Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Karbala Historical Resources Account N. 10: Al-waqidi Unfortunately little or nothing survives of the monograph written by al-Waqidi. It is claimed by both Ibn Nadim and his secretary, Ibn Sa'd, that al-Waqidi was a Shi’i[^44]. However, Shaykh al-Mufid accuses him of being a member of the `Uthmaniyya[^45].
What al-Mufid means by that is that al-Waqidi had strong sympathies with the Zubayrid faction which had supported greater authority for Medina, and seen the family of Zubayr (and in particular his son, Ibn al-Zubayr) as the fittest people for the caliphate. If any of his account had survived, it would have been interesting to examine his treatment of Ibn al-Zubayr. The `Uthmaniyya attitude to Ibn al-Zubayr with regard to this incident is clearly established in the work of Khalifa b.