According to Al-Imaam adh-Dhahabi in As-Siyar, the three ma'aajim of Al-Imaam at-Tabaraanee can be described as follows:
1. Al-Mu'jam as-Sagheer in one volume which contains one hadeeth from every Shaykh of his each.
2. Al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer in eight volumes which contains names of the Sahabah, their biographies, their reports save that of Abu Hurairah. It does not contain all the hadeeth of Sahabah who reported most.
3. Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat in five volumes which contains the reports of his teachers who had many hadeeth, and some gharaaib (hadeeth few in routes) that he had from each of those teachers.
Al-Imaam at-Tabaraanee - rahimahullah - used to say about Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat:
'This book is my soul.'
(Meaning it was the most beloved to him)
Check As-Siyar 13/196
