Where does everything start? Not the universe as physics describes it, but the account a Muslim actually holds — and this is the volume that sets it out.
Early Days covers the earliest moments of existence: the creation of the heavens and the earth, of the angels, of the jinn, and of Adam عليه السلام — and then moves through the Prophets who followed, each carrying the same message.
Ibn Kathir brings together authentic hadith, Qur'anic verses and reports from the righteous predecessors, which is what makes the account reliable in a field where Israelite traditions and popular storytelling have accumulated heavily.
The book covers the struggles of the Prophets, the tests their nations faced, the consequences that fell on those who rejected the truth, and the outcome for those who held firm. Throughout, it draws out the divine wisdom in each episode, and shows the unbroken chain of prophethood leading to the final Messenger ﷺ.
What a reader takes from it is the consistency: the same message, delivered again and again across thousands of years, met with the same objections, and vindicated the same way.
About Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah
Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah — The Beginning and The End — by Abu Al-Fida 'Imad ad-Din Isma'il bin 'Umar Ibn Kathir is among the most authoritative sources on Islamic history ever written. Its distinctive feature is its range: it deals not only with past events but with the future events the Prophet ﷺ foretold, up to the Day of Judgment.
The Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah Volumes
Darussalam's abridged English translation of Ibn Kathir's history is issued as separate volumes, each covering one period or theme. Seven have been translated so far, and the complete 7-book set can be bought together at a discount. The others:
The Book of the End also draws on the same work, covering the trials and events still to come.
Related Reading
(1) 
