Ismail ibn Kathir was a renowned Muhaddith Faqih Historian and Mufassir.
His full name was Abu Al-Fida, ‘Imad Ad-Din Isma’il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi.
He was taught by Ibn Taymiyya in Damascus, Syria and Abu al-Hajjaj Al-Mizzi, (d. 1373), Fiqh with Ibn Al Firkah, Hadith with ‘Isa bin Al-Mutim, Ahmed bin Abi-Talib (Ibn Ash-Shahnah) (died in 730AH), Ibn Al-Hajjar (died in 730AH), the Hadith narrator of Ash-Sham (modern day Syria and surrounding areas), Baha Ad-Din Al-Qasim bin Muzaffar bin ‘Asakir (died in 723AH), Ibn Ash-Shirazi, Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Ammuddi, aka ;Afif Ad-Din, the Zahriyyah Shaykh (died in 725AH), and Muhammad bin Zarrad
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 Muslim world and among Muslims in the Western world, is one of the most widely used explanations of the Qu’ran today.