Tabaqat Al Kubra. Vol. 3 Pg. 269 H. 3714 ((full)) May 2026

"Tabaqat al-Kubra" (The Great Classes) is a renowned Arabic book on the history of Islam, written by Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Mani' al-Bakri, commonly known as Ibn Sa'd. The book is a collection of biographies of prominent figures in Islamic history, arranged in classes or generations.

• Relation: He was the son of ‘Utbah (the brother of the great exegete Ibn Mas‘ud). This made him a Tabarun (Successor) who met many lesser companions but did not see the Prophet directly.
• Residence: Basra, Iraq.
• Known for: Jurisprudence (fiqh) and quiet piety. He served as a judge (qadi) during the governorship of Ziyad ibn Abihi.

Lineage and Ancestry: Ibn Sa'd meticulously records the tribal affiliations of the Sahaba, which was crucial for understanding the social dynamics of 7th-century Arabia. tabaqat al kubra. vol. 3 pg. 269 h. 3714

1. The “Waqidi” Problem

The chain begins with "Muhammad ibn ‘Umar (al-Waqidi)". Al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa‘d’s teacher, is a polarizing figure. Hadith critics (like al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal) accused him of being a weak narrator, unreliable in the sahih traditions. However, Ibn Sa‘d uses al-Waqidi as his primary source for biographical information, not for establishing legal rulings. Page 269 shows that even when citing al-Waqidi in a hadith context, Ibn Sa‘d preserves the matn (text) for historical, not legal, evidence. This distinction is critical: Tabaqat is a work of Tarikh (history), not Sahih (authenticity). "Tabaqat al-Kubra" (The Great Classes) is a renowned