A01564 - Wahb ibn Munabbih, Author of "Book of the Military Campaigns" of the Prophet

 Wahb ibn Munabbih, Abu ‘Abd Allah (Abu ‘Abd Allah Wahb ibn Munabbih) (Wahb ibn Munabbih)  (Abu 'Abd Allah al-Ṣana'ani al-Dhimari) (Wahb ibn Munabbih ibn Kamil ibn Sirajud-Din Dhee Kibaar Abu-Abdullah al-Yamani al-San'ani) (654-725/728/737).  Storyteller of Persian descent from Yemen.  He is celebrated for his Book of the Military Campaigns, describing the Prophet’s campaigns.  He was also an authority on the traditions of Jews and Christians.

Wahb ibn Munabbih was a Muslim traditionist of Dhimar (two days' journey from Sanaa) in Yemen.  He is counted among the Tabi‘in and narrated Isra'iliyat.

On his father's side he was descended from Persian knights, while his mother was a Himyarite.

His father, whose name was Munabbih ibn Kamil, had been converted to Islam in the lifetime of the Prophet, although a single authority, the "Al-Tibr al-Masluk", states that Wahb himself had turned from Judaism to Islam. His other biographers, however, including Al-Nawawi and Ibn Challikan, do not note that he was a Jew either in race or in religion. The fact that he was well versed in Jewish traditions, on which he wrote much, probably gave rise to the statement that he was a Jew, although he might have acquired his knowledge from his teacher Ibn 'Abbas.

Among Wahb's many writings may be mentioned his "Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiya'" ("Story of the Prophets") and "Kitab al-Isra'iliyat" ("Book of the Israelites," "Ḥajji Khalfa," iv. 518, v. 40). The former, which is believed to be his earliest literary work, is, as its title indicates, a collection of narratives concerning Biblical personages, the accounts being drawn from Jewish folk-lore though presented in Islamic guise. Thus, like Ibn 'Abbas and Ka'b al-Aḥbar, he was an authority for many legends narrated by Al-Ṭabari, Mas'udi, and others. The "Kitab al-Isra'iliyat," or "Book of Jewish Matters," is lost, but was apparently a collection of Jewish stories, many of them incorporated by a Jewish compiler into the "Arabian Nights." In the latter collection there are indeed many stories that bear the Jewish stamp, and some of them, such as the "Angel of Death," are ascribed to Wahb by the author of "Al-Tibr al-Masluk." There are also other stories which are attributed to Wahb, and many more which, from their Jewish character, may be traced to him. His Jewish learning may be illustrated by his opinion of the Shekinah (Arabic, "Sakinah") as stated by different Arabic authors.

Wahb was made a judge during the reign of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.

Wahb's full name is given as "Abu 'Abd Allah al-Ṣana'ani al-Dhimari", or "Wahb ibn Munabbih ibn Kamil ibn Sirajud-Din Dhee Kibaar Abu-Abdullah al-Yamani al-San'ani.

Wahb also had a brother named Hammam ibn Munabbih, who is reported to have written 138 Hadiths in his Sahifa.

Wahb is said to have read more than seventy books on the prophets, and he was an extremely prolific narrator (rawi) of stories regarding Muhammad and Biblical personages. He had a son named Abdallah al-Abnawi.