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49-619: Born in Bostra , Mamluk Sultanate , Ibn Kathir's teachers include al-Dhahabi and Ibn Taymiyya . He wrote several books, including a fourteen-volume universal history titled al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya ( Arabic : البداية والنهاية ). His renowned tafsir , Tafsir Ibn Kathir , is recognized for its critical approach to Israʼiliyyat , especially among Western Muslims and Wahhabi scholars . His methodology largely derives from his teacher Ibn Taymiyya , and differs from that of other earlier renowned exegetes such as Tabari . He adhered to

98-589: A cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The average annual temperature in Bosra is 16.4 °C (61.5 °F). About 247 mm (9.72 in) of precipitation falls annually. In the late 1990s, Bosra had an estimated population of 12,000. Its population increased to 19,683 according to the 2004 census by the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics . The population of its metropolitan area

147-678: 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

196-589: A hub for Islamic learning and endowments. However, it declined into a village during the Ottoman era, only to be revitalized in the 20th century with the construction of the Hijaz railway and due to growing archaeological interest, later prompting tourism -focused development by the Syrian government. Today, it is a major archaeological site and has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . According to

245-642: A major metropolis at the juncture of several trade routes , in particular the Via Traiana Nova , a Roman road that connected Damascus to the Red Sea . It became an important centre for food production and during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab Bosra began to mint its own coins. The two Councils of Arabia were held at Bosra in 246 and 247 AD. By the Byzantine period, which began in

294-457: A militant jihad and adhering to the renewal of one singular Islamic ummah . In contemporary scholarship, Ibn Kathir is widely regarded as an anti-rationalistic, hadith oriented scholar who adhered to the Athari creed , much like his mentor Ibn Taymiyya. According to Jane McAuliffe in regards of Qur'anic exegesis, Ibn Kathir uses methods contrary to former Sunni scholars, and followed largely

343-1070: A newly built mosque in Mizza, the hometown of his father-in-law. In 1366, he rose to a professorial position at the Great Mosque of Damascus . In later life, he became blind. 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. He died in February 1373 ( AH 774) in Damascus. He was buried next to his teacher Ibn Taymiyya . The records from modern researchers such as Taha Jabir Alalwani , Yazid Abdu al Qadir al-Jawas, and Barbara Stowasser has demonstrated important similarities between Ibn Kathir and his influential master Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah , such as rejecting logical exegesis of Qur'an , advocating

392-400: A village settled among the ruins. The 2nd century Roman theater , constructed probably under Trajan , is the only monument of this type with its upper gallery in the form of a covered portico which has been integrally preserved. It was fortified between 481 and 1231. Further, Nabatean and Roman monuments, Christian churches, mosques and Madrasahs are present within the half-ruined enceinte of

441-641: Is highly regarded especially among Salafi school of thought. Although Ibn Kathir claimed to rely on at-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. His Tafsir 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. Ibn Kathir's Tafsir work has played major impact in

490-765: 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) These words from Ibn Kathir were argued by Athari 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

539-475: Is unique to his own judgment to preserve, that he regards as best among his traditions." Busra Bosra ( Arabic : بُصْرَىٰ , romanized :  Buṣrā ), formerly Bostra ( Greek : Βόστρα ) and officially called Busra al-Sham ( Arabic : بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام , romanized :  Buṣrā al-Shām ), is a town in southern Syria , administratively belonging to the Daraa District of

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588-420: The 1914 Ottoman population statistics , the district of Busra had a total population of 26.355, consisting of 22.485 Muslims, 3.096 Orthodox Greeks , 594 Catholic Greeks and 180 Protestants . Today, Bosra is a major archaeological site, containing ruins from Roman , Byzantine , and Muslim times, its main feature being the well preserved Roman theatre. Every year there is a national music festival hosted in

637-519: The Athari school of Islamic theology. His full name was Abū l-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kaṯīr ( أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير ‎ ) and had the laqab (epithet) of ʿImād ad-Dīn ( عماد الدين ‎ "pillar of the faith"). His family trace its lineage back to the tribe of Quraysh . He was born in Mijdal, a village on the outskirts of the city of Busra , in the east of Damascus, Syria , around about AH 701 (AD 1300/1). He

686-628: The Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient city mentioned in 14th century BC Egyptian sources. A key Nabatean city, it became the prosperous provincial capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea following the dissolvement of the Nabatean kingdom . With the advent of Christianity , Bostra flourished as a Metropolitan Archbishopric, under

735-411: The Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Bosra had a population of 19,683 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Bosra which consisted of nine localities with a collective population of 33,839 in 2004. Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslim , although the town has a small Shia Muslim community. Bosra was the first Nabatean city in

784-522: The Young Turks period and in the Syrian parliament during the French Mandate period. As of the late 1990s, members of the al-Miqdad clan occupied the positions of mayor, the chief imam of the main al-Omari Mosque , the chief of the town's bureau of antiquities as well as manager of Bosra's carpet workshop and the owner of the principal coffeehouse. While their members traditionally resided in

833-419: The main theatre . Significant social and economic changes have affected Bosra since the end of the French Mandate in 1946. While up until the 1950s the shopkeepers of Bosra were from Damascus , since then most shop owners are residents of the town. In the late Ottoman era and the French Mandate period, the agricultural relationship was between the small landowner and the sharecroppers, since agrarian reforms in

882-597: The 13th AD century. while modern scholars such as Marzuq at Tarifi, and Sa'id Musfir al-Qahtani further posited that Abu 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 the Ahl al Kalam and Maturidites such as Al-Razi. In summary, Jon Hoover outlined that Ibn Kathir stance according to scholars were orthodox traditionists and rejected

931-538: The 2nd century BC. The Nabatean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma , a general of Trajan , in 106 AD. According to John Malalas , it was called Bostra ( Ancient Greek : Βόστρα ) after Bostras, a Roman general who was sent into the country. Under the Roman Empire Bosra was renamed Nova Trajana Bostra and was the residence of the legio III Cyrenaica . It was made capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea . The city flourished and became

980-609: The 5th century, Christianity became the dominant religion in Bosra ( Βόσρα in Greek-Byzantine ). The city became a Metropolitan archbishop 's seat (see below) and a large cathedral was built in the 6th century. Bosra was conquered by the Sasanian Persians in the early 7th century but was recaptured during the Byzantine reconquest. Bosra played an important part in the early life of Muhammad , as described in

1029-514: The 9th-century Ya'qubi wrote that Bosra was the capital of the Hauran province. After the end of the Umayyad era in 750, major activity in Bosra ceased for around 300 years until the late 11th-century. In the last years of Fatimid rule, in 1068, a number of building projects were commissioned. With the advent of Seljuk rule in 1076, increasing focus was paid to Bosra's defenses. In particular,

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1078-581: The Roman theater was transformed into a fortress, with a new floor added to the interior staircase tower. With the coming to power of the Burid dynasty in Damascus, the general Kumushtakin was allotted the entire Hauran plain as a fief by the atabeg Tughtakin . Under Kumushtakin, efforts to enhance the Muslim nature of the city increased with the construction of a number of Islamic edifices. Of these projects

1127-583: The ancient Roman governor of Bosra, although other townspeople believe they are of Crusader origins. Regarding land ownership, the Hamd clan owns around 1,000 hectares in the town while the al-Miqdad clan owns roughly 12,000. The latter's members were historically influential in the Hauran region and beyond, having had one of their own in the Ottoman parliament of Abdul Hamid II in Constantinople during

1176-412: The attributes of God cannot be likened to creatures, while simultaneously affirming the verses and hadith about God's Attributes such as residence above His Throne and His Exaltation above all creatures. Salafis rebut Ash'arite claims as Formal 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

1225-586: The city as his base when he claimed the sultanate in Damascus on two separate occasions, reigning between 1237–38 and 1239–45. In 1596 Bosra appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Nafs Busra , being part of the nahiyah of Bani Nasiyya in the Qada of Hauran . It had a Muslim population consisting of 75 households and 27 bachelors, and a Christian population of 15 households and 8 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat , barley , summer crops, fruit- or other trees, goats and/or beehives and water mill. According to

1274-588: The city. The structure of the cathedral, a central plan with eastern apses flanked by 2 sacristies, exerted a decisive influence on the evolution of Christian architectural forms, and to a certain extent on Islamic style. Al-Omari Mosque of Bosra is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Islamic history. Close by are the Kharaba Bridge and the Gemarrin Bridge , both Roman bridges . Bosra has

1323-817: The contemporary movements of Islamic reform. Salafi reformer Jamal al-Din Qasimi 's Qurʾānic exegsis Maḥāsin al-taʾwīl was greatly influenced by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr, which is evident from its emphasis on ḥadīth , Scripturalist approaches, the rejection of Isrāʾīliyyāt , and a polemical attitudes against the Ahl al-raʾy . From the 1920s onwards, Wahhabi scholars also contributed immensely to popularisation of ḥadīth-oriented hermeneutics and exegeses, such as Ibn Kathīr's and al-Baghawī ’s Qurʾān commentaries and Ibn Taymiyya’s al-Muqaddima fī uṣūl al-tafsīr , through printing press. The Wahhābī promotion of Ibn Taymiyya’s and Ibn Kathīr’s works through print publishing during

1372-406: 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. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm is controversial in western academic circles. Henri Laoust regards it primary as a philological work and "very elementary". Norman Calder describes it as narrow-minded, dogmatic, and skeptical against

1421-681: The eastern quarter of old Bosra, they are currently prevalent throughout the town. Bosra also has a small Shia Muslim community of some fifty families. According to Palestinian American historian Hanna Batatu , the Shia inhabitants of Bosra were "relatively recent arrivals," and immigrated to the town from the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon . Most of the working members of the Shia community are artisans or laborers. Batatu also asserts that social changes in Bosra since Syrian independence have led to tribal diffusion, with intermarriage between

1470-639: The entry for the Christian monk Bahira . The forces of the Rashidun Caliphate under general Khalid ibn Walid captured the city from the Byzantines in the Battle of Bosra in 634. Throughout Islamic rule, Bosra would serve as the southernmost outpost of Damascus, its prosperity being mostly contingent on the political importance of that city. Bosra held additional significance as a center of

1519-566: The fact that: Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on the Qur'an named Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm better known as Tafsir Ibn Kathir which linked certain Hadith , or sayings of Muhammad , and sayings of the sahaba to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation and avoided the use of Isra'iliyyats . Many Sunni Muslims hold his commentary as the best after Tafsir al-Tabari and Tafsir al-Qurtubi and it

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1568-565: The first architectural developments in the city was the construction of eight large external towers in the Roman theater-turned-fortress. The project began in 1202 and were completed in 1253, towards the end of the Ayyubid period. The two northern corner towers alone occupied more space than the remaining six. After al-Adil's death in 1218, his son as-Salih Ismail inherited the fief of Bosra who resided in its newly fortified citadel. During Ismail's rule, Bosra gained political prominence. Ismail used

1617-451: The generation of Sahaba Salaf , where Zubayr ibn al-Awwam , one of The ten to whom Paradise was promised also taught this view. 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 the Day of Resurrection and Hypocrisy in Qur'an. Ibn Kathir states: "People have said

1666-457: 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. Otherwise, Jane Dammen McAuliffe regards this tafsir as "deliberately and carefully selected, whose interpretation

1715-512: The jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East . It also became a Latin Catholic titular see and the episcopal see of a Melkite Catholic Archeparchy. Throughout its history under various Muslim rulers, the city maintained its strategic importance as Syria's southern gateway. It attracted attention from Damascus ' rulers and was governed by various lords, serving as

1764-524: The late 1950s and 1960s, the relevant relationship has been between the landowners and the wage laborers. Many of its residents have found work in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, sending proceeds to their relatives in Bosra. Social changes together with increased access to education have largely diminished the traditional clan life according to historian Hanna Batatu . During the presidency of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000), Bosra and

1813-413: The main road running through the town. On 13 November 2012, fierce fighting was reported in the east side of the town. By January 2013, after 22 months of conflict amid the ongoing Syrian Civil War , some refugees fleeing Bosra spoke of ever-escalating violence with many bodies being left in the streets during the violence. On 15 January 2013, it was reported that the citadel was used by the army to shell

1862-742: The methodology of Ibn Taymiyyah. Barbara Freyer contends that this anti-rationalistic, traditionalistic and hadith oriented approaches held by Ibn Kathir were shared not only by Ibn Taymiyyah, but also by Ibn Hazm , Bukhari independent Madhhab , and also scholars from Jariri , and Zahiri Maddhabs. According to Christian Lange , although he was a Shafi , he was closely aligned with Damascene Hanbalism. David L. Johnston described him as "the traditionist and Ash'arite Ibn Kathir". Taha Jabir Alalwani, Professor and President of Cordoba University in Ashburn, Virginia maintains that these traditionalistic views of Ibn Kathir claimed by Salafists were rooted further to

1911-651: The minds of anthropomorphists ( 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

1960-609: The pilgrim caravan between Damascus and the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina , the destinations of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Early Islamic rule did not alter the general architecture of Bosra, with only two structures dating to the Umayyad era (721 and 746) when Damascus was the capital of the Caliphate. As Bosra's inhabitants gradually converted to Islam the Roman-era holy sites were utilized for Muslim practices. In

2009-585: The prophet Muhammad rode on when he entered Bosra in the early 7th-century. In 1147, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem led a Crusader force to capture the city , however, his attempt was thwarted, as the Damascene army led by Mu'in ad-Din Unur managed to garrison into Bosra's citadel. A golden age of political and architectural activity in Bosra began during the reign of Ayyubid sultan al-Adil I (1196–1218). One of

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2058-554: The reports from Ahmad ibn Hanbal who rejected the views of those who were allegedly deemed as proto Asharites and Maturidites, the Mutakallim , and deems them as not in Ahl as Sunnah teaching. According to Livnat Holtzman, historically the school of Ahl 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

2107-460: The surrounding villages were left largely outside of government interference and, for the most part, were politically dominated by members of the prominent al-Mokdad clan who served as intermediaries of sorts between the residents of the town and the governor of Daraa and the Ba'ath Party branch secretary. On 14 October 2012, there was intense gunfire from government forces stationed at checkpoints on

2156-532: The town on a daily basis. Since the beginning of February 2014 the city was under the control of the Syrian Army. However, on 31 January 2015, the Army's 5th Division confronted a contingent from the rebels near the famous Roman theater – fierce firefights broke out between the groups. On 1 February 2015, the Army forces shelled areas in the eastern neighborhood of the town. On 25 March 2015, Syrian rebels seized

2205-550: The town, ousting Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen after four days of intense battle . Bosra was recaptured by the Syrian Arab Army on 2 July 2018, following the surrender of the rebel forces. The recapture was a part of the Daraa Offensive , which has involved the surrender and/or reconciliation of many rebel groups in the area. Of the city which once counted 80,000 inhabitants, there remains today only

2254-622: The view of Mutakallims, just like the view of Salafi Muslims and their predecessor Ahl al-Hadith school. In the modern times, Ibn Kathir's creed have sometimes been raised as a subject of disagreement between the Ash'arites, successor of Ahl al-Ra'y rationalist school and the Salafis , theorized by Jon Hoover as successor of Ahl al-Hadith traditionist school. 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

2303-488: Was 33,839. Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims and are mostly divided between seven major clans. The leading clan is the al-Miqdad who's members immigrated to Bosra from al-Suwayda in the mid-18th-century. During this era they also dominated the nearby villages of Ghasm , Maaraba and Samaqiyat . However, the oldest clan of Bosra are the Hamd, a largely fair-skinned people, many members of which have blond hair and blue eyes. They claim to be descendants of

2352-405: Was taught by Ibn Taymiyya and Al-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. He married the daughter of Al-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

2401-521: Was the restoration of the Umari Mosque , which had been built by the Umayyads in 721. Another mosque commissioned was the smaller al-Khidr Mosque built at the northwestern part of the city, which was established under Kumushtakin, in 1134. Kumushtakin also had a madrasa constructed alongside the Muslim shrine honoring the mabrak an-naqa ("camel's knees"), which marked the imprints of the camel

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