Book: Siyar A'lam An-Nubala by Ad-Dhahabi - سير أعلام النبلاء ـ الإمام الذهبي

Generations of the Followers

The third generation of the Followers began with Mu'awiya ibn Qurrah, who passed away in the year 113 AH. This generation extended until the year 127 AH, the year in which Abu Ishaq 'Amr ibn 'Abdullah al-Sabi'i died.

The fourth generation of the Followers began with Mansur ibn al-Mu'tamir, who died in the year 133 AH. This generation stretched until the year 150 AH, when Habib al-Muallem passed away.

The fifth generation of the Followers started with Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, who died in the year 128 AH. It continued until the year 156 AH, during which 'Abdul Rahman ibn Ziyad ibn An'am al-Afriki passed away.

The sixth generation of the Followers consists of the younger Followers. It began with Sa'id ibn Abi 'Aruba, who died in the year 156 AH, and extended until the year 161 AH, the year when Yazid ibn Ibrahim al-Tustari, Abu Sa'id al-Basri, passed away.

Notable Observations

It is notable that the biographies were not arranged according to the year of death. For instance, the fourth generation concludes with Habib al-Muallem, who died in 150 AH, while the fifth generation begins with Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, who passed away in 128 AH.

The esteemed compiler brought together siblings and relatives in a single generation. For example, in the second generation of the Followers, he included both Abu Salama ibn 'Abdurrahman ibn 'Awf, who died in 104 AH, and his brother Ibrahim ibn 'Abdurrahman ibn 'Awf, who died in 96 AH. However, he placed the biography of Abu Salama before that of his brother Ibrahim, although there was an eight-year difference between their deaths. It would have been more appropriate to place Ibrahim ibn 'Abdurrahman ibn 'Awf, who died earlier, before his brother Abu Salama ibn 'Abdurrahman.

Similarly, in the twenty-eighth generation, he places two brothers together: King Shihabuddin Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Taj al-Mulook Buri ibn al-Atabak Tughtakin, who was killed in 533 AH, and his brother Jamaluddin Abu al-Muzaffar Muhammad, who died ten months after his brother.

Furthermore, the compiler arranged fathers and sons in the same generation, even if there was a significant gap in their years of death. In the thirtieth generation, he included the biography of the Chief Judge Abu Talib Ruh ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hadithi al-Baghdadi, who died in the year 570 AH, followed by his son, Abu al-Ma’ali 'Abdul Malik ibn Ruh, who passed away...