Khalifa ibn Khayyat

Khalifa ibn Khayyat
خليفة ابن خياط
TitleAl-ʿallāmah ('The erudite scholar') - Al-Ḥāfiẓ
Personal life
Bornc. 160 AH / 776–7 CE
Died240 AH / 854–5 CE
EraIslamic golden age
RegionMesopotamia
Notable work(s)
  • Al-Tāʾrīk̲h̲
  • Ṭabaḳāt al-Ḳurrāʾ
Religious life
ReligionIslam
TeachersHisham ibn al-Kalbi, Al-Mada'ini, Sufyan ibn ʽUyaynah
ProfessionSafflower trader
Muslim leader
Influenced
Arabic name
Personal
(Ism)
Khalīfa
خَلِيفَة
Patronymic
(Nasab)
ibn Khayyāṭ ibn Khalīfa ibn Khayyāṭ
بن خَيَّاط بن خَلِيفَة بن خَيَّاط
Teknonymic
(Kunya)
Abū ʿAmr
أبو عَمْر
Epithet
(Laqab)
Shabāb
شَبَاب
Toponymic
(Nisba)
al-ʿUṣfūrī al-Shaybānī al-Dhuhlī al-Tamīmī al-Laythī
العُصْفُرِيّ الشَّيْبَانِيّ الذُّهْلِيّ التَّمِيمِيّ اللَّيْثِيّ

Khalīfa bin Khayyāṭ bin Khalifa bin Khayyāṭ al-ʿUṣfūrī al-Shaybānī al-Dhuhlī al-Tamīmī al-Laythī Abū ʿAmr Shabāb (Arabic: خليفة بن خياط بن خليفة بن خياط العصفوري الشيباني الذهلي التميمي الليثي أبو عمرو شباب; 777–855) commonly known by his nickname Shabab or simply Khalifa Ibn Khayyat was a Basran Arab Islamic scholar, traditionist, historian, chronicler and genealogist.

A member of a scholarly Basran family of hadith transmitters, he became known primarily for his contributions to history and biographical literature. His Taʾrīkh is the earliest extant Islamic chronicle, covering events from the Prophet’s life to 232/847, while his Ṭabaqāt is one of the earliest surviving Islamic biographical dictionaries, cataloguing more than three thousand transmitters of hadith.