Selections from al-Rāzī’s al-Kutub al-Ithná ‘asharah (الكتب الإثنى عشرة) Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā رازي، أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا

Content

A summary of Books Two, Three, Six, Seven, and Nine of Rāzī’s Twelve Books , his most complete exposition of the art of chemistry. In this copy, the summary of Book Seven is not numbered and Book Eight has been mistakenly numbered Nine. For the titles and correct order of the Twelve Books see Bīrūnī, Fihrist , pp. 20-21.

The books are arranged as follows

• كتاب الثاني وهو كتاب علل المعدن (‘ Book Two: The Causes of Minerals ’; ff. 77r, line 1 - 78v, line 1);
• كتاب الثالث وهو كتاب الإثبات في الصناعة (‘ Book Three: The Confirmation of the Art ’; ff. 78v, line 1 - 79v, line 7);
• كتاب السادس وهو كتاب الإكسير (‘ Book Six: The Elixir ’; ff. 79v, line 7 - 84r, line 15);
• كتاب شرف الصناعة (‘[Book Seven:] The Nobility of the Art ’; ff. 84r, line 16 - 90r, line 7);
• كتاب الثامن وهو كتاب التدابير (‘ Book Eight: Operations ’; ff. 90r, line 8 - 91v, line 2).

Begins (f. 77r, lines 1-4):

هذه الفصول في فوائد منتخبة

من الكتب الاثنى عشرة للحكيم الفاضل محمد بن زكريا الرازي رحمه الله

قال في الكتاب الثاني وهو كتاب علل المعادن: الملح يتولّد من احتراق

الشمس وسيلان الماء. والدليل على ذلك أنّ كلّ شيء أحرقتَه ثمّ غسلتَه بالماء ثمّ أجمدتَه

Ends (ff. 91a, line 17 - 91v, line 2):

وقال أصحاب التصعيد نحن نعلم أنّ النار تغرق بين

لطيف الأشياء وكثيفها وتُحرق ما احترق منها ولا محالة إنّا إذا صعدنا الكبريت

بها نقَلَتَها إلى المائية وأحرقت عنها أكثر الدهنية والدليل على ذلك

[f. 91v] إنّا إذا أسرجنا زيتًا قد قُطّر مرّات فلم يشتعل وإذا كان ذلك كذلك علمنا أنّ

الكباريت إذا صعدت ذهب عنها حرقها. والحمد لله وحده والصلوة على رسوله محمد وآله وصحبه

Extent and format

ff. 77r-91v

It is part of

Compendium of alchemical treatises in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman

328 images

Ref: Or 13006

Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 215 x 150 mm leaf [168 x 112 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; Arabic foliation in the purple crayon typical of Lebanese bookdealers of the 19th century

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 19 lines per page; vertical spacing 11 lines per 10 cm (ff. 113r-158v: 29 lines per page; vertical spacing 17 lines per 10 cm)

Script: Naskh with nasta‘līq tendencies and some titles in thuluth (ff. 113r-158v: naskh )

Scribes: Qudrat Allāh al-Marandī al-Ādharī (ff. 3r-112v) and Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Mawṣilī (ff. 113r-158v)

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated, yellow and green headings and overlinings in red (ff. 113r-158v: black)

Binding: British Museum binding

Condition: Some worm damage, foxing, and tears towards the fore edge. Folios 19, 21 and 24 have been replaced.

Marginalia: Extensive marginal corrections, conjectures, glosses in Arabic and Persian and other evidence of collation and textual study (ff. 113r-158v: very few)

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript item

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Or 13006, ff 77r-91v

History of this record

Date(s)

c 930 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Context of creation

Damascus?

Related material

Subjects

Alchemy--Early works to 1800Chemistry--Early works to 1800

People & organisations

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā Rāzī

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Selections from al-Rāzī’s al-Kutub al-Ithná ‘asharah (الكتب الإثنى عشرة) Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā رازي، أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Or 13006, ff 77r-91v, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023512370.0x000008> [accessed 27 July 2026]

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