[1] Wahb's family resided in Basra,[1] and hailed from the Atik clan of the Azd, a large Arab tribe.
[2] Through his transmission of earlier authors, Wahb was an important historical source for the Battle of the Camel, Kharijite revolts and the conflict between the Umayyad Caliphate and the inhabitants of the Hejaz (western Arabia).
Wahb was regarded as a sahib Sunna by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, implying that he sympathized with Sunni Muslim doctrine.
He also was a major transmitter of the biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq.
[4] Wahb is frequently cited in the historical work of Khalifa ibn Khayyat.