In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Editor’s Introduction
All praise belongs to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help and His forgiveness, and seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and from the consequences of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whomever He allows to stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
To proceed:
This is the final volume of Al-Bidayah wa-l-Nihayah (The Beginning and the End) by the ḥāfiẓ Imad al-Din Abū al-Fidāʾ Ismaʿil ibn ʿUmar ibn Kathir al-Busrāwī al-Dimashqī, d. 774 AH—may Allah have mercy on him. In it he discusses the events of the end times—great battles, tribulations, and occurrences that are among the portents of the Hour. He first mentions these trials in general, then details them: the splintering of nations, the evils that will befall this ummah in its latter days, and the appearance of the awaited Mahdī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah, whose name coincides with that of the Prophet ﷺ and whose father’s name coincides with the Prophet’s father’s name ﷺ. Ibn Kathīr explains that the Mahdī will be from the descendants of Fāṭimah—peace be upon her—the daughter of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. He will be a scholar from the Muslim community, neither a prophet nor a messenger, but a believing scholar who calls to what our Prophet Muḥammad—may Allah’s mercy be upon them—called to: faith in Allah and the fight against disbelief and tyranny. The author cites some of the texts that speak of his emergence and counts it among the major signs of the Hour.
He also identifies as one of the greatest tribulations the coming of the one-eyed impostor—al-Dajjāl, the lying disbeliever who calls people to unbelief and misguidance. Ibn Kathīr records the authentic texts concerning him—may Allah curse him—and affirms that his appearance is likewise among the major signs of the Hour. He then cites many authentic and mutawātir reports regarding the descent of ʿĪsā (Jesus), peace be upon him, from heaven; that he will descend at the white minaret east of Damascus; that he will call people to the oneness of Allah and to act by the law of our Prophet Muḥammad—may Allah’s mercy be upon them—which is the final law, abrogating all previous laws, with no new law to come until the Day of Resurrection.
During that period ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, peace be upon him, together with the awaited Mahdī, will summon mankind to Islam and to adherence to the Qur’an and the law of the Prophet Muḥammad—may Allah’s mercy be upon them—throughout the world. Jesus, son of Mary, will pursue the disbelieving Dajjāl until he overtakes him at the gate of Ludd in Palestine and kills him, freeing the people from his evil. In the time of ʿĪsā, peace be upon him, security and stability will prevail, Islam will spread everywhere, and the word of Allah in the Qur’an will be fulfilled:
“It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth so that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists dislike it.” [al-Tawbah 9:33]
Thus Islam will encompass the entire earth, just as the saying of our Prophet Muḥammad—may Allah’s mercy be upon them—will be realized:
“This matter will certainly reach every place that the night and the day reach, and Allah will not leave …”