ibn sa‘d’s traditionistic view concerning the early history of islam: a case study of imam ‘alī’s (a.s.) biography in al-tabaqāt al-kubrā

al-ṭabaqāt al-kubrā by muḥammad b. sa‘d baṣrī (d. 230/844) is one of the significant books on the biography of the prophet (s.a.w.), his companions, successors to the companions, and the transmitters of ḥadīth up to the early decades of third ah century. with a case study of imam ‘alī’s life in this book, the present research seeks to elucidate the difference of the reports presented by the traditionists and historians concerning the incidents of the early period of islam. the findings of this research indicate that ibn sa‘d, as a traditionist-historian, has sometimes reported the course of events differently from the historians due to his loyalty to the criteria and beliefs of the scholars of ḥadīth.