69-74 The story of the creation of Adam and the fall of Iblīs revealed to Muhammad 75-77 Iblīs refuses to worship Adam through pride 78-82 God curses Iblīs, but respites him till the resurrection-day 83-84 Iblís declares to God he will seduce mankind, except the servants of God 85 God declares his purpose to fill hell with Satan and his followers 86 Muhammad asks no reward for his services 87-88 The Quran an admonition yet to be vindicated before unbelievers Historical context Sura 38 substantiates Muhammad's role as Prophet through concrete examples of previous messengers of God and the evils that have befallen the people who did not heed sacred messages. Angelika Neuwirth, a German Quranic scholar, terms these “retribution legends” (McAuliffe, 105). They “prove that divine justice is at work in history, the unjustly harassed being rewarded with salvation, the transgressors and unbelievers punished by annihilation” (McAuliffe, 106). Through regular reference to biblical characters and a self-assertive tone praising both Muhammad and God, the reader can attribute this sura to the 2nd Meccan Period, according to Noldeke's chronology . The coherent text builds up to descriptions of both heaven and hell on the Day of Judgment. The wide scope of historical figures—ranging from Old Testament characters such as David, Solomon, and Job, to the devil of Islam, Iblis—were designed to resonate with a wide audience in the face of the disbelief among the Quaryash, Muhammad's clan; as Ernst poignantly states, Muhammad was likely dealing with “religiously well-informed skeptics”. Like many contemporary passages, Sura 38 attempts to convert the reader to a monotheistic religion honoring Muhammad as Prophet by promising salvation for true believers on the Day of Judgment. General divisions of sura 38 Most Middle and Late Meccan suras can be divided into three sections by content and style- a tripartite division. Examination of the structure of a sura can make what seems like an elliptical compilation of sentences far more comprehensible. Symmetrical structure, also known as ring composition, can help both the novice and experienced reader find the central message. Sura 38 can first be divided into three primary sections: the first from verses 1–11; the second, 12–64; the third, 66–88. The first and third sections, similar in length, remind the reader of the power of God and the Qur'an by describing destruction and hell, the third section going so far as to describe the creation of evil: