The Importance of the Tafsir of Imam Ibn Kathir

Question:
(peace and blessings be upon him) Your Eminence, the father, the questioner asks: Do you advise a beginner student of knowledge to read Ibn Kathir’s tafsir, and should he memorize the explanation or is it sufficient for him to understand it?

Answer:
Yes, Ibn Kathir’s tafsir is a good tafsir, and a tafsir built upon principles, the principles of tafsir: interpreting the Qur’an with the Qur’an, then interpreting the Qur’an with the Sunnah, then interpreting the Qur’an with the statements of the Companions, then interpreting the Qur’an with the statements of the Successors. This is what the tafsir of Ibn Kathir is built upon, so it is a well-founded tafsir. Therefore, you will find it filled with hadiths, and you will find it citing verses that interpret one another, and it is filled with athar and the statements of the Companions and the statements of the Successors. It is a great tafsir without a doubt.