“Science is sole contribution of the west” is a misnomer among people with little knowledge as Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, Iranian, Roman and finally Muslim civilizations have contributed to science and technology, writes Bashir Talib
Islamic Soaps: Soaps are sodium salts of fatty acids, that is, oils. When hydrogen atom of one acid is replaced by a metal atom salt of that metal is said to be formed. Sodium salt of a fatty acid (oil) is called soap. The property of soap molecule is that it has two ends – one end attaching with water molecule and is called as hydrophilic whereas other end is water repelling or in other words attaches with dirt. This end is, therefore, called as hydrophobic. Thus a soap molecule carries water at one end and dirt at the other and thus with excessive water dirt is removed along with soap.
We don’t know to what extend the above mentioned mechanism of soap was known to Muslim scientists of the past but it is a fact that soap was first produced by Arabs – only later spreading to Europe. This is quite in accordance with Quranic concepts of hygiene and cleanliness. Soap manufacture was an important industry in Islamic lands especially Syria. Colored perfumed toilet soap as well as some medicinal soap was exported from Syrian cities like Nablus, Damascus, Sarmin, Aleppo etc. Soap was manufactured from olive oil and “Al-Qali.” “Al-Qali” was obtained from the fused ashes of a low, woody shrub found in Syria. The shrub belonged to family Chenopodiaceae with botanical name Salsola soda which is chemically 80% potassium carbonate (K2CO3) with some 20% sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). Muslim scientist Al-Razi described concentration and purification of “Al-Qali”. Sometimes Muslims used ‘natrun’ instead of “Al-Qali”. ‘Natrun’ is crude sodium carbonate found in its natural state in Egypt. Europeans later called it ‘natrun’ and thus the symbol ‘Na’ for sodium. Anyway, whether oil and “Al-Qali” or oil and ‘natrun’ was used but process of manufacture of soap remained more or less same as given by Dawud al-Antaki and quoted by UNESCO publication ‘Islamic Technology’.
“Take one part of al-qali, and half a part of lime. Grind them well and place them in a tank. Pour five times water and stir for two hours. The tank is provided with a plug hole. When the stirring is stopped and the liquid becomes clear, the hole is opened. When the water is emptied plug the hole again and pour water and stir, then empty, and so on until no taste is left in the water. This being done while keeping each water separate from the other.
Then take from the pure oil ten times the quantity of the first water and place on a fire. When it boils feed it with the last water little by little. Then the water before the last until at last you feed it with the first water. Then it becomes like dough. Here it is ladled out [and spread] on mats until it is partially dry. Then it is cut and placed on nura [slaked lime]. This is the finished product and there is no need to cool it or wash it with cold water while cooking. Some add salt to the al-Qali and lime in half the quantity of lime. Others add some starch just before cooking is over. The oil can be replaced by other oils such as oil of carthamus.
The alchemical treatises such as those of al-Razi sometimes also give recipes for soap. It is worth nothing too that al-Razi also gave a description of a process for producing glycerin from olive oil.
