Reidentifying the Author of the Treatise al-Aṣl al-aṣīl and Introducing His Works and Opinions

A small treatise on “the rule of one” (qāʿida al-wāḥid)- which denotes that from one, only one thing can emerge- and its various accompaniments was written in the eleventh century AH. It is questioned in various aspects such as its exact title and the name of its author. This treatise was corrected and published in 1386 SH. However, by examining the manuscripts and through content analysis of its text and its comparison with another work of the author, it can be conclusively claimed that the author is a physician at the court of Shah Abbas II, Muḥammad Saʿīd Ṭabīb, son of Muḥammad Bāqir known as Ḥakīm Kūchak. The author has works in medicine, poetry, and philosophy, but unfortunately some of his works have been published in the name of others, like Dīvān-e sheʿr and Kelīd-e behesht which are attributed to Qāḍī Saʿīd Qumī and al-Aṣl al-aṣīl which is attributed to Mullā Rajab Alī Tabrīzī. The only published work in his name is Mathnawī Khorshīd wa Mahpāreh. So far, three of his medical treatises on diarrhea, dissection of the bones of the head and jaw, and fever have been identified. Some of his views are as follows: homonymity of existence, apophatic theology, impossibility of knowing God’s Essence, refuting motion in substance, suddenness of motion, negating purpose from Divine acts, refuting mental existence, the ontological priority of essence, negating physical origination of the soul, and refuting renewal of archetypes.