• Multiple full readings of the work:

1. The reading undertaken by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnaʿūṭ (may Allah have mercy on him), the book’s overall supervisor. He reviewed and documented the ḥadīths, rectified any flaws or shortcomings, and graded all narrations that lie outside the two Ṣaḥīḥs. This first pass covered the draft of every volume, when the annotations were still nothing more than slips of paper—yet they remain a point of pride for the work and for those engaged in its verification, thanks to the Shaykh’s vast learning, humility, sincerity, pure spirit, noble character, and well-known specialization in ḥadīth. These qualities shine through in his valuable notes, each signed with the letter “ʿAyn” (ع). May Allah’s mercy embrace the eminent ḥadīth scholar Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir, may He grant him a spacious place in Paradise, and may He gather us with him beneath the banner of our Master Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

2. A reading by Professor Dr. Bashshār ʿAwwād Maʿrūf—may Allah preserve him. He is widely recognized as an authority in Islamic history and Prophetic ḥadīth, with numerous critical editions and scholarly contributions in both fields. The corrections he added to the final proofs of the first sixteen volumes of al-Bidāyah wa-l-Nihāyah testify to the expertise of a scholar thoroughly grounded in history, biography, and ḥadīth, fully alert to the slips and transcription errors that creep in through narrators and copyists. His remarks, signed “Bashshār,” confirm this book’s happy and abundant share of his scholarly care.

3. A reading by Dr. Muḥyī al-Dīn Dīb Mustū during the last stage of proofreading, based on the complete set of volumes employed for indexing. Its aims were: overall coordination across all volumes; standardization of punctuation; correction of typographical mistakes; and a line-by-line comparison with a copy that had been read and corrected by our teacher Shaykh Nāyif al-ʿAbbās—may Allah have mercy on him—so that his emendations could be studied and adopted. In Damascus, Shaykh Nāyif was famed for his interest in Islamic history and for teaching it at the Institute of Sharīʿah Sciences run by the venerable Association. Under his tutelage we read Ibn Kathīr’s four-volume Prophetic biography, and his markup of the 1966 Beirut (Maʿārif) edition of al-Bidāyah wa-l-Nihāyah was later placed in my hands, complete, by his son ʿAbd al-Muʾmin al-ʿAbbās—may Allah reward him abundantly and make him a worthy successor to his father. This reading produced immense benefits and precious gems—real lessons and moving admonitions—which I recorded in my notebook and which Dār Ibn Kathīr intends to publish under the title Benefits and Rare Gems from al-Bidāyah wa-l-Nihāyah. All praise and favor belong to Allah.

4. Two readings by Professor Akram al-Būshī: one while preparing the indexes and a final pass that served as the “musk of completion.” With his green pen he supplied important corrections—adjusting vocalization, rectifying errors, and restoring some omissions. May Allah reward him well and grant him success in every right endeavor.