48.29 – Muḥammad is the messenger of God. Those who are with him are harsh against the disbelievers

The name Muḥammad appears only four times in the Quran, and this is the fourth and final appearance in the canonical progression. Here the people who are with Muhammad are harsh (ashiddā’, sing. shadīd) against the “disbelievers” and merciful among themselves.

The fact that the name Muhammad only occurs four times in the Quran is striking, given that Muslims believe the Quran contains the recitations of Muhammad. All four occurrences are in the third person, declaring something about Muhammad, and never in the second person or vocative (“O Muhammad”).

The Quran first mentions the name of Muhammad in a battle scene, where he is only a messenger who may die in the course of the fighting (3.144). The second mention asserts that he is not the father of Zayd but rather the messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets (33.40). The third and fourth occurrences bracket Sūras 47 and 48. The third mention comes just before a command to strike the necks of “disbelievers” (47.2), and the final mention describes him similarly as harsh against the “disbelievers.”

48.29 – That is their image in the Torah, and their image in the Gospel

What exactly is the “image” claimed for the “believers” in this long verse? Is it harshness against unbelievers and mercy among themselves? If their image in the Torah is “the trace of prostration” on their faces, this may relate to binding the commandments on foreheads in Deuteronomy 6:8. The Gospel image here may be one of Jesus’ parables about the growth of seeds, but his parable was hardly given in order to “enrage the disbelievers.”

See the analysis of the Quran’s “Gospel” verses at 57.27.