Muhammad: The HijraJews (or Christians), and v. 37 maintains that the Qur'an was sent down in
Arabic and warns Muhammad not to give in to the demands of others. The
v. 38 shows that no miracles are given without God's permission, and the v.
40 tells Muhammad he may die before the punishment comes (cf. 10:47).
The v. 41 may refer to an immigration, and the v. 43 reproduces the
accusation of "unbelievers" that Muhammad was not sent by God.
Conclusions
During this Qur'anic period, it appears that the night vigil had basically
become a third prayer time (11:116), and also that a simple f^242 orm of the
Islamic creed was slowly evolving (cf. 16:23; 46:28). Jerusalem may have
been instituted as the Islamic qibla at this time (cf. 10:87), and the mosque
(Muhammad's residence) may have been constructed in this period (cf.
10:87). Muslim believers are described as fearing God (30:30; 7:155), as
giving alms (41:5f; 30:37f; 14:36; 31:2f; 35:26f; 7:155), as praying (30:30;
14:36; 31:2; 35:26f), as believing in the Resurrection (41:5f; 31:2f), as not
associating (equating) others with God (30:30), as practicing good works
(31:2f), as reciting God's Book (35:26f) and as believing God's signs
(7:155). A brief moral code is given (6:152f), and apostates from Islam are
referred to (16:108f; 14:33f). The Qur'anic doctrine of predestination
became more developed in this period (16:9, 37f; 14:4; 39:37f; 42:6, 42, 45,
48f; 10:26f; 35:9; 7: 177; 6:88, 125).
Many of the developments in the Qur'anic narratives of this period are
noteworthy. Although the themes and major characters of the punishment
stories are generally retained, modifications have been made. The narratives
of Qur'an 11, for instance, reveal that a chronological "correction" had been
made since the composition of those in Qur'an 26. The alleged^243 messenger
Shuayb is now connected with Midian (11:85; 29:35; 7:83), t^244 he people of Midian are at first said to have been destroyed by a "shout" (11:97), but this is later said to have been an "earthquake" (7:89). Similarly, theAd are
at first shown to have been destroyed by a "shout" (11:70), later this is said
to have been an "earthquake" (7:76), and in another passage it is said to
have been a "wind" (46:23). The character Luqman appears in 31:11f, but
the role of "the Samaritan" has been dropped from the Moses narrative
(7:146f). In the apparently later passages of this period, all of the legendary
Arab figures disappear completely from the lists of messengers (42:11;
6:84f). Nevertheless, Jesus (42:11; 6:85), Zacharias and John (6:85) are
mentioned in these same verses, even though no narratives about them