Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi was born in Medina in 747 CE, where he studied hadith and the campaigns of the Prophet under the scholars of his era, before moving to Baghdad and rising to prominence at the Abbasid court.
He was known for his exceptional precision in dating battles and events and describing their locations and participants, earning him appointment as a judge in Baghdad under Caliph al-Ma'mun in recognition of his learning and integrity.
Legacy
His book 'al-Maghazi' is among the oldest and most detailed sources describing the Prophet's military campaigns, and later historians such as al-Tabari and Ibn Sa'd relied on it heavily, despite scholarly debate over some of his narrations.
