Hira was a favorite nighttime retreat for him. In that cave during his fortieth year Muhammad claimed to have received the first of the revelations that he would experience for the rest of his life. These would one day be written down and collected to become the Qur’an. Muhammad himself was at first confused by his experiences. The Arabs believed in divinities, but they also believed in the jinn, spirits, especially spirits that inhabited the deserts. He wondered if his ideas were coming from them.