The book focuses on biographies, as well as the genealogy and ancestry of the rulers of the Himyarite Kingdom.[2][9][3][10]
Included in the book is a study of the genealogy of the descendants of Ham, son of Biblical Noah, which the book describe as progenitor of Habesha peoples or Ethiopian peoples.[11] In this topic, Wahb also narrated the story of how the South Arabian king Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan had fought against the presence of Habesha peoples in the Arabian peninsula since the 6th century AD.[12]
The book also discusses the identity of Dhu al-Qarnayn, whom is identified as being of Byzantine ancestry.[13] However, Ibn Hisham also gives his own personal commentary stating that Dhu al-Qarnayn was one of the Tababi'ah (plural of Tubba', the ruling title of the Himyarites), with the name of Sa'b ibn al-Harith (otherwise known as Sa'b Dhu Marathid).[4][14] Dhu al-Qarnayn is also attributed with the action of conquering parts of the Iberian Peninsula.[11]
Ibn Hisham, who authored the commentaries of this book, also gave his own analysis that the name of Yemen were given from their primordial founder, Ya'rub ibn Qahtan,[15][16] who is also known by his other name, "Yaman".[17]
Modern historian Jan Retsö has suggested that the commentaries of Ibn Hisham have shown that there was interest from Muslim orthodoxy in his era to preserve the historiography of Yemeni tradition.[18]
Modern historians have said that some entries and stories in the book, are, however, legendary in nature and may not reflect reality.[9][3][10]
The book structures mainly examines the descendants of South Arabian patriarch Qahtan.[5] Below is a list of kings mentioned in the book, in order:[2][9][3]
- Malik al-Himyar, the son of Sheba
- Wa'il ibn Himyar
- Saksak ibn Wa'il
- Ya'fur ibn Saksak
- 'Amir Dhu Ra'ish
- Al-Ma'afir ibn Ya'fur
- Shaddad ibn Aad
- Luqman ibn Aad
- Dhu Shaddad al-Himaal ibn Aad
- Al-Harith ibn al-Himaal
- Sa'b Dhu Marathid (Dhul Qarnayn)
- Abrahah Dhu'l Manar
- 'Abd ibn Abrahah ibn Ra'ish
- 'Amr ibn Abrahah ibn Ra'ish
- Shurahil
- Al-Hudhad ibn Shurahil
- Queen of Sheba
- Rehoboam
- Malik ibn 'Amr ibn Ya'fur
- Shammar Yahri'sh
- Safi' ibn Shammar, the king of the Nabataeans
- 'Amr ibn 'Amr Mazikiyah
- The first king of the Ghassanids
- Rabia ibn Nasr
- Abu Karib
- Hassan Yuha'min
- Sharhabil Yafar (known here as 'Amr ibn Tubba' al-As'ad)
- 'Abd-Kulal
- Sharhabil Yakkuf (known here as Tubba' bin Hassan)
- Rabia, son of Marthad ibn 'Abd-Kulal
- Hassan ibn 'Amr ibn Tubba'
- Abraha, son of Al-Sabbah (not Abraha al-Ashram)
- Dhu Shanatir
- Dhu Nuwas
- Abraha
- Yaksum ibn Abraha
- Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan
