NotesThe standard multi-volume scholarly reference on the history, geography, ethnography and civilization of the Islamic world, covering theology, law, sects, biography, dynasties, places and institutions from the rise of Islam to the modern period. Entries are signed, peer-reviewed scholarship with bibliography. Use for established historical, biographical and doctrinal facts across Sunni, Shia and other Islamic traditions; it documents what is known and taught, not a ruling on theological truth.