Stories Of The Quran - IslamBasics

BIOGRAPHY OF IBN KATHEER
(700 -774 A.H.)
(May Allah bless his soul)
`Imad Ad-Deen Isma`il Ibn `Umar IbnKatheer Al-Basri Ad-Dimashqi was born in
700 A.H., or shortly afterwards. After the decease of his father, Ibn Katheer,
aged seven then, headed for Damascus, accompanied by his elder brother. He
owed much of his learning to Ibn Ashginah, Al-Amadi, Ibn `Asakir and others,
may Allah be pleased with them all. He immensely revered Ibn Taimiyah, may
Allah bless his soul, whose views he believed, defended and mostly abided by,
particularly as regards divorce. It was on account of this that he went through an
ordeal and was made to suffer a lot.
Ibn Katheer was widely acclaimed for the sublime degree of learning that he
so admirably attained. Scholars have unanimously attested to his wellversedness,
particularly in the fields of the exegesis of the Glorious Qur'an,
Hadith and history. Ibn Habeeb describes him as "the leader of all men engaged
in the exegesis (of the Qur'an). He amassed and categorized all (the knowledge)
he heard. People marveled at his fatwas and benefited from his teachings. His
fatwas grew widely popular all across the country. He was renowned for his
precision and was proclaimed as the beacon of history, Hadith and exegesis (of
the Qur'an)." Ibn Hijji, one of his students, owed: "Of all our contemporaries, he
(Ibn Katheer) was the best at memorizing authentic Hadiths and the most
knowledgeable as to assessing the degree of reliability and honesty of Hadithnarrators
as well as authentic and non-authentic Hadiths. His comrades and
mentors acknowledge every word of the above. I would frequently visit him, and
every time I was in his company I benefited from him."
Ibn Katheer lost his eyesight shortly before he died in 774 A. H. He was buried at
the Sufis cemetery along with his mentor Ibn Taimiyah. Among his best-known
works is his masterpiece in history Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (The Beginning and
the End) .He also interpreted part of Al Bukhari's Sahih (book of authentic
Hadiths). By and large, Ibn Katheer's admirable knowledge and well-versedness
are best manifested to whoever reads his two best celebrated masterpieces; his
interpretation and his book of history.
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