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.
Imam Ibn Kathīr
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
al-Maktaba al-Shāmila
The Arabic text we work from matches al-Maktaba al-Shāmila verbatim — the most comprehensive digital library of classical Arabic-Islamic scholarship, used by academic researchers and traditional ʿulamāʾ alike. The original Arabic will be published in BookKit (launching in a future release).
The author is deceased well before 1924, placing the original work firmly in the public domain worldwide. The translation that follows is an original editorial work of Joyful Muslims.
Joyful Muslims editorial team
Translated in-house from the Arabic manuscript. Each chapter passes through at least two reviewers — one focused on accuracy against the Arabic, one on English readability. Where the two are in tension, accuracy wins.
The full, unabridged English translation will be published alongside the Arabic in BookKit, launching in a future release. The audiobook adaptation — same translation, adjusted for listening — is what plays in the app today.
Narrated with care
The narration observes Islamic textual traditions — the pronunciation of Arabic names, the correct honorifics (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanh), and the weight each passage should carry. Every word is aligned to the source text so readers in the app can follow along word by word.
Joyful Muslims
Every subscription funds the continued translation, narration, and free release of new canonical works into the library. Audio is the vessel; preservation is the purpose.
Listen to From Creation to Mūsā
The first three minutes are free on the web. The full book opens in the app.