In these two essays, the late Muslim scholar Murtaza Mutahhari examines society and history. His discussion demonstrates clearly his wide-ranging knowledge of Western as well as Eastern thought through the ages.

One of Mutahhari's principal aims is to refute historical materialism. To his mind, the theory is both invalid and incompatible with Islam, despite published views of some Muslim intellectuals who cite sacred texts to support it. Mutahhari explains exactly where they misread the Qur'an and refers to numerous other verses as he argues the Marxism, dialectical materialism, and historical materialism are Western theories totally at odds with virtually every facet of Islamic thought.