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Avicennian Natural Philosophy and the Alchemical Theory of Al-Ṭughrāʾī in Ḥaqāʾiq Al-Istishhād

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Avicennian Natural Philosophy and the Alchemical Theory of Al-Ṭughrāʾī in Ḥaqāʾiq Al-Istishhād Avicennian Natural Philosophy and the Alchemical Theory of al-Ṭughrāʾī in Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād Takatomo Inoue Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal August 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts © Takatomo Inoue, 2017 Abstract This thesis aims at clarifying how alchemists and non-alchemists studied and discussed alchemy in medieval Islam. In order to attain this objective, we first review and reinterpret the accomplishments of Muslim and pre-Islamic alchemists, as well as multiple types of classification of alchemy by non- alchemist authors. Also, we examine in detail non-alchemists’ theoretical discussions of alchemy, which had a large influence on the development of alchemy in medieval Islam, as well as discussions by alchemists. Finally, in order to clarify both stances, we investigate al-Ṭughrāʾī’s Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād, which compares alchemists’ theoretical foundation concerning alchemical theories with that of non- alchemists. L’abstrait Cette thèse vise à préciser comment les alchimistes et les non alchimistes ont étudié et discuté de l'alchimie dans l'Islam médiéval. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous examinons d'abord et réinterprétons les réalisations des alchimistes musulmans et pré-islamiques, ainsi que les types multiples de classification de l'alchimie par des auteurs non alchimistes. En outre, nous examinons les discussions théoriques des non alchimistes sur l'alchimie, qui ont eu une grande influence sur le développement de l'alchimie dans l'Islam médiéval ainsi que dans les détails des alchimistes. Enfin, afin de clarifier les deux positions, nous étudions le Ḥaqā'iq al-istishhād de al-Ṭughrā'ī, qui compare le fondement théorique des alchimistes concernant les théories alchimiques avec les non alchimistes. II Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... IV Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Alchemy and Alchemists in Medieval Islam ......................................................................... 3 The major alchemists and their works .............................................................................................. 3 Classification of alchemy within the rational sciences ................................................................... 19 Problems faced when researching alchemy in medieval Islam ...................................................... 31 Criticism of Alchemy ........................................................................................................... 37 Criticisms before Ibn Sīnā .............................................................................................................. 37 The criticism by Ibn Sīnā ................................................................................................................ 48 Criticisms after Ibn Sīnā, especially Ibn Khaldūn’s ....................................................................... 54 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 59 Al-Ṭughrāʾī, the Ḥaqāʾiq, and His Response to the Criticisms of Ibn Sīnā ........................ 61 Al-Ṭughrāʾī’s biographical background ......................................................................................... 61 Al-Ṭughrāʾī’s Alchemical works .................................................................................................... 64 The Ḥaqāʾiq and al-Ṭughrāʾī’s argument ....................................................................................... 71 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 86 Appendix: Translation of Selected Parts in Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād ............................................................ 90 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................. 96 III Preface and Acknowledgements Alchemy in medieval Islam is an almost forgotten subject in the study of the history of science. Many facts have not been clarified well, and previous studies often discuss it based on these uncertain facts. This thesis intends to deal with some of the confusion caused by previous studies by reconsidering primary sources and establishing a foundation for my future study of alchemy in medieval Islam. The research for every chapter has been completed by the author. Also, all of the chapters and English translation of al- Ṭughrāʾī’s Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād are written by the author. This thesis is one of the requirements of the MA program in the Institute of Islamic Studies. My study in the program and thesis are completed under the supervision of Professor F. Jamil Ragep. In addition to his cordial support, my thesis could not be finished without my colleagues’ help. Mr. Sajjad Nikfahm Khubravan helped me to collect the manuscripts of Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād. Mr. M. Fariduddin Attar proofed the draft of all the chapters of my thesis. Also, Ms. Jillian L. Mills, senior library clerk of Islamic Studies Library, proofed the final draft of my thesis. I give special thanks to Professor Keiko Sakurai, Professor Tetsuya Ohtoshi, and Professor Nathan Camillo Sidoli, all of Waseda University, Tokyo, who supported my decision to study at the Institute. IV Introduction The more we study alchemy in medieval Islam, the more confused we become. Previous studies in the early twentieth century, such as those by Julius Ruska, H. E. Stapleton, Paul Kraus, and E. J. Holmyard tended to avoid generalizing alchemy and focused on individual alchemists. Although Holmyard published a comprehensive study on the history of alchemy,1 he did not effectively attempt to extract the ideas that alchemists have in common. Some later researchers try to give a generalized idea on alchemy, but they have not reached an agreement. Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill say that Arabic kīmiyāʾ indicates both “alchemy” and “chemistry,” which means that kīmiyāʾ is not just a gold-making operation but also the manufacturing of chemically processed products such as perfume and ink.2 On the other hand, Manfred Ullmann says, “Alchemy, however, the art of transmuting metals, has to be singled out from the other more technically oriented professions because of its theoretical foundations.”3 This ambiguity in interpretation is simply because of the shortage of the studies on alchemy in medieval Islam. Ullmann himself recognizes this situation and says, “Most of what historians of science have written on the Arabic alchemists is second-hand, based on obsolescent literature and disfigured by gross errors.”4 The situation has not improved until now, and Lawrence Principe also says in his book published in 2013 that “despite the importance of this period for alchemy - and for the entire history of science - our knowledge of it remains very incomplete,” and that historians “have had to rediscover the primary sources of Arabic alchemy.”5 Why is it so difficult to discuss alchemy in medieval Islam? This is one of the questions in this thesis. As a first step, we try to organize the basic information on alchemy in medieval Islam. Thus, in the 1 E. J. Holmyard, Alchemy (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1957). 2 Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History (Paris: UNESCO, 1986), p. 133. 3 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., s.v. “al-Kīmiyāʾ,” by Manfred Ullmann. 4 Ibid. 5 Lawrence M. Principe, The Secrets of Alchemy (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2013), pp. 27-28. 1 first chapter, we review the accomplishments of Muslim alchemists and pre-Islamic alchemists to which they often refer. At the same time, we discuss how non-alchemists understood alchemy in their works which classify scientific disciplines. The first chapter clarifies that both the approaches to alchemy by alchemists, as well as non-alchemists’ understanding of alchemy, were so diverse that we cannot give a simple description of alchemy in medieval Islam. Also, we find a large gap between the understanding of alchemy by alchemists and non-alchemists. Then, a new question arises. How did alchemists and non-alchemists study and discuss alchemy? To consider this question, Ḥaqāʾiq al-istishhād6 by al-Ṭughrāʾī (d. 515/1121), an alchemist in the period of the Seljūqid dynasty, is a worthy source. The Ḥaqāʾiq is usually considered to be a counterargument to Ibn Sīnā’s criticism of alchemy.7 However, simply refuting Ibn Sīnā is not his intention in the Ḥaqāʾiq. Rather, he tries to promote a proper understanding of the discipline of alchemy by comparing non- alchemists’ theories about alchemy with the sayings of alchemists he relies on. Al-Ṭughrāʾī chose Ibn Sīnā as a representative of non-alchemists, and he comments on the passages of Kitāb al-shifāʾ, Ibn Sīnā’s well-known encyclopedic work of philosophy, and assesses their commonalities and disagreements with the alchemical theories that al-Ṭughrāʾī considers. Through this work, we can grasp an idea of the theoretical foundations of both sides. Before turning to the Ḥaqāʾiq, we further examine in the second chapter discussions of non-alchemists concerning alchemical theories, most of
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