al-Muntaqa min Kitab al-Tabaqat li-Abi Aruba al-Harrani
- Author died
- 318 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
al-Muntaqa min Kitab al-Tabaqat (The Selection from the Book of Generations) is a biographical compilation of Hadith narrators and regional scholars compiled from the larger biographical work of the traditionist and historian Abu Aruba al-Harrani (d. 318 AH / 930 CE) .
Background and Scope
The original work, Kitab al-Tabaqat, was authored by Abu Aruba al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Ma'shar al-Harrani, a leading hadith master and chronicler of Harran and the Upper Mesopotamian region of al-Jazira . According to al-Sam'ani in al-Tahbir, Abu Aruba's original al-Tabaqat was a substantial work spanning fourteen parts (ajza'), arranged by chronological generations (tabaqat) . In transmission bibliographies, portions of his generational listings—such as Tabaqat al-Sahaba (Generations of the Companions)—were transmitted by his student Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Asimi, to whom the compilation was occasionally attributed as the transmitter from his master Abu Aruba .
Content and Method
The work documents the biographies of hadith transmitters and scholars, organized regionally and chronologically across successive classes, including designated chapters such as the "fifth generation of the people of al-Jazira" (al-Tabaqa al-Khamisa min Ahl al-Jazira) . Abu Aruba provided specific biographical information for the figures of al-Jazira, including their lineages, local ties, physical habits (such as whether an individual dyed their beard), and exact death dates recorded by the day and month .
Later biographical authors drew on Kitab al-Tabaqat for regional entries. In Ikmal Tahdhib al-Kamal, Ala' al-Din Mughaltay cited Abu Aruba's original text directly to supplement and correct details regarding dates and biographical data that had been abbreviated or mediated through Ibn Asakir in al-Mizzi's Tahdhib al-Kamal .
Modern Publication
The surviving abridgment or selected text (al-Muntaqa min Kitab al-Tabaqat) was edited by Ibrahim Salih and published by Dar al-Basha'ir in 1994 CE .
Answer updated