Ibn Sa'd
Arab scholar, biographer and historian (784/5-845)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AbÅ« âAbd AllÄh Muḥammad ibn Saâd ibn ManÄ«â al-Baá¹£rÄ« al-HÄshimÄ«[4] or simply Ibn Sa'd (Arabic: اب٠سعد) and nicknamed Scribe of Waqidi (Katib al-Waqidi), was a scholar and Arabian biographer. Ibn Sa'd was born in 784/785 CE (168 AH)[5] and died on 16 February 845 CE (230 AH).[5] Ibn Sa'd was from Basra,[2] but lived mostly in Baghdad, hence the nisba al-Basri and al-Baghdadi respectively. He is said to have died at the age of 62 in Baghdad and was buried in the cemetery of the Syrian gate.[6]
KitÄb al-ṬabaqÄt al-KabÄ«r
The KitÄb al-ṬabaqÄt al-KabÄ«r (transl.âThe Major Book of Classes) is a compendium of biographical information (tabaqÄt) about famous Islamic personalities. This eight-volume work contains the lives of Muhammad, his Companions and his Helpers, including those who fought at the Battle of Badr as a special class, and of the following generation, the Followers, who received their traditions from the Companions.[7]
Ibn Sa'd's authorship of this work is attested in a postscript to the book added by a later writer. In this notice he is described as a "client of al-Husayn ibn âAbdullah of the âAbbasid family".[8] The work was subject to a major study by a European scholar already in 1869.[9]
Contents
- Books 1 and 2 contain a prophetic biography.
- Books 3 and 4 contain biographies of companions of Muhammad.
- Books 5, 6 and 7 contain biographies of later Islamic scholars.
- Book 8 contains biographies of Islamic women.
Published editions
Arabic
- Ibn SaÊ»d, Muḥammad (1904â40). Sachau, Eduard; Brockelmann, Carl (eds.). KitÄb al-ṬabaqÄt al-kabÄ«r : wa-huwa mushtamil aydan Ê»alá al-SÄ«rah al-SharÄ«fah al-NabawÄ«yah / taá¹£nÄ«f Muḥammad ibn SaÊ»d KÄtib al-WÄqidÄ«; Ê»aniya bi-taṣḥīḥihi wa á¹abÊ»ihi Idward Sakhaw; KÄrl BrÅ«kilmÄn Ùتاب اÙطبÙات اÙÙبÙر : ÙÙ٠٠شت٠٠أÙضا٠عÙ٠اÙسÙرة اÙشرÙÙØ© اÙÙبÙÙÙØ©. اÙجزء اÙثا٠٠[Biographien Muhammeds, seiner gefährten und der späteren träger des Islams bis zum jahre 230 der flucht] (in Arabic). Vol. 9 vols. Leiden: Brill. (includes brief German synopses with page references for each book, reprinted in 2022 as Muḥammad Ibn SaÊ¿d (13 January 2022). Biography of Muḥammad, His Companions and the Successors up to the Year 230 of the Hijra: Eduard Sachau's Edition of <i>KitÄb Al-ṬabaqÄt Al-KabÄ«r</i>. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-46989-1. OCLC 1291632208.online link
- In 1968, IḥsÄn AbbÄs edited it (Beirut: DÄr SÄdir).
- âAlÄ« Muḥammad âUmar, ed. (2001). KitÄb al-á¹abaqÄt al-kabÄ«r. Cairo: Maktabat al-KhÄnjÄ«. Contains 11 volumes.[10]
English
- S. Moinul Haq (transl.), Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir: Volume I, Parts I & II; Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1967 [= Pakistan Historical Society Publication, no. 46]online link
- S. Moinul Haq (transl.), Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir: Volume II, Parts I & II; Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1972 [= Pakistan Historical Society Publication, no. 59]online link
- S. Moinul Haq (transl.), Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir: Volume I ( Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, 1981)online link
- S. Moinul Haq (transl.), Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir: Volume ll ( Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, 1981)online link
- Abridged translations of Volumes 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been translated by Aisha Bewley and published under the titles of The Companions of Badr, The Men of Madina-II, The Scholars of Kufa, The Men of Madina-I, and The Women of Madina.online link
