Which is more sound, Tafseer Ibn Katheer or Tafseer al-Tabari?
Question

                Which is more sound, Tafseer Ibn Katheer or Tafseer al-Tabari?.
Praise be to Allah.Each of these Tafseers 
      was written by a great Sunni scholar, and the scholars still recommend 
      them. Each of them has its own characteristics which means that the seeker 
      of knowledge cannot show preference to one of them over the other. There 
      follow a few comments on these two Tafseers. 

    1 – Tafseer al-Tabari 
Imam Muhammad ibn Jareer 
    al-Tabari was born in 224 AH and died in 310 AH, at the age of eighty-six, 
    in the region of Tabaristan. 

    His Tafseer is entitled Jaami’ al-Bayaan fi Ta’weel 
    Aayi-‘l-Qur’aan. 
Abu Haamid al-Isfaraayini 
    said: If a traveller were to travel to China in order to obtain it, that 
    would not be too much.  

    Tabaqaat al-Mufassireen by 
    al-Dawoodi, 2/106. 
Ibn Khuzaymah said: I 
    have read it from beginning to end and I do not know of anyone on the face 
    of the earth who is more knowledgeable than Ibn Jareer. 

    Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 14/273. 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: With regard to the 
    Tafseers that are in circulation among the people, the most sound of them is 
    the Tafseer of Muhammad ibn Jareer al-Tabari, for he mentions the views of 
    the salaf with proven isnaads, and there is no bid’ah (innovation) in it, 
    and he does not transmit reports from dubious sources such as Muqaatil ibn 
    Bukayr and al-Kalbi. 

    Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 13/358. 

    He also said in Muqaddimah fi Usool al-Tafseer (p. 
    35), concerning the Tafseer of Ibn Jareer: 

    It is one of the best and greatest of Tafseers. 

    He relied on the views of three generations of mufassireen 
    among the salaf, namely the Sahaabah, the Taabi’een, and the followers of 
    the Taabi’een, and he quotes their opinions with isnaads going back to them. 
    This is an important feature of his book which is not present in many of the 
    books of Tafseer that are in circulation among us. But this feature does not 
    matter to many ordinary Muslims who are not able to research isnaads and 
    distinguish sound isnaads from weak ones; all they want is to know whether 
    an isnaad is sound or weak by means of a clear and brief statement to that 
    effect.  

    When he has finished quoting their opinions, he states which 
    he thinks is most likely to be correct, then he describes how he reached 
    that conclusion.  

    2 – Tafseer Ibn Katheer 

    His full name is Abu’l-Fida’ Ismaa’eel ibn Katheer 
    al-Dimashqi, d. 774 AH. 

    His Tafseer is entitled Tafseer al-Qur’aan il-‘Azeem. 
Al-Suyooti (may Allaah 
    have mercy on him) said concerning this Tafseer: Nothing like it has ever 
    been written. 

    Tadhkirat al-Huffaaz, p. 534. 
This Tafseer is based on 
    commentary by quoting texts – verses and ahaadeeth – and its fame is second 
    to the fame of al-Tabari among later scholars. 

    It is written in an excellent and easy style which is not 
    longwinded or boring, or too short and boring.  

    He explains verses by quoting other verses, and he quotes 
    appropriate verses which explain the verse under discussion; then he quotes 
    ahaadeeth that have been narrated on the same topic as the verse, and he 
    quotes the isnaads of some, especially those that were narrated by Imam 
    Ahmad in his Musnad, as he is one of those who memorized al-Musnad. 
    He discusses the soundness and weakness of the ahaadeeth in most cases, 
    which is an important feature of his Tafseer. Then he quotes the views of 
    the salaf, including the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, and he states which view he 
    believes to be superior. He also avoids odd dissenting opinions. 
Muhammad ibn Ja’far 
    al-Kataani said of it: It is full of ahaadeeth and reports with the isnaads 
    of those who narrated them and discussion of how sound or weak they are. 

    Al-Risaalah al-Mustatrafah, p. 
    195  

    He draws attention to the shar’i attitude towards the 
    Israa’eeliyyaat (reports from Jewish sources) and quotes some of them in his 
    commentary on some verses. 

    Conclusion: 

    No seeker of knowledge can do without these two books. With 
    regard to which is superior, nothing like the Tafseer of Ibn Jareer 
    (al-Tabari) has been written since. It is essential for scholars and seekers 
    of knowledge, but it is not appropriate for ordinary people because they are 
    not qualified to understand it properly. The Tafseer of Ibn Katheer is more 
    appropriate for the ordinary people, and there is much in it from which 
    scholars and seekers of knowledge can benefit. 

    And Allaah knows best.