About The Book

This book is an authoritative source on a matter of central importance to everyone: the events of Akhir al-zaman, the final period of this world's history. The work is by Ibn Kathir, an eminent Muslim scholar, and is based entirely upon authentic texts. In many Ahadith, or Traditions, the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described the condition in which people would live in those times. Some of the developments foretold by the Prophet (PBUH) have already come to pass, such as the construction of high-rise buildings in, the Middle East, also the frequent break-up of family ties and the almost universal presence of usury.

Numerous Ahadith of the Prophet (PBUH) describe such matters as the Dajjal or Antichrist and other temptations and disasters to which mankind will be subjected to as the disintegration of the natural order of things accelerates. The Last Days are also marked by supernatural apparitions which will manifest on an awesome scale the power of Allah Almighty. For Muslims there can be no more urgent or momentous questions to confront than these. For non-Muslims seeking knowledge about the Islamic perspective, this book presents material of vital importance in a clear English translation.

About The Author

Ismail ibn Kathir ‎ (1301–1373) was a highly influential Muslim Muhaddith (narrator), Faqīh, Mufassir, and Historian. He was the author of Signs Before the Day of Judgment. He is also well known for his Tafsir, which is widely considered authoritative.

He was born in Mijdal, a village on the outskirts of the city of Busra, to the east of Damascus, in the year 701 A.H. and was taught by Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Mizzi, Ibn Qayyim, Al-Dhahabi, 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, Zahriyyah Shaykh, and Muhammad bin Zarrad.

Upon completion of his studies he obtained his first official appointment in 1341, when he joined an inquisitorial commission formed to determine certain questions of heresy. Thereafter he received various semi-official appointments, culminating in June/July 1366 with a professorial position at the Great Mosque of Damascus.

Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on the Qur'an named Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Adhim which linked certain Hadith, or sayings of Muhammad, and sayings of the sahaba to verses of the Qur'an, in explanation. Tafsir ibn Kathir is famous all over the Muslirm world, and among Muslims in the Western world is one of the most widely used explanations of the Qur'an today.

About The Translator

Huda Khattab is a British-born Muslim writer who holds a BA (Hons.) degree in Arabic from the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University). She is the author of The Muslim Women's Handbook and Stories from The Muslim World, and has also translated several books from Arabic. Huda Khattab is married, and lives with her husband and children in Toronto, Canada.