Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya
'The Beginning and the End' — Ibn Kathīr's monumental world history, written in 14th-century Damascus. From the creation of the Throne to the early years of the Sīrah, narrated with the rigor of a master hadith critic and the narrative skill of one of Islam's great historians.
Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya — Ibn Kathīr's monumental history, "The Beginning and the End" — is available as an English audiobook series on Joyful Muslims, translated in-house from the Arabic. Free to start listening.
What is al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya?
Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya — "The Beginning and the End" — is Ibn Kathīr's world history, written in fourteenth-century Damascus. It runs from the creation of the Throne, the heavens and the earth, through the histories of the prophets, to the Sīrah of the Prophet ﷺ and beyond — with the rigor of a master hadith critic and the narrative skill of one of Islam's great historians.
Where other histories collected everything, Ibn Kathīr weighed everything. That is what made al-Bidāya the reference: a history of the world that tells you where each report comes from and how much weight it can carry.
Verified September 2026: we could not find any other English audiobook of al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya — Audible returns no results for the title; the English editions we found are print (the Darussalam set) and PDF scans. The audio edition is here.
Is there an English audiobook of al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya as an English audiobook series, translated in-house from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript.
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.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Volume One of Ibn Kathīr's Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya opens at the absolute beginning: the creation of the Throne, the Pen, the Tablet, the heavens, the earth, and the angels. From cosmology Ibn Kathīr moves through the creation of the jinn, Iblīs, and Ādam, then the long chain of early prophets — Idrīs, Nūḥ and the flood, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Ibrāhīm and Nimrod, Lūṭ, Ayyūb, Shuʿayb, Yūsuf — culminating in the life of Mūsā and the children of Israel after Pharaoh.
Open volume 1 →The full Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya series
3 volumes in the library today.
