In her Preface, Armstrong argues that Islam treats history itself as a sacrament, giving a religious significance to the political story of their faith. Any account of the history of Islam, therefore, has religious implications, a fact which Armstrong is cognizant of in writing Islam: A Short History.

In 610 C.E., Muhammad ibn Abdallah, a businessman from Mecca, received what he believed to be a divine vision while praying in a cave in Mount Hira. A Quraysh tribesman, Muhammad was growing increasingly concerned that his tribe’s recent success in trading was leading them to abandon the mutually supportive value system of nomadic life. In his vision, Muhammad was visited by the Angel Gabriel, who presented him with a holy text that would eventually be recorded as the Quran. Armstrong argues that although Muhammad’s visions included imagery from the Judeo-Christian traditions, he did not view his religion as a meaningful departure from the pagan religion of the Arabian peninsula that had been practiced there for centuries.

When Muhammad eventually began reciting verses of the Quran in public, he quickly gained a following among people who were overwhelmed by the beauty of his words.