from the traditional practices of the past, retaining a sufficient core to allow his followers to sense it as still an Arab religion. The Ka’ba is still there, and pilgrimage, and the Arabic language, together with a book directed to the Arab peoples. No foreign hand can be seen to have imposed this new faith on the Arab world: it carries an indelible Arab stamp and has come to be seen as a gift from Allah particularly for the Arab peoples but ultimately for the world beyond. Muhammad’s many abilities