Personal Motivations
What inspired Jabir ibn Hayyan’s interest in alchemy?
A) His fascination with astrology
B) His teacher, Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq
C) His father’s profession as a pharmacist
D) His travels to Greece
B) His teacher, Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq
What did Jabir believe was necessary for successful alchemy?
A) Complete submission to God’s will
B) Wealth and social status
C) Access to rare materials
D) A scientific license
A) Complete submission to God’s will
Jabir’s belief that metals could be purified into gold was based on what Islamic idea?
A) Humans can be purified spiritually
B) The Earth contains hidden treasures
C) Angels guard secret elements
D) Fire cleanses all impurities
A) Humans can be purified spiritually ✅
What was Jabir ibn Hayyan’s greatest scholarly strength?
A) Creativity
B) Thoroughness
C) Persuasiveness
D) Speed
B) Thoroughness
What did Jabir believe about the nature of alchemy?
A) It was a divine science gifted by God
B) It was a form of witchcraft
C) It was purely a chemical process
D) It was a form of entertainment
A) It was a divine science gifted by God ✅
What was the name of Jabir’s idea that everything in the universe is perfectly balanced?
A) The Law of Purity
B) The Principle of Harmony
C) The Law of Four Elements
D) The Theory of Balance (Mīzān)
D) The Theory of Balance (Mīzān)
Which flawed goal did Jabir pursue, common among alchemists?
A) Turning water into wine
B) Transmuting metals into gold
C) Summoning spirits
D) Creating life artificially
B) Transmuting metals into gold
Jabir’s chemical formulas often gave detailed instructions for preparing what materials?
A) Perfumes
B) Medicines
C) Fabrics
D) Metals
D) Metals
In The Book of Stones, what did Jabir require before conducting alchemical experiments?
A) A sacrifice to the gods
B) Weeks of laboratory preparation
C) A mentor’s approval
D) Long, precise prayers performed alone in the desert
D) Long, precise prayers performed alone in the desert
Jabir viewed his scientific work as a form of what?
A) Worship
B) Competition
C) Entertainment
D) Rebellion
A) Worship
Why are Jabir’s writings often difficult to interpret today?
A) He wrote in several dead languages
B) He encrypted his work in coded, symbolic language
C) His writings were incomplete
D) They were burned in a fire
B) He encrypted his work in coded, symbolic language
Jabir’s approach to alchemy blended religion with which kind of thinking?
A) Philosophical
B) Political
C) Superstitious
D) Economic
A) Philosophical
Which event may have influenced Jabir’s life choices and beliefs?
A) The fall of the Abbasid Caliphate
B) The execution of his father under the Umayyad Caliphate
C) His exile from Persia
D) His imprisonment for heresy
B) The execution of his father under the Umayyad Caliphate
Who did Jabir believe received divine knowledge of alchemy from God?
A) Kings and rulers
B) Philosophers
C) Prophets and imams
D) Scholars of medicine
C) Prophets and imams
Jabir’s belief that all things are made of wet, dry, cold, and hot came from what theory?
A) The Humoral Theory
B) The Four Qualities
C) The Theory of Elements
D) The Law of Opposites
B) The Four Qualities ✅
Jabir believed studying chemistry was also a way to do what toward God?
A) Worship
B) Question
C) Challenge
D) Ignore
A) Worship
What drove Jabir’s experimentation with substances like acids and sal ammoniac?
A) Financial motivation
B) Political pressure
C) Intellectual curiosity
D) Competition with other scholars
C) Intellectual curiosity
What title is Jabir often given due to his influence and precision?
A) Father of Modern Physics
B) Master of Eastern Science
C) Founder of Spiritual Alchemy
D) Father of Arab Chemistry
D) Father of Arab Chemistry
Jabir’s religious devotion sometimes made his chemistry lack what key scientific aspect?
A) Logical structure
B) Visual aids
C) Experimental evidence
D) Mathematical formulas
C) Experimental evidence
Although his theories were sometimes flawed, Jabir’s focus on careful experimentation helped shape which later field?
A) Modern physics
B) Modern chemistry
C) Modern medicine
D) Modern astronomy
B) Modern chemistry