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Albidayah
Wa'nihayah (Arabic)
Abu Al-Fida
Hafiz Ibn Kathir Al Dimashqi
Hardback 7 Book Set, 4278 Pages
Tahqiq: Siddiq Jamil 'Ataar (Rahimahullah) .
Dar el-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon , 2008
The Classical work Al-Bidayah
wa'an-Nihayah (The Beginning and the End) or Tarikh ibn Kathir (The history
[book of] Ibn Kathir).
One of the most comprehensive
sources of Islamic history.
- The beginning of
creation and the sending of man upon the earth
- Stories of the past
Prophets
- Seerah of the Prophet
Muhammad (S)
- The Times of the
Sahaba (Companions)
- and History up to time of
author (768 h)
- The last volume
records predictions of future events such as signs of the day of judgment (Qiyamah)
- Barzakh, Jannah (paradise)& Jahannam (hell).
Therefore, al Bidayah wa al Nihaayah
is an excellent reference on the history of the prophets, seerah, the history
of early Islam and the history of al Shaam and Iraq up until the year 768H.
During the period when I was reading these ten volumes I was living with the
ummah. The ups and the downs, the victories and the defeats, the righteous and
the evil, the just rulers and the tyrants, the scholars, the poets, the
worshipers, the military generals, the deviants, the hypocrites, and the
enemies.
We have a truly fascinating history. Imam Anwar al Awlaki
http://www.anwar-alawlaki.com/?p=29
About Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Abu Al-Fida,
'Imad Ad-Din Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi, Al Dimashqi.
, originally from Busra (Syria) – and raised in Damascus. He followed the
Shafi`ee school of thought. Ibn Kathir was born in the year 700 AH or little
later in an area called Majdal, near Busra, west of Damascus. His father died
when he was only four years old and was taken in by his brother and moved to
Damascus in 706. Here, he learned from great scholars such as Ibn Asakir, Ishaq
ibn Yahya al-Amudi and the great Ibn Taymiyyah who was extremely close to him.
He also studied under various other sheikhs who gave him permission in fiqh and
Hadith. He made many academic contributions to Islamic sciences.
He made many academic
contributions to Islamic sciences. The following are amongst his most prominent:
Tafseer of the Qur’an, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah: a history of Muslims from Adam
until Ibn Kathir’s time, At-Takmeel: a book on the science of Asmaaul Rijal
(profiles of transmitters of Hadith), Jami`ul Masaneed: a book that collects the
Hadith from ten major books of Hadith, ,
The classes of Shafi`ee
scholars: a list of scholars following the Imam, Extraction of the traditions of
Tanbeeh (a Shafi`ee book of jurisprudence), The commentary on al-Bukhari (which
he did not finish), The book of laws (again, he did not complete it), The
summary to the science of Hadith; a synopsis to the introduction of Ibn Saah’s
work, Extraction of the traditions to the summary of Ibn Hajib, Musnad of the
two sheikhs (Abu Bakr and Umar), Biography of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa
sallam, The epistle of Jihad.
Al-Hafiz Ibn hajar Al-Asqalani
said,”Ibn Kathir lost his sight just before his life ended. He died in Damascus
in 774A.H. May Allah grant him Mercy and make him amongst the residents of
Jannah (Heavenly Garden) .
Many of These have been translated
into the English Language (Even though some are Abridged Translations),
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