Writing Biographical Layers, a Procedure of Islamic Historiography and Impressionability from Social Structures

Writing biographical layers (ṭabaqāt) is regarded as a procedure of Islamic historiography that has particularly been employed in biography writing by Muslim writers. This procedure has been practiced during successive centuries, from the third century AH until present era and has experienced different styles and methods. Writers in different vocations and fields have used this model for presenting rijālī (biographies of ḥadīth transmitters), historical, and biographical data, yielding a large volume of Islamic written heritage. Influenced by the social and political climate of their time and their own beliefs, the authors of these works have selected various methods for classifications of their books. Given the way the Islamic biographical layer writing and its various procedures developed, the stages of writing biographical layers and the impression of social climate on the writers are examined in this paper. In conclusion, the possibility of making connection between writing biographical layers and the issue of social classes of the Islamic community has also been taken into consideration.