Introduction

Tafsir Ibn Kathir stands as one of the most authoritative and widely consulted works of Qur'anic commentary in the Sunni tradition. Its author, Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Qurashi al-Dimashqi, was born around 701 AH in Busra, Syria, and studied under some of the greatest scholars of his age — most notably the polymath Ibn Taymiyyah, whose influence on Ibn Kathir's theological outlook is unmistakable throughout this work. Ibn Kathir served as a hadith scholar, jurist, and historian in Damascus until his death in 774 AH (1373 CE), leaving behind a body of scholarship that has shaped Islamic learning for centuries.

The full title of the work is Tafsir al-Quran al-'Azim — a commentary on the Mighty Quran. Ibn Kathir completed it over several decades, drawing on his vast command of hadith, narrations from the Companions and their Successors (Tabi'un), and the positions of earlier exegetes. The result is a work of considerable breadth that does not merely present opinions but traces their chains of transmission, allowing the reader to evaluate evidence directly. This transparency of method remains one of the book's most valued qualities among students of Islamic sciences.

Ibn Kathir's defining methodological principle is what scholars call tafsir al-Quran bil-Quran — explaining the Quran by the Quran itself. When a verse carries a meaning that is elaborated or clarified elsewhere in the text, he draws those connections explicitly. He then turns to the authenticated Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, followed by the statements of the Companions, and then the Tabi'un. This hierarchical method reflects the traditional Athari approach to scriptural interpretation, prioritizing transmitted knowledge over speculative reasoning. Ibn Kathir is also careful to note weak or fabricated narrations when they appear, making this tafsir a useful reference for hadith evaluation as well.

Theologically, the work reflects the Athari school in its approach to the names and attributes of Allah. Ibn Kathir affirms the divine attributes as they appear in the Quran and authentic Sunnah, without resorting to allegorical reinterpretation or denying their apparent meaning. Readers from the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools will find points of discussion on these questions, though the overall legal positions of the Shafi'i madhab — which Ibn Kathir followed — are present throughout the fiqh-related commentary.

The chapters in this edition are organized according to the standard sequence of the Mushaf, beginning with Surah al-Fatiha and proceeding through to Surah an-Nas. Each section opens with the text of the ayahs under discussion, followed by Ibn Kathir's commentary. Readers approaching this work for the first time are encouraged to read with an awareness of the scholarly apparatus underlying each passage: the hadith cited, the narrators mentioned, and the chain of interpretive authority Ibn Kathir constructs. For those seeking a tafsir grounded firmly in textual evidence rather than philosophical speculation, this work remains an essential reference.

Ibn Kathir also authored the monumental history al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah and the hadith compendium Jami' al-Masanid was-Sunan, works that reflect the same commitment to rigorous sourcing found in this tafsir. Reading Tafsir Ibn Kathir alongside his historical writings gives a fuller picture of a scholar who understood Qur'anic revelation within the sweep of prophetic history. His tafsir is not merely an academic exercise but an invitation to encounter the Quran through the eyes of those who lived closest to its revelation.