The contributors argue that traditional Islamic accounts of its history and the origins of the Quran are fictitious and based on historical revisionism aimed at forging a religious Arab identity.

Donner writes that Warraq unduly favors revisionist theories in order to advance "anti-Islam polemic", forwarding that "this lopsided character makes The Quest for the Historical Muhammad a book that is likely to mislead many an unwary general reader.

"[1] Alfons Teipen, a professor of religion at Furman University, criticized the editing: "The two introductory articles ... are one-sided, rather polemical overview[s] of ... scholarship on the life of Muhammad.

"[2] Asma Afsaruddin described the book as a "partisan work" and added that Warraq "clearly has an ideological axe to grind".

Asma states that "poor editing, sloppy transliteration, and ad hominem attacks on certain authors...especially Watt, add to the chagrin of the reader", and argued that "Ibn Warraq is not interested in debate; he wants nothing less than wholesale conversion to his point of view within the community of scholars of Islam" and added that his book "needlessly poisons the atmosphere and stymies efforts to engage in honest scholarly discussion".