What does Ibn Taymiyyah mean by "created being" in the context of differentiating between what is made for the All-Merciful and what is made for humans? And does he consider some chemical industries, such as the transformation of metals, to fall under what humans cannot rationally produce and what is Islamically forbidden to pursue? And what is the theological benefit of this differentiation?

Creation (al-khalq) is bringing into existence from non-existence, or bringing into existence creatures generated from matter, or transforming something from one form to another. For this reason, it is attributed to the Children of Adam.

Ibn Taymiyyah differentiated between al-masnou‘ (the manufactured) and al-makhlooq (the created): 1. Al-Masnou‘: What the son of Adam manufactures, such as cooked foods, woven fabrics, and constructed buildings. 2. Al-Makhlooq: What Allah Almighty created, in which the servant has no acquisition or action, such as animals and plants.

His rule is that what Allah created, man cannot manufacture its like, and what man manufactures, Allah has not created its like. This is supported by induction, and its purpose is to prevent fraud and to dispel the illusion that anyone can make gold from iron or silver from copper.

The forbidden alchemy that Ibn Taymiyyah intended is the ancient alchemy based on fraud, magic, and attempts to counterfeit gold and silver, not modern chemistry, which is based on analyzing materials and transforming elements through scientific methods.