batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l1437-l1607
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l1437-l1607
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 1437-1607
start: '1437'
end: '1607'
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 contains editorial notes and several short suras. It presents
divine reassurance to Muhammad, recalling that God sheltered, guided, and enriched
him; describes the opening of his heart and removal of a burden; gives prayers
for refuge from night, harmful beings, envy, and Satanic whispering; and includes
the opening prayer praising God, asking for help, guidance on the straight path,
and acknowledging the day of reckoning.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An editorial note associates the first sura mentioned with Muhammad spending
nights in devotion and preparing for public prophetic office after a vision of
Gabriel.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: An editorial note states that Jewish and Christian religious vocabulary, including
prayer, heaven, hell, judgment, and apostles, was familiar in Arabia and to the
Meccans.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Sura XCIII swears by noon-day brightness and by the darkening night before
saying that the Lord has not forsaken the addressed person.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Sura XCIII states that God found the addressed person an orphan and gave him
a home, found him erring and guided him, and found him needy and enriched him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Sura XCIII instructs the addressed person not to wrong the orphan, not to
chide away the asker, and to tell abroad the Lord's favours.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: An editorial note describes this and following suras as expressions of anxiety
and depression in which Muhammad calls to mind past divine favours and fixes his
mind on Divine Unity.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Sura XCIV says that God opened the addressed person's heart, removed a burden
from his back, and raised his name.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Sura XCIV repeats that ease comes with trouble, then commands the addressed
person to continue toil when free and seek the Lord fervently.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Sura CXIII is a prayer of refuge to the Lord of the daybreak against created
mischief, night, weird women, and the envier.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: A note explains the phrase about weird women as literally referring to those
who blow on knots and connects it with charms and amuletic use of the preservative
chapters.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Sura CXIV is a prayer of refuge to the Lord, King, and God of men against
a stealthily withdrawing whisperer who whispers in the human breast.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: A note identifies the stealthily withdrawing whisperer as Satan.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Sura I praises God as Lord of the worlds, compassionate and merciful, and
King on the day of reckoning.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Sura I asks God for help and guidance on the straight path, the path of those
who have received grace and not gone astray.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / the Lord
description: Named as compassionate, merciful, Lord of the worlds, Lord of daybreak,
Lord of men, King of men, God of men, and King on the day of reckoning.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Muhammad / addressed prophet
description: The addressee in the suras, identified by editorial notes as Muhammad,
who is reassured by recollection of divine favours and prepared for prophetic
office.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: orphan and asker
description: Socially vulnerable recipients whom the addressed person is commanded
not to wrong or reject.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: weird women / women who blow on knots
description: Figures mentioned as a source of mischief in Sura CXIII, with the note
explaining the literal phrase as those who blow on knots.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the envier
description: A figure whose envy is named as a mischief from which refuge is sought.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: stealthily withdrawing whisperer / Satan
description: A being who whispers in the human breast; the note identifies this
figure as Satan.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: djinn and men
description: Collective beings named at the close of Sura CXIV in relation to the
whisperer's mischief.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: praying speakers
description: The collective voice in Sura I that worships God, asks for help, and
asks to be guided on the straight path.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine benefactor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is described as giving home, guidance, enrichment, relief from burden,
and eventual bounty.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: refuge-granting lord
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The prayers seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak and the Lord, King, and God
of men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: divine judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sura I calls God King on the day of reckoning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: guide
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is asked to guide the speakers on the straight path and is said to have
guided the addressed person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: reassured recipient of divine favour
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The addressed person is told that the Lord has not forsaken him and is reminded
of shelter, guidance, enrichment, and relief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: prophetic office candidate
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The editorial note describes preparation for the public assumption of prophetic
office.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:7
label: one formerly orphaned, erring, and needy
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Sura XCIII lists these prior conditions before divine aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: protected vulnerable recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The addressee is commanded not to wrong the orphan or chide away the asker.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: source of mischief
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Sura CXIII names weird women and the envier among the mischiefs against which
refuge is sought.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: inner tempter
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The figure is said to whisper in man's breast and is identified in the note
as Satan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: beings implicated in temptation
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Sura CXIV ends by naming djinn and men in connection with the whisperer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: supplicants seeking guidance
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The speakers worship God, ask for help, and request guidance on the straight
path.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: noon-day brightness
literal_form: brightness / daylight
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: darkening night
literal_form: night when it darkens or overtakes
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: opened heart
literal_form: heart opened for the addressed person
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: removed burden
literal_form: burden taken from the back
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: daybreak
literal_form: day break invoked as the Lord's domain
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: knots and blowing
literal_form: knots on which women blow, explained as a charm reference
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: human breast
literal_form: man's breast as the place where the whisperer whispers
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: straight path
literal_form: path requested in prayer as the way of those receiving grace
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: day of reckoning
literal_form: day on which God is King
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Reassurance through remembered divine favour
summary: The addressed person is told that the Lord has not forsaken him and is
reminded that God gave him a home, guidance, enrichment, and future bounty.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Opening of the heart and removal of burden
summary: God is said to have opened the addressed person's heart, removed a burden,
raised his name, and instructed him to continue toil and seek the Lord.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Refuge from external mischiefs
summary: The speaker seeks refuge in the Lord of daybreak from created mischief,
night, women associated with knots, and the envier.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Refuge from inner whispering
summary: The speaker seeks refuge in the Lord, King, and God of men from the stealthily
withdrawing whisperer who whispers in the human breast.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Prayer for worship, help, and guidance
summary: A collective praying voice praises God, acknowledges the day of reckoning,
worships and asks for help, and asks to be guided on the straight path.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine reassurance after distress
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage presents anxiety and depression in editorial framing, then has
God declare that the addressed person is not forsaken and recount divine favours.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The emotional interpretation comes from the editor's note; the sura itself
gives the reassurance and recollection of benefits.
- id: motif:2
label: divine care for orphan, wanderer, and needy person
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Sura XCIII states that God found the addressed person orphaned, erring, and
needy, then gave home, guidance, and enrichment; it then commands care for orphan
and asker.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage identifies the addressee through surrounding editorial notes
rather than within the sura itself.
- id: motif:3
label: burden removed and heart opened
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Sura XCIV uses the images of opening the heart and taking a burden from the
back as divine acts toward the addressed person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No further ritual or narrative elaboration is given in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: apotropaic refuge prayer against harmful forces
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Suras CXIII and CXIV ask refuge from night, harmful creation, women associated
with knots, envy, and a Satanic whisperer; the note says the chapters are preservative
and used on amulets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The amuletic use is supplied by the translator's note, not by the sura
text itself.
- id: motif:5
label: inner demonic whisperer
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Sura CXIV describes a stealthily withdrawing whisperer who whispers in man's
breast, and the note identifies him as Satan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not elaborate a narrative encounter with the whisperer.
- id: motif:6
label: prayer for guidance on the straight path
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Sura I asks God for help and guidance on the straight path and contrasts
it with being under anger or going astray.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage concerns prayerful guidance
more specifically than wisdom instruction.
- id: motif:7
label: divine reckoning
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Sura I names God as King on the day of reckoning, and the introductory note
mentions future punishment and judgment among familiar religious terms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage names reckoning but does not narrate the judgment scene.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The editor presents the passage's vocabulary of prayer, heaven, hell, judgment,
and apostles as sharing a recognizable religious lexicon with Judaism and Christianity
in Arabia.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Jewish and Christian religious vocabulary in Arabia
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an editorial historical-linguistic claim in the passage, not
a direct comparison made by the sura text itself.
- id: claim:2
claim: The note on women who blow on knots compares the charm reference with Virgil's
Eclogue vi, suggesting a cautious similarity in charm imagery.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: Classical charm imagery referenced by Virgil, Eclogue vi
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The passage provides only a brief translator's comparison and then
offers an alternative explanation; it does not establish historical contact or
a shared motif tradition.
- id: claim:3
claim: The translator's note groups Suras CXIII and CXIV as preservative chapters
used on amulets, supporting comparison at the functional level with apotropaic
texts.
claim_level: same_function
target: apotropaic prayer or amuletic protection texts
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage does not name a specific external corpus for this functional
comparison beyond its own note on amulets.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1437-1448, editorial note before Sura XCIII
quote_or_summary: The editor links the sura's expressions about the Koran, prayer,
and future punishment with a tradition of a prior vision of Gabriel and with Muhammad's
nights of devotion and preparation for public prophetic office.
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 1457-1466, editorial note
quote_or_summary: The editor states that Judaism and Christianity were present in
Arabia, making terms such as alms, prayer, heaven, hell, judgment, and apostles
familiar to Meccans and available to Muhammad.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: Sura XCIII, The Brightness, within lines 1468-1494
quote_or_summary: The sura invokes noon-day brightness and darkening night, says
the Lord has not forsaken the addressee, promises future bounty, recalls that
God gave him home, guidance, and enrichment, and commands him to protect the orphan,
not reject the asker, and proclaim the Lord's favours.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: note 1 to Sura XCIII, within lines 1496-1501
quote_or_summary: The editor describes this and the six following suras as expressions
of mental anxiety and depression, in which Muhammad reassures himself by recalling
God's past favours and fixing on Divine Unity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: Sura XCIV, The Opening, within lines 1513-1532
quote_or_summary: The sura asks whether God opened the addressee's heart, removed
the burden that galled his back, and raised his name; it repeats that ease comes
with trouble and tells him to continue toil and seek the Lord fervently.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: Sura CXIII, The Daybreak, within lines 1534-1551
quote_or_summary: The speaker seeks refuge with the Lord of daybreak against created
mischief, the overtaking night, weird women, and the envier when he envies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: note 1 to Sura CXIII, within lines 1553-1559
quote_or_summary: The note glosses the women as literally those who blow on knots,
mentions charms and a comparison with Virgil, and says the preservative chapters
are engraved on amulets.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: Sura CXIV, Men, and note, within lines 1561-1580
quote_or_summary: The speaker seeks refuge with the Lord, King, and God of men against
the stealthily withdrawing whisperer who whispers in man's breast, in relation
to djinn and men; the note identifies the whisperer as Satan.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: Sura I, within lines 1582-1607
quote_or_summary: The prayer praises God as Lord of the worlds, compassionate, merciful,
and King on the day of reckoning; the speakers worship him, ask for help, and
ask to be guided on the straight path of those receiving grace rather than those
under anger or astray.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are conservative
and mostly descriptive; broader taxonomy links are limited to divine judgment
and wisdom/guidance where directly supported.
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: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No external sources were used. Comparisons are limited to those explicitly made or supported by the supplied translator's notes.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l1437-l1607
passage_sha256=a98a1e70d3e54f15f8066fd3c1196e257c55d6f107abfb0be6adffacb803c816