al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya

al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) is a universal historical work written by the Damascene scholar Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 CE; born c. 700 AH) al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. The book chronicles history from the beginning of creation and the lives of the prophets through Islamic history up to the author's era, concluding with apocalyptic trials and the afterlife Marwiyat Ghazwat Bani al-…+1.

Structure and Scope

The work is organized into distinct thematic and chronological divisions corresponding to its title:

• Creation and the Early Prophets: Ibn Kathir begins with the creation of the universe, the heavens, the earth, and Adam, followed by the accounts of earlier nations and prophets (qisas al-anbiya) al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.
• Prophetic Biography: A detailed treatment of the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (al-sira al-nabawiyya), his military expeditions, delegations, virtues, physical descriptions (al-shama'il), and proofs of prophethood (dala'il al-nubuwwa) Manhajiyyat al-Talif fi a…+1.
• Islamic History: An annalistic chronicle (hawliyyat) beginning from year 1 AH and proceeding through the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Mamluk eras Marwiyat Ghazwat Bani al-…+1. The historical narrative extends into the 8th century AH, recorded variously up to 767 AH, 768 AH, or the author's death year in 774 AH al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…+1. Under each year, Ibn Kathir typically divides the entry into political and military events followed by biographical obituaries of notable figures (wafayat al-a'yan), including rulers, scholars, jurists, poets, and ascetics al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.
• Eschatology (al-Nihaya): The concluding section, often circulated as Kitab al-Fitan wa al-Malahim, focuses on end-time trials, portents of the Hour, the Day of Resurrection, and the afterlife al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Method and Sources

Ibn Kathir applied the methodology of hadith scholarship to historical reporting, evaluating chains of transmission (isnad), assessing transmitters (al-jarh wa al-ta'dil), and flagging anomalous (gharib) or rejected (munkar) reports al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. When utilizing Biblical lore (Isra'iliyyat), he restricted himself to reports permitted in Islamic tradition that do not contradict the Quran or the Sunna, citing them for illustration rather than doctrinal reliance Marwiyat Ghazwat Bani al-….

His main historical and narrative sources included the works of earlier historians and traditionists, notably al-Tabari, Ibn al-Jawzi (specifically al-Muntazam), Taj al-Din Ibn al-Sa'i, and his teacher al-Birzali for events spanning 665–738 AH, alongside classical hadith collections and Sira compilations such as those of Ibn Ishaq al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Reception and Impact

The work attained wide standing among later historians and scholars. Ibn Taghribirdi praised the book as being of the utmost quality, and the historian Badr al-Din al-Ayni relied heavily on it in his own historical writing al-Baith al-Hathith Sharh…. An abridgment of the work was prepared by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani titled Mukhtasar al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya Khizanat al-Turath - Fihr….

The book was first printed in Cairo at Matba'at al-Sa'ada (1348 AH / 1351 AH) funded by King Abdulaziz, and has subsequently been published in multiple multi-volume editions, while its eschatological and prophetic biography sections have also been published as separate monographs Marwiyat Ghazwat Bani al-…+1.