BIOGRAPHY OF IBN KATHIR

He is the respected Imam, IsmaiI Imad al-Din Abu al-Fida IbnKathir

also known as IbnKathir. IbnKathir was born in the city of Busra in 700 H . His father was
Friday speaker of the village, but he died while IbnKathir was only four years old.
IbnKathirs brother, ShaykhAbdWahhab, reared him and taught him until they moved to
Damascus.
Ibn Kathir studied Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) with Burhan Ad-Din, Ibrahim bin
AbdurRahman Al-Fizari, known as Ibn Al-Firkah. Ibn Kathir heard hadith from Isa bin AlMutim, Ahmad bin AbiTalib, Ibn Al-Hajjar. He remained with Jamal Ad-Din, Yusuf bin Azzaki Al-Mizzi who died in 724 H, he benefited from his knowledge and also married his
daughter. He also read with Shaykh Al-Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah. Also Abu Qarafai, Abu Al-Fath
Ad-Dabbusi and others who gave him permission to transmit the knowledge that he learned
with them in Egypt.
In his later life, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said Ibn Kathir lost his sight just before his
life ended. He died in Damascus in 774 H. He became blind because of him always working
late at night. When Ibn Kathir passed away he was entombed alongside his teacher,
IbnTaymiyya in the Sufi Cemetry of Damascus, Syria. May Allah S.W.T have mercy on his
soul and grant him the highest level of Paradise.

AN INTODUCTION
The Quran has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication (tafsir), aimed at
explaining the meanings of the Quranic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their
significance. Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the
Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early
Muslims. Other early exegesis included a few Companions of Muhammad, like Ali bin Abi
Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kab. Exegesis in those days
was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its
revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse
was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were
narrated to make its meaning clear.Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of
the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic,
Prophet Muhammad not only taught the words of the Quran to the people but he also
explained them in detail. This is why, on some occasions, the revered Companions had to
devote years at a time to learning a single surah. Until such time that the Prophet graced the
mortal world with his presence, seeking the explanation of a Quranic verse did not pose much
of a problem. When the Companions faced any difficulty in understanding a verse, they
would simply turn to the Prophet. However, it became necessary that the tafsir of the Quran
be preserved as a permanent branch of knowledge so that, along with the words of the Noble
Quran, its correct meaning remain protected and conserved for the Muslim. Ismail 'Imad alDin Abu 'l-Fida' Isma'ilibnKathir is a famous commentary of the Quran. He was student of
Ibn Taymiyya. The aim of writing this assignment is to highlight the biographical of Imam
Ibn Kathir and to explain his contributions in tafsir. There are a few of problems to complete

this assignment such as lack of materials in the internet and library. Its difficult to find an
English version for Tafsir Ibn Kathirs book.