The Proto-Apocalyptic Muḥammad: The Imminence of Yahweh’s Day in the Qurʾān’s Three-Stage Eschatology

Abstract Striking a middle ground between apocalyptic and anti-apocalyptic understandings of Islamic origins, Part I of this article argues that Muḥammad is best understood as a “proto-apocalyptic” figure who adhered to a prophetic eschatology infused with apocalyptic elements. Chief among these is a belief in the imminent advent of the Hour, heralded by a divine warrior descending on the clouds – a theophanic motif rooted in the Ancient Near Eastern combat myth and inherited through the biblical “Day of Yahweh” ( yōm yahweh ) and the New Testament’s “Day of the Lord.” Coupled with the nearness topos found across scriptural traditions (root: q - r - b ), this motif signals eschatological imminence. Yet, in the Qurʾān, such imminentism is tempered by epistemic humility, eschatological uncertainty, and historical indeterminacy. Part II of this article examines the attenuation of this eschatological urgency in the Medinan Qurʾān and what I term “the Second Meccan” corpus. Against the prevailing two-stage thesis, a three-stage Qurʾānic eschatology is put forward. The First Meccan corpus anticipates “the Day of Victory” ( yawm al-fatḥ ), mirroring the New Testament’s Day of the Lord. The Medinan period marks a partial eschatological reconfiguration, wherein military victory ( fatḥ ) evokes the Day of Yahweh’s theophanic presence on the battlefield. The Second Meccan phase is inaugurated by the Conquest of Mecca ( fatḥ makka ), at which point in time a fully realized eschatology is articulated: Mecca’s rejection of pagan ritual and its collective turn to the proper worship of God ( dīn allāh ) constitute a “manifest victory” ( fatḥ mubīn ), resulting in the lifting of the imminent eschatological threat and the re-sanctification of the Mother of Cities ( umm al-qurā ).