Abu Ma'shar Najih b. Abd al-Rahman al-Sindi al-Madani

Abu Ma'shar Najih b. Abd al-Rahman al-Sindi al-Madani was a slave from the Yaman, possibly of Indian parentage, who was freed and lived in Medina. The encyclopaedia's entry, signed by J. Horovitz and F. Rosenthal, calls him a rather weak hadith scholar, but famous as the author of the Kitab al-Maghazi. Numerous fragments of it are preserved by al-Waqidi and Ibn Sa'd. ¹

Among his authorities he names Nafi', the freedman of Ibn 'Umar, Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Qurazi and other Medinese scholars. In 160/776-7 he left Medina and remained in Baghdad until his death in Ramadan (?) 170/787, where he enjoyed the favour of several members of the 'Abbasid court. Al-Tabari took from him information on biblical history, on the life of Muhammad, and in particular a chronology that runs down to the year of his death. ¹