Stories of the Prophets
The stories of the Prophets from Adam to Isa, drawn from the Quran and prophetic traditions — one of the most beloved works in Islamic literature.
Stories of the Prophets — Ibn Kathīr's Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ — is available as an English audiobook series on Joyful Muslims: the prophets from Ādam onward, told from the Qurʾan and the authentic traditions, with a word-synced Arabic and English transcript. Free to start listening.
What is Stories of the Prophets?
Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ — "Stories of the Prophets" — is Ibn Kathīr's telling (d. 774 AH / 1373 CE) of the lives of the prophets, drawn from the Qurʾan and the prophetic traditions. It is one of the most beloved books in Islamic literature: the histories of Ādam, Nūḥ, Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, ʿĪsā and the prophets between them, told by a master hadith scholar who refused to pass on what he could not verify.
Ibn Kathīr wrote as a historian and a hadith critic at once — which is exactly why his version became the standard. These are the stories parents tell their children and scholars still teach, told from the sources.
Is there an English audiobook of Ibn Kathīr's Stories of the Prophets?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes Stories of the Prophets as a complete English audiobook series — one book per prophet, translated from the Arabic, each with a word-synced bilingual transcript.
Is it suitable for listening with children?
Many families listen together. The books are told plainly and warmly from the classical text; each prophet's story stands on its own, and the shorter books make good first listens.
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 2026-08-27
The Story of Adam
From Ibn Kathir's classic Qisas al-Anbiya — the story of Prophet Adam as narrated through Quran and authentic traditions.
Open volume 1 →The full Stories of the Prophets series
13 volumes in the library today.
