[1] This encyclopedia was published by the Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation that has published more than seventy-five books in Farsi and English languages in addition to twenty-nine volumes of Encyclopaedia of the world of Islam and twelve volumes of its Arabic translation under the title of دائرة معارف العالم الإسلاميّ.

[2][3] Its articles, arranged alphabetically, cover a wide range of topics: technical terms of Quranic sciences, prophetic traditions, Islamic law (fiqh), theology, mysticism, philosophy, letters (adab), art.

This encyclopedia also focuses on the biographies of the prophets, Muslim saints (awlia') and Imams, the lives, works and views of Quran commentators, traditionists, legists (foqaha'), Muslim theologians, philosophers, scientists, mystics, historians, poets, and artists of the Islamic world.

The articles also address the political history of Islam, biographies of caliphs, sultans, viziers, and accounts of past ruling dynasties, as well as the geography of countries and cities of the Islamic world (past and present), archeology of secular and religious monuments.

[2][4] When compared to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the encyclopedia of the World of Islam differs in terms of the diversity of sources, the volume of theological articles, and the emphasis placed on Shia intellectual and cultural heritage, specifically Imamiyya and Iranian elements.