Ibn Kathir was born in 1300, he was a highly influential Arab historian, exegete, and scholar during the Mamluk era in Syria. An expert on tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and fiqh (jurisprudence), he wrote several books, including a fourteen-volume universal history titled Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya.
His methodology largely derives from his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah and differs from that of other earlier renowned exegetes such as Tabari. For that reason, he is mostly considered an Athari, despite being a Shafi’i jurist.
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.
