The earliest Arabic alchemy works are partly in Arabic and partly in Syriac. Khalid ben Yezid (died 708 A.D.) a disciple of the Syrian monk Marianus, was the first Muslim writer on alchemy, according to the book Kitab-al-Fihrist. The talents of many alchemists were wasted on trying to turn lead and other substances into gold, but along the way they found out many things about chemistry too.
Kazi za kwanza kabisa za Alkemia ya Kiarabu nusu ni za Kiarabu na nusu ni Kisiria. Khalid mwana wa Yezid (alikufa mwaka 708 BK) mwanafunzi wa mtawa wa Kisiria Marianus, alikuwa mwandishi wa kwanza wa Kiislam juu ya Alkemia, kufuatana na kitabu Kitab-al-Fihrist. Vipaji vya Wanaalkemia viliharibiwa kwa kujaribu kubadili madini ya "risasi" na vitu vingine kuwa dhahabu, lakini katika mchakato huo waligundua mambo mengi hii ni pamoja na Kemia pia.