The Hadiths of al-Waaqidi
His name was Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waaqid al-Aslami, their freed slave, al-Waaqidi, the Madani, the Judge, the Author of Books and Works on Military Expeditions, the Eminent Scholar and Imam, Abu Abdullah, one of the vast repositories of knowledge despite his agreed-upon weakness.
He compiled extensively, but he mixed the good with the bad, and the precious with the worthless. For this reason, his works were largely rejected. Nevertheless, he remains indispensable for his works on military expeditions (Maghaazi), the days of the Companions, and their accounts.
From al-Waaqidi, who said: “Tablets (of knowledge) used to be lost, but they were brought back due to their fame in Medina. It was said, ‘These are the tablets of Ibn Waaqid.'”
He also said: “There is no one whose writings are not more than what they have memorized, but my memorization is more than my writings.”
Imam al-Dhahabi said: “It is established that al-Waaqidi is weak, and his works are relied upon for military expeditions and history. We cite his narrations without using them as evidence. However, in matters of Islamic rulings (Faraa’id), his narrations should not be mentioned. The six major books of Hadith, the Musnad of Ahmad, and most compilers of legal rulings show leniency in including narrations from weak or even abandoned narrators. Yet, they do not include anything from Muhammad ibn Umar (al-Waaqidi). In my view, despite his weakness, his narrations can be written and transmitted because I do not accuse him of fabrication. The opinion of those who completely dismiss him is somewhat exaggerated. Similarly, the endorsements of those who declared him trustworthy, such as Yazid, Abu Ubayd, al-Saaghaani, al-Harbi, Ma’n, and ten other Hadith scholars, hold no weight. Today, there is a consensus that he is not a reliable authority, and his narrations are considered weak. May Allah have mercy on him.“
(Siyar A’laamin Nubalaa: 9/454)
