Stairway to Heaven: The Alchemical Curriculum of the Rutbat al-ḥakīm

Abstract

In the first Maqāla of the Rutbat al-ḥakīm, an alchemical text written, in all likelihood, by Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī in 339-342/950-953, we find a curriculum of the sciences to become a sage (ḥakīm), together with a list of books and authors to be read for each science. Being a sage implies, in the author’s view, to manage the two ‘conclusions’ (natījatān), namely alchemy (kīmiyā’) and astral magic (sīmiyā’). Knowing only one of them makes you only ‘half a sage’ (niṣf ḥakīm). Although the progression towards these two conclusions is presented from a theoretical perspective in the first place, it then turns to become a more practical issue. Alchemy and astral magic are considered by the author as arts and sciences. In fact, it appears that while describing this curriculum, the author seeks to explain the link between theory and practice (al-‘amal), and the way the apprentice should train both his mind (dhihn, representing theory) and his hand and eyes (yad, naẓar, representing practice) to understand the knowledge that the Ancients hid behind codenames (al-rumūz al-latī li-al-awā’il). In this presentation, we will explain how the author of the Rutbat al-ḥakīm considers the path to wisdom, and how he accordingly articulates theory and practice in this journey to knowledge