A Military Record of Imam Ali (AS) during the Life of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA): Retrieving the Resources and Evaluating the Authenticity of Al-Ya’qubi’s Narrations

Tarikh Al-Ya’qubi, written by Ahmad ibn Abi Ya’qub (d. 284 AH), is one of the general histories that has been compiled in a combined method; that is it presents a whole coherent account of a historical event by removing the chain of narrators as well as integrating several records of a same event.There are some factors in Tarikh Al-Ya’qubi that make it necessary to retrieve its resources as well as evaluate the authenticity of its narrations: the removal of the chain of narrators, the inconsistency of some reports with the accounts of other well-known contemporary resources (Al-Maghazi, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah, Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra, etc.) and specifically including unheard and Shii-like narrations.The main questions of this research include: What are the resources of Tarikh Al-Ya’qubi? Are these resources sufficiently credible? And finally, what was Al-Ya’qubi’s criterion in authenticating the narrations?According to the research findings, although Al-Ya’qubi’s accounts on the role of Imam Ali (as) in the Prophet-led battles of Uhud, Khandaq, Bani Qurayzah, Bani Jazima, Hunayn and the Conquest of Mecca are valid and in line with other resources, his history - influenced by his Shiite attitudes - sometimes includes different and rare accounts, the resource of which is not known.