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What is Volume 2 of Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya?
Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya, "The Beginning and the End", is the world history written by Imam Ibn Kathīr in the 14th century. Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 stops, after Mūsā. It answers the question: what happened between Mūsā and the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ? This is the longest historical arc in the whole work. It follows the prophets of the children of Israel, the kings of Yemen and Damascus, and the peoples of Arabia, and it ends at the doorstep of the Prophet's birth.
Inside are the Israelite prophets after Mūsā: Hizqil, at whose call Allah brought back to life the thousands who had fled their homes fearing death; Ṭālūt and Jālūt; Dāwūd and the Zabūr; and the kingdom of Sulaymān. Then come Luqmān, the people of the Cave, and the people of the Ditch. The volume moves on to the kings of Yemen and Damascus, and finally to the long approach to the Quraysh, ending at the doorstep of the birth of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ.
The volume opens with a section on the prophets of the children of Israel after Mūsā. Ibn Kathīr reports, on the authority of Ibn Jarir, that Caleb ibn Ufana led the children of Israel after Joshua, and that Hizqil came after him. The story of Hizqil is told with the verse it explains: the people who left their homes in their thousands, fearing death, whom Allah caused to die and then brought back to life. From the first pages the listener learns Ibn Kathīr's method: a report, its source, and the verse behind it.
Is there an English audiobook of Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya, Volume 2 (From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia)?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia of Ibn Kathīr's Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya as an English audiobook (about 18 and a half hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It runs from the Israelite prophets after Mūsā, through Dāwūd and Sulaymān, to the kings of Yemen and Damascus and the Quraysh before the birth of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
What does it cover?
The Israelite prophetic line after Mūsā: Hizqil, Ṭālūt and Jālūt, Dāwūd and the Zabūr, and the kingdom of Sulaymān; then Luqmān, the people of the Cave and the Ditch, the kings of Yemen and Damascus, and the long approach to the Quraysh. It takes about 18 and a half hours.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
