What did Ibn Kathir say about the prophets?
Ibn Kathir's Stories of the Prophets is the standard classical retelling — drawing from Qur'anic narrative, authentic hadith, and the earlier tafsir tradition to reconstruct each prophet's life.
10 passages from 6 books in the library
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 6 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"An Arab once asked the Prophet, Peace be upon him, O Messenger of God, a man loves a people though he has not joined them in deeds."
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"I said, O Messenger of Allah, a man loves those who pray but does not pray, in which it is said, He shall be with those he loves, is agreed upon from a Hadith in another wording,"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"Later, the Turks sought to ignite discord against Khalil, accusing his minister of plotting rebellion and claiming he had a better right to rule because of his close lineage to the Prophet, peace be upon him and for his generosity and courage."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, shared that if the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was unable to perform his night prayer due to sleep or illness, he would make up for it by praying 12 units at the start of the day."
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"Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, advised praying two units when leaving the house for protection from evil, and two units when entering."
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"Aisha's Hadith, narrated by Muslim, states that if the Prophet, peace be upon him, was overcome by sleep or illness and missed his night prayer, he would make it up during the day."
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"The second benefit is the making up of voluntary prayers as the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, made them up, and there is a good example for us in this."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"The sixth is if she is from the people of the book but embraced their religion, after alteration or after the mission of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and she is not from the lineage of the children of Israel."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"I prayed in the blessed mosque, may Allah purify it and increase its reverence, and visited those in al-Baqi from the companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and may Allah be pleased with them."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"God instructed the prophets to speak to people according to their level of understanding, which is why the Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, following their conversational habits."
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