Sahih wa Daif Tarikh al-Tabari
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dār Ibn Kathīr
Sahih wa Daif Tarikh al-Tabari (The Sound and Weak [Narrations] of al-Tabari’s History) is a critical verification, classification, and commentary on the historical reports transmitted in the chronicle of Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (224–310 AH / 839–923 CE), prepared by Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Barzanji under the supervision and review of Muhammad Subhi Hasan Hallaq .
Purpose and Methodology
The work was conceived to evaluate and separate the sound (sahih) historical reports from the weak (daif) ones in al-Tabari's history through the critical apparatus of hadith methodology (rijal evaluation and isnad criticism) . Because al-Tabari recorded diverse reports with their respective chains of transmission without systematically grading their authenticity, his chronicle contains unverified accounts, severed chains, and transmissions from heavily impugned narrators, such as Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya .
In treating the creation and stories of the prophets, the author applied strict standards analogous to those used for legal rulings (ahkam), accepting only continuous, soundly transmitted reports to defend the theological concept of prophetic infallibility (isma) against fabricated or distorted accounts . In later sections covering military campaigns and conquests—particularly under the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate—the author exercised measured leniency regarding secondary details due to the gradual thinning and disappearance of formal isnads in al-Tabari’s text as it approached the year 302 AH .
Structure and Scope
The project arranges the historical material into distinct thematic parts, each divided into sound and weak divisions :
- Qisas al-Anbiya wa-Tarikh Ma Qabl al-Bi'tha (Stories of the Prophets and Pre-Islamic History)
- Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Prophetic Biography)
- Al-Khilafa al-Rashida (The Rightly Guided Caliphate)
- Tatimmat al-Qarn al-Hijri al-Awwal (The Remainder of the First Hijri Century)
- Tatimmat Tarikh al-Khilafa fi Ahd al-Umawiyyin (The Remainder of the History of the Umayyad Caliphate), including the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
- Tarikh al-Khilafa fi Ahd al-Abbasiyyin (The History of the Abbasid Caliphate), encompassing events from 132 AH up to 302 AH
- Rijal Tarikh al-Tabari Jarhan wa-Ta'dilan (Biographical Evaluation of the Transmitters of al-Tabari's History)
Publication and Contributors
The work was published in its first edition by Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus–Beirut) in 1428 AH / 2007 CE, totaling 5,616 pages across a multi-volume set .
In addition to the primary supervision of Muhammad Subhi Hasan Hallaq, the project involved specialized review by several scholars: Shaykh Yahya ibn Ibrahim al-Yahya provided general oversight regarding the narrations of Abu Mikhnaf; Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi and Ibrahim al-Jaff examined and approved portions of the Abbasid era; and Aqil al-Maqtari reviewed biographical entries of several transmitters .
Answer updated