Sublime

According to the Shi‘ah, this relationship between prophet and Imam can be observed throughout the history of prophecy. Abraham may have been given the covenant by God, but it was Isaac and Ismail who, as his Imams, fulfilled it; Moses may have revealed the divine law, but it was Aaron who carried it into the Promised Land; Jesus may have preached

Yet despite his success, Muhammad felt deeply conflicted by his dual status in Meccan society.

(and last) beat them66 (lightly);

Muhammad’s reticence during those first few years kept this a small group of about thirty to forty people who referred to themselves as Muhammad’s Companions, for at this point, that was all they were. As far as everyone else in Mecca was concerned, Muhammad’s message and his Companions were best ignored.

For instance, whereas power in the tribe was allocated to a number of figures, none of whom had any real executive authority, Muhammad instead united all the pre-Islamic positions of authority unto himself. He was not only the Shaykh of his community, but also its Hakam, its Qa‘id, and, as the only legitimate connection to the Divine, its Kahin.

The Quran started as an oral text, was transformed into a written text that was not unanimously agreed upon, and has been shaped and crafted by human authority even into the twentieth century.