Now then …
If these proofs are added to those previously presented by the late Professor Muḥammad Aḥmad Dahmān, we can state with near certainty that the entire work is by Ibn Kathīr. Indeed, we are presently hoping to locate the missing portion somewhere so that the offshoot may be rejoined to its root and all doubt dispelled. Allah is the One who guides to what is right.

Finally: my heartfelt thanks go to the esteemed Dar Ibn Kathir, which undertook the publication of this valuable book, lavished upon it every care it deserves, and extended full support to the staff involved. Its long-standing service to our glorious heritage—linking a radiant present to a brilliant, luminous past—is well known. May Allah benefit them and reward them in this world and the Hereafter.

I ask Allah to grant us success in the best of deeds and to grant us a good ending. Our last supplication is: Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

Hassan Ismaʿil Marwah
Damascus, al-Sham – Maʿūbah
Friday, 27 Rajab 1412 AH
31 January 1992 CE