البداية والنهاية-ابن كثير

Choose any field, ask 100 ulama which of the mutawwalat in the field they feel is the best and you would probably get over a dozen different answers, based on each person’s personal preference.
But, do the same for Tarikh, and nearly all of them would list the same book: al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah!
This isn’t due to their ignorance of other valuable works in the field. The reality is that nothing comes close to it.

It covers right from the start of the creation until his year of demise (774 ah) and also includes his work al-Nihayah on Signs of Qiyamah, the Day of Qiyamah & the Akhirah.
Authored in easy-to-understand language, he sifted through the various works authored before him and selected the narrative he found to be most accurate.
His handling of sensitive issues like the disputes between Sahabah make him a role-model for those coming after him.

In the year 1405 ah, a group of expert editors and researchers from Damascus, comprising specialists in a wide-range of fields gathered together under the supervision of Sh Abd al-Qadir al-Arna’ut and began tahqiq of this masterpiece. The best manuscripts were selected and tahqiq of each portion was given to a muhaqqiq. Experts revised it at each step of the way, with Sh Arna’ut being in charge of the takhrij due to his hadith expertise while Dr Bashar Awwad Ma’ruf revised the entire tahqiq and added on beneficial footnotes. This was originally printed in 1428 ah/2005.

From 2005 until 2024, the tahqiq was periodically updated then completely revised, using new manuscripts that become available, in addition to corrections and suggestions forwarded by numerous ulama. The type-setting was updated and the book was now printed in 21 volumes, as opposed to earlier editions that were in 11 thick volumes.

This is the 6th edition of the book, that is completely revised and printed in 2024.

Beautiful, mulawwan, high-quality edition in 21 volumes that has to be seen to be appreciated.