Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi

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Abu al-Fida Imad al-Din Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Qurashi al-Dimashqi (إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد الدين), better known as Ibn Kathir, was one of the most influential scholars of hadith and scholars of tafsir in Islamic intellectual history. He was born in Bosra (located in present-day Syria) during the Mamluk Sultanate c. 1300 and was educated in Damascus, where he died in 1373.[1] His most well-known works include the eponymous hadith/Israiliyat-based Tafsir Ibn Kathir (published in English as a heavily abridged and edited translation), the 14-volume hadith/Israiliyat-based historical and apocalyptic work Al-Bidayah wal-Nihaya (literally "The Beginning and the End"), and the still widely-read Qisas al-Anbiya (translated into English as Stories of the Prophets).

Ismā‘īl ibn Kathīr
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Born c. 1300
Bosra, Mamluk Sultanate (present-day Syria)
Died 18 February 1373
Damascus, Mamluk Sultanate, (present-day Syria)
Occupation Scholar of hadith, scholar of tafsir
Notable works Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Adheem (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

al-Bidayah wal-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End)
Kitab al-Jami (The Comprehensive Book)
al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (The Prophetic Sira)
Qisas al-Anbiya (Tales of the Prophets)
al-Ijtihad fi Talab al-Jihad (Deliberation in the Quest of Jihad)

Ibn Kathir was heavily influenced by Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) from early on in his life.[1]

Biography

Works

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.) describes Tafsir Ibn Kathir, from a scholarly standpoint, as "essentially a philological work" and "very elementary".[1]

Views

Jihad

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 B. Lewis; V. L. Menage; Ch. Pellat et al., eds, (1986), "Ibn Kathir", Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3 H-Ir (New Edition [2nd] ed.), Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 817-818, ISBN 90 04 08118 6, 1986