MuhammadAli Kazim Beyki
Mustafa Guhari FakhrAbad

Abstract: al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Muhammad Ibn Sa‘ad (۲۳۰ A.H.) is of the significant ancient books about the biography of Prophet Muhammad, his companions, Tabi‘in (companions of his companions), and tradition narrators till the beginning decades of the third Hijrah century. The present study in a case study on the biography of imam ‘Ali included in this book explained the differences among records of historians and tradition narrators about the events at the beginning of Islam. The findings show that Ibn Sa‘ad as a tradition narrator ( Muhaddith) and a historian due to his commitment to the beliefs of Ahl Hadith in explaining the events at the beginning of Islam pictured the course of events different from other historians.

historiography, Ashab Hadith, Ibn Sa‘ad, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, ‘Ali