a detailed description for alloying, purifying, and testing the metals and that helps to isolate different natures. He focused on the nature of sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride) and that remained of primary interest for its ability to combine with most of the metals known in the Middle ages. And volatile nature was considered as a sign of a pneumatic or “spiritual” nature.
This flesh of intellect did not get that much fame in his time but later his books were translated into Latin. The Latin Geber came out with the concepts given by Ibn Jabir. One of his theories stated about “mercury alone” which tells that mercury (quicksilver) is the pure substance of the metals and Sulfur is primarily a corruptor. His contributions can never be denied in the field of Chemistry.
