Status of Practicality and Experiment in Ḥassan ibn Zāhid Kirmānī’s Alchemical Thought

Ḥassan ibn Zāhid Kirmānī is a Persian alchemist of 8th/14th century. Although In his thought, alchemy occupies a privileged place as the superior science and divine art and is linked to the esoteric context of mysticism, nevertheless, the reliance of alchemical principles upon experiment is not ignored. In this paper, we investigate the place of alchemical practice and importance of experiment in Kirmānī’s alchemical doctrine. For this purpose, first, the two concepts “Jawwānī” and “Barrānī”, which stand respectively for the theoretical and practical aspects of alchemy, are explained. Then, based on some examples from Kirmānī’s texts, the relationship between theory and experiment of alchemy is examined. We hope to show that, according to Kirmānī, the theoretical aspect of alchemy is prior to its practical aspect and determines the framework for all alchemical operations and practices.