An early example of Islamic history, the Kitab al-ma'arif (“Book of Knowledge”) of ibn Qutayba (ibn Coteiba) has a prominent place. Abū Muhammad Abd-Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī (828-889) was a prolific Arabic scholar who wrote on many issues and topics. Born in Kufa, in present-day Iraq, ibn Qutayba was a teacher in Baghdad and he was among the first formal historians. This particular work ambitiously covers topics from the beginning of creation and facts about the period before the appearance of Islam (jahiliyya) to the names of the companions of the prophet Mohammed, famous jurists and masters of the oral tradition associated with the prophet (hadith). Presented here in the Arabic of the original, along with an introduction of Wüstenfeld, this early manual of history is sure to be of interest to anyone considering the impact of early Islamic historical writing on the enterprise of history writing in general or on Islamic outlooks from the ninth century.

Heinrich Ferdinand Wüstenfeld (1808-1899) was a German Orientalist with a particular concern for Arabic study. Educated at Göttingen and Berlin, he eventually became a professor at the former. A prolific writers, he published several important works on Arabic history.