Tabaqat

Tabaqat (طبقات) is a genre of Islamic biographical literature that is organized according to the century in which the notable individuals (such as scholars, poets etc.) lived. Each century or generation is known as a Tabaqah, the plural of which is Tabaqat.

They were written as tools to assist the muhaddiths in their efforts to classify hadith transmitters and to determine the quality of particular isnads. The isnad as a system for authenticating the memory of the prophetic period required righteous, honest, and competent transmitters in every generation. Biographical entries in the Tabaqat literature typically offer evaluations of the personal, religious and intellectual quality of their subjects.^[1]

Famous examples of Tabaqat literature include Tabaqat al-Hanabilah originally by Ibn Abi Ya'la and then by Ibn Rajab. Tabaqat ul-Mutazilah (as the title suggests, concerned with Islamic theologians of the Mutazilite school) by Ahmad bin Yahya al-Murtada, at-Tabaqat ul-Kubra (about the companions of the Prophet and their successors) by Ibn Sa'd and - more recently - Tabaqat 'Alam ul-Shi'ah (about famous Shi'a scholars] by Aqa Buzurg Tehrani.

References

↑ Judd, Steven C. (2013). Religious Scholars and the Umayyads Piety-Minded Supporters of the Marwanid Caliphate. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 25. ISBN 1134501714.

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[1] Judd, Steven C. (2013). Religious Scholars and the Umayyads Piety-Minded Supporters of the Marwanid Caliphate. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 25. ISBN 1134501714.