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Arabic Manuscript on Alchemy by Razes

Abu Bakr al-Razi

The opening page of an Arabic manuscript of one of al-Razi's alchemical texts, held in the Wellcome Collection.

A manuscript copy of one of al-Razi's alchemical writings, evidence of his work as a chemist.

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Black and white scan of two facing pages of an Arabic manuscript in cursive ink script on aged, worn paper. The left page has several lines of centered text with a heading; the right page has a dense block of right-aligned lines with a marginal note at the bottom. — Opening page of an Arabic manuscript on alchemy attributed to Razes. Wellcome Collection.

About this source

What it is

This is the first page of an Arabic manuscript copy of a text on alchemy attributed to Abu Bakr al-Razi (known in Latin as Razes). It is kept in the Wellcome Collection's Asian collection of manuscripts.

Why it matters

Al-Razi was well known as a chemist as well as a physician, and manuscripts like this one show how his alchemical writings were copied and studied in Arabic long after his death. Seeing the text in its original language and script helps students understand how his scientific ideas travelled before translation into other languages.

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What can you tell about how important this text was from the way it has been copied and preserved?
Why do you think alchemy and medicine were often studied by the same scholars in this period?
What might be lost or changed when a text like this is later translated into another language?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Al-Razi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.