Ibn Kathir | |
|---|---|
اِبْنُ كَثِيرٍ | |
| Title | Imam |
| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 1300 (701AH) |
| Died | 27 February 1373 (774 AH) Damascus, Mamluk Sultanate (now Syria) |
| Era | Medieval Era (Middle Ages) |
| Region | Sham |
| Main interest(s) | |
| Notable work(s) | Tafsir Ibn Kathir Tarikh Ibn Kathir Kitab al-jami[1] al-Sira al-Nabawiyya |
| Occupation | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[2][3][4] |
| Creed | Athari[5][6][7][8][9] |
| Muslim leader | |
| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Ismāʿīl إسماعيل |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | ibn ʿUmar ibn Kaṯīr بن عمر بن كثير |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | Abū l-Fidāʾ أبو الفداء |
| Epithet (Laqab) | ʿImād ud-Dīn عماد الدين "pillar of the faith" |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | Ad-Dimashqi Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi |
Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (Arabic:أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير الدمشقي,romanized: Abū al-Fidā' Ismā'īl ibn 'Umar ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī;c. 1300–1373), known simply asIbn Kathir, was an Arab Islamicexegete, historian and scholar. An expert ontafsir (Quranic exegesis),tarikh (history) andfiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a leading authority onSunni Islam.
Born inBostra,Mamluk Sultanate, Ibn Kathir's teachers includeal-Dhahabi andIbn Taymiyya. He wrote several books, including a fourteen-volume universal history titledal-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya (Arabic:البداية والنهاية).[11][12]
His renownedtafsir,Tafsir Ibn Kathir, is recognized for its critical approach toIsraʼiliyyat, especially among Western Muslims andWahhabi scholars. His methodology largely derives from his teacher Ibn Taymiyya, and differs from that of other earlier renowned exegetes such asTabari. He adhered to theAthari school of Islamic theology.
His full name wasAbū l-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kaṯīr (أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير) and had thelaqab (epithet) ofʿImād ad-Dīn (عماد الدين, 'pillar of the faith').His family traces its lineage back to the tribe ofQuraysh. He was born in Mijdal, a village on the outskirts of the city ofBusra, in the east of Damascus, Syria, around aboutAH 701 (AD 1300/1).[13] He was taught byIbn Taymiyya andAl-Dhahabi.
Upon completion of his studies he obtained his first official appointment in 1341, when he joined an inquisitorial commission formed to determine certain questions of heresy.[1]
He married the daughter ofAl-Mizzi, one of the foremost Syrian scholars of the period, which gave him access to the scholarly elite. In 1345 he was made preacher (khatib) at a newly built mosque in Mizza, the hometown of his father-in-law. In 1366, he rose to a professorial position at theGreat Mosque of Damascus.[1][14]
In later life, he became blind.[12] He attributes his blindness to working late at night on theMusnad ofAhmad Ibn Hanbal in an attempt to rearrange it topically rather than by narrator.He died in February 1373 (AH 774) in Damascus. He was buried next to his teacherIbn Taymiyya.[15]
The records from modern researchers such asTaha Jabir Alalwani, Yazid Abdu al Qadir al-Jawas, and Barbara Stowasser has demonstrated important similarities between Ibn Kathir and his influential masterTaqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, such as rejecting logical exegesis ofQur'an, advocating a militantjihad and adhering to the renewal of one singularIslamic ummah.[16][17][18][19] In contemporary scholarship, Ibn Kathir is widely regarded as an anti-rationalistic, hadith oriented scholar who adhered to theAthari creed, much like his mentor Ibn Taymiyya.[20] According toJane McAuliffe in regards of Qur'anic exegesis, Ibn Kathir uses methods contrary to former Sunni scholars, and followed largely the methodology of Ibn Taymiyyah.[21] Barbara Freyer contends that this anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic and hadith oriented approaches held by Ibn Kathir were shared not only by Ibn Taymiyyah,[16][22] but also byIbn Hazm,Bukhari independent Madhhab,[23] and also scholars fromJariri, andZahiri Maddhabs.[24] According toChristian Lange, although he was aShafi, he was closely aligned with Damascene Hanbalism.[25]: 86 David L. Johnston described him as "the traditionist and Ash'arite Ibn Kathir".[26]
Taha Jabir Alalwani, Professor and President ofCordoba University inAshburn, Virginia maintains that these traditionalistic views of Ibn Kathir claimed by Salafists were rooted further to the generation ofSahabaSalaf, whereZubayr ibn al-Awwam, one ofThe ten to whom Paradise was promised also taught this view.[18] Contemporary researchers notes that these anti rationalistic, anti Ash'arite methods of Ibn Kathir shared with his teacher Ibn Taimiyyah; were proven in his tafseer regarding theDay of Resurrection andHypocrisy in Qur'an.[17]
Ibn Kathir states:
"People have said a great deal on this topic and this is not the place to expound on what they have said. On this matter, we follow the early Muslims (salaf):Malik,Awza'i,Thawri,Layth ibn Sa'd,Shafi'i,Ahmad ibn Hanbal,Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh, and others among the Imams of the Muslims, both ancient and modern that is, to let (the verse in question) pass as it has come, without saying how it is meant (min ghayr takyif), without likening it to created things (wa la tashbih), and without nullifying it (wa la ta'til):The literal meaning (zahir) that occurs to the minds ofanthropomorphists (al-mushabbihin) is negated of Allah, for nothing from His creation resembles Him: "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" Rather this affair is like what the Grand Shaykh of Imam Bukhari Shaykh Naeem ibn Hamaad Khazaa'i said "Whosoever likens Allah to his Creation has done Kufr (disbelieved) and whosoever negates what Allah describes Himself with has also done Kufr (Disbelieved) There is nothing with what Allah describes Himself with nor his Prophet describes Allah with from likening Allah to his Creation (tashbeeh). Whosoever affirms for Allah what has reached Us from the Truthful Ayahs (verses) and Correct Hadeeth (Prophetic narrations) on the way that is befitting the Majesty of Allah while negating from Allah all defects indeed He has traveled the way of guidance." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir 7:54)[27]
These words from Ibn Kathir were argued byAthari scholarship as proof of Ibn Kathir not being Ash'arite. According to Salafi Muslims, since Ibn Kathir does not use logical rationale to reject anthropomorphism, he believed the attributes of God cannot be likened to creatures, while simultaneously affirming the verses andhadith about God's Attributes such as residence above HisThrone and His Exaltation above all creatures.[28]: 205–207 Salafis rebut Ash'arite claims asFormal fallacy regarding Ibn Kathir tafsir, and other claims such as four madhhab schools as supporting Ash'ari and Maturidites are fabrications. For this, they employ the reports fromAhmad ibn Hanbal who rejected the views of those who were allegedly deemed as proto Asharites and Maturidites, theMutakallim, and deems them as not in Ahl as Sunnah teaching.[28]: 43 According to Livnat Holtzman, historically the school ofAhl al-Hadith championed by none other than Ibn Kathir's master, Ibn Taymiyyah, had successfully crushed the interrogation and accusation from Ash'arite rational (Kalam) argumentations during the 13th AD century.[29] while modern scholars such as Marzuq at Tarifi,[30] and Sa'id Musfir al-Qahtani further posited thatAbu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari, the eponym of Asharite school, himself was not fond of his "Asharite followers" and pointed out on his book, al-ibāna, that Abu al Hasan was teaching the method similar to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Kathir, and rejected theAhl al Kalam andMaturidites such as Al-Razi.[31][32]
In summary, Jon Hoover outlined that Ibn Kathir stance according to scholars were orthodox traditionists and rejected the view of Mutakallims, just like the view of Salafi Muslims and their predecessorAhl al-Hadith school.[33]
In the modern times, Ibn Kathir's creed have sometimes been raised as a subject of disagreement between the Ash'arites, successor ofAhl al-Ra'y rationalist school and theSalafis, theorized by Jon Hoover as successor ofAhl al-Hadith traditionist school.[33] Some Ash'arite theologians have claimed Ibn Kathir as an Ash'ari, pointing out some of his beliefs and sayings reported from his works, and to the fact that:
Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on theQur'an namedTafsīr al-Qurʾānal-ʿAẓīm better known asTafsir Ibn Kathir which linked certainHadith, or sayings ofMuhammad, and sayings of thesahaba to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation and avoided the use ofIsra'iliyyats. Many Sunni Muslims hold his commentary as the best afterTafsir al-Tabari andTafsir al-Qurtubi and it is highly regarded especially amongSalafi school of thought.[36] Although Ibn Kathir claimed to rely onat-Tabari, he introduced new methods and differs in content, in attempt to clear Islam from that he evaluates as Isra'iliyyat. His suspicion on Isra'iliyyat possibly derived from Ibn Taimiyya's influence, who discounted much of the exegetical tradition since then.[21][37]
HisTafsir has gained widespread popularity in modern times, especially among Western Muslims, probably due to his straightforward approach, but also due to lack of alternative translations of traditional tafsirs.[38] Ibn Kathir'sTafsir work has played major impact in the contemporary movements of Islamic reform.Salafi reformerJamal al-Din Qasimi'sQurʾānic exegsisMaḥāsin al-taʾwīl was greatly influenced byIbn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr, which is evident from its emphasis onḥadīth, Scripturalist approaches, the rejection ofIsrāʾīliyyāt, and a polemical attitudes against theAhl al-raʾy.[39] From the 1920s onwards, Wahhabi scholars also contributed immensely to popularisation of ḥadīth-oriented hermeneutics and exegeses, such as Ibn Kathīr's andal-Baghawī'sQurʾān commentaries and Ibn Taymiyya'sal-Muqaddima fī uṣūl al-tafsīr, through printing press. The Wahhābī promotion of Ibn Taymiyya's and Ibn Kathīr's works through print publishing during the early twentieth century emerged instrumental in making these two scholars popular in the contemporary period and imparted a robust impact on modern exegetical works.[40]
Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm is controversial in western academic circles.Henri Laoust regards it primary as aphilological work and "very elementary".Norman Calder describes it as narrow-minded, dogmatic, and skeptical against the intellectual achievements of former exegetes. His concern is limited to rate the Quran by the corpus of Hadith and is the first, who flatly rates Jewish sources as unreliable, while simultaneously using them, just as prophetic hadith, selectively to support his prefabricated opinion.[41] Otherwise,Jane Dammen McAuliffe regards this tafsir as "deliberately and carefully selected, whose interpretation is unique to his own judgment to preserve, that he regards as best among his traditions."[42]
Ibn Kathir is a scholar of Ahl al-Sunna who was of the Shafi'i school (according to the first volume of his main work, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, 1.2), while Ibn Taymiya was a scholar whose fiqh remained in the general framework of the Hanbali school.
Ibn Kathīr is often portrayed as the "spokesperson" for Ibn Taymiyya, one who promoted his work and implemented his theories. Ibn Kathīr is more accurately described as a Shāfi'ī traditionalists or a group of Shāfiʻī ḥadīth scholars who maintained a traditionalist creed.
Ibn Kathir, 'Imad Al-Din Ism'il Ibn 'Umar (AD 1300–73)... His reliance is totally upon hadith material; the era of Ibn Kathir, in fact, marks the triumph of traditionalism over the powers of rationalism.
Philips is a follower of traditional literalist interpretation of the Qur'ān.... This is a basic and conservative method of interpreting the Qur'ān, which is used by traditionalist Muslim scholars such as Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373)...
Jane McAullife remarks that 'certainly the most famous of Ibn Kathīr's teachers, and perhaps the one who influenced him the most, was the Ḥanbalī theologian and jurisconsult Ibn Taymiyyah'.
Born in Bosra in 1300, Ibn Kathīr was a historian and traditionalist of Mamlūk, Syria.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)the methodology proposed by Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) and adopted by Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373), which ultimately resulted in the dismissal of philology in favour of hadith and of the doctrines of Sunnī traditionalism.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}:|author2= has generic name (help)Ibn Qāḍī al-Shuhba concludes mentioning that Ibn Kathīr was buried 'next to his teacher (shaykhihi) Ibn Taymiyya'.
The traditionist and Ash'arite Ibn Kathir...
الإمام الحافظ المفسر أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن كثير رحمه الله تعالى، صاحب التفسير العظيم والبداية والنهاية وغيرها، فقد نُـقِـلَ عنه أنه صَـرَّحَ بأنه أشعري كما في الدرر الكامنة 1/58، والدارس في تاريخ المدارس للنعيمي 2/89، أضف إلى ذلك أنه ولي مشيخة دار الحديث الأشرفية التي كان شرط واقفها أن لا يلي مشيختها إلا أشعري، وزدْ عليه ما في تفسيره من التنزيه والتقديس والتشديد على من يقول بظواهر المتشابه كما مـرَّ من قوله عند تفسيره لقوله تعالى من سـورة الأعراف ( ثمّ استوي على العرش ) (تفسيره 2/220) إلى غير ذلك من الأمثلة الظاهرة الجلية في كونه من أهل السنة الأشاعـرة.
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)ومن نوادره أنه وقع بينه وبين عماد الدين بن كثير منازعة في تدريس الناس، فقال له ابن كثير: أنت تكرهني لأنني أشعري، فقال له: لو كان من رأسك إلى قدمك شعر ما صدقك الناس في قولك إنك أشعري، وشيخك ابن تيمية.
More conservative forms of revivalism continued to flourish.. for instance, al-Qāsimī's above mentioned extensive Qurʾān commentary Maḥāsin al-taʾwīl is influenced by scripturalist ideas and places great emphasis on ḥadīth.... The methodology of this commentary owes much to Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr, which is evident from its focus on ḥadīth, the rejection of isrāʾīliyyāt, and a polemical attitude against the so-called ahl al-raʾy,..
… from the 1920s onwards invested in printing activities and contributed massively to the popularization of what the Saudi scholars considered to be legitimate, i.e., ḥadīth-based hermeneutics and exegesis, for example Ibn Kathīr's and al-Baghawī's Qurʾān commentaries and Ibn Taymiyya's al-Muqaddima fī uṣūl al-tafsīr. The Wahhābī promotion of Ibn Taymiyya's and Ibn Kathīr's works—especially by publishing them in print in the early twentieth century—was instrumental in making these two authors popular in the contemporary period and had a strong impact on modern exegetical activities.
