View source for Abu Bakr al-Razi

===The transmutation of metals===
Al-Razi's interest in alchemy and his strong belief in the possibility of [[Alchemy|transmutation]] of lesser metals to silver and gold was attested half a century after his death by [[Ibn an-Nadim]]'s book, ''The Philosopher's Stone'' (''Lapis Philosophorum'' in Latin). Nadim attributed a series of twelve books to al-Razi, plus an additional seven, including his refutation to [[al-Kindi]]'s denial of the validity of alchemy. Al-Kindi (801–873 CE) had been appointed by the Abbasid Caliph Ma'mun founder of Baghdad, to 'the [[House of Wisdom]]' in that city, he was a philosopher and an opponent of alchemy. Al-Razi's two best-known alchemical texts, which largely superseded his earlier ones: ''al-Asrar'' (الاسرار "The Secrets"), and ''Sirr al-Asrar'' (سر الاسرار "The Secret of Secrets"), which incorporates much of the previous work.

Apparently al-Razi's contemporaries believed that he had obtained the secret of turning iron and copper into gold. Biographer Khosro Moetazed reports in ''Mohammad Zakaria Razi'' that a certain General Simjur confronted al-Razi in public, and asked whether that was the underlying reason for his willingness to treat patients without a fee. "It appeared to those present that al-Razi was reluctant to answer; he looked sideways at the general and replied":<blockquote>I understand alchemy and I have been working on the characteristic properties of metals for an extended time. However, it still has not turned out to be evident to me, how one can transmute gold from copper. Despite the research from the ancient scientists done over the past centuries, there has been no answer. I very much doubt if it is possible...</blockquote>