In the fourth/tenth century, the polymath Abū Muḥammad al-Hamdānī compiled a ten volume compendium, entitled al-Iklīl, that narrates the history of South Arabia from the pre-Islamic to the early Islamic periods with the aim of extolling their various achievements and virtues. Among these texts, in the eighth volume there is a section about grave inscriptions which contains reports describing the (intentional and unintentional) uncovering, exploration, and occasional looting of pre-Islamic burials by Muslims in the early Islamic period. Most of these burials, containing luxurious treasures and found in extravagant vaults, are located in South Arabia, but some of the stories take place in other parts of the Near East, such as Iran, Syria, and Egypt. While each of these reports is introduced with an isnad, the veracity of at least some may be put into question due to various fantastical elements. Nonetheless, many of these reports are framed historically through references to different early Islamic figures including caliphs and governors who often serve as arbiters for what to do with the burials. Consequently, although these texts may not be taken entirely at face value, they do vividly depict a strong imagination of the ancient histories of those buried, and show the varied ways Muslims react to them. In some reports, the bodies and grave goods are left alone and the chambers are returned to their former state. But in others, ambivalence, if not clear antipathy, towards the pre-Islamic tombs is demonstrated, even when the burial inscriptions communicate that those buried testify to belief in one god. Accordingly, these reports end in the looting and occasional destruction of the tombs, often for nothing more than financial gain. Nonetheless, even more interesting are stories that insinuate supposed repercussions of these destructive actions, such as the death of Caliph Marwān b. Muḥammad after his partial destruction of the city of Tadmur. Overall, these rich reports not only demonstrate the mixed relationships of Muslims in the early Islamic period with their pre-Islamic past, but also their inevitable confrontation with it in their surrounding landscape.