Degree of adherence to the plan
All of the editors faithfully observed this plan and mastered its details, all the more so once the task of verification extended to more than one or two volumes.

• As the earlier volumes began to appear, they served as models and guiding lights for the later ones. The effort invested in serving the text was evident: it was presented complete and in full conformity— or very close—to what the author intended, accompanied by carefully crafted notes and illuminations that clarified difficult expressions and shed light on the purport of his sentences and phrases.

• Modern typesetting, supervised and executed by Ustadh Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Shūnū, further enhanced the presentation. Qurʾānic verses were reproduced from the noble muṣḥaf with full vocalization, along with their pauses and verse numbers, and the color red was introduced to highlight headings, numerals, and significant benefits.

• Many of the editors chose not to write separate introductions for the volumes they completed, out of concern for the unity of the work and in reliance on the comprehensive introduction that preceded the first volume—an introduction that effectively served the entire set. It was therefore agreed to dispense with most individual prefaces.

• This distinguished edition of al-Bidāyah wa-l-Nihāyah is notable for uniting “the beginning and the end,” covering history from the dawn of creation to the final states of the Hereafter. The present seventeenth volume was edited and reviewed by the ḥadīth scholar Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnaʿūṭ—may Allah preserve him—and may Allah grant him the greatest reward for this blessed and ongoing endeavor. It is a source of well-deserved pride and gratitude that al-Bidāyah wa-l-Nihāyah is now issued in its complete and comprehensive form.

• The work concludes with three volumes containing exhaustive scholarly indexes. These indexes are, beyond doubt, keys that enable the reader to benefit from the book and to roam freely among its topics and treasures. They comprise:
– Indexes of Qurʾānic verses, Prophetic sayings and actions, and early reports (athār), prepared by Ustadh Maḥmūd al-Arnaʿūṭ.
– Indexes of named individuals—those who have dedicated biographies and those who do not—prepared by Ustadh Akram al-Būshī.
– An index of subjects; an index of the Prophet’s qualities (shamāʾil) and historical matters; an index of Ibn Kathīr’s sources and the books cited; an index of Ibn Kathīr’s teachers; an index of statements, sermons, epistles, bequests, and official decrees; an index of places, regions, and topics; an index of animals and plants; an index of linguistic explanations and glosses of rare terms; an index of rhymes and poetry; an index of Arab and Islamic proverbs and maxims; an index of Arabic rhetorical styles; an index of noteworthy benefits; and finally a comprehensive master index of all indexes—each of these compiled by Dr. Riyāḍ Murād.