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.

In the present Handbook of Early Middle Arabic, Professor Joshua Blau of  the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the undisputed dean of the study of Middle Arabic, presents a reliable and up-to-date survey, comprehensive yet concise, of the whole field.

The Handbook contains a grammatical outline of Middle Arabic structure, annotated examples of the main Middle Arabic varieties and a glossary of all words occurring in the book.

An important feature of the book is the variety of texts presented. These cover (a) Muslim, (b) Christian and (c) Jewish Middle Arabic, each represented by typical or noteworthy examples, some of them published here for the first time. Particularly significant are the Jewish texts, Rabbanite and Karaite, which have been transmitted in different orthographical modes. Standard Judaeo-Arabic orthography is represented by samples from Saadia Gaon, Qirqisānī and David b. Abraham al-Fāsī. Linguistically more revealing are Judaeo-Arabic writings in the earlier phonetic orthography; these are exemplified in the Handbook by selected texts on papyrus, by specimens of a translation of Halakhot Pesuqot and a translation of the Biblical  book of Proverbs. In the Appendix, two examples of vocalized Middle Arabic are given: one written in Coptic characters, the other a Judaeo-Arabic letter from the Cairo Geniza.

Professor Blau's Handbook will enable all Arabists to gain immediate access to the world of Middle Arabic, guided in their journey by the leading authority in the field.  On the one hand, scholars familiar only with the classical, literary tongue will be able to see in what directions the language subsequently developed; on the other hand, Arabic dialectologists will be afforded a valuable glimpse into the history of modern colloquial forms. The Handbook will thus be a valuable tool for all who are concerned with the history of the Arabic tongue.

An important feature of the book is the variety of texts presented. These cover (a) Muslim, (b)  Christian and  (c) Jewish  Middle  Arabic,  each  represented by typical or noteworthy examples, some of them published  here for  the first time. Particularly significant are the Jewish texts, Rabbanite and Karaite, which have been transmitted in different orthographical modes. Standard Judaeo-Arabic orthography is represented by samples from Saadia Gaon, Qirqisānī and David b. Abraham al-Fāsī. Linguistically more revealing are Judaeo-Arabic writings in the earlier phonetic orthography; these are exemplified in the Handbook  by selected texts on papyrus, by specimens of a translation  of Halakhot Pesuqot and a translation of the Biblical  book of Proverbs. In the Appendix, two examples of vocalized Middle Arabic are given: one written in Coptic characters, the other a Judaeo-Arabic letter from the Cairo Geniza.

Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry is one of the greatest cultural achievements of the Arabs in the early period of their history. For several centuries it was considered the only model of poetic perfection. It is the earliest literary corpus in classical Arabic and a major part of Arab cultural heritage.

The present volume consists of a concordance of al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn fī Dawawīn al-Shuʿarāʾ al-Sitta al-Jāhiliyyīn, in the edition of William Ahlwardt. It also contains a preface in Arabic and English, a new critical edition with numerous emendations of Ahlwardt's text, and a full concordance of the poetry of Imrūʾ al-Qays, Zuhayr b. Abī Sulma, Ṭarafa b. al-ʿAbd, ʿAlqama b. ʿAbada al-Faḥl, ʿAntara b. Shaddād, al-Nābigha al-Dhubyāni and a few poems by four minor poets. The book holds almost 1,400 pages and contains more than 33,000 entries.

The concordance is an essential tool for the study of classical Arabic poetry and for the study of classical Arabic in general. In addition to the concordance of nouns, verbs, and particles, it includes separate sections on proper names, geographical names, names of horses and camels.

Suliman Bashear (1947-1991) was born in the northern Israeli village of Mghar. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his B.A. (1971) and M.A. (1973). In 1976, he received his Ph.D. at the University of London for his dissertation "Communism in the Arab East," which was published both in Arabic and English.

This collection includes 15 critical and incisive studies by Bashear on various issues in the early Islamic tradition. One of the main themes running throughout these works is the gradual development of Islamic ritual and religious belief from within the historical context of Judaism and Christianity into a spiritual system seemingly rooted solely in the Hijaz. Bashear's studies consider not only the development of religious customs and beliefs, but also seek to explain how later generations recast the past in order to meet the needs of their own era.

In the “Introduction”, Lawrence I. Conrad highlights the major themes in Bashear's works and describes his unique and stormy academic career, cut short by his untimely death at the age of 44.

This book is devoted to the social and economic history of the western Anatolian city of Bursa in the 17^th century. During this period, Bursa was a major Middle Eastern center. The study examines the economic activity of the city (commerce, crafts and banking) and attempts to evaluate the role of the waqf in this sphere. The author has based himself primarily on legal documents preserved in the city’s archives.

A major concern of this book is whether a decline occurred in the Ottoman Empire at this time. The author concludes that this is primarily true for the end of the century, but that this decline was cyclical rather than long-term. The author also points out that the gap between East and West was not as great as is often assumed.

Pessah Shinar (1914-2013) was Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University ofJerusalem. For more than forty years, Prof.Shinar has been engaged in the study of Islam in the Maghrib.The presentvolume includes sixteen articles dealing with the modern history of the region, itsreligion and civilization. In addition to other topics, the articles deal with the Muslimreform movements in the 20th century, with the personalities of ʿAbd al-Qādir and ʿAbd al-Krīm, with the Ṣūfī movement in the modern Maghrib, with Jewish-Muslimrelations, and with the significance of various colors in the North African Muslim and Jewish civilizations.

A new critical edition of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī's magnum opus ʿAjāʾib al-Āthār fī ’l-Tarājim wa-’l-Akhbār, which covers the history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821.

ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Jabartī (1753–1825) is the most important historian of late Ottoman Egypt. His Marvelous Chronicles: Biographies and Events (ʿAjāʾib al-Āthār fī ʼl-Tarājim wa-ʼl-Akhbār) covers the history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821, a period which includes Napoleon’s invasion and the French occupation of the country (1798–1801). The historical narrative is combined with numerous biographies, and throughout the entire work the author demonstrates his wide knowledge of both Islamic learning (al-ʿulūm al-naqliyya) and of the new secular sciences (al-ʿulūm al-ʿaqliyya). Al-Jabartī was well aware of the significance of the French invasion, which marked the beginning of modern European incursions into the Middle East, and was much concerned to preserve the dominance of Islamic values at a time when they were threatened by the decline in the status of the ʿulamāʾ and by the military weakness of the Ottoman Empire.

The Būlāq edition of the ʿAjāʾib (1880), which has been the most widely used so far, is based on manuscripts copied after the author’s death in 1825. The copyists of these manuscripts took liberties with the author’s style and grammar in order to make them compatible with the rules of classical Arabic. They also changed toponyms and official titles in order to bring them in line with the usage introduced after Muḥammad ʿAlī’s invasion in 1801. The later editions published in Cairo and Beirut are merely copies of the Būlāq edition.

The present edition, prepared by Shmuel Moreh of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the first to offer a critical text. It is based on the autograph manuscript preserved in the Cambridge University Library. Moreh collated the autograph with the MSS of al-Jabartī’s two short histories of the French occupation of Egypt, Muddat al-Faransīs bi-Miṣr and Maẓhar al-taqdīs bi-dhahāb dawlat al-Faransīs. He also collated it with a number of other manuscripts of the ʿAjāʾib, paying particular attention to the MSS which had been copied under al-Jabartī’s own supervision. Al-Jabartī checked these copies himself, writing his corrections on the margins. Especially noteworthy is a manuscript in Maghribī script which was checked by the author and belonged to his friend Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭar. Al-ʿAṭṭar took this MS with him on his travels, adding a variety of materials, some inspired by al-Jabartī himself. Al-ʿAṭṭar’s material has been used in the present edition. Moreh has restored as far as possible the original grammatical usage and style of al-Jabartī, and his text includes passages omitted from the Būlāq edition. The readings given on the margins of the present edition indicate the revisions that al-Jabartī made to his opus magnum as a result of changing political circumstances in Egypt.