The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 39: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to His History

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SUNY Press, 1998 M01 1 - 406 pages

The present volume is a collection of excerpts from al-Ṭabarī's biographical work entitled The Supplement to the Supplemented (Dhayl al-mudhayyal).

In the introduction to his History, al-Ṭabarī declared his intention to append to it a biographical work for the reader's convenience. Only a collection of excerpts has survived, however. It was first published as part of the Leiden edition of the History and is now presented as a volume in the Ṭabarī Translation Project. It brings together biographies of Companions, successors, and scholars of subsequent generations; many chapters are devoted to women related to the Prophet who played a role in the transmission of knowledge. The biographies vary in length and style, ranging from a mere identification of a person to long accounts and anecdotes.

This volume represents a long tradition characteristic of Muslim culture. Muslim scholars developed biographical literature into a rich and complex genre. It was intended to be an auxiliary branch of religious study, aimed at determining the reliability of chains of transmission through which traditions were handed down. More often than not, however, works in this genre contain valuable historical information of the kind often ignored by the authors of mainstream history books. Even though not a complete work, this volume is thus not merely a supplement to al-Ṭabarī's History but also a source in its own right, often supplying new and rare insights into events and social conditions.

 

Contents

VI
3
VII
4
VIII
11
IX
12
X
19
XI
22
XIII
23
XIV
25
LVI
127
LVIII
129
LIX
130
LXI
137
LXIV
147
LXV
148
LXVI
149
LXVII
150

XV
27
XVI
28
XVII
36
XVIII
37
XIX
40
XX
51
XXI
52
XXII
54
XXIII
57
XXIV
58
XXV
59
XXVI
95
XXVIII
98
XXIX
100
XXX
102
XXXII
104
XXXIII
105
XXXVII
106
XXXIX
107
XLI
110
XLII
111
XLIII
116
XLIV
117
XLVII
118
LI
119
LII
123
LIII
125
LIV
126
LXVIII
151
LXIX
161
LXXI
163
LXXII
166
LXXIII
169
LXXIV
191
LXXVII
195
LXXVIII
199
LXXIX
201
LXXX
206
LXXXI
208
LXXXII
209
LXXXIII
215
LXXXIV
228
LXXXV
229
LXXXVI
250
LXXXVII
257
LXXXVIII
278
XCI
281
XCII
286
XCV
287
XCVI
300
XCIX
303
C
314
CI
332
CIII
339
CIV
357
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