Ibn Kathir
Arab exegete, historian, and authority on Sunni Islam.
Last updated
KneeHallHawk · CC0
His works gained widespread popularity in modern times, especially among Western Muslims and Salafi reformers.[1][2] Among his written works are a well-known Qur'an commentary and a universal history spanning fourteen volumes titled al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya.[3][4]
Last updated 2026-10-05 from the source article.
Life and work
He married the daughter of Al-Mizzi, a leading Syrian scholar, which gave him access to the scholarly elite.[5] In later life he became blind, attributing this to working late on the Musnad of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.[6] His birth occurred around AH 701 (AD 1300/1) in Mijdal, a village near Busra, east of Damascus, Syria.[7] When he was three years old, in AH 703, his father died.[7]
Kamal al-Din abd al-wahhab, his older brother, provided Ibn Kathir with his initial instruction in Islamic jurisprudence.[8] Ibn Taymiyya and al-Dhahabi were among those who taught him.[3][8] His first official role came in 1341 when he was appointed to a commission tasked with investigating heresy.[9] By 1345 he had become a preacher at a new mosque in Mizza, and in 1366 he achieved a professorship at the Great Mosque of Damascus.[5]
He passed away in Damascus during February 1373 and was interred beside his teacher Ibn Taymiyya.[10]
What the cited sources add
Jon Hoover's 2014 work outlines that scholars view Ibn Kathir as an orthodox traditionist who rejected the views of the Mutakallims.[11][12] Hoover also notes that Ibn Kathir's creed is a subject of disagreement between Ash'arites and Salafis in modern times.[12] Younus Y. Mirza's 2014 Journal of Qur'anic Studies article is titled "Was Ibn Kathīr the ‘Spokesperson’ for Ibn Taymiyya? Jonah as a Prophet of Obedience".[13] Scott Lucas's 2006 Islamic Law and Society paper is titled "The Legal Principles of Muhammad b.Ismāīl al-Bukhārī and their Relationship to Classical Salafi Islam".[14]
The Open Library record for ISBN 9780199761838 lists "Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation" as a 217-page work published by Ebsco Publishing in 1994.[15]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andreas Görke and Johanna Pink Tafsir and Islamic Intellectual History Exploring the Boundaries of a GenreOxford University Press in association with The Instit (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schmidtke, "The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology", Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 773 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Wikipedia, "Ibn Kathir" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ibn Kathir – Muslim scholar" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- 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
- Jon Hoover, "Ḥanbalī Theology", Oxford University Press eBooks (2014), doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.013.014. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
- 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
- Younus Y. Mirza, "Was Ibn Kathīr the ‘Spokesperson’ for Ibn Taymiyya? Jonah as a Prophet of Obedience", Journal of Qur anic Studies (2014), doi:10.3366/jqs.2014.0130. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
- Scott Lucas, "The Legal Principles of Muhammad b.Ismāīl al-Bukhārī and their Relationship to Classical Salafi Islam", Islamic Law and Society (2006), doi:10.1163/156851906778946341. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780199761838 ("Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.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.
Also in the Codexery
More in Islamic Scholars & Sages
Sources
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.
- Wikipedia: Ibn Kathir (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced