ABSTRACT
In order to study the formative period of Islam, the main evidence we have before us is found embedded in the later Muslim literary tradition. is is a tradition which has been creatively formed and read by Muslims throughout their history. is reading and re-reading is not a process which came to an end at a certain point; indeed, the vitality of Islam-of religion in general-may be seen in the way in which it brings forward the past and reforms it-re-reads it-in ways appropriate to its contemporary situation.
