He is often considered to be the first official historian of the Ottoman Empire, although this formal office was probably not created until the time of his successor, Rashid.
Mustafā Na'īm was born the son of a Janissary in Aleppo, Ottoman Syria.
As a historian Naima mentions the arrival of Mughal ambassadors: Qaim Beg, Sayyid Ataullah and Hajji Ahmad Saeed, sent by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Na'īmā's main work is the Ravżatu'l-Ḥüseyn fī ḫulāṣati aḫbāri'l-ḫāfiḳeyn (روضة الحسين فى خلاصة أخبار الخافقين in Ottoman; literally: "The Garden of Hüseyin in the Summary of the Chronicles of East and West").
This work was finished in 1704 and dedicated to the vizier Amcazade Hüseyin Paşa.