batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l17445-l17575
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l17445-l17575
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 17445-17575
start: '17445'
end: '17575'
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 includes translator notes on earlier Qur'anic material, including
a note comparing a mountain-over-Israel tradition with rabbinic sources. Sura
XLVI opens by affirming that the Book is revealed from God, that the heavens and
earth were created in truth and for a fixed term, and that beings invoked besides
God cannot create or answer. It contrasts unbelievers who dismiss revelation as
sorcery or an ancient fable with believers who affirm God, follow the straight
way, and receive Paradise. It commands kindness to parents, describes a grateful
adult prayer, and contrasts it with a child who rejects resurrection from the
grave; judgment is rendered according to works.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that the Book is a revelation sent down from the Mighty
and Wise God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:2
text: The heavens, the earth, and what is between them are said to have been created
in truth and for a settled term.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:3
text: Those invoked beside God are challenged to show what part of the earth they
created or whether they shared in the heavens.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:4
text: Beings called upon beside God are said not to answer their callers until the
day of Resurrection and to disown their worship when mankind is assembled.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:5
text: Unbelievers call the recited signs plain sorcery and accuse the Koran of being
devised or an old lying legend.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker says he follows only what is revealed to him and is charged to
warn openly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says the Koran confirms the Book of Moses in Arabic, as warning
to wrongdoers and glad tidings to doers of good.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:8
text: Those who say their Lord is God and take the straight way are promised freedom
from fear and grief and permanent dwelling in Paradise.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:9
text: Man is enjoined to show kindness to parents; the mother bears and gives birth
with pain, and bearing plus weaning is given as thirty months.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:10
text: At full strength and forty years, the dutiful person prays for gratitude,
good works, and prosperity in offspring, and declares submission to God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:11
text: A contrasting person rebukes his parents for promising that he will be brought
out alive from the grave after earlier generations have passed away.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:12
text: The parents implore God's help and urge belief in the truth of God's promise,
while the child calls it a fable of the ancients.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:13
text: The passage states that a sentence is fulfilled against prior nations, djinn,
and men, and that all have grades according to works so that they may be repaid
without unfairness.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: obs:14
text: A translator note compares a Qur'anic mountain image with rabbinic traditions
in which the Holy One turns the mountain over the people like a vessel and makes
acceptance of the law a condition of survival.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The revealer of the Book, creator of the heavens and earth, guide,
hearer of prayer, promiser of Paradise, and judge of works.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:15
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The speaker / apostle
description: The addressed speaker says he follows only what is revealed and is
charged to warn openly.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Those invoked beside God
description: Beings or objects called upon besides God, challenged as non-creators
and said not to answer their callers.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Unbelievers / infidels
description: People who turn away from warning, reject the Book, call signs sorcery,
and call the revelation an old lying legend.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Believers / doers of good
description: Those who say their Lord is God, take the straight way, and are promised
Paradise.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Witness from the children of Israel
description: A witness from the children of Israel is described as witnessing the
Book's conformity with the Law and believing.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Moses
description: Associated with an earlier Book described as a rule and a mercy.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Parents
description: The parents of a person addressed in the passage; they are to be treated
kindly and, in the negative example, implore God's help and urge belief.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:14
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Mother
description: The mother bears and gives birth to a human child with pain.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Dutiful adult child
description: A person who reaches strength and forty years, prays for gratitude,
good works, and prosperous offspring, and declares submission.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Denying child
description: A person who rebukes parents, doubts being brought alive from the grave,
and calls the promise a fable of the ancients.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Nations, djinn, and men before them
description: Earlier groups upon whom a sentence is said to have been made good.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: The Holy One in cited rabbinic tradition
description: In the translator's cited tradition, the Holy One turns the mountain
over the people like a vessel and speaks a conditional demand to receive the law.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Revealer and creator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Book is sent down from God, and creation of heavens and earth is attributed
to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: Judge and rewarder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to accept works, pass by evil works, promise Paradise, and repay
all according to works without unfairness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:15
- id: role:3
label: Open warner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The speaker states that he follows revelation and is charged to warn openly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: Powerless invoked beings
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They are challenged as non-creators and are said not to answer invocations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: Rejecters of revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They call signs sorcery, deny the Book, and label it an old lying legend.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: Righteous recipients of Paradise
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Those who affirm God and take the straight way are promised no fear or grief
and Paradise forever.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: Corroborating witness
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The witness from the children of Israel attests the Book's conformity with
the Law and believes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: Bearer of earlier scripture
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Book of Moses is described as preceding the Koran and serving as rule
and mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: Recipients of commanded kindness and exhorters to belief
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Kindness to parents is commanded; in the negative example they implore God's
help and urge belief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:14
- id: role:10
label: Suffering bearer of the child
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The mother bears and gives birth with pain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:11
label: Grateful submitter
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: At maturity the person prays for gratitude and good works and declares submission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:12
label: Denier of resurrection promise
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The person rejects the parents' promise of being brought alive from the grave
and calls it a fable.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: role:13
label: Precedent judged communities
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Prior nations, djinn, and men are named as groups on whom a sentence was
made good.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: role:14
label: Law-enforcing divine figure in cited tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The cited rabbinic tradition has the Holy One turn the mountain over the
people and demand that they receive the law.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Revealed Book
literal_form: The Book / the Koran sent down from God
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: Heavens and Earth
literal_form: The heavens and the earth and all between them
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: Day of Resurrection and assembly
literal_form: The day of Resurrection and the assembly of mankind
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: Paradise
literal_form: Paradise as the permanent dwelling of the righteous
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: Grave
literal_form: The grave from which a person is promised to be brought forth alive
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: Mountain over the people
literal_form: A mountain turned over the people like a vessel or roof in a cited
tradition
associated_figures:
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:7
label: Works and grades
literal_form: Grades assigned to all according to their works
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Revelation and creation affirmed
summary: The Book is said to be sent down from God, and creation is described as
truthful and time-bound, while unbelievers turn away from warning.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Challenge to beings invoked beside God
summary: The speaker challenges the invoked beings to show their created portion
of earth or share in the heavens, and says they will not answer and will disown
worship at the assembly.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Accusation and defense of revelation
summary: Unbelievers call the signs sorcery and the Book an old lying legend, while
the speaker denies independent invention and says he follows revelation as an
open warner.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:4
label: Continuity with earlier scripture
summary: A witness from the children of Israel is said to attest the Book's conformity
with the Law, and the Book of Moses is described as an earlier rule and mercy
confirmed by the Arabic Book.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Promise to straight-way believers
summary: Those who affirm God and follow the straight way are promised no fear or
grief and permanent residence in Paradise as recompense for deeds.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Filial kindness and mature prayer
summary: The passage commands kindness to parents, recalls maternal pain in bearing
and birth, and presents a mature adult praying for gratitude, good works, and
prospered offspring.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:7
label: Denial of rising from the grave
summary: A contrasting child rejects the parents' promise that he will be brought
alive from the grave; the parents urge belief in God's true promise, but he calls
it an ancient fable.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: scene:8
label: Judgment by works
summary: A sentence is fulfilled on earlier nations, djinn, and men; all receive
grades according to works, and repayment is described as fair.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: scene:9
label: Mountain held over law-receivers in cited tradition
summary: A translator note cites a rabbinic tradition in which the Holy One turns
a mountain over the people like a vessel and conditions their survival on receiving
the law.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment according to works
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage promises Paradise to the righteous and states that all have grades
according to their works and will be repaid without unfairness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:15
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is doctrinal and exhortative rather than narrative myth in
form.
- id: motif:2
label: Resurrection from the grave contested and affirmed
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: A child denies being brought alive from the grave, while the parents urge
belief in the true promise of God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The actual resurrection event is not narrated; it is discussed as a promised
future reality.
- id: motif:3
label: Revealed wisdom confirming earlier scripture
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Book is described as revealed by God and as confirming the Book of Moses,
with a witness from the children of Israel attesting its conformity with the Law.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad; the passage specifically emphasizes
revelation and scriptural confirmation.
- id: motif:4
label: False powers unable to answer worshippers
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Those invoked beside God are challenged as non-creators, fail to answer invocations,
and disown worship at the final assembly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is polemic against false worship rather than a full narrative episode.
- id: motif:5
label: Coerced reception of law beneath an overshadowing mountain
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: A translator note cites a tradition in which the mountain is turned over
the people like a vessel and acceptance of the law is made a condition of survival.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This motif appears in a translator note comparing traditions, not in the
Sura XLVI main text in this passage.
- id: motif:6
label: Filial piety and mature gratitude
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage commands kindness to parents, recalls the mother's pain, and
presents the mature person's prayer for gratitude, good works, and righteous offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference directly matches this ethical motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator note explicitly aligns a Qur'anic mountain-over-the-people
image with rabbinic traditions in Abodah Sar. and Tract Sabbath, where the Holy
One turns the mountain over the people like a vessel and demands reception of
the law.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Rabbinic tradition of the mountain held over Israel at the giving of the
law
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supplied by the translator's note, not argued by
the Qur'anic passage itself; the note also attributes the tradition's origin to
a misunderstanding of Exodus xix. 17.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 17449-17458, note 41
quote_or_summary: 'Translator note: Sinai is compared with traditions saying God
covered the people with the mountain like a roof or turned it over them like a
vessel, saying that receiving the law meant life and refusal meant the grave.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 17486-17489
quote_or_summary: '"The Revelation (sending down) of this Book is from the Mighty,
the Wise!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 17490-17493
quote_or_summary: God says the heavens, earth, and what is between them were created
in truth and for a settled term; unbelievers turn away from warning.
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 17494-17498
quote_or_summary: Those invoked beside God are challenged to show what part of the
earth they created or whether they had a share in the heavens, and to bring an
earlier book or traces of knowledge.
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 17500-17505
quote_or_summary: Those called upon beside God do not answer until the day of Resurrection
and will become enemies and disown worship when mankind is assembled.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 17506-17508
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers say of the truth when it comes to them, "This is plain
sorcery."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 17509-17517
quote_or_summary: The speaker rejects the charge of devising the Koran, invokes
God as witness, and says he follows only what is revealed and is charged to warn
openly.
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 17518-17526
quote_or_summary: A witness from the children of Israel witnesses the Book's conformity
with the Law and believes; unbelievers say that if it were good others would not
have preceded them in belief and call it an old lying legend.
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 17527-17531
quote_or_summary: Before the Koran was the Book of Moses, described as a rule and
mercy; this Arabic Book confirms it as warning and glad tidings.
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 17532-17537
quote_or_summary: Those who say 'Our Lord is God' and take the straight way will
have no fear or grief and will remain in Paradise forever as recompense for their
deeds.
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 17538-17542
quote_or_summary: Man is commanded to show kindness to parents; his mother bears
and brings him forth with pain, and bearing and weaning total thirty months.
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 17542-17548
quote_or_summary: At maturity and forty years the person prays for gratitude for
divine favors to himself and his parents, for pleasing works, and for prosperous
offspring, declaring submission to God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: quote
locator: lines 17554-17557
quote_or_summary: The child says to his parents, "Fie on you both! Promise ye me
that I shall be taken forth from the grave alive, when whole generations have
already passed away before me?"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 17557-17561
quote_or_summary: The parents implore God's help and urge belief because God's promise
is true; the child answers that it is only a fable of the ancients.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 17563-17575
quote_or_summary: The sentence on earlier nations, djinn, and men is fulfilled;
there are grades for all according to their works so that God may repay them,
and they are not dealt with unfairly.
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 relies on the supplied English Rodwell passage and translator
notes. Motif mapping is cautious because several items are theological or ethical
statements rather than extended narrative motifs.
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: |-
No figures, comparisons, or taxonomy references were added beyond what is supported by the supplied passage and available reference lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l17445-l17575
passage_sha256=e24c7f01347b59975639ceaad96a776b6e4eb5919a796bd25f0a6081521bb8f7