Al-Waqidi

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waqid al-Aslami ( – 207 AH; commonly referred to as al-Waqidi (Arabic: ; c. 747 – 823 AD) was an early Arab Muslim historian and biographer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, specializing in his military campaigns. His surname is derived from his grandfather's name Waqid, and thus he became famous as al-Imam al-Waqidi. He served as a judge (qadi) for the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. Several of al-Waqidi's works are known through his scribe and student (in the field of the al-maghazi genre), Ibn Sa'd.

Biography Al-Waqidi was born in Medina around 748 AD (130 AH). He was the mawla (client) of ‘Abd Allah ibn Burayda of the Banu Aslam of Medina. According to Abu Faraj al-Isfahani, al-Waqidi’s mother was the daughter of ‘Isa ibn Ja‘far ibn Sa’ib Khathir, a Persian, and the great-granddaughter of Sa’ib, who introduced music to Medina. Amongst his prominent teachers were Ibn Abi Thahab Ma'mar bin Rashid, Malik ibn Anas and Sufyan al-Thawri. While still regarded as an important source for early Islamic history, later authors debated the reliability of his works. Western orientalists who enjoyed his writings include Martin Lings and Tilman Nagel.

Works Al-Waqidi is primarily known for his Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi (, "Book of History and Campaigns"), which is the only part of his corpus that has been fully preserved. It describes the battles fought by Muhammad, as well as Muhammad's life in the city of Medina. The work draws upon the earlier sira of Ibn Ishaq, though it includes details not found in Ibn Ishaq's text.

A number of works chronicling the Islamic conquests have been attributed to al-Waqidi, though most of these attributions are now believed to be mistaken. In addition to depicting the battles of the Islamic armies, the work also details the valor of various Muslim women, including Hind bint Utbah, Khawlah bint al-Azwar, and Asma bint Abi Bakr.

According to Ibn al-Nadim, al-Waqidi authored a book detailing the death of Husayn ibn Ali, though this work has not survived. Other lost texts attributed to al-Waqidi include a book chronicling the last days of Muhammad's life. The works of al-Waqidi's student Ibn Sa'd may contain some excerpts from these texts.

Published editions English

Translated, edited by Rizwi Faizer and published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York.online link

Islamic criticism Waqidi has faced criticism regarding his scholarly reliability from many later Sunni Islamic scholars, including:

al-Shafi’i (150-204 A.H.) said "All the books of al-Waqidi are lies. In Medina there were seven men who used to fabricate authorities, one of which was al-Waqidi." Yahya ibn Ma'in (158-233 A.H.) said "He is weak. He is nothing. Not reliable!" Abu Zur’a al-Razi (193-264 A.H.) said "(Waqidi's writing) Abandoned, Weak" Al-Nasa’i (214-303 A.H.) said "The liars known for fabricating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah are four. They are: Ibn Abi Yahya in Medina, al-Waqidi in Baghdad, Muqatil ibn Sulayman in Khurasan and Muhammad ibn Sa'id in Syria." Ibn ‘Adi (277-365 A.H.) said "His traditions are not safe and there is danger from him (in accepting his traditions)" Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani (1914-1999 C.E.) said that al-Waqidi is a liar.

Even among those who questioned his authenticity many still considered him a pillar in history and accepted his narrations in this regard. Ibn Hajar Asqalani records: "He is acceptable in the narrations of the battles according to our companions and Allah knows the best."

Some of his criticisms are written in books written centuries later even though the claimed criticisms are made by people who were born around his time.

Western criticism Patricia Crone gives al-Waqidi as an example of the phenomenon whereby the farther an Islamic commentary on Muhammad's life was removed in time from his life and the events in the Quran, the more information it provided. If one storyteller should happen to mention a raid, the next storyteller would know the date of this raid, while the third would know everything that an audience might wish to hear about.

Historian Michael Cook gives an example of the difference in accounts of the death of Muhammad's father Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib. Ibn Ishaq relates that some say he died while Muhammad's mother was pregnant with Muhammad was born and some while Muhammad was 28 months old; another commentator (Ma'mar ibn Rashid) says that he died in Yathrib after being sent there to lay stores of dates. About a half a century later al-Waqidi relates that 'Abdallah had gone to Gaza on business, had fallen ill on the way back, and died in Yathrib after leaving the caravan he was with to be nursed by relations there. Waqidi was further able to specify Abdallah's age at death and the exact place of his burial. ...[that the death] took place ... while Muhammad was still in the womb, and that while there were "other accounts of the matter" his was the best.

Early Islamic scholars