Al Bidayah Wan Nihayah (collection of 8 books)

Description

Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah English (8 Books From Al-Bidayah) By Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Author : Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Publisher : Darussalam
Book Format : 14X21 HB

Darussalam proudly presents the abridged English translation of the classic work, Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah.

Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah (The Beginning and The End) by the renowned scholar Abu Al-Fida, ‘Imad ad-Deen Isma’eel bin ‘Umar bin Katheer (Imam Ibn Kathir), is considered one of the most authoritative sources on Islamic history.

A unique feature of the book is that it not only deals with past events but also talks about future events mentioned by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) until the Day of Judgment.

1. Early Days.
Here are some more details:
First, he talks about the story of creation based on the verses of the Quran and sayings of the Prophet and then he moves on to narrate stories that rely on “al-Isra’eelyyaat” (i.e. the stories of the People of the Book )

The next part covers the search for Rasulullah. The advantage of his coverage of seerah is that he combines what the scholars of seerah such as ibn Ishaaq, al Waqidi, and Musa bin Uqba wrote along with what the scholars of hadith have included in their books such as Bukhari, Muslim, the four books of Sunan, al Bayhaqi, Ahmad, and al-Hakim. This makes his coverage of seerah very comprehensive and useful.

The downside is that the story does not flow as it would with the seerah of Ibn Ishaaq, for example, and there is also a lot of repetition and sometimes there are contradicting narrations. This makes it serve better as a reference than a book to read.

This part is translated into English by Trevor Le Gassick. However, there are a few mistakes in this translation. Ibn Kathir’s coverage of the time of the four Khalifs is detailed and avoids many but not all of the weak and fabricated narrations that exist in the history of al Tabari.

Then he covers the period of the Umayah khilafa. After that his history becomes quite Shaam-centric. Imam Ibn Kathir, in some cases almost conclusively, focuses on the histories of al Shaam (the area encompassed by present day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan,) Egypt, and Iraq. There is not a significant mention of North Africa, Andalusia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian peninsula, and other areas of Islam.

There is some talk about North Africa and its relationship with the establishment of the Fatimi dynasty whom Ibn Kathir refers to as liars, and Impersonators, who wished no good for the Muslims (The Fatimids were outwardly Shia and inwardly Ismailis.)

Andalusia gets mentioned briefly but many important events in its history are missing. Ibn Kathir talks about the land of Sind while mentioning the great conquests that occurred at the hands of Muhammad bin al Qasim but then neglects it completely until Mahmud Sabaktakeen arrives on the scene and achieves great victories on the Indian subcontinent. The Arabian peninsula is covered sparsely and when it is, it is mostly about what was going on, or who was ruling in Makkah and Madina. Yemen and Oman are lost in this narrative. And there was absolutely nothing in some areas such as East Africa, for instance.

Imam Ibn Kathir mentioned an apology at a place for not covering these areas in a lot of detail due to a lack of resources. It is something to ponder about. This great Imam who wrote some of the greatest works lacks resources on some important issues such as the history of Andalusia which made him omit almost 600 years of Muslim history in Spain (Ibn Kathir lived during the 8th Hijri century) while we today have all the resources at our fingertips. Modern technology has brought with it a proliferation of Islamic knowledge but where are the ones who would take advantage of that?

Therefore, al Bidayah wa al Nihaayah is an excellent reference on the history of the prophets, seerah, the history of early Islam and the history of al Shaam and Iraq up until the year 768H.

2. In Defence of the True Faith

Darussalam is proud to present the abridged English translation of the classic work: Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah, focusing exclusively on the battles, expeditions and Peace Treaties undertaken in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). This volume contains a detailed account of the most momentous events from the Battle of Badr to the Battle of Mu’tah -that occurred to the Muslims under the leadership of the Messenger of Allah. Many of these events have become immortalized by the Noble Qur’an and continue to provide invaluable lessons to humanity, now and forever.

Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah (The Beginning and The End) by the renowned scholar Abu Al-Fida ‘Imad ad-Deen Isma’eel bin ‘Umar ibn Katheer/Kathir, is considered one of the most authoritative sources of Islamic history.

3. The Valley came Alive is Life of the Last Messenger

From Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah
By Hafiz ibn Katheer
Revised and Compiled By Yosuf Al-Haj Ahmad
Translation and Research by Research Department Darussalam
Hardback, 326 pages,
Darussalam Publishing House

Darussalam is proud to present the abridged English translation of the classic work, Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah focusing exclusively on:

The way of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Contains a detailed account of the life and times of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) taken from several historical and traditional sources.
It reports the events of his blessed life, his battles, military campaigns, the delegations that met him,
Sheds light upon the unique exemplary qualities, virtues and signs of his messengers that make him a guide and role model for all humanity until the end of time

4. Winning The Hearts and Soul

Expeditions and Delegations the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (S).
From Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah
By Hafiz ibn Katheer
Revised and Compiled By Yosuf Al-Haj Ahmad
Translation and Research by Research Department Darussalam
Hardback, 387 pages,
Darussalam Publishing House

Darussalam is proud to present the abridged English translation of the classic work: Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah, focusing exclusively on the delegations and expeditions undertaken in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

This volume contains an account of some of the most important expeditions and delegations that occurred in the lifetime and under the leadership of the Messenger of Allah. These events had a significant impact on the spread of the Islamic faith to all the corners of Arabia and beyond.

5. Life and Times of the Messengers

Life and Times of the Messengers
Stories of Moosa, Samuel, Zakariyya, Yahya, Eesa, Dhul Qarnayn, Luqman & Bani Israel
By Imam Ibn Kathir
Hardback, 465 pages
Published By Darussalam
This book is an abridged English translation from the great work of Ibn Katheer, Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah. This second part consists of the stories of Prophets:

7- Miracles and merits of the prophet.

6. Book of the End Great Trials & Tribulations;] Hafiz Ibn Kathir

By: Al-Hafiz Ibn Katheer Dimashqi
Translator: Faisal Shafiq
Format: 6×9’ HB
Pages: 748
ISBN: 9960-9715-0-3
Description from the Publisher

Like everything, the present universe will also come to an end, and it is a part of our faith to believe in the Last Day. The signs of the Day of Judgment have been foretold by our Prophet (S). Ibn Kathir has collected all the prophecies of the Prophet (S) in his book Al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah.

In this volume, we have presented from them the signs of the Hour and the events that are yet to take place, although mentioning very few examples of those prophesies that have already been realized.

Introduction

O Allah, send prayers and salutations to Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. This is the Book of The End: Great Trials and Tribulations. It deals with what the Prophet informed us about regarding the signs of the Hour and the great events that are to take place before the Day of Judgment, all of which we must have faith in because the Prophet spoke not from desire, but from revelation.

Abu Moosa Al-Asharee related that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘This nation of mine is one upon which there is mercy; there is no punishment upon it in the Hereafter; its punishment is in this world – with trials, earthquakes, and killings.’

Hitherto in our discussion on the unseen past, we covered in detail events that pertain to the beginning of the world, the stories of the prophets, and the history of peoples until our era. Then we discussed the biography of the Prophet (S) mentioning his characteristics and the proofs of his prophethood. Then we covered some events that the Prophet prophesized about and that have already taken place before our century. When we gave an account of events that took place after the Prophet’s death, we pointed out those occurrences about which a Hadeeth gave information. Since we already mentioned those prophesies that have already become realized and since it would be too long to repeat them all here, we will suffice by saying only a few examples, after which we will return to the central theme of this work. And we seek help from Allah

Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? they encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: ‘When (will come) the help of Allah.’ Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near!
{TM Qur’an 2:214}

7. Miracles & Merits of Allah’s Messenger

Darussalam proudly presents the abridged English translation of the classic work: Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah. This book focuses on the events that took place after the death of the Messenger of Allah, such as the choosing of Abu Bakr as the Caliph, the ghusl of the Prophet and his burial.

The book then discusses the blessed and beautiful characteristics and merits of the Prophet and then goes on to describe the miracles that he performed. Ibn Katheer then compares the miracles given to Prophet Muhammad with those that were given to the other Prophets; he then shows that Prophet Muhammad collectively received the same miracles that were granted to the other Prophets separately.

AI-Bidayah wan Nihayah (The Beginning and The End), by the renowned scholar Abu Al-Fida ‘Imad ad-Deen Isma’eel bin ‘Umar ibn Katheer, is considered one of the most authoritative sources on Islamic History.

8. Caliphate of Banu Umayyah

Darussalam is proud to present the abridged English translation of the classic work: Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah, which covers the Caliphate of Bani Umayyah. It starts from the rule of Mu’awiyah bin Abi Sufyan in the 41st year of Hijrah up to the rule of Caliph Marwan Al-Himar in year 132 of the Hijrah.

The Umayyad Caliphate (c.661-750 CE/41-132 AH) was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates established after the death of Rasulallah. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Makkah, their capital was Damascus. At its greatest extent, it covered more than five million square miles (13,000,000 km2), making it one of the largest empires the world had yet seen, and the seventh-largest contiguous empire ever to exist.

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