العهد المكي عند الواقدي (دراسة وصفية لمصادره وأخباره عن العهد المكي من خلال الطبقات الكبرى لابن سعد)

The Meccan era according to Al-Waqidi (A Descriptive Study of His Sources and Narratives about the Meccan Era through the Book “Al-Tabqat al-Kubra” by Ibn Saad)

Abstract

Muhammad bin Umar Al-Waqidi is known for his famous book “Al-Maghazi” which is comprised of a collection of narratives related to the period of Madina. Al-Waqidi is considered to be one of the best early Muslim historians due to his unique style of presentation and critique of narrative considering the internal and external circumstantial pieces of evidence to determine the historic fact. His book (Al-Maghazi) has been massively highlighted and appreciated in this regard.

Al-Waqidi’s contribution to Makka’s period has not much been highlighted and discussed despite having a huge number of narratives and some basic information related to this period. In fact, Al-Waqidi has been a big source of Ibn e Saad in Al-Tabaqat generally and in Makka’s period particularly.

In this article, I have tried to highlight this aspect from different angles. I have discussed the sources of Al-Waqidi, his method of critique, his distinct features for the narration of this era, and how he differs from other historians in the content related to this era of history.