batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l12364-l12496
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l12364-l12496
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 12364-12496
start: '12364'
end: '12496'
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: The passage argues that God created the heavens and earth for a fixed term,
warns hearers by the fate of earlier peoples, describes creation returning to
God, resurrection, judgment, separation of believers and unbelievers, natural
signs of divine power, condemnation of associating other gods with God, guidance
toward right faith and prayer, ethical giving to kin, poor, and wayfarers, rejection
of usury, and destruction on land and sea as the result of human deeds.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: God is said to have created the heavens, the earth, and what is between them
for a serious end and fixed term.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The audience is urged to journey through the land and observe the end of earlier
peoples who were stronger, cultivated the land, received apostles with proofs,
and wronged themselves.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Creation is described as being brought forth, caused to return, and brought
back to God.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: On the arrival of the Hour, the guilty are struck dumb, lack intercessors
among the gods they associated with God, and people are separated from one another.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Believers who do right are described as enjoying themselves in a flowery mead,
while those who reject signs and the next life are given over to torment.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The passage commands glorification and praise of God at evening, morning,
twilight, and noon.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: God is said to bring the living from the dead, the dead from the living, and
to quicken the dead earth; the audience is told they too will be brought forth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Human beings are said to be created from dust and then to spread far and wide.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Wives of the same species, love, tenderness, differences of tongues and color,
sleep, quest for bounty, lightning, rain, and the stability of heaven and earth
are each presented as signs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: A single summons is said to call people out of the earth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: An analogy asks whether slaves would be treated as equal partners in possessions,
and uses the negative answer to argue against associating other gods with God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The audience is instructed to turn toward the right faith, fear God, observe
prayer, and avoid joining other gods with God or dividing religion into sects.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: When evil touches people they call on their Lord; when mercy comes, some associate
other gods with Him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The passage states that God gives ample or sparing provision as He pleases.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: The hearer is told to give due support to kin, the poor, and the wayfarer;
alms given while seeking God's face are said to be doubled, unlike usury.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:16
text: God is described as creating, feeding, causing death, and making alive; companion-gods
are denied power to do these things.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:17
text: Destruction is said to have appeared on land and sea because of what human
hands have wrought, so that people may taste the fruit of their deeds and turn
to God.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:18
text: Before an unavoidable day, people are told to set their face toward right
faith; on that day they are divided, with unbelievers bearing unbelief and righteous
believers receiving reward and couches of repose.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Creator, sustainer, giver of signs, reviver of the dead, summoner from
the earth, judge, and sole divine power in the passage.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Most men / human beings
description: The addressed human audience, many of whom are said not to believe
in meeting their Lord and some of whom turn to God in trouble but associate other
gods with Him after receiving mercy.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Earlier peoples
description: Former inhabitants of the land, described as stronger, numerous, and
cultivators or breakers-up of land, who received apostles but wronged themselves.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Apostles
description: Messengers who came to earlier peoples with proofs of their mission.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: The guilty / unbelievers
description: Those who reject signs, deny the next life, and are associated with
despair, separation, torment, and bearing their unbelief.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Believers who do right
description: Those who believe and work righteousness, described as enjoying a flowery
mead and receiving reward and couches of repose.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Associated gods / companion-gods
description: Other gods joined with God; they provide no intercession and are denied
power to create, feed, cause death, or make alive.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Kin, the poor, and the wayfarer
description: Recipients to whom due support is to be given.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: creator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to have created the heavens and earth and human beings from dust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: reviver and resurrector
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God brings living from dead, quickens dead earth, summons people out of earth,
and makes alive after death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:12
- id: role:3
label: judge and separator on the Hour
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage describes the Hour, separation of people, reward for believers,
and torment or unbelief for rejecters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: role:4
label: provider and giver of signs
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God sends rain, shows lightning, gives provision, creates signs in nature
and humanity, and feeds people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: role:5
label: addressed humankind
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage addresses people about creation, signs, worship, provision, and
final return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: exemplary former peoples
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Their fate is presented as something the audience should observe while journeying
through the land.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: role:7
label: messengers with proofs
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Apostles are said to have come to earlier peoples with proofs of their mission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: errant worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Some people call on God in distress but later join other gods with Him and
divide religion into sects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: condemned rejecters
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The guilty and unbelievers are described as despairing, lacking intercessors,
and receiving torment or the burden of unbelief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: role:10
label: rewarded righteous
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Believers who do right are described as enjoying a flowery mead and receiving
reward and repose.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: role:11
label: powerless rival deities
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Associated gods are said to provide no intercession and to lack power over
creation, provision, death, and life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:12
- id: role:12
label: charitable recipients
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Kin, the poor, and the wayfarer are named as those to whom due support should
be given.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: heavens and earth
literal_form: The heavens, the earth, and what lies between them, created for a
serious end and fixed term.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: fixed term and Hour
literal_form: A fixed term and the day when the Hour arrives.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: sym:3
label: ruins or fate of former peoples
literal_form: The observed end of earlier peoples encountered by journeying through
the land.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: sym:4
label: dead earth revived
literal_form: Earth when dead is quickened and given life by rain from heaven.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: dust origin
literal_form: Human beings created out of dust.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: lightning and rain
literal_form: Lightning shown as a source of awe and hope, and rain sent down from
heaven.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: summons from the earth
literal_form: One summons calling people out of the earth.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: flowery mead
literal_form: A flowery mead where righteous believers enjoy themselves.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:9
label: couches of repose
literal_form: Couches of repose prepared for those who have wrought righteousness.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:10
label: land and sea destruction
literal_form: Destruction appearing by land and by sea because of human deeds.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:11
label: face turned toward right faith
literal_form: The face set toward the faith God made and toward the right faith
before the day comes.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:14
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Purposeful creation and denial of meeting God
summary: The passage opens by presenting the heavens and earth as created for a
serious end and fixed term, while many people do not believe they will meet their
Lord.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Journey to observe earlier peoples
summary: The audience is urged to travel through the land and consider the fate
of stronger former peoples who received apostolic proofs but wronged themselves.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: scene:3
label: The Hour and separation
summary: At the Hour, the guilty are silenced and lose intercessors, people are
separated, believers receive enjoyment, and rejecters receive torment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Signs in life, death, and nature
summary: God brings life from death and death from life, revives dead earth, creates
humans from dust, sends lightning and rain, and summons people from the earth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Instruction against associating gods with God
summary: An analogy about slaves and partnership is used to reject divine partners;
the audience is commanded to turn toward right faith, pray, and avoid divided
sectarian religion.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Mercy, adversity, provision, and giving
summary: People are described as turning to God in adversity and exulting in mercy;
God gives provision as He wills; the audience is commanded to give to kin, the
poor, and the wayfarer, and alms are contrasted with usury.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:7
label: Human deeds, destruction, and final division
summary: Destruction on land and sea is linked to human deeds; the audience is again
told to observe former peoples and to turn toward right faith before the unavoidable
day when unbelievers and righteous believers are divided.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:9
- sym:10
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Purposeful creation with fixed eschatological term
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The heavens and earth are said to be created for a serious end and fixed
term, and human beings are told they will meet their Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not provide a detailed cosmogenesis narrative; the motif
is limited to purpose, term, and final meeting.
- id: motif:2
label: Ruins or fate of former peoples as warning
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The audience is twice urged to journey through the land and see the end of
those before them, whose wrongdoing and polytheism led to an evil end.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not name the earlier peoples or describe specific ruins.
- id: motif:3
label: Creation, return, and resurrection
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- death_rebirth
basis: God brings creation forth, causes it to return, brings living from dead and
dead from living, quickens dead earth, and will summon people out of the earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes divine resurrection rather than a cyclical seasonal
myth in narrative form.
- id: motif:4
label: Final separation of righteous and guilty
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: At the Hour people are separated; believers who do right receive enjoyment
and repose, while rejecters and the guilty receive torment or bear their unbelief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only brief afterlife images, not a full afterlife map.
- id: motif:5
label: Natural signs revealing divine power
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Human origin from dust, spouses, languages and colors, sleep, lightning,
rain, and the stability of heaven and earth are presented as signs for reflection,
hearing, and understanding.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a theological sign-list, not a narrative sequence.
- id: motif:6
label: Rain reviving dead earth as analogy for resurrection
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage says God sends rain from heaven, gives life to dead earth by
it, and declares that people too shall be brought forth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The comparison is internal to the passage but not elaborated as an independent
mythic story.
- id: motif:7
label: Powerlessness of rival gods
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Associated gods provide no intercession, are denied power over creation,
feeding, death, and life, and are rejected through a social analogy about partnership.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The rival gods are not individually identified.
- id: motif:8
label: Charitable giving contrasted with usury
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Giving due to kin, the poor, and the wayfarer is approved; usury has no increase
from God, while alms seeking God's face are doubled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents ethical instruction rather than a transactional myth
narrative.
- id: motif:9
label: Destruction caused by human deeds as corrective warning
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Destruction on land and sea is attributed to what human hands have wrought,
so that people may taste the fruit of their actions and turn to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The destruction is generalized and not tied to a named catastrophe.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12364-12367
quote_or_summary: God created the heavens, the earth, and what is between them for
a serious end and fixed term; most people do not believe they will meet their
Lord.
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 12369-12377
quote_or_summary: The audience is asked to journey through the land and see the
end of former peoples who were stronger, cultivated and inhabited the land, received
apostles with proofs, wronged themselves, rejected signs, and came to an evil
end.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 12379-12380
quote_or_summary: "“God bringth forth the creation then causeth it to return again
then to Him shall ye come back.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 12382-12396
quote_or_summary: At the Hour the guilty are struck dumb, have no intercessors among
associated gods, people are separated, believers who do right enjoy a flowery
mead, and rejecters of signs and the next life are given to torment.
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 12398-12401
quote_or_summary: The passage commands glorification of God at evening and morning
and praise to Him in heaven and earth at twilight and noon.
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 12403-12405
quote_or_summary: God brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the
living, quickens dead earth, and says the audience likewise shall be brought forth.
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 12407-12427
quote_or_summary: Signs include human creation from dust, spouses with love and
tenderness, creation of heavens and earth, variety of tongues and color, sleep
and seeking bounty, lightning as awe and hope, rain reviving dead earth, heaven
and earth standing firm, and a summons bringing people out of the earth.
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 12433-12440
quote_or_summary: A self-drawn analogy asks whether one's slaves are partners in
bestowed possessions; the following line rejects this and says the wicked follow
desires, while those God misleads have no guide or protector.
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 12442-12449
quote_or_summary: The hearer is told to set the face as a true convert toward the
God-made faith, with no change in God's creation, to turn to Him, fear Him, observe
prayer, avoid joining gods with God, and not be among those who split religion
into sects.
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 12451-12464
quote_or_summary: When evil touches people they call on the Lord; after tasting
mercy, some join other gods with Him. People rejoice in mercy but despair when
evil befalls them for their deeds; God gives supplies fully or sparingly as He
wills.
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 12466-12471
quote_or_summary: The passage commands giving due to kin, the poor, and the wayfarer;
usury does not increase with God, but alms given while seeking God's face are
doubled.
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 12473-12476
quote_or_summary: God created, fed, will cause death, and will make alive; companion-gods
are denied ability to do these things.
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 12478-12483
quote_or_summary: Destruction has appeared by land and sea because of what human
hands have wrought, so people may taste some fruit of their deeds and turn; the
audience is told to journey and see the end of earlier peoples, most of whom associated
other gods with God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 12485-12496
quote_or_summary: The audience is told to set the face toward right faith before
an unavoidable day; on that day people are parted, unbelievers bear unbelief,
and righteous believers receive prepared couches of repose and divine reward.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is doctrinal and exhortatory rather than a continuous mythic
narrative; motif candidates are based on explicit recurring images and themes
in the supplied text. No external comparison claims were made.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage text and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to the provided lists and assigned only where directly supported by the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l12364-l12496
passage_sha256=926650ebff0bd2467bac3671548742d098ccc6830d107328214170828cf82454