A01536 - Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Waqidi, Author of the Book of the Campaigns of the Prophet

Waqidi, Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al- (Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al-Waqidi) (b. 747 [130 AH], Medina,  Abbasid Caliphate - d. 823 [207AH]).  Arab historian from Medina.  A moderate Shi‘a, he owes his fame to the Book of the Campaigns (of the Prophet), the only one of his many writings that has survived as an independent work.  His merit lies mainly in his transmission of a very large amount of material and in fixing its chronology.

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waqid al-Aslami (Abu ʿAbd Allah Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Waqid al-Aslami) was a historian commonly referred to as al-Waqidi. His surname is derived from his grandfather's name Waqid, and thus he became famous as al-Imam al-Waqidi. Al-Waqidi was an early Muslim historian and biographer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, specializing in his military campaigns. 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. 

Al-Waqidi was born in Medina around 747 CC (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 ibn Anas and Sufyan al-Thawri. He lived in Medina at the time of Abu Hanifa and Ja'far al-Sadiq and studied in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi as a student of Malik ibn Anas. Al-Waqidi also had access to the grandchildren of Muhammad's companions. Al-Waqidi originally earned a living as a wheat trader, but when a calamity struck at the age of 50, he migrated to Iraq during the reign of Harun ar-Rashid. He was appointed a judge of eastern Baghdad, and Harun ar-Rashid's heir al-Ma'mun later appointed him the qadi of a military camp at Resafa. 

Al-Waqidi concentrated on history and was acknowledged as a master of the genre by many of his peers. His books on the early Islamic expeditions and conquests predate much of the Sunni and Shia literature of the later Abbasid period. His works regarding the battles of Muhammad and his companions were considered reliable by most early Islamic scholars. While still regarded as an important source for early Islamic history, later authors debated the reliability of his 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. Futuh al-Sham ("Book of the Conquests of Syria"), a novelization of the Islamic army's conquests of Byzantine Syria, has traditionally been ascribed to al-Waqidi. Modern scholars generally classify Futuh al-Sham as a falsely-attributed later work, dating it to around the time of the Crusades, though some scholars believe a small portion of the text may be traced back to al-Waqidi. 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.