alchemists accepted that God was the first creator
of the cosmos, but they believed humans could
also become creators if they could only unlock
the secrets of the universe’s elements and qualities
and learn how to transform them through their
laboratory experimentation.
Although there is a substantial body of medi-
eval Arabic texts on alchemy, the subject is in
need of more study before a definitive history
can be written. It appears to have become an
important topic in Islamicate lands during the
ninth and 10th centuries, but some Muslim reli-
gious authorities refuted its doctrines because
they deviated from what they believed to be true
Islam. Early Arabic alchemical literature consisted
of translations of Greek texts, especially those
associated with Hermes Trismegistos, a mystical
figure who was identified with the ancient Egyp-
tian god of writing and wisdom, Thoth. Indeed,
egypt was thought to be the ancient homeland
of the alchemical tradition. To give it a more
Islamic stamp, authors constructed a genealogy of
sources that included a curious variety of figures
such as ali ibn abi talib (Muhammad’s cousin, d.
661), Maria the Copt (one of Muhammad’s con-
cubines), Khalid ibn Yazid (an Umayyad prince,
d. 683), JaaFar al-sadiq (the sixth Shii imam, d.
765), and a number of Sufis. The grand master
of the Islamic alchemical tradition was Jabir ibn
Hayyan (d. 815), a shadowy historical figure
with Sufi and Shii affinities who was said to have
been a friend and disciple of Jaafar al-Sadiq in
Baghdad. He was credited with authoring a huge
body of alchemical literature, some of which
was translated into Latin and transmitted from
andalUsia to Europe, where it helped inspire the
Renaissance tradition of alchemy. Indeed, modern
scholars have concluded that Arab alchemy, with
its experimental undertakings and theoretical
outlook, played a key role in the development of
modern chemistry.
Further reading: S. Nomanul Haq, Names, Natures, and
Things: The Alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan and His Kitab al-
ahjar (Book of Stones) (Dordrecht and Boston: Kluwer
Academic, 1994); Donald R. Hill, “The Literature of
Arabic Alchemy.” In Religion, Learning and Science in the
Abbasid Period, edited by M. J. L. Young, J. D. Latham,
and R. B. Sergeant, 328–341 (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990).alcohol See dietary laws; food and drink.
Alevi See alawi.
Alexander the Great (356–323 b.c.e.)
youthful conqueror of the ancient world and heroic
figure in Islamic tradition
Alexander (Arabic: Iskandar), the youthful king of
Macedonia, is considered the greatest conqueror
of classical Greek and Roman times (fourth cen-
tury b.c.e. to fourth century c.e.). He is the heroic
subject of the Alexander Romance, a cycle of sto-
ries that contributed to the high esteem in which
he is held in Islamic tradition.
One should distinguish the legendary content
of the Alexander Romance from the historical
figure Alexander the Great. The fabulous deeds
of the renowned world conqueror are celebrated
in medieval literature of the East and the West.
There exist romances on Alexander in medieval
English, Spanish, French, and German as well
as in Ethiopic, Syriac, Armenian, Persian, and
Arabic. The first known reference to Alexander
in Arabic literature is in the qUran (Q 18:83–98),
where he is called Dhu al-Qarnayn, the “Two-
Horned One.” The presence of this brief allusion
in the sacred book of Islam transforms the Greek
pagan Alexander into a Muslim holy man, and
Muslim commentators debated over whether he
was a prophet. As the Islamic empire spread out
from Mecca and Medina into the ancient lands
of Mesopotamia (iraq) and westward to Spain,
quranic exegetes and storytellers of the eighth
through 10th centuries from Baghdad to NorthK 30 alcohol