batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l12899-l13028
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l12899-l13028
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 12899-13028
start: '12899'
end: '13028'
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 recounts angels instructing Lot to depart by night before the
destruction of the cities; Shoaib warning Madian against false worship and dishonest
measure, followed by the deliverance of Shoaib and believers and the destruction
of the wicked by tempest; Moses being sent to Pharaoh and Pharaoh leading his
people toward the Fire; and general teachings on ruined cities, resurrection,
divine recompense, prayer, perseverance, and the non-destruction of righteous
communities.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Angels identify themselves to Lot as messengers of his Lord and tell him to
depart with his family during the night.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Lot's party is told not to turn back; Lot's wife is singled out as one upon
whom the threatened event will fall.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The cities are turned upside down and struck by successive blocks of claystone
marked by the Lord.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Shoaib is sent to Madian and calls his people to worship God alone and to
avoid short weight and measure.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Shoaib's people question whether his prayers require them to abandon ancestral
worship and their preferred use of their property.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Shoaib warns his people not to draw upon themselves events like those that
befell the peoples of Noah, Houd, Saleh, and Lot.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Shoaib's people say he is powerless among them and that they would stone him
were it not for his family.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: When the decree comes, Shoaib and his believing companions are delivered,
while the wicked are overtaken by a violent tempest and found prostrate in their
houses.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Moses is sent with signs and power to Pharaoh and his nobles, who follow Pharaoh's
behests.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Pharaoh is described as heading his people on the day of Resurrection and
causing them to descend into the Fire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The passage states that mankind will be gathered on a witnessed day, and that
no one will speak except by divine leave.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The miserable are assigned the Fire and the blessed are assigned the Garden.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: The addressee is instructed to go straight as commanded, avoid leaning on
evildoers, observe prayer at stated times, and persevere.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: The passage states that the Lord would not destroy cities unjustly when their
inhabitants were righteous.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Angels
description: Messengers of the Lord who speak to Lot and announce protection and
departure instructions.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lot
description: Recipient of the angels' warning and departure command.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lot's family
description: Those instructed to depart with Lot during the night.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lot's wife
description: A member of Lot's household singled out as subject to the threatened
event.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: The Lord / God
description: The deity who sends messengers, issues decrees, marks the claystone,
delivers believers, judges cities, and recompenses works.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Shoaib
description: Brother of Madian who admonishes his people and is delivered with believing
companions.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: People of Madian
description: The people addressed by Shoaib regarding worship, measures, goods,
and corrupt practices.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Shoaib's companions in faith
description: Believing companions delivered with Shoaib by divine mercy.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Moses
description: Sent with signs and incontestable power to Pharaoh and his nobles.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Pharaoh
description: Ruler whose behests are followed and who heads his people on the day
of Resurrection into the Fire.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Pharaoh's people and nobles
description: Those who follow Pharaoh's behests and are associated with his eschatological
descent into the Fire.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Miserable ones
description: Those assigned to the Fire in the eschatological description.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Blessed ones
description: Those assigned to the Garden in the eschatological description.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The angels say they are the messengers of Lot's Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: warned recipient of rescue command
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Lot is told that the enemies will not touch him and that he should depart
by night.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: delivered group
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:8
basis: Lot's family is instructed to depart, and Shoaib's believing companions are
delivered by mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: excluded household member
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Lot's wife is singled out as one upon whom the threatened event will fall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: divine judge and deliverer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Lord sends, decrees, destroys wicked cities, delivers believers, gathers
mankind, and recompenses works.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: role:6
label: admonishing prophet
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Shoaib calls Madian to worship God, use fair measures, repent, and await
divine outcome.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: admonished corrupt community
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Madian is warned against false worship, dishonest measure, injustice, and
corrupt practices, and the wicked are struck by tempest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: sent prophet with signs
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Moses is said to be sent with signs and incontestable power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: unrighteous leader
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Pharaoh's behests are called unrighteous, and he leads his people toward
the Fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: followers of unrighteous leader
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The nobles follow Pharaoh's behests and his people are led by him on the
day of Resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:11
label: eschatological condemned
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Those consigned to misery have the Fire as their place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:12
label: eschatological blessed
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The blessed have the Garden as their place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: night departure
literal_form: Departure with family in the dead of night
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: not turning back
literal_form: Instruction that none of Lot's party should turn back
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: overturned cities
literal_form: Cities turned upside down
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: marked claystone blocks
literal_form: Blocks of claystone rained down and marked by the Lord
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: weight and measure
literal_form: Weight and measure, to be given fairly rather than shortened
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: violent tempest
literal_form: A violent tempest overtaking the wicked of Madian
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: Fire
literal_form: The Fire as the place of the miserable and the destination associated
with Pharaoh's people
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: sym:8
label: Garden
literal_form: The Garden as the place of the blessed
associated_figures:
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:9
label: Book
literal_form: The Book given to Moses
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Angels warn Lot and command night departure
summary: Angels tell Lot that they are divine messengers, that the hostile people
will not touch him, and that he should leave with his family at night without
turning back, while his wife is marked for the same fate as the others.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Overturning and stoning of the cities
summary: When the decree comes, the cities are overturned and struck with successive
marked blocks of claystone.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Shoaib admonishes Madian
summary: Shoaib calls Madian to worship God alone, use fair weight and measure,
avoid purloining goods, and cease corrupt practices.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Madian resists Shoaib's message
summary: Shoaib's people object to abandoning ancestral worship and claim he is
powerless, threatening stoning were it not for his family.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Deliverance of Shoaib and destruction of the wicked
summary: The decree arrives; Shoaib and his believing companions are delivered by
mercy, while a violent tempest overtakes the wicked, leaving them prostrate in
their houses.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Moses, Pharaoh, and eschatological descent
summary: Moses is sent with signs to Pharaoh and his nobles, who follow Pharaoh;
Pharaoh is said to lead his people on the day of Resurrection into the Fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Gathering and division on the latter day
summary: The passage describes a future witnessed day when mankind is gathered,
speech occurs only by divine leave, and people are divided into miserable and
blessed groups assigned to Fire and Garden.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:8
label: Exhortation to straightness, prayer, and perseverance
summary: The addressee and those turned to God are instructed to go straight, avoid
reliance on evildoers, observe prayer at stated times, and persevere, with a final
statement that righteous inhabitants are not unjustly destroyed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: warned righteous household departs before city destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- divine_judgment
basis: Lot is told to depart with his family by night before the cities are overturned
and struck with marked claystone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a translated Qur'anic retelling; extraction is limited
to this line range.
- id: motif:2
label: forbidden backward glance or return during escape
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Lot's household is instructed not to turn back, and Lot's wife is excluded
from safety.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states the instruction and the wife's fate but does not narrate
an actual glance or turning action.
- id: motif:3
label: prophet admonishes corrupt trading community
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Shoaib instructs Madian to worship God and use fair weight and measure, while
warning against purloining goods and corrupt practices.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate because the supplied motif list
lacks a specific commercial justice category.
- id: motif:4
label: wicked community rejects warning and is destroyed while believers are delivered
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Shoaib's people resist him; when the decree comes, Shoaib and believers are
delivered and the wicked are overtaken by tempest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is stated within one prophetic exemplum and compared in the
passage to other destroyed peoples.
- id: motif:5
label: unrighteous leader leads followers to postmortem punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- resurrection
basis: Pharaoh heads his people on the day of Resurrection and causes them to descend
into the Fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a concise eschatological statement rather than a detailed
journey narrative.
- id: motif:6
label: final gathering and division of humanity into Fire and Garden
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- resurrection
basis: Mankind is gathered on a witnessed day; some are miserable and assigned to
the Fire, while the blessed are assigned to the Garden.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy list does not include a specific paradise motif; Garden is
therefore not mapped to a supplied taxonomy ref.
- id: motif:7
label: righteous remnant prevents or survives destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage asks whether only a few virtuous people forbade corruption and
states that the Lord would not destroy cities unjustly while inhabitants were
righteous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states the principle generally rather than narrating a single
complete episode at this point.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Shoaib explicitly warns Madian that opposition to him may bring an outcome
like those that befell the peoples of Noah, Houd, Saleh, and Lot.
claim_level: same_function
target: 'Earlier destroyed peoples named in the passage: Noah''s people, Houd''s
people, Saleh''s people, and Lot''s people'
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage provides a homiletic comparison of outcomes, not detailed
narrative parallels for each named people.
- id: claim:2
claim: Madian's destruction is explicitly likened to Themoud being swept off.
claim_level: same_function
target: Themoud as a prior destroyed community
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is limited to being swept off or destroyed; no additional
shared details are provided here.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage groups multiple ruined cities as examples of divine judgment
on wicked communities whose gods did not avail them.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Pattern of wicked cities destroyed after divine behest
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The statement is generalized and does not enumerate all narrative details
of each city in this excerpt.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12899-12904
quote_or_summary: Angels tell Lot they are messengers of his Lord, that the hostile
people will not touch him, and that he should depart with his family in the dead
of night without anyone turning back; his wife will share the threatened fate,
and the time is morning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 12906-12908
quote_or_summary: When the decree comes, the cities are turned upside down and rained
upon with successive blocks of claystone marked by the Lord.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 12910-12918
quote_or_summary: Shoaib is sent to Madian and tells his people to worship God alone,
avoid short weight and measure, give weight and measure fairly, not purloin others'
goods, and not practice corruption on the earth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 12920-12923
quote_or_summary: Shoaib's people ask whether his prayers command them to leave
what their fathers worshipped or restrict what they do with their property.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 12930-12935
quote_or_summary: Shoaib warns his people that opposition to him may draw down on
them what befell the peoples of Noah, Houd, Saleh, and Lot, and urges them to
seek pardon and turn to the Lord.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 12937-12945
quote_or_summary: Shoaib's people say they understand little of his words, see him
as powerless, and would stone him were it not for his family; Shoaib replies that
God is around their actions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 12947-12956
quote_or_summary: Shoaib tells his people to act and await the outcome; when the
decree comes, Shoaib and his believing companions are delivered by mercy, while
a violent tempest overtakes the wicked and they are found prostrate in their houses;
Madian is said to have been swept off as Themoud was.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 12958-12961
quote_or_summary: Moses is sent with signs and incontestable power to Pharaoh and
his nobles, who follow Pharaoh's unrighteous behests.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 12963-12967
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh will head his people on the day of Resurrection and cause
them to descend into the Fire; they are followed by a curse in this world and
on the day of Resurrection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 12979-12986
quote_or_summary: The passage says the latter day is a day when mankind is gathered
and witnessed by all creatures; it occurs at an appointed time, and no one speaks
except by divine leave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 12988-12996
quote_or_summary: Those consigned to misery have the Fire as their place and sigh
there; the blessed have the Garden as their place with an imperishable boon as
the Lord wills.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 12998-13018
quote_or_summary: The passage mentions Moses receiving the Book, variance about
it, divine repayment according to works, an instruction to go straight, avoid
reliance on evildoers, observe prayer at morning, close of day, and approach of
night, and persevere.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 13020-13028
quote_or_summary: The passage says only a few among former generations forbade corruption,
that evildoers followed pleasures and became transgressors, and that the Lord
would not destroy cities unjustly when their inhabitants were righteous.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 12969-12977
quote_or_summary: 'The histories of cities are related: some stand and others are
mown down; their gods did not avail them when the Lord''s behest came, and the
Lord''s grasp on wicked cities is afflictive and terrible.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif taxonomy
mapping is more tentative where the available taxonomy lacks specific categories
for commerce, ruined cities, Garden/paradise, and prophetic warning cycles.
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: |-
All observations and motif candidates are based only on the supplied passage and metadata. Public-domain text summarized rather than extensively quoted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l12899-l13028
passage_sha256=d1942869fe5a844ac99d4b4953817bd2b6014983ec1033ee6325cb964343311a