This volume covers the events on which the survival of the early Muslim community actually turned.
Badr, where three hundred faced a thousand. Uhud, where a victory was lost by a unit leaving its position. Al-Khandaq, where Madinah was besieged and saved by a trench nobody in Arabia had thought of digging. Mu'tah, where a small force met an empire.
Ibn Kathir narrates the historical facts, and then goes past them. He examines the strategic, spiritual and sociopolitical dimensions of each event, and draws out the lessons in leadership, patience, courage and faith that the Prophet's ﷺ decisions carry.
Substantial attention goes to the diplomacy as well — the negotiations, the alliances and the treaties that shaped the course of Islamic history, Hudaybiyah above all, which looked like a defeat at the time and was described in the Qur'an as a clear victory.
Each chapter is given analysis and context, which is why the book serves students and scholars as well as general readers: it is history with the reasoning left in.
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.
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