Hadith of the Golden Chain

The Hadith of the Golden Chain or Hadith Silsilat al-Dhahab (Arabic: حدیث سلسلة الذهب) is a hadith narrated from Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam of the Twelver Shia. The "chain" is a reference to the continuity of spiritual authority which is passed down from the Islamic prophet Muhammad to Ali ibn Abi Talib, through each of the Imams, to Imam Ridha.