Ibn Kathir

ابن كثير

Abu al-Fida

Imad al-Din Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH / 1373 CE) was a Shafiʿi jurist, hadith scholar, Qurʾanic exegete and historian of Mamluk Damascus. The principal chronology places his birth in 701 AH / 1301–1302 CE near Busra, while 700 AH is also reported. After moving to Damascus in 707 AH, he studied with leading scholars including al-Mizzi, al-Dhahabi and Ibn Taymiyya. His Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim became one of the most influential works of transmitted Sunni exegesis, combining Qurʾan, hadith and early reports with hadith criticism. His al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya is a major universal history extending to 767 AH / 1365–1366 CE and is especially valuable for the Mamluk period he knew directly. Ibn Kathir remained institutionally Shafiʿi while showing strong traditionalist theological influence. He died in Damascus in Shaban 774 AH / February 1373; classical sources differ on the exact day.

? — 1373

Names and variants

Ibn Kathir· canonicalIbn Kathir· canonicalابن كثير· canonicalIsmail ibn Umar ibn Kathir· birth nameإسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير· birth nameAbu al-Fida· kunyaأبو الفداء· kunyaImad al-Din· laqabعماد الدين· laqabal-Busrawi· nisbaالبصروي· nisbaal-Dimashqi al-Shafiʿi· nisbaImad al-Din Ibn Kathir· variantİbn Kesîr· transliteration

Ibn Kathir

Imad al-Din Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir was a Shafiʿi jurist, hadith scholar, Qurʾanic exegete and historian of Mamluk Damascus. His best-known works, Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim and al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, became major reference points in Sunni exegesis and historiography.

Sources: [1] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [2] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [3] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [4] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [5] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [6] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [7] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [8] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [9] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [10] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [11] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context, [12] Biographical, exegetical, hadith, legal or historiographical context

Full name

His full name is commonly given as Abu al-Fida Imad al-Din Ismail ibn Shihab al-Din Umar ibn Kathir al-Qaysi al-Qurashi al-Busrawi al-Dimashqi al-Shafiʿi.

Kunya: Abu al-Fida

His established kunya was Abu al-Fida.

Laqab: Imad al-Din

He was widely known by the honorific Imad al-Din.

The nisba al-Busrawi

The nisba al-Busrawi refers to his origin near Busra in southern Syria.

The nisba al-Dimashqi

The nisba al-Dimashqi reflects the city in which he was educated, taught and spent most of his scholarly career.

Birth in 701 AH

The principal chronology places Ibn Kathir’s birth in 701 AH / 1301–1302 CE in Mujaydil al-Qarya near Busra.

Alternative birth year: 700 AH

Classical sources also preserve 700 AH / 1300–1301 CE as an alternative birth year. The precise civil year should therefore not be overstated.

Death of his father

Ibn Kathir reports that his father, himself a jurist, preacher, poet and man of letters, died in Jumada al-Ula 703 AH / December 1303 CE when Ibn Kathir was about three years old.

His elder brother Abd al-Wahhab

His elder brother Kamal al-Din Abd al-Wahhab took an important role in his education after their father’s death.

Move to Damascus in 707 AH

In 707 AH / 1307–1308 CE Ibn Kathir moved with his family to Damascus.

Memorizing the Qurʾan

He completed memorization of the Qurʾan in 711 AH / 1311–1312 CE.

Early Shafiʿi legal training

His earliest legal training came from his brother and then from Shafiʿi jurists including Burhan al-Din al-Fazari and Kamal al-Din Ibn Qadi Shuhba.

Ahkam al-Tanbih

While still young, he wrote Ahkam al-Tanbih and presented it to his teacher al-Fazari, who approved of the work.

Training in legal theory

He studied Ibn al-Hajib’s Mukhtasar in legal theory with Shams al-Din al-Isfahani and received authorization from him.

Al-Mizzi as teacher and father-in-law

Yusuf al-Mizzi was one of Ibn Kathir’s most important teachers in hadith and later became his father-in-law.

Al-Dhahabi

Ibn Kathir studied hadith and history with al-Dhahabi and was influenced by his critical and historiographical methods.

Al-Birzali

Al-Birzali was another important teacher in hadith and history.

Ibn Taymiyya

Ibn Kathir studied theology and law with Ibn Taymiyya and was significantly influenced by him.

A broad scholarly network

His education also included hadith, Qurʾanic recitation and legal theory with numerous Damascene teachers beyond his most famous mentors.

A Shafiʿi jurist

In jurisprudence Ibn Kathir belonged to the Shafiʿi school and taught in Shafiʿi institutions.

Traditionalist theological influence

TDV describes him as strongly influenced by Ibn Taymiyya in theology while remaining a Shafiʿi jurist. His profile should therefore not be flattened into a single legal-theological label.

Early Sufis and later orders

He wrote respectfully about early Sufis such as al-Junayd, Abu Talib al-Makki, al-Qushayri and al-Suhrawardi, while criticizing later organized orders. This is more precise than labeling him simply anti-Sufi.

Teaching at the Nijibiyya madrasa

On 11 Jumada al-Ula 736 AH / 27 December 1335 CE Ibn Kathir began teaching at the Nijibiyya madrasa in Damascus and continued there until his death.

Preaching at the Mizze mosque

On 16 Muharram 746 AH / 19 May 1345 CE he was appointed to preach at a mosque in Mizze.

Appointment at the Salihiyya madrasa

After al-Dhahabi’s death in 748 AH / 1348 CE, Ibn Kathir was appointed to teach at the Salihiyya madrasa in Damascus.

Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya

After Taqi al-Din al-Subki’s death in 756 AH / 1355 CE, Ibn Kathir briefly headed Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya.

Mufti and court participation

Ibn Kathir served as preacher, teacher, Qurʾan specialist, mufti and participant in judicial panels dealing with public religious and legal questions.

Defending Taqi al-Din al-Subki

In 756 AH / 1355 CE he participated in a judicial panel and defended Taqi al-Din al-Subki against accusations concerning the property of orphans.

Opposing confiscation of Christian property

After the Frankish attack on Alexandria in 767 AH / 1365 CE, Ibn Kathir opposed a proposal to confiscate one quarter of the property of Syrian Christians, judging the measure legally impermissible despite contrary opinions from Egyptian jurists.

Organizing a public recitation of Sahih al-Bukhari

In 766 AH / 1365 CE Ibn Kathir was assigned to organize a memorized public recitation of Sahih al-Bukhari in honor of the returning governor Baytamur.

Al-Ijtihad fi talab al-jihad

In 770 AH / 1368–1369 CE, at the request of the governor of Damascus, he wrote al-Ijtihad fi talab al-jihad in the context of Frankish attacks on Muslim territories.

Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim

His Qurʾanic commentary, commonly known as Tafsir Ibn Kathir, became one of the most widely read works of transmitted Sunni exegesis.

A transmitted tafsir

The tafsir belongs primarily to the tradition of tafsir bi-l-maʾthur: Ibn Kathir explains the Qurʾan through the Qurʾan, hadith, Companion and Successor reports, while also comparing and evaluating transmitted material.

Major exegetical sources

Among his most important exegetical sources were al-Tabari and Ibn Abi Hatim, alongside works of al-Baghawi, Ibn Atiyya, al-Razi, al-Qurtubi and others.

Hadith criticism inside the tafsir

Ibn Kathir frequently cites hadith collections and evaluates transmission quality, making hadith criticism an important feature of the commentary.

Threefold treatment of Israʾiliyyat

Ibn Kathir classifies Israelite reports into material compatible with Qurʾan and Sunna, material known to be false, and reports whose truth or falsity cannot be determined.

He did not simply omit all Israʾiliyyat

It is inaccurate to say that Ibn Kathir excluded all Israʾiliyyat. His tafsir transmits many such reports while subjecting them to a stated framework of acceptance, rejection or suspension of judgment.

Caution toward fabricated reports

He was notably cautious about fabricated reports and often comments on the weakness or unreliability of transmitted material.

Limited grammatical exposition

Because the work is primarily a transmitted tafsir, extensive grammatical analysis is less central than in language-focused commentaries, although linguistic material appears when needed.

A major afterlife in print

Tafsir Ibn Kathir became exceptionally influential in later print culture, translation and teaching, but its modern popularity should not be projected backward as identical across all earlier centuries.

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya is Ibn Kathir’s major universal history, beginning with creation, covering prophetic and Islamic history, and continuing the chronological narrative to 767 AH / 1365–1366 CE.

Beginning and end

The work combines a historical chronicle, al-Bidaya, with eschatological material on the signs of the Hour, resurrection, Paradise and Hell in its later sections, commonly associated with al-Nihaya.

A substantial Prophetic biography

The sira of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ occupies a major portion of the early volumes and is built extensively from Qurʾan and hadith materials.

Year-by-year structure

For much of Islamic history Ibn Kathir organizes events year by year and then records biographies of notable people who died in each year.

A major source for his own Mamluk period

The sections on Ibn Kathir’s own Mamluk environment are especially valuable because he witnessed or stood close to many of the events he records.

Historiography is not neutral transcription

Modern scholarship has shown that al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya does not merely copy earlier reports: Ibn Kathir selects, criticizes and reframes material within his own Sunni and Damascene intellectual commitments.

Historical sources

His historical writing drew on earlier chronicles, hadith collections and contemporary Damascene historians including al-Birzali, while adding his own evaluations and observations.

Al-Fusul fi sirat al-Rasul

Al-Fusul fi sirat al-Rasul is a concise work devoted specifically to the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Jami al-Masanid wa-l-Sunan

Jami al-Masanid wa-l-Sunan is a large hadith compilation project reflecting Ibn Kathir’s expertise in transmission and narrator criticism.

Tabaqat al-Fuqaha al-Shafiʿiyya

He also compiled a biographical work on Shafiʿi jurists, demonstrating his continuing institutional and intellectual identification with the Shafiʿi school.

Al-Takmil

Al-Takmil condensed and supplemented major works by al-Mizzi and al-Dhahabi on hadith transmitters.

Students

Many students transmitted from Ibn Kathir through his public mosque and hadith-school teaching; among the best known were Ibn Hijji, Ibn al-Jazari and Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi.

Loss of sight near the end of his life

Biographical sources report that Ibn Kathir lost his sight toward the end of his life.

Death in 774 AH / 1373 CE

The principal report places his death in Damascus on 26 Shaban 774 AH / 20 February 1373 CE.

Alternative date within Shaban

Another classical report gives 15 Shaban 774 AH / 9 February 1373 CE. The year is secure, but the exact day is transmitted differently.

Burial beside Ibn Taymiyya

In accordance with his wish, Ibn Kathir was buried in the Sufi cemetery outside Bab al-Nasr in Damascus near his teacher Ibn Taymiyya.

Exegetical legacy

His tafsir became one of the most influential Sunni commentaries in later religious education, publishing and translation.

Historical legacy

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya secured Ibn Kathir’s place among the major historians of the Mamluk period and remains an important source for medieval Islamic history.

Hadith legacy

His hadith works and his critical use of hadith within tafsir and history made hadith evaluation a defining feature of his scholarly profile.

A profile crossing legal and theological boundaries

Ibn Kathir’s Shafiʿi legal identity, traditionalist theological leanings and admiration for several early Sufis resist simple classification by a single later sectarian label.

Exegete, historian and hadith scholar

Ibn Kathir’s enduring importance lies in the integration of hadith criticism, Qurʾanic exegesis, Shafiʿi jurisprudence and historical writing within the scholarly culture of fourteenth-century Damascus.

Source-sensitive points

probable

The principal chronology places Ibn Kathir’s birth in 701 AH / 1301–1302 CE near Busra.

reported

Classical sources also preserve 700 AH as an alternative birth year.

established

Ibn Kathir moved with his family to Damascus in 707 AH / 1307–1308 CE.

established

He completed memorization of the Qurʾan in 711 AH / 1311–1312 CE.

established

Al-Mizzi was a major hadith teacher of Ibn Kathir and later became his father-in-law.

established

Ibn Kathir studied theology and law with Ibn Taymiyya and was significantly influenced by him.

established

Ibn Kathir remained institutionally and jurisprudentially Shafiʿi despite strong traditionalist theological influence.

established

Ibn Kathir wrote respectfully about several early Sufis while criticizing later organized orders, making a blanket anti-Sufi label misleading.

established

Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim is primarily a transmitted tafsir using Qurʾan, hadith and early reports while critically evaluating chains and content.

established

Ibn Kathir classifies Israʾiliyyat into acceptable, rejected and indeterminate material according to their relation to Qurʾan and Sunna.

established

It is inaccurate to say that Ibn Kathir excluded all Israʾiliyyat; his tafsir transmits many while evaluating them critically.

established

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya carries its chronological historical narrative to 767 AH / 1365–1366 CE.

established

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya is especially important for Ibn Kathir’s own Mamluk period, where he records events close to his lifetime and environment.

established

Modern scholarship shows that Ibn Kathir’s historiography selects and reframes inherited material rather than merely copying it neutrally.

established

In 767 AH / 1365 CE Ibn Kathir opposed confiscating one quarter of Syrian Christian property after the Frankish attack on Alexandria, judging the measure legally impermissible.

established

In 770 AH / 1368–1369 CE Ibn Kathir wrote al-Ijtihad fi talab al-jihad at the request of the Damascus governor amid Frankish attacks.

reported

Biographical sources report that Ibn Kathir lost his sight near the end of his life.

established

Ibn Kathir died in Damascus in Shaban 774 AH / February 1373 CE.

disputed

Classical sources differ on the exact day of Ibn Kathir’s death, giving either 26 Shaban / 20 February or 15 Shaban / 9 February 1373.

established

Ibn Kathir’s Shafiʿi legal identity, traditionalist theological leanings and positive treatment of several early Sufis resist reduction to a single later sectarian label.

Relationships

Al-Mizzi

teacher · established

Al-Mizzi

relative · established

Al-Dhahabi

teacher · established

Ibn Taymiyya

teacher · established

Contributions

A major synthesis of transmitted Qurʾanic exegesis

Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim combined Qurʾanic cross-reference, hadith, Companion and Successor reports with active hadith criticism and became one of the most influential later Sunni tafsirs.

scholarly · established

A major work of Mamluk historiography

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya integrated universal history, sira, annual chronicle, biography and eschatology and remains especially valuable for the Mamluk world Ibn Kathir knew directly.

scholarly · established

Hadith criticism across disciplines

Ibn Kathir carried hadith evaluation beyond specialized hadith books into his tafsir and historical writing, repeatedly comparing chains and assessing reports.

scholarly · established

A central teaching role in fourteenth-century Damascus

Through posts at the Nijibiyya, Salihiyya, Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya and other institutions, Ibn Kathir participated deeply in the scholarly infrastructure of Mamluk Damascus.

institutional · established

A durable but historically layered reception

Later print, translation and reformist reading cultures greatly expanded Ibn Kathir’s reach. That modern afterlife should be distinguished from the more specialized medieval circulation of his works.

other · established

Sources

[1]
Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Ibn Kathīr · Classical tafsir
[2]
al-Bidāya wa-l-nihāya
Ibn Kathīr · Classical historical source
[3]
al-Durar al-kāmina fī aʿyān al-miʾa al-thāmina
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani · Classical biographical source
[4]
Tadhkirat al-ḥuffāẓ
al-Dhahabi · Classical hadith-biographical source
[5]
al-Nujūm al-zāhira fī mulūk Miṣr wa-l-Qāhira
Ibn Taghribirdi · Classical historical source
[6]
Ibn Kathir historien
Henri Laoust · Arabica · 1955
[7]
An Introduction to Mamluk Historiography
Donald P. Little · Franz Steiner Verlag · 1970
[8]
TEFSÎRÜ’l-KUR’ÂNİ’l-AZÎM
Mustafa Öztürk · TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi · 2011
[9]
Sapping the Narrative: Ibn Kathir’s Account of the Shura of Uthman in Kitab al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya
Aaron M. Hagler · International Journal of Middle East Studies · 2015
[10]
el-BİDÂYE ve’n-NİHÂYE
Abdülkerim Özaydın · TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi · 1992
[11]
Eight Shades of Ibn Kathir: The Afterlives of a Mamluk Scholar
Johanna Pink · Brill · 2026
[12]
İBN KESÎR, Ebü’l-Fidâ
Abdülkerim Özaydın · TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi · 1999

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Ibn Kathir

Names and variants

Ibn Kathir

Full name

Kunya: Abu al-Fida

Laqab: Imad al-Din

The nisba al-Busrawi

The nisba al-Dimashqi

Birth in 701 AH

Alternative birth year: 700 AH

Death of his father

His elder brother Abd al-Wahhab

Move to Damascus in 707 AH

Memorizing the Qurʾan

Early Shafiʿi legal training

Ahkam al-Tanbih

Training in legal theory

Al-Mizzi as teacher and father-in-law

Al-Dhahabi

Al-Birzali

Ibn Taymiyya

A broad scholarly network

A Shafiʿi jurist

Traditionalist theological influence

Early Sufis and later orders

Teaching at the Nijibiyya madrasa

Preaching at the Mizze mosque

Appointment at the Salihiyya madrasa

Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya

Other teaching posts

Mufti and court participation

Defending Taqi al-Din al-Subki

Opposing confiscation of Christian property

Organizing a public recitation of Sahih al-Bukhari

Al-Ijtihad fi talab al-jihad

Tafsir al-Qurʾan al-Azim

A transmitted tafsir

Major exegetical sources

Hadith criticism inside the tafsir

Threefold treatment of Israʾiliyyat

He did not simply omit all Israʾiliyyat

Caution toward fabricated reports

Limited grammatical exposition

A major afterlife in print

Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya

Beginning and end

A substantial Prophetic biography

Year-by-year structure

A major source for his own Mamluk period

Historiography is not neutral transcription

Historical sources

Al-Fusul fi sirat al-Rasul

Jami al-Masanid wa-l-Sunan

Tabaqat al-Fuqaha al-Shafiʿiyya

Al-Takmil

Students

Loss of sight near the end of his life

Death in 774 AH / 1373 CE

Alternative date within Shaban

Burial beside Ibn Taymiyya

Exegetical legacy

Historical legacy

Hadith legacy

A profile crossing legal and theological boundaries

Exegete, historian and hadith scholar

Source-sensitive points

Relationships

Contributions

A major synthesis of transmitted Qurʾanic exegesis

A major work of Mamluk historiography

Hadith criticism across disciplines

A central teaching role in fourteenth-century Damascus

A durable but historically layered reception

Sources