Imam Ibn Kathir

Course Title: Islamic Revealed Knowledge (RKA 0433)

Group Members:

No. Name Matric Number Programme

1. Aiman Bin Adi Sufian Chan 160187 Medical
2. Ali Imran Hakim Bin Mohammad 160280 Nursing
Hood
3. Muhammad Faiz Bin Abidin 163366 Nursing
4. Rasyad Kamal Bin Othman 162880 Nursing

Group Number: 1
Section Number: 5
Instructors Name: Mohamed Ibrahim Raheem
Date of Submission: 24/2/2017. Semester 3, 2016/2017
Declaration:
We certify that this assignment is entirely our own work, except where we have given fully
documented references to the work of others, and that the material in this assignment has not
previously been submitted for assessment in any formal course of study.

TITLE PAGE
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Content
2
2.1 Biography of Imam Ibn Kathir
2.1.1 Imam Ibn Kathir
2.1.2 Imam Ibn Kathirs family

2.2 Educational Background of Imam Ibn Kathir 3

2.2.1 Imam Ibn Kathirs teachers
2.2.2 Imam Ibn Kathirs students
2.3.3 Imam Ibn Kathirs titles

2.3 Achievement and Contribution of Imam Ibn Kathir 5

3.0 Conclusion 9

4.0 Bibliography 10
1.0 Introduction
Al-Quran is the Islamic sacred book, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from
Allah SWT as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic. The
Al-Quran touches upon all aspects of human existence, including matters of doctrine, social
organization, and legislation. It is also widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic
literature. The Quran is divided into chapters (surah in Arabic), which are then divided into
verses (ayah).
The main reason that the Al-Quran is sent down to the humankind by Allah is because it
is a guide for the whole mankind regardless of age and place in general. It is a guide that shows
ways of solutions for the believers who are in crisis and trouble in particular.

The Al-Quran informs man of his responsibilities toward himself, his Lord, the other
people and nature. It teaches those who are not aware of their responsibilities and reminds those
who forget them of about their responsibilities. It warns severely those who do not fulfill their
responsibilities deliberately.

The basic reference for any Muslim that chooses Islam as his religion and surrenders to
Allah is the Quran. He will learn the principles of life that will bring him happiness in the world
and the hereafter from the Quran. He will learn what he needs to believe and what he needs to
reject, what is good and legitimate and what is bad and illegitimate, what he needs to do and
what he needs to avoid based on the teachings of Al-Quran. He will purify his heart, strengthen
his surrendering to Allah and refresh his belief and excitement with it.

However, the Quran is written in Arabic, where not all people understand it. In order to
understand the Quran, we must learn Arabic or learn the Quran by reading the translation of the
Quran. Until now, there are many versions of translated Quran that has been made by many
Islamic scholars. In this assignment, we would like to know more about one of the greatest tafsir
of the Quran which is Imam Ibn Kathir.

Many scholars had study about tafsir of the verses of the Quran, either tafsir bil-matsur
or bir-rayi. Imam ibn kathir was among of those scholars that study about tafsir. He had done his
research on tafsir precisely along with hadith and famous narrations. His carefulness on
translating the Holy Quran made his tafsir as one of the best and trusted tafsir in the world.

We are truly happy and honoured to able to write about Imam Ibn Kathir, which he was
the respected Mufassir that has contributed so much on Islam. We will cover on his biography,
educational background, contribution and achievement to the world. Our assignment will be
hopefully good for those people who wanted to know more about the renowned Mufassir, Imam
Ibn Kathir.

1
2.0 Content
2.1 Biography of Imam Ibn Kathir
2.1.1 Imam Ibn Kathir
His full name is Abu Al-Fida, Imad Ad-Din Ismail bin Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-
Busrawi,but then it become Al-Dimashqi when he migrated from Busra to Damascus. 1 Ibnu
Kathir was born in a village called Majdal Al-Qaryah near Bushra, a town of historical fame in
the south of Damascus in Syria in 701H. Imam Ibn Kathir was a highly influential Sunni scholar
of the Shafi'i school during the Mamluk rule of Syria. He is an expert on tafsir (Quranic
exegesis) and faqh (jurisprudence) as well as a historian.
He was given the name Ismail, after his eldest half-brother, who died after fell off from
the roof of a building. His father felt the loss very keenly and decided to call his youngest son
after his eldest.
2.1.2 Imam Ibn Kathirs family
Ibn Kathirs father, Syihb ad-Dn Ab afh Amr Ibn Kar Ibn aw Ibn ar al-
Quraisy was a scholar in his own right who followed the Hanafi school of law in his early years,
and changed to Shafie school after he had studied under Imam Al-Nawawi, one of the great
figures of the Shafie school of law. He had excelled in his studies of Arabic language and
literature, and was a fine poet. He was appointed to deliver the Friday sermon in the local
mosque of his village, and he was very popular because of his fine style and good knowledge. He
died in 703H, when Ibn Kathir was three years old, then he was taken care by his uncle, Syaikh
Abdul Wahhab. In fact, Ibn Kathir says that he remember his father only like one remembers an
image in a dream.
He left behind a large family: Two sons by his first wife, and four sons and a few
daughters by his second wife.The eldest of these latter children, Abd Al-Wahhab felt that he
should shoulder the responsibility for the upbringing of his brothers and sisters. Therefore, he
moved with all his brothers and sisters to Damascus in 707H in order to find a job. He was a
loving brother who spared no effort in taking care of his family. He had directed them to study
and brought them up as only a caring father would do. Ibn Kathir married with Zaynab, the
daughter of his teacher Jamal Al-Deen Al-Muzzi. Both his wife and mother-in-law, Aishah Binti
Ibrahim memorized the Holy Quran under Fatimah Binti Abbas who devoted her time to help
the women memorized the Quran. Ibnu Kathir had several children, some of whom were
scholars in their own right, although none of them attained the standard and fame of their father.
Among his sons were Umar, Abd Al-Rahman, Abdal Wahhab, Muhammad and Ahmad. In later
life, he became blind. He attributes his blindness to working late at night on the Musnad of
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in an attempt to rearrange it topically rather than by narrator. He died in 774
AH in Damascus. He was buried next to his teacher Ibn Taymiyya.
2

1 Manna al-Qatan, Mahabith fi Ulum al-Quran (Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah, 1998), 384.
2.2 Education Background of Imam Ibn Kathir

At the age of 11, Ibn Kathir completed the memorization of al-Quran, and continued to
deepen Qiraat Sciences, the study of Quranic interpretation from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
(661-728 H). 17 experts put some degree of knowledge to his skill in some areas of knowledge
that he possessed. He was given the title Al-Hafiz, who has memorized about 100,000 hadith.

Ibn Kathirs Teachers

Ibn Kathir was raised in Damscus city and he gained his knowledge from countless of
teachers at that city. Ibn Kathir studied the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) with Burhan Ad-Din,
Ibrahim bin Abdur-Rahman Al-Fazari, also known as Ibn Al-Firkah (who died in 729 H).
Ibn Kathir also learned and heard Hadiths from Isa bin Al-Mutim, Ahmad bin Abi Talib,
(Ibn Ash-Shahnah who died in 730H), Ibn Al-Hajjar, (who died in 730H), and the Hadith
narrator of Ash-Sham (modern day Syria and surrounding areas). Other than that, he also heard
and got the Hadiths from Baha Ad-Din Al Qasim bin Muzaffar bin Asakir (who died in 723H),
and Ibn Ash-Shirazi, Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Ammuddi, also known as Afif Ad-Din, the Zahiriyyah
Shaykh who died in 725H, and Muhammad bin Zarrad. He remained with Jamal Ad-Din, Yusuf
bin Az-Zaki Al-Mizzi who died in 724H, he made useful from his knowledge and also married
his daughter, Zaynab. He also read with Shaykh Al-Islam, Taqi Ad-Din Ahmad bin Abdul-Halim
bin Abdus-Salam bin Taymiyyah who died in 728 H. He also read with the Imam Hafiz and
historian Shams Ad-Din, Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Uthman As-Suwani and others who gave
him permission to transmit the knowledge he learned with them in Egypt.
Al-Hafiz Adh-Dhahabi wrote that Ibn Kathir was, The Imam, scholar of jurisprudence,
skillful scholar of Hadith, renowned Faqih and scholar of Tafsir who wrote several beneficial
books.2
Also, in Ad-Durar Al-kaminah, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani said, Ibn Kathir worked
on the subject of the Hadith in the areas of texts and chains of narrators. He had a good memory,
his books became popular during his lifetime, and people benefited from them after his death.3
Besides that, the renowned historian Abu Al-Mahasin, Jamal Ad-Din Yusuf bin Sayf Ad-
Din (Ibn Taghri Bardi), said in his book, Al-Manhal As-Safi, He is the Shaykh, the Imam, the
great scholar Imam Ad-Din Abu Al-Fida.4

2 Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri. (2000). Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.my/books?3
id=a56Mb7LYN7cC&pg=PA21&dq=Ibn+Kathir+biography&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=
Ibn%20Kathir%20biography&f=false

3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
 Ibn Kathir learned many things and was very active in his writing and collecting truthful
knowledge. He was excellent in the areas of Fiqh, Hadith and most importantly, the Tafsir. He
has gained knowledge, authored (books), and taught many students. He had tremendous
knowledge in the fields of Hadith, Tafsir, Fiqh, the Arabic language, and others. He gave fatwas
(religious verdicts) and taught until he died. He was known for his delicacy and vast knowledge,
and as a scholar of history, Hadith and Tafsir.

Ibn Kathirs Students

There are a quite big number of Ibn Kathirs students and Imam Syihabuddin Ibn Hajji
was one of Ibn Kathirs students. He described Ibn Kathir: He had the best memory of the
Hadith exist: He had the best memory of the Hadith texts. He also had the most knowledge
concerning the narrators and authenticity, his contemporaries and teachers admitted to these
qualities. Every time I met him I gained some benefit from him.5
Also, Ibn Al-Imad Al-Hanbali said in his book, Shadharat Adh-Dhahab, He is the
renowned Hafiz Imad Ad-Din, whose memory was excellent, whose forgetfulness was
miniscule, whose understanding was adequate, and who had good knowledge in the Arabic
language.6 Also, Ibn Habib said about Ibn Kathir, He heard knowledge and collected it and
wrote various books. He brought comfort to the ears with his Fatwas and narrated Hadiths and
brought benefit to other people. The papers that contained his Fatwas were transmitted to the
various (Islamic) provinces. Further, he was known for his precision and encompassing
knowledge.7

5 Muhammad Ahmad Isa (2015). Mukjizat Shahih Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. ( Himpunan Hadith Shahih
Oleh Imam Ibnu Kathir ). Selangor : PTS Islamika SDN BHD.
4
6 Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri. (2000). Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.my/books?
id=a56Mb7LYN7cC&pg=PA21&dq=Ibn+Kathir+biography&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=
Ibn%20Kathir%20biography&f=false
7 Ibid.
2.3 Achievement and Contribution of Imam Ibn Kathir
2.3.1 Ibn Kathirs Books
Ibn Kathir wrote a famous and trustable commentary on the Qur'an named Tafseer al-
Qurn Al-Azim which linked and rely on certain Hadith, or sayings of Muhammad, and sayings
of Muhammads companions to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation. 8 It is especially popular
because it uses the hadith to explain each verse and chapter of the Qur'an. The tafsir by Ibn
Kathir was printed many times and several scholars have summarized it.
It tries to explain Quran so that the understanding of the reader about Quran and its
message increases. Reading only the translation can give the literal meanings of the words of
Quran, however Tafsir comes with context in which a particular Ayah was revealed, hence giving
a context to each and every word, which consequently means a better understanding of Quran
and its verses.

With the help of a Tafsir, a Muslim is able to connect between Quran, Sunnah and sayings
of Companions of Prophet (PBUH) along with the views of different scholars, thus the
understanding of Quran is way greater than simple reading of translation.

5
8 Muhammad Ahmad Isa (2015). Mukjizat Shahih Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. ( Himpunan Hadith Shahih
Oleh Imam Ibnu Kathir ). Selangor : PTS Islamika SDN BHD.
 Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir not just wrote the tafsir of the Quran, but also the history of Islam, collected
Hadith and others.

He wrote The History Collection known as Al-Bidayah, which was printed in 14 volumes
under the name Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (the beginning and the end).9 It covers "universal"
history, from the creation of the world until the end of the world and Islamic eschatology. It
contained the stories of the Prophets and previous nations, the Prophet's Seerah (life story) and
Islamic history until his time.

Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah consists of 3 parts. The first part touches about the beginning
of the reigns of the past nation until the period of ignorance of the Arab (Arab Jahiliyyah), the
stories of the Prophets Muhammad, the delegacy of the revelation, and the raising of Islam until
the migration of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah. This part is based on the Al-
Quran, the Hadith and the writing of the Famous Islamic scholars like Imam Al-Tabary, Ibn
Umar, Al-Waqidiy and others.
The second part of the book wrote about the reigns of the KhulafaAl-Rashidin, the
Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate and the nations that was parts of the Abbasid
Caliphate until its fallen.
The last part of this book is about the Last Hour and also advices that encourage the
readers to obey Allah.

Sejarah Tamadun Islam, the translated version of Imam Ibn Kathirs book, Al-Bidayah wan-
Nihayah.
6
9 Norazlinda Misran.(2006, 23 January). Sejarah Tamadun Islam Ibn Kathir. Berita Harian. Retrived
from http://www.dbp.gov.my/klikdbp/klik11jan6.pdf
 Imam Ibn Kathir also wrote Jami Al-Masanid, which is also known by Al-Hadi was-
Sunan fi Ahadith Al-Nasanid was-Sunan. In this book, Ibn Kathir collected the narrations of
Imams Ahmad bin Hanbal, six collections of Hadith: Two Sahihs [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] and
the Four Sunan [Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-NasaI and Ibn Majah]. Ibn Kathir then divided
this book according to areas of Fiqh.

Jami Al-Masanid
Other popular books of Imam Ibn Kathir
1. He wrote Tabaqat Ash-Shafiyah that also contains the virtues of Imam Ash-Shafie.
2. Ibn Kathir wrote refrences for the Hadiths of Adillat At-Tanbih, from the Shafie school of
Fiqh.
3. Ibn Kathir began an explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, however he was not able to finish it.
4. He also started writing a large volume on the Ahkam (Laws), but only finished up to the Hajj
rituals.
5. He summarized Al-Bayhaqis Al-Madkhal. Many of these books were not printed.
6. He summarized Ulum Al-Hadith, by Abu Amr bin As-Salah and called it Mukhtasar Ulum
Al-Hadith. Shaykh Ahmad Shakir, the Egyptian Muhaddith, printed this book along with his
commentary on it and called it Al-Bath Al-Hathith fi Sharh Mukhtasar Ulum Al-Hadith.
7. A research on Jihad called Al-Ijtihad fi Talabi Al-Jihad which was printed several times.
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8. At-Takmil fi Marifat Ath-Thiqat wa Ad-Duafa wal Majahil which Ibn Kathir collected from
the books of his two Shaykhs Al-Mizzi and Adh-Dhahabi; Al-Kamal and Mizan Al-Itidal. He
added several benefits regarding the subject of Al-Jarh and At-Tadil.
 Imam Ibn Kathir also wrote other books and most of them still in the form of manuscript.
All those books are kept in some place and most of them are not printed out.10

2.3.2 Imam Ibn Kathir involvement in states affairs

Other than his contribution in writing books, Ibn Kathir also involved in states affairs.
For instance, at the end of the year 741 H, he participated in the investigation that eventually
condemn Sufi heretic who claimed himself as God. In 752 H, he had foiled the rebellion of Amir
Baibughah "Urs, at the time of Caliph Mutadid. In the year 759 H, together with other scholars,
Ibn Kathir had been asked by Amir Munjak to verify some discretion in preventing corruption,
and other state events.

2.3.3 Imam Ibn Kathirs titles

One of the titles that had been given to Ibn Kathir is Al-Muhaddith. This is because he
was an expert on the Hadith of riwayah and dirayah, able to distinguish between authentic and
fake Hadiths. He can also validate the Hadith and took benefits from it.

Then, he also got the title of Al-Faqih, which is given to the scholars who are expert in
Islamic Law but still have not reach the level of Mujtahid yet. Other than that, Imam Ibn Kathir
was also an expert in history, which then he was given the titled Al-Muarrikh. He was also
called as Al-Mufassir - an expert in the field of Tafsir which mastered in several levels of Ulum
Al-Quran and fulfill the conditions of mufassir.
Among all the titles, Al-Hafiz is the most often attributed to Ibn Kathir. This is obvious
when his name is mentioned on his work or on his thoughts.

8
10 Muhammad Ahmad Isa (2015). Mukjizat Shahih Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. ( Himpunan Hadith Shahih
Oleh Imam Ibnu Kathir ). Selangor : PTS Islamika SDN BHD.
3.0 Conclusion
Alhamdulillah, praised to Allah SWT, we have come to the end of our assignment.
Tafsir of the Al-Quran is very important for the Muslims all over the world. Not everyone
is able to understand the Al-Quran since not everybody understands Arabic language. Besides
that, we could not simply make any conclusion about the content of the Quran with our limited
knowledge. Thus, here comes the importance of the tafsir. Without the help of the tafsir, it would
be hard for people to understand and there may be misunderstanding happening on the content of
the Al-Quran.
There are many reasons why the tafsirs are important but the main reason is that Allah
has sent the Quran as a book of guidance to mankind. To worship Allah is the Mans purpose,
like to seek His pleasure by living the way of life that Allah has permitted. He can do so by
studying the guidance that Allah has revealed, but can only do so if he properly understands its
meanings, the interpretation and implication.
Imam Ibn Kathir has contributed a lot of things and it cannot be denied that among those
contributions, the tafsir that he made really help the Muslims to understand the Quran and avoid
any misunderstanding about the teaching of the Quran. For sure it also had encouraged a lot of
non-Muslim to study the Quran and finally they embrace Islam. MashaAllah. So, as a concern
Muslim, we must take this opportunity to understand more about what Allah said in the Quran.
There are a lot of things that we can ponder over in the Quran through the tafsir. We can find the
stories of the prophets, the scientific facts, the wisdom behind all the commandments and
restrictions of Allah.
Imam Ibn Kathir has left us more than 600 years ago, however his name is still
mentioned till now and even though there are many tafsir that has been made after Imam Ibn
Kathirs death, his tafsir is still one of the best and could not be replaced by others. Ask
ourselves, will there be other people who can be just like Ibn Kathir? Or will there be people
now who can write their books and still be mentioned after hundreds of years?
Hopefully, there will be some people in this era that could create books about Islam, with
their intelligent mind and vast knowledge so that they can contribute so much to this world, just
like the renowned Mufassir, Imam Ibn Kathir.

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4.0 Bibliography

Adill Salahi (2002, 1 April ).Ismail ibn Kathir. Retrieved at February 23, 2017 from
http://www.oocities.org/mutmainaa/people/ibn_kathir.html
Muhammad Ahmad Isa (2015). Mukjizat Shahih Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. ( Himpunan Hadith
Shahih Oleh Imam Ibnu Kathir ). Selangor : PTS Islamika SDN BHD.
Muhammad Akhyar LC Syahrin Jasah (2011). Tanda-Tanda Kiamat. Kuala Lumpur : Pustaka Al-
Shafa.
Norazlinda Misran.(2006, 23 January). Sejarah Tamadun Islam Ibn Kathir. Berita Harian.
Retrived from http://www.dbp.gov.my/klikdbp/klik11jan6.pdf
Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri. (2000). Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Retrieved at February 23,
2017 from https://books.google.com.my/books?
id=a56Mb7LYN7cC&pg=PA21&dq=Ibn+Kathir+biography&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=one
page&q=Ibn%20Kathir%20biography&f=false

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