The Complete History, 2 Volumes

Author's name: Ibn al-Athir

Investigation by Hassan Abdel Mannan

One of the most famous books on Islamic history, and the best arranged and coordinated. It was printed many times, the first time in Leiden in 1850-1874 AD under the supervision of Thornburg, then in Egypt in 1303 AH. It was written by Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir in Mosul, and arranged it according to the years, ending with the year (628). Then he neglected it in his drafts for a long time, until the Merciful King ordered him to work hard to complete it. He said: “So I threw off the cloak of laziness and removed the cloak of indolence... and said: This is the time for hardship, so harden your spirit...” And I gave it a name that suited its meaning, which is: (The Complete History). Then he followed that with words on the benefits of the science of history, then he opened his book by mentioning the beginning of creation, and the stories of the prophets until the ascension of Jesus Christ, and he followed it with a chapter mentioning the kings of Rome who ruled after the ascension of Christ (peace be upon him) until the era of Muhammad (peace be upon him), then news of the Arab migrations, and the days of the Arabs before Islam, then the biography of the Prophet until the year (11 AH). The second volume began with mentioning the illness of the Prophet (PBUH) and his death until the events of the year (65). In the third volume, he reached the events of the year (168), in the fourth he reached the end of the caliphate of al-Muqtadir in the year (295), in the fifth until the year (412), in the sixth until the year (527), and in the seventh until the year (628). This is the most important part of the book and contains many of his observations and memories. He is criticized for deviating from Saladin, even though he outwardly praises him. He mentioned in the reason for his composition that he saw history books differing in achieving the purpose, the essence of knowledge in them almost becomes a symptom... and many of them blackened the pages with small matters... and the Easterner neglected to mention the news of the West, and the Westerner neglected the conditions of the East, so that if the student wanted to study a detailed history up to his time, he would need many volumes. He mentioned that he emptied into it all the biographies of al-Tabari, and the complete narrations in it, adding to them what he found in the famous histories. He said: (Except for what is related to what happened between the companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), I did not add anything to what Abu Jaafar narrated. Rather, I relied on him among the historians, as he is the truly proficient Imam, the comprehensive one in knowledge, sound belief, and honesty. He said: (And I mentioned in each year for each major incident a specific biography... As for the minor incidents, I devoted one biography to all of them at the end of each year. So I say: He mentioned several incidents. And I mentioned at the end of each year the famous scholars and notables who died in that year). See the introduction to the books of his two brothers: (Al-Nihaya) and (Al-Mathal Al-Sa’ir). See also Dr. Faisal Al-Samar (Ibn Al-Atheer, pp. 87 and 161), which contains important tables for the book Al-Kamil. Ibn Al-Atheer was one of Yaqut Al-Hamawi’s friends, and he was the one who carried out his will after his death.

Ibn al-Athir

Izz al-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Jazari (555-630 AH), known as Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari, is a great Islamic historian who lived during the reign of Saladin Ayyubi and documented its events. His book, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, is considered a reference for that period in Islamic history.