Islamic Scholars & Mystics Codexery

Ibn Kathir

Arab exegete and historian, author of Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

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Ibn Kathir

KneeHallHawk · CC0

Abū l-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kaṯīr, known as Ibn Kathir, was a scholar born in Mijdal near Busra, Syria around AH 701 (AD 1300/1).[1] He wrote a fourteen-volume universal history titled al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya and a famous Qur'an commentary called Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm.[2][3] In Damascus during February 1373 (AH 774), Ibn Kathir passed away and was interred adjacent to his mentor Ibn Taymiyya.[4]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir. Image: ShafiNotes · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

He married the daughter of Al-Mizzi, a leading Syrian scholar, which gave him access to the scholarly elite.[5] He was made preacher at a new mosque in Mizza in 1345.[5] In later life he became blind, attributing this to working late on the Musnad of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.[6] When Ibn Kathir was three years old, in AH 703 / AD 1303, his father died.[1]

Ibn Kathir Calligraphy
Ibn Kathir Calligraphy. Image: HotBlood333 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kamal al-Din abd al-wahhab, Ibn Kathir's older brother, provided him with his initial instruction in Islamic jurisprudence.[7] Among those who taught Ibn Kathir were al-Dhahabi and Ibn Taymiyya.[2][7] An inquisitorial commission dealing with heresy gave Ibn Kathir his first formal role in 1341, after he finished his studies.[8] By 1366, Ibn Kathir had achieved a professorship at Damascus's Great Mosque.[5]

Tafsir ibn kathir
Tafsir ibn kathir. Image: KneeHallHawk · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Quraysh tribe is the ancestral origin of Ibn Kathir's family.[1]

What the cited sources add

Hoover theorizes that modern disagreement between Ash'arites and Salafis over Ibn Kathir's creed stems from the successor schools of Ahl al-Ra'y and Ahl al-Hadith.[9][10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mirza, "Ibn Kathīr, ʿImād al-Dīn", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three, 2016-09-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mirza, "Was Ibn Kathīr the 'spokesperson' for Ibn Taymiyya? Jonah as a Prophet of Obedience", Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2014-02-01, p. 1; Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p. 138. Scarecrow Press. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Oliver Leaman The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia Taylor & Francis 2006 p. 632 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mirza, "Was Ibn Kathīr the 'Spokesperson' for Ibn Taymiyya? Jonah as a Prophet of Obedience", Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 2014-02-01, p. 2 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ibn Kathir – Muslim scholar"; Kathīr, "The Life of the Prophet Muḥammad", Garnet, 2000 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p. 138. Scarecrow Press. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "İBN KESÎR, Ebü'l-Fidâ", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ibn Kathir – Muslim scholar" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hoover, "Ḥanbalī Theology", Oxford University Press, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Jon Hoover, "Ḥanbalī Theology", Oxford University Press eBooks (2014), doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.013.014. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ibn Kathir (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Named in this entry

ExegesisTafsirQuranFiqhSunni IslamMamluk SultanateJudaismChristianity

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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