`Imad Ad-Deen Isma`il Ibn `Umar Ibn Katheer Al-Basri Ad-Dimashqi lahir pada tahun 700 H, atau tidak lama sesudahnya. Setelah wafatnya ayahnya, Ibn Katheer yang saat itu berusia tujuh tahun pergi ke Damaskus bersama kakak laki-lakinya. Ia berhutang budi atas ilmunya kepada Ibn Ashginah, Al-Amadi, Ibn `Asakir dan lainnya, semoga Allah meridhai mereka semua. Ia sangat menghormati Ibn Taimiyah, semoga Allah merahmati jiwanya, yang pendapatnya ia yakini, ia bela, dan sebagian besar ia ikuti, terutama dalam hal talak. Karena hal inilah ia mengalami cobaan dan banyak menderita.

`Imad Ad-Deen Isma`il Ibn `Umar IbnKatheer Al-Basri Ad-Dimashqi was born in 700 A.H., or shortly afterwards. After the decease of his father, Ibn Katheer, aged seven then, headed for Damascus, accompanied by his elder brother. He owed much of his learning to Ibn Ashginah, Al-Amadi, Ibn `Asakir and others, may Allah be pleased with them all. He immensely revered Ibn Taimiyah, may Allah bless his soul, whose views he believed, defended and mostly abided by, particularly as regards divorce. It was on account of this that he went through an ordeal and was made to suffer a lot.

Ibn Katsir dipuji secara luas atas tingkat keilmuan yang luhur yang berhasil ia capai dengan sangat mengagumkan. Para ulama sepakat mengakui kedalaman ilmunya, khususnya dalam bidang tafsir Al-Qur'an yang Mulia, hadis, dan sejarah. Ibnu Habib menggambarkannya sebagai "pemimpin semua orang yang berkecimpung dalam tafsir (Al-Qur'an). Ia menghimpun dan mengelompokkan seluruh (ilmu tersebut)

Ibn Katheer was widely acclaimed for the sublime degree of learning that he so admirably attained. Scholars have unanimously attested to his wellversedness, particularly in the fields of the exegesis of the Glorious Qur'an, Hadith and history. Ibn Habeeb describes him as "the leader of all men engaged in the exegesis (of the Qur'an). He amassed and categorized all (the knowledge)

Ia mendengarnya. Orang-orang kagum dengan fatwa-fatwanya dan mengambil manfaat dari ajarannya. Fatwa-fatwanya menjadi sangat populer di seluruh negeri. Ia terkenal karena ketelitiannya dan dinobatkan sebagai mercusuar sejarah, Hadis, dan tafsir (Al-Qur'an). Ibnu Hijji, salah seorang muridnya, berkata: "Dari semua orang sezaman kami, ia (Ibnu Katsir) adalah yang paling mahir dalam menghafal Hadis-Hadis yang sahih dan yang paling mengetahui dalam menilai tingkat keandalan dan kejujuran para perawi Hadis serta Hadis yang sahih dan yang tidak sahih. Rekan-rekan dan guru-gurunya mengakui setiap kata dari hal di atas. Saya sering mengunjunginya, dan setiap kali saya berada di sisinya, saya mengambil manfaat darinya." Ibnu Katsir kehilangan penglihatannya tidak lama sebelum wafat pada tahun 774 H. Ia dimakamkan di pemakaman kaum Sufi bersama gurunya, Ibnu Taimiyah. Di antara karyanya yang paling terkenal adalah mahakaryanya di bidang sejarah, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (Permulaan dan Akhir). Ia juga menafsirkan sebagian dari Shahih Al-Bukhari (kitab Hadis-Hadis sahih). Secara umum, keluasan ilmu dan kedalaman pengetahuan Ibnu Katsir yang mengagumkan paling nyata bagi siapa pun yang membaca dua mahakaryanya yang paling masyhur: tafsirnya dan kitab sejarahnya.

he heard. People marveled at his fatwas and benefited from his teachings. His fatwas grew widely popular all across the country. He was renowned for his precision and was proclaimed as the beacon of history, Hadith and exegesis (of the Qur'an)." Ibn Hijji, one of his students, owed: "Of all our contemporaries, he (Ibn Katheer) was the best at memorizing authentic Hadiths and the most knowledgeable as to assessing the degree of reliability and honesty of Hadithnarrators as well as authentic and non-authentic Hadiths. His comrades and mentors acknowledge every word of the above. I would frequently visit him, and every time I was in his company I benefited from him." Ibn Katheer lost his eyesight shortly before he died in 774 A. H. He was buried at the Sufis cemetery along with his mentor Ibn Taimiyah. Among his best-known works is his masterpiece in history Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (The Beginning and the End) .He also interpreted part of Al Bukhari's Sahih (book of authentic Hadiths). By and large, Ibn Katheer's admirable knowledge and well-versedness are best manifested to whoever reads his two best celebrated masterpieces; his interpretation and his book of history.