batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l11219-l11354
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l11219-l11354
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
passage_locator:
label: PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. /
PREFACE; lines 11219-11354
start: '11219'
end: '11354'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Rodwell translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Translator notes discuss the Seven Sleepers, Eblis and the Djinn, the two
seas, El-Khidr and the fountain of life, Dhoulkarnain/Alexander, Gog and Magog,
and a rampart. The Qur'anic passage presents revelation, divine creation and governance,
human creation from clay and water with divine spirit, denial of resurrection,
death by the angel of death, return to the Lord, judgment of the guilty, worshipful
believers, and reward in gardens of eternal abode.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A translator note says the Seven Sleepers entered a cavern under Decius and
awoke in the time of Theodosius, while noting a chronological tension with the
years in the text.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A translator note says Muhammad appears to have considered Eblis both the
father of the Djinn and one of their number, and states that Satans and Djinn
represent the principle of Evil in the Koran.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A translator note identifies the two seas as the sea of Greece and the sea
of Persia, while reporting a metaphorical explanation as two oceans of natural
and supernatural knowledge.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A translator note says the loss of a fish is a sign for finding El-Khidr,
who is said to have drunk from the fountain of life and to appear in green robes
to Muslims in distress.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Translator notes identify Dhoulkarnain probably with Alexander the Great,
describe him as divinely commissioned against impiety and idolatry, identify Yadjoudj
and Madjoudj as a barbarous eastern people, and discuss a rampart associated with
Alexander.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The sura opens by presenting the Book as a revelation from the Lord of the
Worlds and as a warning to a people who had no previous warner.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: God is described as creating the heavens, the earth, and what is between them
in six days, ascending his throne, and governing all things from heaven to earth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Human creation is described as beginning with clay, then progeny from germs
of life and sorry water, followed by shaping, divine breath, hearing, sight, and
hearts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Some speakers question becoming a new creation after lying hidden in the earth;
the passage replies that the angel of death will cause them to die and they will
be returned to their Lord.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The guilty are depicted drooping their heads before their Lord, asking to
be returned to life, and being told to taste eternal punishment; hell is said
to be filled with Djinn and men together.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: Believers are described as falling down in adoration, praising their Lord,
rising from couches to call on him with fear and desire, giving alms, and receiving
hidden joy and gardens of eternal abode.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Seven Sleepers
description: Figures in a tradition who entered a cavern and later awoke in another
emperor's time.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Eblis
description: A being described in a translator note as father of the Djinn and as
one of their number.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Djinn
description: A class of beings associated in the note with Eblis and with the principle
of Evil; later named among those filling hell together with men.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: El-Khidr or El-Khadir
description: A figure said to be sought by means of the lost-fish sign, to have
drunk from the fountain of life, and to appear in green robes to Muslims in distress.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Dhoulkarnain / Alexander the Great
description: A figure identified by the translator probably as Alexander the Great
and described as invested with a divine commission against impiety and idolatry.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Yadjoudj and Madjoudj
description: Named by the translator as a barbarous people of eastern Asia.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: God / Lord of the Worlds
description: The divine figure who sends revelation, creates and governs the cosmos,
creates humankind, receives the dead, judges the guilty, and rewards believers.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Humankind / man
description: Human beings described as created from clay, water, and divine breath,
and as subject to death and return to the Lord.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Angel of death
description: The angel charged with people who causes them to die.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: The guilty
description: Those who droop their heads before their Lord, ask to be returned to
life, and receive punishment.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Believers / the good
description: Those who adore, praise, call on their Lord, give alms, and receive
joy and gardens of eternal abode.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: sleepers in cavern who awaken later
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note says they entered the cavern under Decius and awoke in the time
of Theodosius.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: evil beings
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The note associates Eblis, Djinn, Satans, and demons with the principle of
Evil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: undying helper figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The note says El-Khidr drank of the fountain of life and appears to distressed
Muslims.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: divinely commissioned ruler-conqueror
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note describes Dhoulkarnain/Alexander as invested with a divine commission
against impiety and idolatry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: threatening eastern peoples
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The note identifies Yadjoudj and Madjoudj as barbarous people of eastern
Asia in connection with a rampart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: creator, governor, judge, and rewarder
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage attributes revelation, creation, governance, death-return, judgment,
punishment, and reward to God or the Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: created and mortal human beings
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage describes human creation from clay and water with divine breath,
and later death and return to the Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: judged and punished sinners
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:10
basis: The guilty are punished, and hell is said to be filled with Djinn and men
together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: death-bringing angel
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The angel of death is charged with people and causes them to die.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: worshipful righteous recipients of reward
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Believers adore, praise, pray, give alms, and receive joy and gardens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cave of sleep and awakening
literal_form: cavern
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: two seas / two oceans of knowledge
literal_form: sea of Greece and sea of Persia; metaphorical oceans of natural and
supernatural knowledge in the translator note
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: lost fish as quest sign
literal_form: fish whose loss signals the sought figure
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: fountain of life
literal_form: life-giving fountain from which El-Khidr is said to have drunk
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: green robes
literal_form: green robes worn by El-Khidr when appearing to Muslims in distress
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: protective rampart
literal_form: rampart or fortifications associated in the note with Alexander and
eastern peoples
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: divine throne
literal_form: throne ascended by God after creation
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: clay and water of human making
literal_form: clay, germs of life, and sorry water used in the account of human
creation
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: divine breath
literal_form: God breathing of His Spirit into the shaped human
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:10
label: hell as punishment place
literal_form: hell filled with Djinn and men together
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:10
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:11
label: gardens of eternal abode
literal_form: gardens given to believers as recompense
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Seven Sleepers in the cavern
summary: The translator note recounts that the Seven Sleepers entered a cavern under
one emperor and awoke under another.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Eblis, Djinn, and evil beings
summary: A note discusses Eblis's relation to the Djinn and links Djinn and Satans
with the principle of Evil.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Finding El-Khidr
summary: The lost fish marks the search for El-Khidr, who is associated with the
fountain of life and green-robed aid to distressed Muslims.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Dhoulkarnain, Gog and Magog, and the rampart
summary: The notes identify Dhoulkarnain with Alexander, describe a divine commission
against impiety and idolatry, name Yadjoudj and Madjoudj, and connect the tradition
with a rampart.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Revelation and cosmic governance
summary: The Book is presented as revelation and warning; God creates the cosmos,
ascends the throne, and governs all things.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Creation of humankind
summary: Humanity is formed from clay and water, shaped, endowed with divine spirit,
and given hearing, sight, and hearts.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Death, return, and judgment
summary: The passage answers denial of new creation by saying the angel of death
will cause death and people will return to the Lord; the guilty then ask for return
to life and receive punishment.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:8
label: Adoration and reward
summary: Believers fall in adoration, praise and call upon their Lord, give alms,
and are promised hidden joy and gardens of eternal abode.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sleep in a cave followed by awakening in a later age
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The Seven Sleepers are said to enter a cavern under Decius and awaken in
the time of Theodosius.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives this as a translator note and does not narrate the full
legend here; death-rebirth is an analogical taxonomy fit rather than an explicit
phrase.
- id: motif:2
label: undying helper linked to a fountain of life
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: El-Khidr is said to have drunk from the fountain of life and still lives
until the day of judgment, appearing to distressed Muslims.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy has no exact immortality or life-water category; death_rebirth
is a nearby but imperfect fit.
- id: motif:3
label: divinely commissioned world-conqueror opposing impiety
taxonomy_refs:
- culture_hero
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Dhoulkarnain/Alexander is described as invested with a divine commission
for extirpating impiety and idolatry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is a translator note and not a full narrative of his deeds.
- id: motif:4
label: barrier restraining threatening peoples
taxonomy_refs:
- chaos
basis: The notes connect Yadjoudj and Madjoudj with a rampart identified with fortifications
associated with Alexander.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage excerpt does not include the full barrier story, and the chaos
taxonomy is a broad fit.
- id: motif:5
label: cosmic creation followed by divine enthronement and governance
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: God creates the heavens and earth in six days, ascends the throne, and governs
all things from heaven to earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: Creation itself is explicit, but only ascent is available as a close taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:6
label: human fashioned from clay and water with divine spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
basis: The passage describes creation of man from clay and progeny from water, then
shaping and divine breath.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a creation-of-human motif rather than a birth episode; sacred_birth
is only a partial taxonomy match.
- id: motif:7
label: death, resurrection, and return to the Lord
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: The passage addresses denial of becoming a new creation after burial and
states that the angel of death causes death before return to the Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: None.
- id: motif:8
label: divine judgment with punishment and reward
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The guilty confess and are punished, while believers are promised hidden
joy and gardens of eternal abode.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: None.
- id: motif:9
label: devotion and almsgiving answered by recompense
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Believers adore, praise, call on the Lord, give alms, and receive recompense
in joy and gardens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames recompense for works rather than a negotiated exchange;
the taxonomy fit is interpretive.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: A translator note compares Muhammad's omitted qualifying phrase about tomorrow
with James iv. 13-15.
claim_level: same_function
target: James iv. 13-15
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is made by the translator in a note; the excerpt does
not provide the biblical passage itself.
- id: claim:2
claim: A translator note proposes that Muhammad's doctrines of the Genii derive
from Persian and Indian mythology and were identified with Semitic Satan and demons.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Persian and Indian mythology; Semitic Satan and demons
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is the translator's historical interpretation, not demonstrated
within the Qur'anic passage itself.
- id: claim:3
claim: A translator note links descriptions of Paradise and several words for paradisal
objects or fabrics to Persian luxury and language.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Persian language and luxurious courtly habits
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note combines linguistic observation with a conjecture about influence;
the passage excerpt does not independently verify the historical route.
- id: claim:4
claim: A translator note says no trace of the two-seas legend is found in Rabbinic
writings, while noting later metaphorical interpretation as natural and supernatural
knowledge.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Rabbinic writings and the two-seas legend
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The claim is primarily negative and interpretive; the excerpt does
not provide the wider legend.
- id: claim:5
claim: A translator note compares Dhoulkarnain/Alexander with Daniel viii and a
Talmudic passage while identifying him probably as Alexander the Great.
claim_level: same_function
target: Daniel viii; Tractate Tanith fol. 32; Alexander traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note supplies references but the compared texts are not quoted
in the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 11222-11224, footnote 7
quote_or_summary: The note says the Seven Sleepers entered the cavern under Decius
and awoke in the time of Theodosius, though this cannot be reconciled with the
number of years in the text.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 11243-11249, footnote 14
quote_or_summary: The note says Muhammad appears to have considered Eblis both father
of the Djinn and one of them; it states that doctrines of Genii are linked by
the translator to Persian and Indian mythology and Semitic Satan/demons, and that
Satans and Djinn represent evil in the Koran.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 11251-11255, footnote 15
quote_or_summary: The note identifies the two seas as Greece and Persia, reports
a metaphorical interpretation as natural and supernatural knowledge, and says
there is no trace of the legend in Rabbinic writings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 11257-11262, footnote 16
quote_or_summary: The note says loss of the fish is a sign for finding El-Khidr,
who is said to have drunk from the fountain of life, still lives until the day
of judgment, and appears in green robes to distressed Muslims.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 11264-11273, footnotes 17-19
quote_or_summary: The notes identify Dhoulkarnain probably as Alexander the Great,
describe a divine commission against impiety and idolatry, name Yadjoudj and Madjoudj
as eastern barbarous peoples, and discuss a rampart identified with fortifications
associated with Alexander.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 11284-11289
quote_or_summary: The Book is presented as a revelation sent down from the Lord
of the Worlds and as truth from the Lord so that a people with no previous warner
may be warned and guided.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 11291-11298
quote_or_summary: God creates the heavens, the earth, and what is between them in
six days, ascends his throne, has no other patron or intercessor, and governs
all things from heaven to earth before they come up to him on a thousand-year
day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 11300-11308
quote_or_summary: God knows unseen and seen, made created things good, began man
from clay, ordained progeny from germs of life and sorry water, shaped him, breathed
His Spirit into him, and gave hearing, sight, and hearts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 11310-11318
quote_or_summary: Deniers ask whether they will become a new creation after lying
hidden in earth; the passage says they deny meeting their Lord and that the angel
of death will cause them to die, then they will be returned to their Lord.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 11320-11330
quote_or_summary: The guilty droop their heads before their Lord, ask to be returned
to life to do right, and are told hell will be filled with Djinn and men together
and that they must taste eternal punishment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 11332-11354
quote_or_summary: Believers fall down in adoration, praise their Lord, are not disdainful,
rise from couches to call on their Lord with fear and desire, give alms, and are
promised hidden joy and gardens of eternal abode as recompense.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 11219-11221, footnote 6
quote_or_summary: The note says Muhammad omitted a qualifying phrase when promising
the Jews an answer about the Seven Sleepers on the morrow and compares this with
James iv. 13-15.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 11230-11241, footnote 11
quote_or_summary: The note suggests descriptions of Paradise may be based on Persian
luxury, and states that the word Paradise and certain names of cups, brocade,
and sundus are Persian.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The extraction is based only on the supplied excerpt. Several motifs and
comparisons come from translator notes rather than the Qur'anic passage itself,
so they require review.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-29'
notes: |-
Passage combines footnotes to a preceding sura with the beginning of Sura XXXII. Literal observations distinguish translator-note traditions from the Qur'anic text where possible.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l11219-l11354
passage_sha256=4064ef64641202abc45a0714ff68b602694ea09ce945591cd9c844ccc4281d5b