Description

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Tags: Islam, Lang:en

Summary

God made the mountains and the seas. He made all the animals. He made the heavens and the stars. He made the sun and the moon and He made the angels. Then Allah decided to make a man. He called this first man Adam. He taught him many things so that Adam had more knowledge than the angels. There was one Jinn, called Iblis, the Devil. Iblis tried to compare himself to Adam. He believed that he was more honorable than Adam. Therefore he abstained from prostrating even though Allah had commanded him to do so. Adam was surprised by this creature, Iblis who abhorred him without even knowing him and who imagined himself better than Adam without having proved that he was worthier. Allah gives His commissioned creatures’ absolute freedom even to the extent that they can refuse His commands. Allah grants them the freedom of denial, disobedience, and even disagreement with Him. His kingdom will not diminish if the disbelievers do not believe in Him nor will it be extended if many people believe in Him.

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About the Author

Biography His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din (His Kunyah), Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Ibn Daw' Ibn Kathir Ibn Dir, originally Al-Busrawi, then Ad-Dimashqi Ash-Shafi'i and also Al-Qurashi. He was born in Mijdal, a village on the outskirts of the city of Busra, to the east of Damascus in the year 701 A.H and was taught by Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Mizzi, Ibn Qayyim, Al-Dhahabi, Ibn Al Firkah,‘Isa bin Al-Mutim, Ahmed bin Abi-Talib, Ibn Al-Hajjar, Baha Ad-Din Al-Qasim bin Muzaffar bin ‘Asakir, Ibn Ash-Shirazi, Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Ammuddi, Zahriyyah Shaykh, and Muhammad bin Zarrad. [edit]Official positions 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. Thereafter he received various semi-official appointments, culminating in June/July 1366 with a professorial position at the Great Mosque of Damascus.[1] Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on the Qur'an named Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Adhim which linked certain Hadith, or sayings of Muhammad, and sayings of the sahaba to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation. Tafsir ibn Kathir is famous all over the Muslim world, and among Muslims in the Western world is one of the most widely used explanations of the Qu'ran today. Ibn Kathir was renowned for his great memory regarding the sayings of Muhammad and the entire Qur'an. Ibn Kathir is known as a qadi, a master scholar of history, also a muhaddith and a mufassir (Qur'an commentator). Ibn Kathir saw himself as a Shafi'i scholar. This is indicated by two of his books, one of which was Tabaqaat ah-Shafa'iah, or The Categories of the Followers of Imam Shafi. His work is also available in English. [edit]Later life and death In later life, he became blind.[1] He attributes his blindness to working late at night on the Musnad of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in an attempt to rearrange it topically rather than by narrator. Ibn Kathir died in 774 AH / February 1373 in Damascus.