Among the earliest important Shiite works is that of Tusy’s List of Shiites Books. This reprint of the first publication of the work bears all the marks of a primary source, and it was a work heralded by Islamic scholars of late antiquity. Based on the only three known manuscripts of the time, this bibliographic work stands out in early Islamic intellectual achievement. Also included in this edition is the new edition of a supplement to Tusy’s bibliography prepared by Alam al-Hoda. The notes from this text are replicated at the bottom of the page. The editors altered the original manuscript in only one way; the original had been alphabetized by initial letter only, while this printed edition continues the alphabetization altogether. A useful resource for scholars of ancient bibliography, this uncommon source of Arabic scholarship is now again available, in its original language, for the Arabic reader interested in the history of bibliography.

Aloys Sprenger (1813-1893) was an Austrian Orientalist. He studied medicine and natural sciences as well as Oriental Languages at Vienna and eventually traveled for an extended stay in India. He eventually became professor at Bern and then Heidelberg.