Description
First: His name, Lineage, and Nickname:
Abdullah bin Katheer Al-Dari, the Meccan by birth, his nickname is Abu Ma’bad, and he was called Al-Dari: because he was a perfumer, and Al-Attar is called Darya by the Arabs, and of Persian origin, he was born in Makkah in the year (45 H).
This is what al-Shatibi referred to in his text. He said:
وَمَكَّةُ عَبْدُاللهِ فِيهَا مُقَامُهُ هُوَ اُبْنُ كَثِيرٍ كاثِرُ الْقَوْمِ مُعْتَلَى
[He(Abdullah) resided in Makka. He’s the son of Kathir (a lot). He beats the people with his knowledge and grace]
Second: His characteristics:
He was eloquent, white-bearded, tall and stout, brown, golden eyes dyed with henna or yellowish, and calm and dignified.
Third: His position and knowledge:
One of the seven reciters, and the imam of the people of Mecca in recitation and control, he issued the recitation after the death of Mujahid bin Jabr in the year three hundred. He was the judge of the people in Mecca, a pious preacher, high in rank, and a follower of the second class.
Sufyan bin Uyaynah said: “There was no one in Makkah that recited better than Hamid bin Qais and Abdullah bin Katheer,”
And Ibn Mujahid said: “I did not see anyone from the people of Makkah equaling the recitation of Ibn Katheer at his time. “
When Ibn Kathir wanted to recite the Qur’an, he would show his companions, then let them repeat so that their recitation of the Qur’an would be affected by the tenderness of his recitation.
And they used to say: The recitation of Ibn Kathir Khaz (a type of silk garment), and they described it because of its softness, beauty, and ease.
Fourth: His teachers of recitation :
Abdullah bin Katheer met several sahaba, including Abdullah bin Al-Zubayr, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, Anas bin Malik, and Abdullah bin Al-Sa’ib, May God be pleased with them.
He recited to the sahabi Abdullah bin Al-Saib Al-Makhzoumi, may God be pleased with him, and to the tābi Mujahid bin Jabr of Ibn Abbas, and Derbas, the freed slave of Abdullah bin Abbas, may God be pleased with them.
Fifth: Narrators about his recitations :
Many people recited to Ibn Katheer al-Makki, including Abu Amr bin Al-Ala Al-Basri, Ismail bin Abdullah ibn Constantine, Ismail bin Muslim, Jarir bin Hazim, Al-Harith bin Qudamah, Hammad bin Salamah, Hammad bin Zaid, Talha bin Amr, and Abdullah bin Zaid bin Yazid, Sufyan bin Uyaynah, and others.
Al-Asma’i said: I said to Abu Amr: Did you read to Ibn Katheer? He said: Yes, I did khatima to Ibn Kathir after I did Mujahids, and Ibn Katheer was more knowledgeable in Arabic than Mujahid.
And the most famous of those who narrated his recitations:
The first: Al-Bazzi, who is Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Abi Baza, Bashar Al-Farsi, and the second: Qunbul, who is Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman bin Jarja Al-Makki Al-Makhzumi.
And both of them did not take it directly from him but instead took it from his student or the student of his student.
Imam al-Shatibi referred to this in his text, saying:
رَوى أَحْمَدُ الْبَزِّي لَهُ وَمُحَمَّدٌ عَلَى سَنَدٍ وَهْوَ المُلَقَّبُ قُنْبُلاَ
[Ahmad al-Bazzi narrated for him and Muhammad on a chain of narrators, and he was nicknamed Qunbla.]
Sixth: Transformation of spreading and extinction:
The current map of the spread of recitations in the Islamic world had undergone significant transformations since the crystallization of this science in the second and third centuries H; before Imam Ahmed bin Mujahid wrote his famous book “The Seven” in the year 300 H, the people of Makkah used to read the recitations of Imam Abdullah bin Kathir al-Makki, (d. 120 H).
The places the recitation was spread today:
The general public does not recite this recitation; instead, it is circulated among scholars and reciters.
Seventh: His death:
Imam Ibn Kathir lived 75 years and died in Mecca in 120 H.
Sufyan bin Uyaynah said: I attended the funeral of Ibn Kathir al-Dari in the year one hundred and twenty. May God have mercy on him and give him the best reward on behalf of Muslims.
