Ibn Umail

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Illustration in Ibn Umail's Silver Water and Star Earth (1211) to Ibn Umail's vision in a temple in Busir (Egypt). He saw a statue of an old sage who holds a tablet with symbolic representations - for Ibn Umail the core of alchemical knowledge. Later similar representations, as in the Aurora consurgens and in the Theatrum Chemicum were probably inspired by this

Ibn Umail ( Arabic ابن أميل, DMG Ibn Umail ; lived around 900–960), actuallyمحمد بن أميل بن عبد الله / Muḥammad b. Umail b. ʿAbd Allaah , also known by the surnames “al-ḥakīm” (the wise) or “aṣ-ṣādiq” (the true one) and “at-Tamīmī” (from the tribe of the Tamīm), was an Arabic alchemist who was believed to have come from Egypt . In Latin alchemy he was also known as "Senior" ("Senior Zadith Filius Hamuel", translated: "The Wise, the Truthful, Son of Umail").

Ibn Umail was an important exponent of the allegorical or mystical branch of Arabic alchemy . In Latin alchemy he was often quoted and recognized as an authority. This is supported by the fact that well-known Latin tracts contain translations of his al-Mā 'al-waraqī in whole or in part , such as Clavis Sapientiae by Artefius , as well as Mangetus ' Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa and Zetzner's Theatrum Chemicum .

According to HE Stapleton and M. Hidāyat Ḥusain, Ibn Umail lived between 900 and 960. This is supported by the mention of his friend Aš-Shaiẖ Abū al-Ḥusain (or Hasan) ibn Waṣīf in Ibn Umail's writings. He also mentioned Abū al-Ḥusain 'Ali ibn Aḥmad ibn' Umar al-'Adawī, 'Abd al-Qāsim' Abd ar-Raḥmān and the alchemist Mahrārīs as contemporaries. Fuat Sezgin dates his life slightly earlier and assumes that Ibn Umail wrote his major works before 920. Since his writings do not reflect the radical changes in philosophical thinking around 900 (at that time the Qarmatic philosopher Muhammad ibn Ahmad an-Nasafi introduced the Neoplatonic Ismaili cosmology into the Qarmatic system, which replaced the earlier Gnostic- Hermetic theories), they are probably already before 900 originated.

Life

Little is known of Ibn Umail's life. In several sections of his books he recommends an introverted lifestyle, which is central to understanding his works and which he probably lived himself.

Ibn Umail probably lived in Egypt (during the so-called " early Islamic period ") or was himself Egyptian and probably stayed temporarily in Achmim (later called Panopolis), a center of alchemy at that time. This is suggested by text passages in which he compares the alchemical furnace with Egyptian temples, as well as quotations from Zosimos of Panopolis (around 400) and 'ū n-Nūns (796–861) writings. Both alchemists lived in Egypt. From his works it is clear that Ibn Umail belonged to the group of Ismaili Shia , a spiritual movement that had assimilated much of the Hellenistic tradition.

Ibn Umail's description of the alchemical work and its various substances makes little sense as a scientific description. Rather, he symbolically describes his experience of an inner-psychic transformation process, which Ibn Umail presented as the highest goal of human life. He himself repeatedly points out in his books that his descriptions of the alchemical work have nothing to do with the real, external substance.

meaning

As a description of psychological phenomena, his work is of great value for modern psychology. His description of how to deal with drives or desires (greed, lust, envy, etc.) is of particular interest. The “infernal divine fire”, called “male soul”, which triggers this, can be held by its opposition “the divine water”, called “female spirit”. This psychological perspective is also reflected in the note made by a copyist at the Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace , which contains the “letter from the sun to the moon”. It says that the sun represents the spirit (al-Ruh) and the moon the soul (al-nafs), the manuscript consequently deals with the receptivity of the soul for the spirit.

Through Ibn Umail's comments on images and symbols of Egyptian temples (such as the frog or snail), his works form a cultural bridge between the Egyptian tradition and the Arabic and Latin alchemy. Just as the Egyptians wanted to ensure their eternal life with their cult of the dead, the alchemical search for the philosopher's stone and the water of life corresponds to the search for the immortality of the individual.

Works

Arabic works

  • Ad-Durra an-Naqīya (the pure pearl)
  • As-Sira an-Naqīya (the pure way of life)
  • Al-Qasida Nuniya (poem that rhymes with the Arabic letter Nun), with a commentary by Ibn Umail. Ms. Beşir Ağa (Istanbul) 505. The poem without commentary can be found in Stapelton's Three Arabic Treatises
  • Al-Qasida al-mīmīya (poem that rhymes with the Arabic letter mīm), with a commentary by Ibn Umail
  • Kitāb Hal ar-Rumūz (Book of Explanation of Symbols)
  • Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī, which contains the following texts:
    • Risālat 'aš-šams ilā' l-hilāl (Letter from the sun to the waxing moon)
    • Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī wa-l-ard an-nagmiya (Book on Silver Water and Star Earth ). An explanation of the letter from the sun to the waxing moon .
  • Kitāb al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (Book on the Seven Plant Gardens)
  • Kitāb al-Maġnīsiyā (Book on Magnesium)
  • Miftah al-hikma al-'uzma (The Book of the Key to Great Wisdom)

Latin translations

  • Epistola solis ad lunam (Letter from the sun to the moon)
  • De Chemia , Strasbourg 1560 (translation of the Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī ).
  • Tabula Chemica (translation of the Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī wa'l-Ard an-Najmiyah )
  • JJ Mangetus: Bibliotheca Chemica curiosa , Geneva 1702 (therein Artefius Clavis majoris sapientiae , vol. I, p. 503 ff. And Senioris anitquissimi libellus (de chemica) , vol. II, p. 216ff. As a translation of the Kitāb al-Mā ' al-waraqī ).
  • L. Zetzner: Theatrum Chemicum , Argentorati (Strasbourg) 1659–1661 (therein Artefius Clavis majoris sapientiae IV, p. 221 ff., Senior Zadith, fillii Hamuelis tabula chimica (De Chemia), V, p. 191f. And De Chemia V , p. 219-266).

literature

  • Theodor Abt , Wilferd Madelung , Thomas Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muhammad Ibn Umail , (collated Arabic text with English translation). Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 .
  • Theodor Abt: Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Hal ar-Rumūz. Psychological commentary by Theodor Abt . Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum (CALA) IB. Living Human Heritage Publications Zurich 2009, ISBN 3-9522608-8-6 .
  • Marie-Louise von Franz : Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail. Psychological Commentary by Marie-Louise von Franz. Edited by Theodor Abt. Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum IA (= CALA IA). Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-9522608-3-5 , pp. 49–58. (English translation with detailed commentary).
  • Wilferd Madelung (ed.): The Pure Pearl and other texts by Muhammad Ibn Umail. Ad-Durra an-naqīya, As-Sīra an-naqīya, Al-Qaşīda al-Mīmīya, Al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (= Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum. Vol. V). Arabic Edition by Wilferd Madelung with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Translation by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-9524468-3-6 .
  • Julius Ruska : Senior Zadith = Ibn Umail . In: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 31, 1928, ISSN  0030-5383 , pp. 665-666.
  • Julius Ruska: Studies on Muhammad Ibn Umail al-Tamimi's Kitab al-Ma 'al-Waraqi wa'l-Ard an-Najmiyah , in: Isis Vol. 24, No. 2 (Feb. 1936), ISSN  0021-1753 , pp. 310-342.
  • Fuat Sezgin : History of Arabic Literature IV, Alchemy - Chemistry - Botany - Agriculture . Brill Academic Pub. 1997, ISBN 90-04-02009-8 , pp. 283-288.
  • HE Stapleton and M. Hidayat Husain: Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy by Muḥammad Bin Umail (10th. Century AD) (Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 12.1.), Calcutta 1933. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al .: Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  • Peter Starr: Towards a Context for Ibn Umayl, Known to Chaucer as the Alchemist Senior . Journal of Arts and Sciences, Çankaya University, Ankara, No. 11, May 2009, pp. 61-77.
  • Gotthard Strohmaier : Ibn Umayl , The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden, London 1986, (new edition of Vol. 3 1998, ISBN 978-90-04-08118-5 ), pp. 961f.
  • Joachim Telle : Senior Zadith, in author's dictionary, volume 11, 2004, column 1425
  • Manfred Ullmann : The natural and secret sciences in Islam , Leiden-Cologne 1972 (Handbook of Oriental Studies, First Department: The Near and the Middle East, edited by Bertold Spuler , supplementary volume VI, 2nd section), ISBN 90-04-03423 -4 , pp. 217-218.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kitāb al-Mā 'al-waraqī wa-l-arḍ an-nağmīyah, Topkapı Sarayı, Ahmet III Library, Istanbul.
  2. ↑ Aurora consurgens, Ms. Rh. 172 (e-codices) , fol. 3r-7, Zurich Central Library.
  3. ^ L. Zetzner: Theatrum Chemicum V., Strasbourg 1660, p. 192.
  4. ^ Theodor Abt: Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Hal ar-Rumūz. Psychological commentary by Theodor Abt . Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum (CALA) IB. Living Human Heritage Publications Zurich 2009, ISBN 3-9522608-8-6 , pp. 15-18.
  5. ↑ Th. Abt, W. Madelung, Th. Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail (Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum I (= CALA I)). Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 , p. XIII.
  6. ^ HE Stapleton: Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy by Muḥammad Bin Umail (10th Century AD). Excursus on the Writings and Date of Ibn Umail with Edition of the Latin Rendering of the al-Mā 'al-waraqī . Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 12.1. Calcutta 1933, p. 123 ff. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al .: Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  7. ^ HE Stapelton: Three Arabic Treatises , p. 123ff. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al .: Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  8. ^ F. Sezgin: History of Arabic literature IV, Alchemy - Chemistry - Botany - Agriculture . Brill Academic Pub. 1971, ISBN 3-8298-0070-3 , p. 283 ff.
  9. ^ Marie-Louise von Franz: Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail. Psychological Commentary by Marie-Louise von Franz. Edited by Theodor Abt. (Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum IA (= CALA IA)). Living Human Heritage Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-9522608-3-5 , p. 50.
  10. ↑ Durra An-Naqiya , Ms No. 1410, Asaf. lib. Hyderabad (India), fol. 2f.
  11. ↑ G. Strohmaier: Ibn Umayl ( Encyclopaedia of Islam 3), Leiden, London 1986, p. 961f. (New edition of Vol. 3 1998, ISBN 978-90-04-08118-5 ).
  12. ↑ Th. Abt, W. Madelung, Th. Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail , Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 , p. XIV.
  13. ↑ GE von Grunebaum: Medieval Islam - a Study in Cultural Orientation , Chicago University Press, Chicago 1953. p. 197f. (Various reprints, ISBN of the 1971 edition: ISBN 3-436-01426-5 .)
  14. ↑ J.Ruska in F. Sezgin: History of Arabic Literature IV, Alchemy - Chemistry - Botany - agriculture . Brill Academic Pub. 1971, ISBN 3-8298-0070-3 , p. 286 writes, "His work is as far removed from real science as children's fairy tales are from real history."
  15. ↑ Th. Abt, W. Madelung, Th. Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail . Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum I (= CALA I)). Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 , p. XIV. For a detailed interpretation, see also Th. Abt: Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail. Psychological Commentary by Theodor Abt (Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum IB (= CALA IB)). Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2009. ISBN 3-9522608-8-6 .
  16. ↑ Persis Berlecamp: Painting as Persuasion, a visual defense of Alchemy in an Islamic manuscript of the Mongol period . Murqarnas Volume 20, Brill Publisher 2003, p. 53-59. ISBN 90-04-13207-4 .
  17. ↑ Th. Abt, W. Madelung, Th. Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail . Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 , pp. XIV-XV.
  18. ↑ Ms. Āṣafīya Library 887/1, Hyderabad (Dekkan) and Ms Tashkent Institute for Oriental Studies 562 / I and 5602/14. Publication of the Arabic text with English translation in: Wilferd Madelung (ed.): The Pure Pearl and other texts by Muhammad Ibn Umail. Ad-Durra an-naqīya, As-Sīra an-naqīya, Al-Qaşīda al-Mīmīya, Al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (= CALA V = Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum. Vol. V). Arabic Edition by Wilferd Madelung with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Translation by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-9524468-3-6 .
  19. ↑ Ms. Istanbul Baĝdatlı Vehbi 2248/2 and 2277 / I as well as MS Vienna National Library Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus Mixt. 1350 / I. Publication of the Arabic text with English translation in: Wilferd Madelung (ed.): The Pure Pearl and other texts by Muhammad Ibn Umail. Ad-Durra an-naqīya, As-Sīra an-naqīya, Al-Qaşīda al-Mīmīya, Al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (= CALA V = Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum. Vol. V). Arabic Edition by Wilferd Madelung with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Translation by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-9524468-3-6 .
  20. ^ HE Stapleton and M. Hidayat Husain: Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy by Muḥammad Bin Umail (10th. Century AD) (Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 12.1.), Calcutta 1933. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al .: Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  21. ↑ Ms. Beşir Ağa (Istanbul) 505, Ms. Istanbul Baĝdatlı Vehbi 2277/2, MS Vienna National Library Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus Mixt. 1350/2; MS Tashkent 562 / K and MS Gotha MS 1257. Publication of the Arabic text with English translation in: Wilferd Madelung (ed.): The Pure Pearl and other texts by Muhammad Ibn Umail. Ad-Durra an-naqīya, As-Sīra an-naqīya, Al-Qaşīda al-Mīmīya, Al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (= CALA V = Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum. Vol. V). Arabic Edition by Wilferd Madelung with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Translation by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-9524468-3-6 .
  22. ↑ Th. Abt, W. Madelung, Th. Hofmeier (Eds.): Book of the Explanation of the Symbols. Kitāb Ḥall ar-Rumūz by Muḥammad Ibn Umail (CALA I = Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum I) , Translated by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt, with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2003. ISBN 3-9522608-1-9 .
  23. ^ HE Stapleton and M. Hidayat Husain: Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy by Muḥammad Bin Umail (10th Century AD). Excursus on the Writings and Date of Ibn Umail with Edition of the Latin Rendering of the Mā 'al-waraqī (Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 12.1.), Calcutta 1933. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al. : Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  24. ↑ Topkapı Srayı Ahmet III (Istanbul) 2075, and Ms. Beşir Ağa (Istanbul) 505.
  25. ^ HE Stapleton and M. Hidayat Husain: Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy by Muḥammad Bin Umail (10th Century AD). Excursus on the Writings and Date of Ibn Umail with Edition of the Latin Rendering of the Mā 'al-waraqī (Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 12.1.), Calcutta 1933. Reprinted in: F. Sezgin (ed.) Et al. : Ibn Umayl Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad, Texts and Studies. Natural Sciences in Islam 75, (Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science) Frankfurt 2002. ISBN 3-8298-7081-7 , EAN 9783829870818.
  26. ↑ Dār al-kutub (Cairo) ṭabī'īyāt 177, Ms. Istanbul Baĝdatlı Vehbi 2254/6 and 2279/3 and Ms. Beşir Ağa (Istanbul) 505. Publication of the Arabic text with English translation in: Wilferd Madelung (ed.) : The Pure Pearl and other texts by Muhammad Ibn Umail. Ad-Durra an-naqīya, As-Sīra an-naqīya, Al-Qaşīda al-Mīmīya, Al-Mabāqil as-sab'a (= CALA V = Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum. Vol. V). Arabic Edition by Wilferd Madelung with an Introduction by Theodor Abt. Translation by Salwa Fuad and Theodor Abt. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-9524468-3-6 .
  27. ^ Ms. Beşir Ağa (Istanbul) 505.
personal data
SURNAME Ibn Umail
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Muhammad ibn Umail at-Tamimi; Senior zadith; al-Ḥakīm aṣ-Ṣādiq at-Tamīmī; Zadith Filius Hamuel; Zadith Filius Hamuel; Zadith Filius Hamuelis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION arabic alchemist
DATE OF BIRTH around 900
DATE OF DEATH around 960