Tafsir of the Quran

09

Ibn Kathir — the famous one

تفسير القرآن العظيم لابن كثير

774 AH / 1373

Ismail ibn Kathir of Damascus was a student of Ibn Taymiyyah and a historian as well as a mufassir. His tafsir is the one most English readers mean when they say tafsir. He explains the ayah by other ayahs, then by hadith, then by the Companions. He names weak reports more often than Tabari does. Ahmad Shakir said it is the best after Tabari. This is the first button under each ayah on Nur.

Open Ibn Kathir on Ayat al-Kursi

Famous is not the same as the only. Read him. Then, on a hard ayah, look at Tabari or Qurtubi as well.