The Book of the Beginning and the End is a huge historical encyclopedic work, written by Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir Ismail bin Omar Al-Dimashqi, who died in the year 774 AH.

It is a presentation of history from the beginning of creation to its end. It begins with the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth [?] and the angels until the creation of Adam. Then it briefly addresses the stories of the prophets and then details the historical events since the sending of the Prophet Muhammad until the year 768 AH, using a tabulation method based on years. The Sunnah begins with his saying, “Then a year began...” Then he lists the historical events in it and then mentions the most prominent people who died in this year. As for the end part, it contains the signs of the Hour until the Day of Judgment in detail.