A Review and Analysis of the Documents on Imam Ridha's (AS) Debates in Iraq and Khorasan

The debates of Imam Ridhā (AS) are of particular importance in the Imami Shiʻite religious literature. Although some scholars have raised doubts about their credibility and authenticity, they have been used and cited by many Hadith scholars and researchers. Imam Ridha's (AS) debates in Iraq and Khorasan are worth reviewing in terms of their documentation and textual evaluation in order to prove their credibility and authenticity. In this research, the documents of the debates have been examined from ʻIlm al-Rijal perspective. Muhammad ibn Fazl Hashemi, the narrator of Iraqi debates, and most of the Rijal of Khorasan debates, such as Hassan ibn Muhammad Nufali and Abu Amar Muhamad Ibn Omar Ibn Abd al-Aaziz al-Ansari al-Kaji (circa 340 hijri) and Abu Muhamad Jafar Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmad al-Qommi al-Ilaqi known as Ibn al-Razi are considered by Rijali scholars as reliable narrators because of their close relations with trusted scholars of Rijal. “Al-Kharaij wa al-Jara'ih” of Ravandi, and ʻUyun Akhbar al-Redha (AS) of Saduq are the oldest sources of these debates.