Studies in Early Ismāʿīlism treats major aspects of the history and doctrine of Ismāʿīlī Shīʿism, one of Stern’s main fields of research.  Basing himself largely on previously untapped sources, Stern deals with central questions such as the dating and authorship of the Epistles of Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, and the historical and doctrinal affinity between the Qarmaṭians of Baḥrayn and the Fāṭimīs, the two prevailing Ismā‘īlī groups in the formative period of Ismāʿīlism.

The chapter on Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī’s analysis of Persian religions is an exemplary study in comparative religion. It shows how Abū Ḥātim and other leading Ismāʿīlī philosophers accommodated sects like the Zoroastrians and Ṣābians to the Ismāʿīlī system, and explores their attitude to religious leaders like Mazdak, Mānī, Dayṣān and Zoroaster.

Another outstanding study included in the book—“Abū’l-Qāsim al-Bustī and his refutation of Ismāʿīlism”—impressively demonstrates how a polemical treatise can also be used as a source for the reconstruction of early Ismāʿīlī history.  This book, a unique treasure trove of erudition, will be of great interest to students of medieval Muslim doctrine, philosophy and history.

Black banners from the East tells the story of the first revolution in Islam which caused not merely the change of dynasties, but the end of the formative period of Islamic civilization. It is the story of a messianic movement striving and succeeding in establishing the throne of its Caliph-Messiah. The two volumes of Black banners from the East describe the two stages of the revolution from its early Shīʿī roots to the major military victories over the Umayyad army and the establishment of the ʿAbbāsī state. While the two volumes form a coherent study, each one of them is independent and can be read on its own.

Volume 1, The establishment of the ʿAbbāsid state---Incubation of a revolt, describes the clandestine activity of the movement that began after the collapse of al-Mukhtār's venture. It describes the methods, ideology, and system of activity which the members of the movement followed in order to prepare the hearts and minds and create the wide popular support for its goals. The mechanism of the incubation of this revolt is a fascinating story, describing in detail the development of a pure Shīʿī movement, the Hāshimiyya, into an ʿAbbāsī propaganda machine which prepared the revolt.

חקרי מזרח לזכר ד"צ בנעט

Prof. David Hartwig (Zvi) Baneth (1893-1973) was a prominent scholar in Jewish Studies and Medieval Islamic Philosophy. Prof. Baneth taught at the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (since 1936) and laid the groundwork for the study of Judeo-Arabic, which was continued by his student, Prof. Joshua Blau. Prof. Baneth studied the religious thought of Jewish and Muslim scholars like Yehuda ha-Levi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Bahya ibn Paquda, and Maimonides.

This is a critical edition of what is probably the earliest surviving treatise in Arabic on "The Virtues of Jerusalem" (Faḍāʾil bayt al-maqdis), written by Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Wāsiṭī, the Shāfiʿī preacher of al-Aqṣā Mosque at the beginning of the 5th/11th century. Its precision in giving the chain of transmitters (isnād) of each tradition enables us to reconsider some theories concerning the sanctity of Jerusalem in Islam, the sources of its holiness, the polemics concerning its place in the hierarchy of the holy cities and the beginnings of the Faḍāʾil bayt al-maqdis literature. Each tradition was systematically compared by the editor with others cited in different treatises of this genre, most of which are still unpublished. The traditions were also examined in relation to other materials from geographic, historical and ḥadīth sources dealing with the glorification of Jerusalem.

The editor's introductions (39 pages in Arabic and 22 pages in French) deal with the religious, political and local elements which influenced Muslim attitudes regarding the place of Jerusalem, both directly and indirectly. The introductions also contain a discussion of the literary sources of the Faḍā’il bayt al-maqdis literature .

This edition is based on a manuscript that was copied or written at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin in 583/1187.

Kitāb ādāb al-murīdīn is unique among known Ṣūfī compositions in that it presents Ṣūfism from the standpoint of ādāb (rules of conduct). Composed by one of the four great masters of Ṣūfism bearing the nisba Suhrawardī (ca. 490/1097-563/1168), the book is characterized by a realistic approach to social necessities and to the moral capability of human nature. The Ṣūfī's sphere of activity, according to Abū al-Najīb, is within society. To accommodate the needs of lay members of the Ṣūfī brotherhood, the author makes prominent use of the traditional concept of rukhṣa, the relaxation of strict rules .

Kitāb ādāb al-murīdīn is a book steeped in the Ṣūfī literary tradition and contains elements found in earlier Ṣūfī classics. However, all the variegated elements have been recast by the author in his own mold. Its language is clear and simple, in accordance with its purpose as a popular manual. The large number of extant manuscripts and their varied provenance may indicate the great popularity which the book enjoyed.

This tribute to the memory of Gaston Wiet, who died in 1971, consists of 28 articles which, with four exceptions, treat aspects of Islamic civilization: its historical developments, its expression in art, architecture, and literature; its manifestations as a religion in theory and practice. Three of the four exceptions deal with Sasanian studies, the fourth is devoted to the Crusades.

The twenty-four articles concerning Islamic civilization were intended to be, and are, as diverse and wide in scope as Wiet's own interests and publications. In terms of time they stretch from the Sasanian period until the present day.

This is an edition of two texts by Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021), one of the most important Ṣūfī authors. Al-Sulamī combined thorough knowledge of tradition (ḥadīth) with the Ṣūfī heritage. He paved the way for the gradual acceptance of Ṣūfism into the mainstream of Islamic thought, by endeavoring in much of his work to prove that Ṣūfism and Islam were mutually compatible .

The texts in this edition present two important aspects of al-Sulamī‟s writings. In the Jawāmi‘ adāb al-Ṣūfiyya ("A collection of Ṣūfī rules of conduct"), al-Sulamī provides us with what is apparently the first comprehensive documentation of Ṣūfī customs and practices. Most of the Jawāmi‘ consists of Ṣūfi sayings representing the views of five generations of thinkers. The subjects dealt with cover a wide range and reflect the preoccupations of Ṣūfī society.

The second work is a handbook of spiritual discipline entitled ‘Uyūb al-nafs wa-mudāwātuhā ("The defects of the soul and their remedy"). As its title suggests, the ‘Uyūb deals with one of the central motifs of Ṣūfism, the constant struggle against the nafs, or the "lower soul". The attitudes and beliefs expressed are on the whole characteristic of the early ascetics, who regarded the conduct of the Prophet as the supreme example. In both style and content, this work occupies the middle ground between the worlds of ḥadīth, adab, and ethics. The two texts contribute not only to a better appreciation of al-Sulamī's work, but also to our understanding of a crucial phase in the history of Ṣūfism.