Ibn Kathir

Syrian Islamic historian, exegete and scholar (c.1300–1373)

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Lived 1301–1373, aged 72

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45 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1301–1373
Aged 72

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

His Quranic commentary set a standard for textual rigor that still shapes how millions of Sunni Muslims read scripture. Ibn Kathir's approach — skeptical of outside folklore, anchored in hadith — became a template, especially among conservative interpreters who prize his refusal to blend tradition with speculation.

Biography

About

Born around 1300 in Bostra in what is now Syria, Ibn Kathir studied under Ibn Taymiyya and al-Dhahabi, absorbing a strict textualist theology that rejected speculative reasoning. He became an expert in Quranic exegesis, history, and Islamic law, writing a fourteen-volume universal history titled al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya. His tafsir stood apart for its critical stance toward Israʼiliyyat — narratives borrowed from Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian sources that had crept into earlier commentaries. Where exegetes like al-Tabari had woven in varied traditions, Ibn Kathir insisted on hadith and script…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Ibn Kathir

Ibn Kathir

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Oh God, highest friend in heaven!

— Reşit Haylamaz (2013). The Luminous Life of Our Prophet. Tughra Books. p. 355. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018.

Ibn Kathir

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Al-Hajjaj related to us, that Hammad related to him, from Hisham b.

— Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), Volume II, translated by professor Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr.

Ibn Kathir

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Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Sawdah feared that the Messenger of Allah might divorce her and she said, `O Messenger of Allah!

— The Ruling Concerning Desertion on the Part of the Husband Tafsir Ibn Kathi

Ibn Kathir

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Allah says: "There is no compulsion in religion", meaning: do not force anyone to embrace Islam, because it is clear and its proofs and evidences are manifest.

— Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 1999: First Edition, Part 3, pp. 37-38. Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 253 to

Ibn Kathir

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