Ibn Kathīr

Imām Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Dimashqī (701 – 774 AH / 1301 – 1373 CE)

known as: The Qurʾānic Exegete and Historian of the Salafī Revival

Early Life and Background

Imām Abū al-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kathīr ibn Ḍawʾ al-Qurashī al-Baṣrī al-Dimashqī
[أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير بن ضوء القرشي البصري الدمشقي]
was born in 701 AH / 1301 CE in the village of Majdal (مجدل) near Busra (بصرى) in southern Syria.^1

When he was about five years old, his father — a jurist and preacher — died, prompting the family’s move to Damascus, then a flourishing intellectual center of the Mamlūk world.^2
There, Ibn Kathīr grew up under the guardianship of his brother and immersed himself in the circles of Qurʾān, ḥadīth, fiqh, and Arabic grammar.

Education and Teachers

Among his early teachers were:

Burhān al-Dīn al-Fazārī (برهان الدين الفزاري) in Qurʾānic recitation,
Jamāl al-Dīn al-Mizzī (جمال الدين المزي) — his father-in-law and leading ḥadīth scholar of Damascus,
Ibn Taymiyyah (ابن تيمية) — his principal theological mentor,
and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (ابن القيم الجوزية) — who shaped his exegetical and methodological outlook.^3

He also studied uṣūl al-fiqh – أصول الفقه (principles of jurisprudence), ʿilm al-rijāl – علم الرجال (biographical criticism), and ʿaqīdah – عقيدة (creed) under these masters.

Scholarly Formation and Character

Ibn Kathīr combined the precision of the muḥaddith (محدّث) with the balanced reasoning of the faqīh (فقيه) and the narrative skill of the muʾarrikh (مؤرّخ).
His contemporaries praised his memory, discipline, and humility.

He was described by al-Dhahabī (الذهبي) as:

“An ocean of knowledge, firm in the Sunnah, sharp in intellect, devoted to evidence.”^4

His deep attachment to the Qurʾān defined his entire life — he once said:

“Whoever contemplates the Book of God finds therein the path of every science and the light of every guidance.”^5

Methodology in Tafsīr (التفسير)

Ibn Kathīr’s approach to Qurʾānic exegesis was based on a hierarchical methodology that later became the model for Sunni scholarship:

Qurʾān by Qurʾān — interpreting verses through parallel passages.
Qurʾān by Sunnah — authentic Prophetic traditions explaining revelation.
Qurʾān by the Companions (āthār al-ṣaḥābah – آثار الصحابة).
Qurʾān by the Successors (tābiʿūn – تابعون).

He rejected speculative allegory (taʾwīl – تأويل) when lacking textual basis, arguing that divine speech must be understood within the limits of revelation and authentic report.
This principle directly descended from Ibn Taymiyyah’s hermeneutic of naql wa ʿaql (transmission and reason in harmony).

Major Works

Work	Arabic Title	Subject	Notes
Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm	تفسير القرآن العظيم	Qurʾānic exegesis	His magnum opus; among the most widely studied tafsīrs in Sunni Islam. Integrates hadith criticism, linguistic notes, and juristic reasoning.^6
al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah	البداية والنهاية	Universal history	From creation to his own time; blends Qurʾānic cosmology with critical historiography.^7
al-Jāmiʿ al-Masānīd wa al-Sunan	الجامع المسانيد والسنن	Hadith compilation	An attempt to unify major hadith sources under thematic categories.
Tabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah	طبقات الشافعية	Biographical dictionary	Records Shāfiʿī jurists and transmitters of his era.
al-Ḥadīth al-Mukhtaṣar	الحديث المختصر	Hadith abridgment	A summarized and authenticated collection for educational use.

His Tafsīr and Its Distinctive Features

Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr remains the most influential post-classical Qurʾānic commentary in the Muslim world.
Its distinct features include:

Integration of ḥadīth and isnād analysis — every report traced to its transmitter.
Avoidance of weak or fabricated narrations (mawḍūʿāt – موضوعات).
Balanced theological tone — neither purely literalist nor mystical.
Cross-referencing with earlier authorities such as al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, and Ibn Taymiyyah.

He often concluded interpretations with concise moral reflections, making the tafsīr spiritually engaging yet academically grounded.

al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah (البداية والنهاية)

This monumental work of history and eschatology spans from the creation of the world to the author’s lifetime.
It preserves numerous early traditions, Prophetic biographies, and accounts of the fitan (فتن) — end-time tribulations.

Later historians, including al-Suyūṭī (السيوطي) and Ibn Ḥajar (ابن حجر), built on his chronological and critical structure.
His historical accuracy, cross-verification of narrators, and integration of Qurʾānic chronology made it the cornerstone of Islamic historiography.

Theological Position and Influence

Ibn Kathīr adhered to the Sunni creed of the Salaf – عقيدة السلف, harmonizing textual faith with cautious reasoning.
He defended the attributes of God (ṣifāt – صفات) as revealed, without anthropomorphism (tashbīh – تشبيه) or denial (taʿṭīl – تعطيل).

His writings bridged the polemic theology of Ibn Taymiyyah and the systematic methodology of later scholars like al-Suyūṭī, al-Shawkānī, and Muḥammad al-Amīn al-Shinqīṭī.

Death and Burial

Ibn Kathīr passed away in 774 AH / 1373 CE, at approximately 72 years old, after a life devoted to teaching, writing, and Qurʾānic service.^8
He was buried at Bāb al-Ṣaghīr Cemetery – مقبرة باب الصغير in Damascus, beside his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah, symbolizing the enduring link between master and student.

Legacy

Field	Contribution
Qurʾānic Studies	Authored one of Islam’s most authoritative tafsīrs based on transmission and critical verification.
History	Developed a unified Qurʾānic framework for world chronology and eschatology.
Hadith	Applied rigorous isnād methodology to both tafsīr and historiography.
Pedagogy	His clear prose made complex theology accessible to general audiences without diluting its depth.

His legacy endures in every generation that opens Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr to understand the Qurʾān — a bridge between classical rigor and devotional clarity.

“The Qurʾān is a sea without shore; whoever dives into it finds pearls that renew with every age.”
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

References (for Chicago-style citation)

Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., s.v. “Ibn Kathīr.”
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Durar al-Kāminah fī Aʿyān al-Miʾah al-Thāminah, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1997), 301.
Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī, Dhail Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah, vol. 2 (Riyadh: Maktabat al-ʿUbaykān, 2001), 401.
al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, vol. 18 (Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Risālah, 1986), 93.
Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, Introduction.
Ibid., vol. 1, Preface.
Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1985), Introduction.
Ibn Ḥajar, al-Durar al-Kāminah, 304.