Ajay Kumar at 19:16, 28 September 2023

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{{Short description|Muslim historian and biographer of Muhammad (c.747-823)}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = [[Islam]]
| era = [[Islamic golden age]]
| image =
| caption =
| name = Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waqid al-Aslami
| title = '''Al-Waqidi'''
| birth_date = {{circa|130AH}} / AD 747
| death_date = 207AH / AD 823
| Maddhab =
| school_tradition =
| ethnicity =
| region =
| main_interests = [[History of Islam]]
| notable_ideas =
| works = ''Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi'' ("Book of History and Campaigns")
| influences =
| influenced = [[Ibn Sa'd]]|
| birth_place = Medina
}}

'''Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waqid al-Aslami''' ({{lang-ar|أبو عبد الله محمد بن عمر بن واقد الاسلمي|Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Wāqid al-Aslamī}}) ({{circa|130}} – 207 [[Islamic calendar|AH]]; c. 747 – 823 [[Anno Domini|AD]]) was a historian commonly referred to as '''al-Waqidi''' (Arabic: {{lang|ar|الواقدي}}). His surname is derived from his grandfather's name Waqid and thus he became famous as al-Imam al-Waqidi.<ref name=conxi>[http://www.kalamullah.com/conquest-of-syria.html Islamic Conquest of Syria A Translation of Futuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012011525/http://www.kalamullah.com/conquest-of-syria.html |date=2013-10-12 }}, pgs. x-xi. Trans. Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi.</ref> Al-Waqidi was an early [[Muslim]] [[historian]] and [[Prophetic biography|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]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ|title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture|page=278|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610691789|date=2014-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=grl0amPbIsYC&pg=PA107|title=The Literature of Islam|page=107|publisher=The Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461673149|date=2006-09-20}}</ref>

==Biography==
Al-Waqidi was born in Medina around 748 [[Anno Domini|AD]] (130 [[Islamic calendar|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 people|Persian]], and the great-granddaughter of [[Sa'ib Khathir|Sa’ib]], who introduced music to Medina.<ref name="Meri">{{cite book|last1=Faizer|first1=Rizwi|chapter=Waqidi, al-|editor=Josef Meri|publisher=Routledge|year=2018|isbn=9781351668132|title=Routledge Revivals: Medieval Islamic Civilization (2006): An Encyclopedia - Volume 2}}</ref> Amongst his prominent teachers were Ibn Abi Thahab Ma'mar bin Rashid, [[Malik ibn Anas]] and [[Sufyan al-Thawri]].<ref name=conxi/> 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]].<ref name="Meri" />

Al-Waqidi concentrated on history, and was acknowledged as a master of the genre by his many of his peers.<ref name=conxi/> His books on the early Islamic expeditions and conquests predate much of the Sunni and Shia literature of the later Abbasid period.<ref name=conxi/> His works regarding the battles of Muhammad and his [[Sahaba|companions]] were considered reliable by most early Islamic scholars.<ref name=dhab462>[[Al-Dhahabi]], ''Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'', vol. 9, pg. 462.</ref> 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]].<ref>[http://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2012/01/muhammad-ibn-umar-waqidi-narrator.html Muhammad ibn Umar Waqidi] at Let Me Turn the Tables.</ref>

==Works==
Al-Waqidi is primarily known for his ''Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi'' ([[Arabic]]: كتاب التاريخ والمغازي, "Book of History and Campaigns"), which is the only part of his corpus that has been fully preserved.<ref>{{cite book|page=45|title=Arabic Historical Thought in the Classical Period|last1=al-Khalidi|first1=Tarif|author-link1=Tarif Khalidi|year=1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521465540}}</ref> It describes the [[Ghazwah|battles]] fought by [[List of expeditions of Muhammad|Muhammad]], as well as Muhammad's life in the city of [[Medina]].<ref name="Faizer">{{cite book|title=The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab Al-Maghazi|chapter=Introduction|author=al-Waqidi|translator=Rizwi Faizer|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9781136921148}}</ref> The work draws upon the earlier ''sira'' of [[Ibn Ishaq]], though it includes details not found in Ibn Ishaq's text.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Narrative Themes and Devices in al-Waqidi's Kitab al-maghazi|last1=Little|first1=Donald P.|editor=Hermann Landolt|year=2005|publisher=I.B. Tauris|title=Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Theology, Philosophy and Mysticism in Muslim Thought|isbn=9781850434702}}</ref><ref name="Faizer-1996">{{cite journal |last1=Faizer |first1=Rizwi S. |title=Muhammad and the Medinan Jews: a comparison of the texts of Ibn Ishaq's Kitab Sirat Raul allah with Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |date=November 1996 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=463–489 |jstor=176149 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800063790 |s2cid=162540387 }}</ref>

A number of works chronicling the [[Early Muslim conquests|Islamic conquests]] have been attributed to al-Waqidi, though most of these attributions are now believed to be mistaken.<ref name="Faizer" /> ''Futuh al-Sham'' ([[Arabic]]: كتاب فتوح الشام, "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 [[Pseudepigrapha|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Republic of Arabic Letters: Islam and the European Enlightenment|page=xv|last1=Bevilacqua|first1=Alexander|year=2018|publisher=Harvard University|isbn=9780674975927}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Politics and Culture of an Umayyad Tribe: Conflict and Factionalism in the Early Islamic Period|last1=Rihan|first1=Mohammed|publisher=IB Tauris|year=2014|isbn=9781780765648|page=176}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=New data on an old manuscript: An Andalusian version of the work entitled Futuh al-Sham|journal=Al-Qantara|volume=21|issue=2|year=2000|page=361|last1=Landau-Tasseron|first1=Ella|doi=10.3989/alqantara.2000.v21.i2.431|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Arab historiography|last1=Merlet|first1=Shukrieh R.|journal=Islamic Quarterly|volume=34|issue=1|page=22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Lineaments of Islam: Studies in Honor of Fred McGraw Donner|editor=Paul Cobb|editor-link=Paul M. Cobb|publisher=Brill|year=2012|last1=Schneiner|first1=Jens|page=166|isbn=9789004231948}}</ref> 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]].<ref>Islamic Conquest of Syria A translation of "Futuh al-Sham" by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi Page 325-332 {{cite web|url=http://www.kalamullah.com/conquest-of-syria.html |title=Kalamullah.Com | the Islamic Conquest of Syria (Futuhusham) | al-Imam al-Waqidi |access-date=2013-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012011525/http://www.kalamullah.com/conquest-of-syria.html |archive-date=2013-10-12 }}</ref><ref>Walton, Mark W (2003), Islam at War, Greenwood Publishing Group, {{ISBN|0-275-98101-0}}, p. 30</ref>

According to [[Ibn al-Nadim]], al-Waqidi authored a book detailing the death of [[Husayn ibn Ali]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam|last1=Holmes Katz|first1=Marion|year=2007|publisher=Routledge|page=7|isbn=9781135983949}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam|last1=Shoemaker|first1=Stephen J.|page=77|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=9780812205138}}</ref>

==Criticism==
===Comparison with earlier commentaries===
Historian [[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.
<blockquote>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.<ref name="Crone-1987-223"/></blockquote>
This was despite the fact later commentaries depended on the earlier sources for their content, which suggested that if later commentaries differed in length from earlier work they should be briefer as some facts about the early days were lost or forgotten. (Crone attributed the phenomenon to storytellers' embellishment.)
Commentary works of Al-Waqidi were much larger than those of the oldest prophetic biography [[Ibn Ishaq]] (died 767) despite the fact that al-Waqidi's later works covered a shorter period of time (only Muhammad's period in Medina).<ref name="Crone-1987-223"/>
<blockquote>Waqidi will always give precise dates, locations, names, where Ibn Ishaq has none, accounts of what triggered the expedition, miscellaneous information to lend color to the event ... But given that this information was all unknown to Ibn Ishaq, its value is doubtful in the extreme. And if spurious information accumulated at this rate in the two generations between [[Ibn Ishaq]] and al-Waqidi, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that even more must have accumulated in the three generations between the Prophet and Ibn Ishaq.<ref name="Crone-1987-223">{{cite book |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |title=Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam |date=1987 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=223}}</ref><ref name="Pickard-352">{{cite book |last1=Pickard |first1=John |title=Behind the Myths: The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam |date=2013 |publisher=AuthorHouse. |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSBb4jBrHFIC&dq=If+one+storyteller+should+happen+to+mention+a+raid%2C+the+next+storyteller+would+know+the+date+of+this+raid%2C+while+the+third+would+know+everything+that+an+audience+might+wish+to+hear+about.&pg=PA352 |access-date=18 October 2019|isbn=9781481783637 }}</ref></blockquote>

Historian [[Michael Cook (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.<ref name="Cook-1983-63-64">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=Muhammad |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=63–64 |url=https://www.questia.com/library/74431249/muhammad |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref> About a half a century later al-Waqidi relates that
<blockquote>'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,</blockquote>
and that while there were "other accounts of the matter" his was the best.<ref name="Cook-1983-63-64"/>

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

* [[al-Shafi’i]] (d. 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."<ref name="Ibn Abi Hatim, vol.4 pt.1 p.21">Ibn Abi Hatim, vol.4 pt.1 p.21</ref>
* [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] (d. 241 A.H.) said "He is a liar, makes alternations in the traditions"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110">[[Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Dhahabi]],''Mizan al-I`tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal'', vol. 3 page 110</ref>{{additional citation|date=June 2017}}
* [[al-Baladhuri]] (d. 278 A.H.) said "al-Waqidi is ''matruk'' (known as a liar).<ref name="Futuhul Buldan Penaklukan Negeri-negeri dari Fathu Makkah Sampai Negeri Sind">{{cite book |last1=al-Baladhuri |first1=Ahmad bin Yahya bin Jabir |translator1=Masturi Ilham |translator2=Abidin Zuhri |last2=Muhammad Arafah |first2=Aiman |author1-link=Al-Baladhuri |title=Futuhul Buldan Penaklukan Negeri-negeri dari Fathu Makkah Sampai Negeri Sind |date=2015 |publisher=Pustaka al-Kautsar |location=East Jakarta, Java, Indonesia |isbn=9789795926993 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNveDwAAQBAJ |access-date=5 January 2022 |language=Indonesian |format=ebook}}</ref>
* [[Al-Nasa’i]] (d. 303 A.H.) said "The liars known for fabricating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah are four. They are: Arba’ah b. Abi Yahya in Medina, al-Waqidi in Baghdad, Muqatil b. Sulayman in Khurasan and Muhammad bin Sa’id in Syria."<ref name="Asqalani, ''al-Tahdhib'', volume 9 page 366 No.604">[[Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani]], ''Tahdhib al-Tahdhib'', volume 9 page 366 No.604, [Hyderabad, 1326 A.H.cf. Yusuf ‘Abbas Hashmi, Zaynab bint Jahash, ‘Islamic Culture’ vol.XLI, No.1, Hyderabad (India), 1967]</ref>{{additional citation|date=June 2017}}
* [[Al-Bukhari]] (d. 256 A.H.) said "al-Waqidi has been abandoned in hadith. He fabricates hadith"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />{{additional citation|date=June 2017}}
* [[Al-Dhahabi]] (d. 748 A.H.) said "Consensus has taken place on the weakness of al-Waqidi"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />{{additional citation|date=June 2017}}
* [[Yahya ibn Ma'in]] (d. 233 A.H.) said "He is weak. He is nothing. Not reliable!"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />
* [[Ishaq ibn Rahwayh]] (d. 238 A.H.) said "According to my view, he is one of those who fabricate Hadith"<ref name="Ibn Abi Hatim, vol.4 pt.1 p.21" />
* [[Abu Dawood]] (d. 275 A.H.) said "I do not write his hadith and I do not report (hadith) on his authority. I have no doubt that he used to make up hadith"<ref name="Asqalani, ''al-Tahdhib'', volume 9 page 366 No.604" />
* [[Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idris al-Razi]] (d. 277 A.H.) said "He fabricates hadith. We have abandoned his hadith"<ref name="Asqalani, ''al-Tahdhib'', volume 9 page 366 No.604" />
* [[Al-Daraqutni]] (d. 385 A.H.) said "There is weakness in him (in his reporting)"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />
* [[Ali ibn al-Madini]] (d. 241 A.H.)said "He fabricates Hadith"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />
* [[Ibn ‘Adi]] (d. 365 A.H.) said "His traditions are not safe and there is danger from him (in accepting his traditions)"<ref name="Al-Dhahabi, ''Mizan'', vol. 3 page 110" />
* [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani]] (d. 852 A.H.)said "He has been abandoned in spite of vastness of his knowledge"<ref name="al-Asqalani, ''al-Tahdhib'', volume 2 page 194">[[Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani]], ''Tahdhib al-Tahdhib'', volume 2 page 194, [Cairo, 1960]</ref>
* [[Abu Zur’a al-Razi]] (d. 264 A.H.) said "(Waqidi's writing) Abandoned, Weak"<ref name="Ibn Abi Hatim, vol.4 pt.1 p.21" />
* [[Al-Nawawi]] (d. 676 A.H.): said "Their (muhaddithin scholars) consensus is that al-Waqidi is weak"<ref name="Asqalani, ''al-Tahdhib'', volume 9 page 366 No.604" />
* [[Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani]] (d. 1999 C.E.) said that al-Waqidi is a liar.<ref>al-Albani, ''Silsalat al-Hadith ad-Da'ifa'', number 6013</ref>

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."<ref>Talkhis al-Habir, Volume 7 page 57</ref>

==Early Islamic scholars==
{{Islam scholars diagram}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.muslimscholars.info/manage.php?submit=scholar&ID=20120 Biodata at MuslimScholars.info]

{{Historians of Islam}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waqidi}}
[[Category:740s births]]
[[Category:822 deaths]]
[[Category:8th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:8th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:9th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:9th-century historians from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:9th-century Arabic-language writers]]
[[Category:People from Medina]]
[[Category:Arab people of Iranian descent]]

Al-Waqidi - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 19:16, 28 September 2023