Reference:  Wikipedia

• His full name is Abu Al-Fida, ‘Imad Ad-Din Isma’il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi. He was born in 1301 CE in Busra, Syria (hence Al-Busrawi).
• Upon completion of his studies he obtained his first official appointment in 1341, when he joined an inquisitorial commission formed to determine certain questions of heresy. Thereafter he received various semi-official appointments, culminating in 1366 with a professorial position at the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus. Ibn Kathir wrote a famous commentary on the Quran named ‘Tafsir ibn Kathir’ which linked certain Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet (ﷺ), and sayings of the Sahaba on verses of the Quran, in explanation. Tafsir Ibn Kathir is famous all over the Muslim world as one of the most widely used explanations of the Quran today.
• Ibn Kathir was renowned for his great memory regarding the sayings of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the entire Quran. He is known as a qadi (judge), a master scholar of history, and a mufassir (Quran commentator). Ibn Kathir saw himself as a Shafi scholar, this is indicated by two of his books, one of which was Tabaqaat ah-Shafai’ah, or The Categories of the Followers of Imam Shafi.
• In later life, he became blind. He attributes his blindness to working late at night on the Musnad of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in an attempt to rearrange it topically rather than by narrator. He died in February 1373 in Damascus.

Famous writings of Ibn Kathir:

• Tafsir ibn Kathir
• The Beginning and the End (Arabic: Al Bidayah wa-Nihayah).
• Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya
• Tabaqaat ah-Shafi’iah
• Signs Before the Day of Judgement
• Sins and their Punishments
• Stories of The Prophets

References:  Ibnkathir.atspace.com, Wikipedia.

References:  ClassicalIslam.com by graduate of Darul-Uloom London, Wikipedia

• It was originally dedicated to teaching of hadith and was turned into a courthouse during the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay’s reign.
• Under the Ottomans it became a Shari’a Court until the early days of the British Mandate when the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Amin Al-Husseini made it his place of residence.
• The building went back to being a school for teaching Islamic jurisprudence until it was confiscated by the Israeli Authorities in 1969 CE (1388 AH) and turned into a border police station to monitor and oversee Masjid al-Aqsa.

References: A guide to al-Aqsa mosque – PASSIA

• The school played a major educational role in Jerusalem during the Mamluk and Ottoman period and today houses the Masjid al-Aqsa library and a religious school for girls. The building, located within the Masjid al-Aqsa compound is surprisingly well preserved and demonstrates the decorative features of the period. The entrance portal, for example has one of the best examples of Mamluk architecture; it’s commanding entrance portal is decorated with ablaq masonry, muqarnas, geometry, polychrome ceramics, and elegant calligraphic friezes which make it worthy of it’s status as the only royal foundation of the Circassian Mamluk period in Jerusalem.

References: HUMA’s travel guide to Palestine, Archnet.org

References: HUMA’s travel guide to Palestine

• The building comprises of two floors which have a large covered corridor and include many rooms and halls of different sizes.
• Built initially as a school, it was turned into a house towards the end of the Ottoman era. It also served as a shelter for foreigners who visited Jerusalem.
• During the British Mandate it became an elementary school and was later renovated by the Supreme Islamic Council to use as its headquarters of the Jerusalem Waqf Directorate.

References: A guide to al-Aqsa mosque – PASSIA

References: HUMA’s travel guide to Palestine

• In addition to being an Islamic school teaching the Shafi’i jurisprudence, the building also served as a hospice. 
• The school remained an educational place until the late Ottoman era, devoted to teaching girls.
• The school is made up of a two-storey building and contains a mosque. Today, the building is used as a school called Al-Bakriyah School for People with Special Needs.

References: A guide to al-Aqsa mosque – PASSIA

• The school’s foundation is credited to Sheikh Al-Islam Shams Ad-Din Mohammad Al-Harawi, inspector of the two noble mosques (Masjid al-Aqsa and Masjid-e-Ebrahim), who commenced its construction but passed away before its completion. It consists of three rooms and an outdoor yard.The school was concerned with teaching Shafi jurisprudence, hadith and the Qur’an to orphans. Today, it serves as a residential building.

References: A guide to al-Aqsa mosque – PASSIA