*** Do they then wait (anything) other than the hour, that it should come upon them suddenly? But some of its portents (indications and signs) have already come, and when it (actually) is on them, how can they benefit then by their reminder. (Quran 47:18) ***
This application presents one of Ibn Kathir’s many scholarly works. It is based entirely upon authentic texts and is an authoritative source on a matter of central importance to everyone: the events of the final period of this worlds history. The Blessed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described the conditions in which people would live in those times. Some of the developments foretold by the Prophet have already come to pass such as the construction of high-rise buildings in the Middle East and the frequent break up of family ties and the almost universal presence of usury.
The Author:
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Ismail ibn Kathir (1301–1373 ) was a renowned Muhaddith, Faqih, Historian and Mufassir. He was widely acclaimed and unanimously attested for his sublime degree of learning, particularly in the fields of the exegesis of the Glorious Quran, Hadith and history.
He learned from great scholars like Ibn Taymiyya, Abu al-Hajjaj Al-Mizzi, Ibn Al Firkah, ‘Isa bin Al-Mutim, Ahmed bin Abi-Talib, Ibn Al-Hajjar, Baha Ad-Din Al-Qasim bin Muzaffar bin ‘Asakir, Ibn Ash-Shirazi, Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Ammuddi, the Zahriyyah Shaykh and Muhammad bin Zarrad. He was renowned for his great memory regarding the sayings of Muhammad and the entire Quran. He wrote a famous commentary on the Quran named Tafsir al-Quran al-Adhim which linked certain Hadith, or sayings of Muhammad, and sayings of the sahaba to verses of the Quran, in explanation. Tafsir Ibn Kathir is famous all over the Muslim world and among Muslims in the Western world, is one of the most widely used explanations of the Quran today.