Our knowledge about Arabia in the 6th century AD is sparse. However, in that region of that distant era, a religion and an empire emerged that spread from the Iberian Peninsula to India, while today Muslims represent nearly a quarter of the world's population.

G. O. Bauerstock attempts to shed light on this very dark – yet highly dynamic – period in the history of Islam (from the mid-6th to the mid-7th century), exploring why the prophetic message of Muhammad found such fertile ground in the barren Arabia and how it spread so rapidly to the rest of the world.

In the time of Muhammad, Arabia was at the crossroads of major empires and was a field of competition between Christianity, Judaism, and local polytheistic traditions.

Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, belonged to the part of Arabia that had recently been conquered by the Ethiopian Christian king Abraha. However, when Abraha died, western Arabia passed from Ethiopian to Persian dominance, while the death of Byzantine Emperor Maurice in 602 brought even greater instability to the region.

In such a chaotic environment, where countries and populations frequently oscillated between competing powers and religions, Muhammad began to gain followers with his revelations. In tumultuous times, his followers united into a powerful force and conquered Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, laying the foundations for the Umayyad caliphate.

The crucible of Islam remains an indeterminate vessel; perhaps we will never precisely grasp it. However, Bauerstock provides the most detailed picture of its outline and the fullest interpretation of how one of the great religions of the world was shaped.