Part I of the present volume contains a discussion, from little known sources, of early Isma'ili cosmological doctrines. Isma'ili discussions of Persian religion, anti-Isma'ili writings, Fatimid propaganda among the Jews, the reign of al-Mahdi, and some of the poems of Ja'far b. Munsur al-Yaman. It constitutes the finished chapters of a book prepared by the late Samuel M. Stern before his death in 1969, and attests to his extraordinary erudition and incisive mind.
Part II brings together previously published articles of this scholar on early Isma'ilism.
A preface by D. R. W. Bryer presents an analysis of S. M. Stern's writings on Isma'ilism.