This small volume will take the observant traveller (muslim) throught the mental and physical regimen required to grow in devotional respect for his (or her) religion. No single book outside the Qur'an has so moved me. Obtain it, study it, practice it, and see for yourself.

Watt of Edinburgh is an incredible scholar who will have a continued legacy. This book is one of his many incredible works. Excellent for understanding how culture and politics formed Islamic dogma more often than a true search for truth during its most formative periods.

Watt describes himself as a "kind of a Muslim" (paraphrase) but he is actually an Anglican priest! He writes a history of Islam in the belief that God(Allah) made Islam triumph. So every now and then rational discourse just vanishes. It is also of the "X in year Y" style. Dull but not without some worthwhile information.

Dr. Watt undoubtedly knows his subject! He writes with a very thorough background of years of extensive study. In this book of just 150 pages, he does a good job of adequately covering a very extensive history of one of the world's great religions.
However, I don't think what the author set out to do can really be adequately accomplished in such a brief book. There are places in which he gives only quick, general mention of the important events in Islamic History. Dr. Watt does the best that a scholar can do with a "short" history of a religion, however, some readers will want more meat.

this book is providing unneccesary info about islam that is false and very unacceptable.. especially page 17 when he writes
"The modern Westerner has no difficulty in showing how Muhammad may have been mistaken." it is
biased
and totally not reflecting history but showing a great deal of propaganda..

If you're looking to gain an understanding of the life of Muhammad, grab this book. Watt presents a prose description of Muhammad's life, backed by sound and comprehensive study. It is actually enjoyable reading, almost like a story, yet completely historically accurate. (Or as much as we can be.) Watt does not make either extreme mistake of simply accepting the traditions of the Hadith or the Qur'an as absolute truth; or of looking only at Western denigrations of Islam. Rather, he appears to recognize historical truths in the Qur'anic traditions, and in Western and Eastern scholarship. If you've been trying to learn about Islam and have spent time looking over the Qur'an, this is *the* book to turn to get that background on Muhammad and "flesh" him out. Watt shows a human, beyond the traditions and myths, that changed his world, and then the rest of the planet.