Research on Reliability of Risala Zahabyah

Risala Zahabyah or Muzahhabah, is a treatise in the field of medicine which has been attributed to Imam Reza. In order to assess the validity and accuracy of this treatise attributed to Imam Reza; the author of the present paper, first verifies the historical evidences and documents as concomitant factors for attribution of this treatise and then evaluates the isnad (chain of transmission). In order to evaluate the text of this treatise, he also devises inter- and intra- textual evidences. Result of the study indicates thatattribution of al-Risalah al-Zahabyah to Imam Rida, peace be upon him, has not been proved and one cannot act upon it as a reliable source. The final section of this paper makes a comparison between Risala Zahabyah and ancient medical literature.