to compile a comprehensive history, linking the Prophet’s biography to the dawn of creation and situating it within the broader current of Islamic history.

Thus al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr remains a singular figure among historians, distinguished by the ending with which he closed his work. The conclusion is perfectly logical and fully consistent with the book’s title, for in a single composition he truly chronicles both the beginning of humanity and its ultimate end.

[1 — The Beginning and the Stories of the Prophets]

Ibn Kathīr’s fully developed scholarly personality shines through in this portion of al-Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah. Here he is a follower, not an innovator, adopting the procedure of earlier authors who commenced their histories with the creation of the cosmos—the heavens and the earth—and then moved on to the creation of Adam and the prophets who succeeded him.

There is no doubt that his composition of Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, and his frequent cross-references to it, paved the way for writing “The Beginning and the Stories of the Prophets.” That prior work clarified this section’s chapters and headings, its cultural markers and legal underpinnings, bringing them together in a seamless whole.

He opens with the Almighty’s words: “Allah is the Creator of all things” (al-Zumar 39:62), and, “He created the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them in six days, then He established Himself above the Throne” (al-Furqān 25:59).

He interprets the Qurʾān by the Qurʾān, by sound ḥadīths, and by the sayings of the Companions, while prohibiting exegesis based solely on personal opinion. He draws on the most celebrated, expansive early commentaries, furnishing well-documented and mature explanations; he consults the ḥadīth corpora, scrutinizes their chains of transmission, and distinguishes authentic and fair reports from weak and fabricated ones.

He also exposes the Israʾīliyyāt traditions, classifying them into three categories: (1) those that accord with the Qurʾān and Sunnah—these are unnecessary; (2) those that contradict the Qurʾān and Sunnah—these are rejected; and (3) those that are neither confirmed nor denied by the Qurʾān and Sunnah—these may be related for reflection.

Over every legal ruling he pauses at length, so that one sometimes forgets he is a historian rather than a jurist. Throughout, his keen intellect and broad culture are on display: he critiques, refutes, prefers, and selects; he compares what is firmly established in the Noble Qurʾān with what appears in the former scriptures, clarifies the alterations that have afflicted those books, and censures the People of the Book for their obstinate attachment to falsehood even after its corruption has become manifest.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr sums up this section in the introduction to al-Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah, saying: “This is a book in which, with Allah’s help and His gracious enabling, I recount what He has made easy for me concerning the origin of created things: the creation of the Throne and the Footstool, the heavens and the earth and all that is within them, and what lies between them of angels, jinn, and devils, and the manner in which …”