Tabaqat al-Nassabin
- Author died
- 1429 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Rushd
Tabaqat al-Nassabin (The Generations of Genealogists) is a biographical dictionary of Arabic and Islamic genealogists composed by the Saudi scholar Bakr Abu Zayd (d. 1429 AH / 2008 CE). The work serves as a comprehensive chronological reference documenting the lives, ranks, and treatises of figures recognized for their mastery of genealogy (ilm al-nasab) from the era of the Prophet's Companions onward.
Scope and Method
The book is organized chronologically by generation (tabaqah) according to death dates across Islamic history. The first generation (1–100 AH) is divided into two parts: the Companions and the Successors.
- Companions' section: Begins with the first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (d. 13 AH), whom historical reports describe as the foremost genealogist among the Arabs and Quraysh. It follows with Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 23 AH)—noted as a genealogist who instituted the army register (diwan al-jund) arranged by tribal lineage starting with Banu Hashim—and other prominent figures such as Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza (d. 54 AH), Hassan ibn Thabit (d. 54 AH), Makhrama ibn Nawfal (d. 55 AH), the Prophet's wife A'isha bint Abi Bakr (d. 58 AH), Hakim ibn Hizam (d. 54 AH; other reports give 50, 58, or 60 AH), Jubayr ibn Mut'im (d. 59 AH), the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (d. 60 AH), Aqil ibn Abi Talib (d. during Mu'awiya's caliphate or early in Yazid's), Abd Allah ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH), Daghfal ibn Hanzala al-Shaybani (d. 70 AH; another report gives 65 AH), Abu al-Jahm (d. 70 AH), Abd Allah ibn Tha'laba ibn Su'ayr (d. 87 AH), and Suhar ibn al-Abbas al-Abdi.
- Successors' section: Covers 1st-century figures whose deaths occurred between 60 and 100 AH, including al-Nakhkhar ibn Aws al-Udhri (d. ca. 60 AH), Ilaqah ibn Karsham al-Kilabi, and al-Harith al-A'war (d. 65 AH).
For each entry, the author provides biographical information including full lineages, death dates with recorded variances, statements from classical scholars evaluating the subject's reliability or depth in genealogy, accounts of their teachers and students, and enumerations of their known genealogical treatises and charts. For example, in his entry on the Egyptian genealogist al-Sharif al-Jawwani (d. 588 AH), Abu Zayd documents twelve of his compositions and examines classical bibliographical notices concerning the distinction between his various texts.
In his critical treatment of the literature, Abu Zayd also evaluated earlier compilations on the subject. He criticized works that showed sectarian partiality, specifically noting Munyat al-Raghibin fi Tabaqat al-Nassabin by Abd al-Razzaq Hasan Kamunah for extolling Shi'i figures while disparaging Sunni scholars and Companions.
Publication History
The first edition of Tabaqat al-Nassabin was published in Riyadh by Dar al-Rushd in 1407 AH / 1987 CE. A second edition was published in Beirut by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in 1418 AH / 1998 CE.
Answer updated