A translation of the book of secrets, compares the alchemy manual of the tenthcentury persian physician alrazi to the operation of a modern chemical laboratory. Abd allatifs criticism of the notes written by fakhr aldin alrazi on. Sefer harazim the book of secrets, a jewish mystical text. Abubakr muhammed ibn zakariya alrazi also transliterated as arrazi was born around 854 in ray, near the city of teheran the persian empire, now iran. Alrazi was a celebrated alchemist and muslim philosopher who is also considered to have been the greatest physician of the islamic world. A modern outpatient polyclinic that provides high quality medical services with advanced experience in a comfortable environment. Because of this book, razis thoughts on prophets and religion are preserved to the present time.
Mohammade zakariaye razi, also known by his latinized name rhazes or rasis 854 ce 925 ce, was a persian polymath, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher and important figure in the history of medicine and as the. Alrazi in the latinized west, rhazes achieved mastery in a number of fields, including philosophy, logic, poetry, and music. In contrast to jabir, who inclined toward numerical mysticism, alrazi became practiced in experimental work. Of razis astonishing output of more than 150 works in all the scientific disciplines of his era, sirr alasrar secret of secrets is among the dozen or more titles dedicated to alchemy.
He published his controversies with razi in his book alam alnubuwwah. In his early life, he was a jeweller baihaqi, moneychanger ibn abi usaibiah, or more likely a luteplayer ibn juljul, said, ibn khallikan, usaibiah, alsafadi who first left music for alchemy, and then at the age of thirty or as safadi says. Muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi hektoen international. He was born in rey in modernday iran, and died in herat in modernday afghanistan. Abu bakr muhammad ibn zakariya al razi was born in al rayy, a town on the southern. The digital edition of the alchemy of alrazi has just been published as a kindle edition available on amazon. Contributions of muslim scientists muhammad ibn zakariya. Book of secrets has attracted attention for over a thousand years. Written near the end of alrazis long and prolific career, the kitab alasrar or. Shakhsiyyat islamiyyah abu bakr al razi by yahya, dr hasan and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The secrets, and sirr alasrar the secret of secrets, which incorporates much of.
It was translated more than a dozen times into latin and other european languages. Over a thousand years ago, the persian physician and chemist abu bakr muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi presented his students with a book of alchemy instructions called the kitab alasrar or book of secrets. In medicine he was an admirer of hippocrates, and in philosophy he was a professed follower of socrates and plato and an opponent of aristotle. Ruskas researches on the alchemy of alrazi julius ruska. Muhammad ibn allaith alrasaili whose opposition against alchemists was disputed by alrazi. List of works alrazi before 925 altibb alruhani the spiritual physick, ed. The practical laboratory in the medieval islamic world update. He was also significant in the field of philosophy although scholars mostly agree on the year of razis death, razis year of birth is not precisely known. The largest and most important of alrazis medical works is kitab alhawi fi altibb 1 the comprehensive book of medicine, a collection of medical notes that alrazi made throughout his life in the form of extracts from everything he had read, as well as. Alrazis kitab alasrar or book of secrets had three major avenues of influence expanding its accessibility to european alchemists. For over seven hundred years this systematic text on managing chemicals, equipment, and procedures was copied and imitated throughout europe. Mansur ibn talhah, being the author of the book being, which was criticized by alrazi. Abubakr mohammade zakariyyaye razi, also known by his latinized name rhazes or rasis 854925 ce, was a persian polymath, physician, alchemist, philosopher, and important figure in the history of medicine. An alchemical treatise titled kitab alsirr alasrar the book of the secret of secrets by abu bakr mu.
A translation of the book of secrets 9781507778791. Of razis astonishing output of more than 150 works in all the. First, the text itself was copied and translated multiple times. If you have been wanting a more portable version of the book of secrets, this may be just what you need. Al razi medical center is a modern outpatient polyclinic that provides high quality medical services with advanced experience, in a comfortable environment. The book is simply known as alhawi in modern terminology but it was the encyclopedia of medicine for that time. Biography of muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi assignment point. Ramin sam san francisco, ca, usa muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi 865925 while europe languished in the middle ages, the islamic world sustained and contributed to the scientific and mathematic knowledge accumulated by the greeks. Alrazi disagreed with him on the question of bitter taste. The section on gastrointestinal diseases from the comprehensive book on medicine kitab alhawi fi altibb composed in arabic by abu bakr muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi d. Over 1,000 of his case histories are also preserved today, and they provide an important insight into the working life of the. Ketabe serr the book of secrets, by muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi 9th10th centuries. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the alchemy of alrazi.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The practical laboratory in the medieval islamic world. This is apparent from his two most influential works, kitab alasrar. Because alrazi was meticulous in crediting his sources, the hawi became an extremely important source of greek knowledge. Kitab sirr alasrar book of secret of secrets deals with alchemy. Contributions of muslim scientists muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi. Kitab sirr alasrar book of secret of secrets deals. Its subject is alchemy, the art of making gold, one of the many interests of persian physician and teacher abu bakr muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi c. The kitab alasrar offers a view into the understanding of chemistry and procedure organization in the tenthcentury islamic world. Philosopher, physician and alchemist article pdf available in annals of saudi medicine 274.
There is no daubt that this is a genuine alrazi text. He also wrote on logic, astronomy and grammar a comprehensive thinker, razi made. There were 19 chemical works of his, according to alfihrist, a unit of 12 books, variously titled, the most important, which seems to summarize the chemistry of alrazi, is sir alasrar the book of the secret of secrets. Books of secrets, compilations of technical and medicinal recipes and magic formulae, published in the 16th18th centuries. This analysis of early alchemy is based on my masters thesis and draws on my own career in clinical laboratory science. The secret of secrets, which incorporates much of the previous work.
The most freethinking of the major philosophers of islam, alrazi was born in rayy, where he was well trained in the greek sciences. Alrazi, who, though a theist, rejects prophecy on the ground that reason is sufficient to distinguish between good and evil and also that reason alone can enable us to know allah. Alrazi was an iconoclastic cosmologist, who denied that any man had privileged access to intelligence, whether by nature or from nature. It was one of the main textbooks in the medical school in paris, especially its 9 th volume on pharmacology. Muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi wikipedia republished. An account of alrazis philosophical and ethical psychology. Al razi medical center is now amongst the qatars leading healthcare service provider today and well known brand providing stateoftheart medical care to the qatars citizens and. Abu bakr muhammad ibn zakariya alrazi 854925 ce, also known by his latinized name rhazes or rasis, physician and philosopher muhammad ibn yaqub alkulayni alrazi born 250 ah864 ce, compiler of hadith, born in a village named kulayn or kulin in iran abu zura alrazi died 878, sunni hadith scholar. Using historian julius ruskas authoritative german translation, this book presents alrazis book of secrets in english for the first time and analyzes it from the perspective of a modern scientific laboratory. General medicine al razi medical center qatar dental. A translation of the book of secrets kindle edition by taylor ph. Razi developed several chemical instruments that remain in use to this day.