ABSTRACT
An awareness of the presence of Allah pervades the lives of rural Punjabi Muslims. In addition to the way in which invocations such as bismillah, mash’allah, insh’allah and shukr hamdul’illah pepper every conversation, everyone’s personal name articulates one or other of the ninety-nine qualities of Allah. Although there can be no doubt whatsoever that all those who behave in this way are followers of Islam, just how can we best specify what ‘being a Muslim’ actually entails in this specific local context?
