Exploring a New Link to the Tabaqat of Exegetes: The Literature of Thabat - with Special Focus on Ibn ‘Aqilah al-Makki’s Life Story

Abstract

Numerous genres of writing have emerged in the tradition of Islamic thought including ?abaqat, thabat, ta‘rifat, mufradat, and mu??ala?at. The present study delves into the possibility that the genre of thabat is a new field within the tradition of ?abaqat almufassirin. By ascertaining the works written in the genre of thabat, one can obtain comprehensive information about the life stories of scholars including such details as their lineage, family, birth, patronymic-teknonymic and toponymic names, cultural background, scholarly personality, intellectual journeys, masters, pupils, contemporaries, works, denomination, and time of death. Unlike bio-bibliographical works, details such as the dates when the polymaths were students of which teachers, what books they read, the curriculum of their training periods, and where and for what purpose they travelled on which date can be commonly determined by referring to the thabat literature. Therefore, the tradition of thabat is an important referential source for finding out the biographies of the commentators, particularly those specialized in ?adith narratives. In the final analysis this study elucidates that the tradition of thabat is convenient for being a subsidiary link to the tafsir ?abaqat, inferring from its possibility of providing comprehensive information about the life stories, erudite personalities, travels, and works of exegetes like Ibn ‘Aqilah al-Makki, who was also an authority in the science of ?adith and proved his knowledgeable maturity in other fields particularly tafsir.