The Secret of Secrets in Alchemy of al-Rāzī; A Reflection on Two Fundamental Concepts: Tincture and Elixir, in the Tradition

Alchemy in the modern age, ancient knowledge or heritage pseudo-science, is considered as obscure and full of mystery, whose venerability are based on procedures and guidelines for the emergence of chemistry. Doubtfulness in the originality of alchemy texts, the weaknesses and deficiency in the text-based research, and the prevailing prejudice in the historiography of science, provided less opportunity for the pursuit of the mysteries of alchemy from within it. Meanwhile, Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyya is lucky and preferable in some aspects: (1) Is known as the primitive natural scientist in the Islamic world; (2) The reality of his life and originality of some of his central works on this issue is not questioned; (3) The researchers' perception of these texts are consistent with the contemporary notion of in vitro and inferiority of the chemistry, then he is considered to be a chemist and different from the general alchemist. This essay, with a preliminary overview of the basic concepts of alchemy and its conceptual tradition, especially the two highways to its operational purpose (Tincture and Elixir), reveals the mystery of alchemy upon Rāzī's narration and within all available his alchemy works, focusing on Sir al-ʾAsrār; and finally, criticizes the prevailing beliefs and suggestions