Ibn Kathir

Ismail ibn Umar Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, historian, and exegete based in Damascus al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He is best known for his universal chronicle al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) and his Quranic commentary Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim) Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Early life and education

His full name was Imad al-Din Abu al-Fida Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir ibn Daw ibn Kathir ibn Daw ibn Dir' (also recorded as Dhura or Zur) al-Qurashi al-Busrawi al-Dimashqi al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He was born in the village of Majdal (or Majaydil) near Busra in southern Syria in 701 AH, though other accounts place his birth in 700 AH or slightly earlier al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. His father, Shihab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar, was a local preacher and jurist who died in 703 AH when Ibn Kathir was about three years old al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He was subsequently raised by his elder brother, Kamal al-Din Abd al-Wahhab, under whom he began his earliest legal studies al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1.

Around 706 or 707 AH, he moved with his brother to Damascus al-Baith al-Hathith Sharh…+1. There, he memorized the Quran around the age of ten or eleven, studied Quranic recitation, and memorized foundational texts in Shafi'i jurisprudence and legal theory, including Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's al-Tanbih and Ibn al-Hajib's Mukhtasar al-Muntaha al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Teachers, career, and trial

In Damascus, Ibn Kathir studied Shafi'i jurisprudence under Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari (known as Ibn al-Firkah) and Kamal al-Din Ibn Qadi Shuhbah al-Baith al-Hathith Sharh…+1. He studied legal theory under Mahmud ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Isfahani Abjad al-Ulum+1. He heard hadith from numerous scholars, including Isa ibn al-Mut'im, Ahmad ibn Abi Talib al-Hajjar (Ibn al-Shihnah), al-Qasim ibn Asakir, Abu Nasr Ibn al-Shirazi, and Ishaq ibn Yahya al-Amidi al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He received written certifications (ijazat) from Egyptian scholars, including Abu al-Fath al-Dabbusi and Ali ibn Umar al-Wani al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M….

He formed a close discipleship with the hadith master Jamal al-Din al-Mizzi, reading most of his works under him and marrying his daughter Zaynab al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He also studied under Ibn Taymiyyah, becoming deeply devoted to him and defending his positions; Ibn Kathir adopted his views on several legal questions, particularly regarding divorce (talaq), which subjected him to controversy, interrogation, and hardship al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1.

Ibn Kathir taught and issued legal rulings across several prominent academic institutions in Damascus al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He held professorships at al-Madrasa al-Salihiyya, al-Madrasa al-Najibiyya, al-Madrasa al-Tankiziyya, and al-Madrasa al-Nuriyya al-Kubra, and succeeded Taqi al-Din al-Subki as the head of Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Students and scholarly standing

A number of prominent scholars transmitted from him, including Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi, Ibn al-Jazari, and his longtime companion Shihab al-Din Ibn Hijji Abjad al-Ulum+1.

Contemporary and later authorities praised his memory and mastery across disciplines. Al-Dhahabi described him as an accomplished jurist, meticulous hadith scholar, and critical exegete with exceptional command of transmitter criticism and textual memorization al-Wadih fi Ulum al-Quran+1. Ibn Hijji remarked that he was the foremost scholar of his generation in memorizing hadith texts and identifying their narrators, transmission paths, and authenticity al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa a…. Abu Zur'ah al-Iraqi noted his humility and vast recall in history, exegesis, and hadith texts, while Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani highlighted his affable character and the wide circulation of his writings during his lifetime al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa a…. He also compiled a biographical dictionary of Shafi'i jurists, Tabaqat al-Shafiiyyin (The Generations of Shafi'i Jurists) Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1.

Death

Ibn Kathir lost his eyesight toward the end of his life al-Manar fi Ulum al-Quran…. He died in Damascus on Thursday, 26 Sha'ban 774 AH (another report records 15 Sha'ban), at the age of seventy-four al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. A large crowd attended his funeral, and he was buried according to his bequest in the Sufi cemetery (maqbarat al-Sufiyya) outside Bab al-Nasr in Damascus, beside his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah Mujam al-Muallifin+1.