Ibn Kathir's Approach to Employing Israeli Narrations in Surat Yusuf

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the features of Ibn Kathir's approach in dealing with the Israelite narratives in his interpretation, especially since Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir is a reliable hadith scholar who is famous for refining the narratives and judging the men. The study takes Surat Yusuf as a model for research, as a narrative surah that is distinguished by its uniqueness, from the rest of the surahs of the Qur’an, in its inclusion of the story of one of the most famous prophets of the Children of Israel.

The study presented, for this purpose, an introduction to Ibn Kathir and an explanation of his approach to interpretation, then an explanation of the concept of Israelite narratives and their danger, and an explanation of Ibn Kathir's theoretical position on them, then an explanation of the truth of Ibn Kathir's approach in presenting them in Surat Yusuf. The study followed the inductive approach for the verses of Surat Yusuf, then the descriptive analytical approach to describe Ibn Kathir's approach in presenting the Israelite narratives.

The study concluded that Ibn Kathir went beyond what he stated regarding his position towards the Israelite narratives in the introduction to his interpretation, to presenting them without referring to or commenting on most of them.