Muhammed ibn Umail al-Tamini
Encyclopedia
Ibn Umayl, Muhammed ibn Umail at-Tamîmî (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن أميل التميمي ) was an alchemist
of the tenth century. He can be dated to 900–960 (286-348) on the basis of the names of acquaintances he mentioned. Whether or not Ibn Umayl was born in Egypt his writings indicate he mainly lived and worked there, with connections to North Africa and possibly Andalusia .
In the later European literature ibn Umail is known by a number of names, including Zadith Senior and Zadith filius Hamuel (or Hamuelis).
There is an allusion to him in Chaucer's Canon's Yeoman's Tale (the "book senior"); the tale itself having alchemy as a theme. Chaucer’s source is said to be the Chimica senioris zadith tabula; Chaucer believed it written by a follower of Plato
.
Attributed to ibn Umail are the Hall ar-Rumuz (Explanation of the symbols), the Kitâb mafâtîh al-hikma al-`uzmâ, and the Kitâb al-mâ' al-waraqî wa al-ardh al-najmîya, a commentary on the alchemical poem Risâla al-shams ilâ al-hilâl (in Latin, Epistola solis ad lunam crescentem, the letter of the Sun to the waxing Moon).
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
of the tenth century. He can be dated to 900–960 (286-348) on the basis of the names of acquaintances he mentioned. Whether or not Ibn Umayl was born in Egypt his writings indicate he mainly lived and worked there, with connections to North Africa and possibly Andalusia .
In the later European literature ibn Umail is known by a number of names, including Zadith Senior and Zadith filius Hamuel (or Hamuelis).
There is an allusion to him in Chaucer's Canon's Yeoman's Tale (the "book senior"); the tale itself having alchemy as a theme. Chaucer’s source is said to be the Chimica senioris zadith tabula; Chaucer believed it written by a follower of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
.
Attributed to ibn Umail are the Hall ar-Rumuz (Explanation of the symbols), the Kitâb mafâtîh al-hikma al-`uzmâ, and the Kitâb al-mâ' al-waraqî wa al-ardh al-najmîya, a commentary on the alchemical poem Risâla al-shams ilâ al-hilâl (in Latin, Epistola solis ad lunam crescentem, the letter of the Sun to the waxing Moon).
Allegorical Alchemy
Ib Umayl was what is now called an allegorical alchemist. He saw himself as following his “predecessors among the sages of Islam” in rejecting alchemists who take their subject literally. Although such discovered by experiment the sciences of metallurgy and chemistry, Ibn Umayl felt the allegorical meaning of alchemy is the precious goal that is tragically overlooked. He wrote:“Eggs are only used as an analogy... the philosophers … wrote many books on such things as eggs, hair, the biles, milk, semen, claws, salt, sulphur, iron, copper, silver, mercury, gold and all the various animals and plants … But then people would copy and circulate these books according to the apparent meaning of these things, and waste their possessions and ruin their souls” The Pure Pearl chap. 1 (4.4)
"... none of those people who are famous for their wisdom could explain a word of what the philosophers said. In their books they only continue using the same terms that we find in the sages .... What is necessary, if I am a sage to whom secrets have been revealed, and if I have learned the symbolic meanings, is that I explain the mysteries of the sages."
(p.43. I. 17-21)