| Ibn Kathir (Arabic: ابن كثير المكي) | |
| Honorific Suffix: | al-Makki |
| Native Name: | Abdullah bin Kathir al-Makki |
| Native Name Lang: | عبد الله بن كثير المكي |
| Birth Date: | 665CE 45AH |
| Birth Place: | Mecca |
| Death Date: | 737CE 120AH |
| Other Names: | Abu Ma‘bad Abdullah al-‘Attar al-Dari |
Abū Maʿbad (or Abū Bakr) ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr al-Dārānī al-Makkī, better known as Ibn Kathir al-Makki (665–737 CE [45–120 AH]),[1] was one of the transmitters of the seven canonical Qira'at, or methods of reciting the Qur'an.[2] His recitations were generally popular among the people of Mecca.[3]
Al-Makki was born in Mecca and was one of the Tabi‘un.[4] His family was of Iranian origin and were immigrants to Yemen. Al-Makki was a mawla ("freedman") of Amr ibn Alkama al-Kinani.
Al-Makki met the companions of Muhammad Anas ibn Malik and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr,[4] and he learned his recitation method from a student of Muhammad companion Abd Allah ibn Abbas who in turn learned from Ubay ibn Ka'b and Zayd ibn Thabit who both learned directly from Muhammad.[4] Al-Shafi‘i, the namesake of one of the four primary schools of thought in Sunni Islam, preferred to recite the Qur'an according to al-Makki's method.[4]
He died in the year 737CE.[3] [5] The two primary transmitters of his method of recitation, Al-Bazzi and Qunbul,[2] [6] were Persian and Meccan respectively.