Evaluating the text of Saḥīfat al-Riḍā (AS)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Ali Adelzadeh ¹
• Amirhasan Khorvash ²

¹ Ph.D. Student, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, College of Farabi University of Tehran, Qom, Iran and Researcher of Pooyafakr Research Group

² MA. Student, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, College of Farabi University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

10.22067/jquran.2024.88210.1699

Abstract

Saḥīfat al-Riḍā (AS) (hadith collection of al- Riḍā) is one of the most famous hadith collections attributed to Ahl al-Bayt (AS) (Household of the Prophet) and quoted in the style of Sunni narrations. The best way to assess the validity of this book is Takhrīj (extraction) and comparison of all its hadithss, which is the basis of this article. Most of the book's hadiths have not been transmitted through another valid chain of narrators from Ahl al-Bayt. Also, most of its hadith texts are similar to Sunnites' narrations that usually have time precedence over Saḥīfat al-Riḍā. There are various problems in the hadiths of this collection, such as non-conformity of the text and the Isnad, change in the characters of the narrations, combination of hadiths, error in reading and quoting the text, anachronism, and inconsistency with the Quran and Shia hadiths. These problems not only cast doubt on its narrations' authenticity but also show that the compiler of the collection has used the early written sources and changed their Isnads. Sakkūnī's book is the most important written source identified for Saḥīfat al-Riḍā. Probably, more than ten percent of the narrations of Saḥīfat al-Riḍā have been extracted from Sakkūnī's book.

Keywords

• Saḥīfat al-Imām al-Riḍā(AS)
• Abdullāh ibn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿĀmir al-Ṭāʾī
• Ismāʿīl ibn Abi Zīyād al- Sakkūnī
• Criticism of the text

Main Subjects

• Quran and Hadith Studies

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©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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