He was born in the year 224 AH (1). He had a tawny complexion, large eyes, a handsome build (2), was tall of stature, and eloquent of tongue.

He transmitted an immense amount of material from a vast multitude of teachers, and he traveled to distant lands in search of hadith. He authored the celebrated History and the comprehensive Tafsir (3), along with other beneficial works covering both legal theory and practical rulings. Among the finest of these is “Tahdhib al-Athar” (4), though he did not complete it. It is reported that he spent forty years writing forty pages every single day.

Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Khatib said:

Ibn Jarir settled permanently in Baghdad (5). He was one of the foremost imams among the scholars; judgments were issued according to his opinions, and people referred to him because of his knowledge and merit. He had gathered of the sciences what none of his contemporaries could match. He had memorized the Book of Allah, was versed in the variant readings, insightful regarding meanings, a jurist in legal rulings, a scholar of the sunnah—its transmission routes, its sound and weak reports, and its abrogating and abrogated texts. He knew the statements of the Companions, the Followers, and those after them, and he was well acquainted with the historical events and reports of the people. He wrote the famous book on the history of nations and kings, and a Tafsir the like of which no one has produced. He also composed a book entitled “Tahdhib al-Athar”—I have seen nothing comparable to it in its field—though he did not finish it. He produced many works and independent selections in the fundamentals and branches of jurisprudence, and he alone advanced certain legal questions that have been preserved from him (6).

Al-Khatib also said:

I was informed that Shaykh Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn Abi Tahir, the Isfarayini jurist, said: If a man were to travel all the way to China so that he might obtain for himself (7) the Tafsir of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, that would not be too much—or words to this effect (8).

Al-Khatib further related from the Imam of the Imams, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah, that he spent years studying Ibn Jarir’s Tafsir from beginning to end, after which he said: I do not know anyone on the face (9) of the earth more knowledgeable than Ibn Jarir; indeed, he has been wronged