So, according to Jabir, an alchemist can create any material simply by manipulating the physical world, and this extends to the human body. So theoretically, if the alchemist wanted to, they could make a tiny human from scratch inside their alchemical vessel. The Jabirian corpus stops just short of discussing whether or not this homunculus would have a soul, but the implications were not lost on later alchemists and theologians.
That said, there is little evidence that any religious authority ever took the alchemists seriously enough to consider this a threat. Imagine if a theoretical physicist in this day and age claimed they could manufacture a human soul. The reaction would be a series of polite nods and a quick changing of the subject. The Abbasid Caliphate had more important things to deal with, and the alchemists never did manufacture a homunculus with a soul, but they did lay the groundwork for modern chemistry.
Islamicate Alchemy and the Jabirian Corpus, today on Patreon
