ABSTRACT
Returning to a golden age is a common theme in many religious and philosophical traditions. Much of modern Muslim thought is characterized by the idea of the golden age – with an emphasis upon the Qurʾān and the Sunna – as the answer to Islam’s challenge with modernity. One of the underlying assumptions of such a concept is that in the post-formative period, Islam departed from its true self. The task of contemporary Muslims, it is argued, is to resurrect this golden age and re-enact it today.
