batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l17577-l17717
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l17577-l17717
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 17577-17717
start: '17577'
end: '17717'
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 describes unbelievers brought before the fire, the warning
of the people of Ad by their brother, their rejection and destruction by a cloud-borne
blast, the failure of false gods to help, a company of djinn hearing the Koran
and returning as warners, affirmations of divine power to resurrect the dead,
exhortation to patience, and the opening of Sura VI praising God as creator while
recounting rejected signs, destroyed generations, and demands for visible revelation
or an angel.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Unbelievers are described as being set before the fire and addressed about
their earthly pleasures, pride, injustice, and excess.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The brother of Ad warns his people to worship only God and says he fears for
them the punishment of a great day.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The people answer by challenging the threatened woes and accusing the warner
of trying to turn them away from their gods.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A cloud seen approaching the valleys is first taken by the people as rain,
but is identified as a blast carrying afflictive punishment.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: After the destructive blast, only empty dwellings are said to be visible in
the morning.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The people are said to have been given power, ears, eyes, and hearts, yet
these did not help them when they rejected God's signs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Former cities around the audience are said to have been destroyed after varied
signs were shown to them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Deities taken beside God are said not to have helped their worshippers and
to have withdrawn from them.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: A company of djinn is turned aside to hear the Koran, tells one another to
be silent, and then returns to its people with warnings.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The djinn describe the heard book as sent down after Moses, confirming previous
scriptures and guiding to truth and the right way.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: God's creation of the heavens and earth is used as a basis for his power to
quicken the dead.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: The opening of Sura VI praises God as creator of the heavens and earth, ordainer
of darkness and light, and creator of humans from clay.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Earlier generations are said to have received settlement, rains, and rivers,
but to have been destroyed for sins and replaced by other generations.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Even a book on parchment touched by the unbelievers' hands is said to be dismissed
by them as sorcery.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: The passage says that if an angel had been appointed, it would have been appointed
in the form of a man and clothed like humans.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Creator, sender of signs and revelation, judge, destroyer of wicked
peoples, and one with power to quicken the dead.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: unbelievers / infidels
description: Those who reject belief, are set before the fire, mock or deny signs,
and demand further visible proof.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: brother of Ad
description: A warner to the people of Ad in Al Ahkaf; translator note identifies
him as the Prophet Houd.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: people of Ad
description: The warned people who challenge the threatened punishment, mistake
the coming cloud for rain, and are left with empty dwellings.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: false gods / kindred deities
description: Deities taken beside God who are said not to help their worshippers
and to withdraw from them.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: company of the djinn
description: Nonhuman listeners who hear the Koran, call for silence, and return
to their people with warnings.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: people of the djinn
description: The audience to whom the djinn return with warnings and exhortations
to obey God's Summoner.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Summoner of God / God's preacher
description: A figure whom the djinn urge their people to obey and believe in.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Apostles endued with firmness
description: Earlier apostles presented as models of patience; apostles before the
addressee are also said to have been mocked.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: earlier generations
description: Former peoples settled on earth, given rains and rivers, destroyed
in their sins, and succeeded by other generations.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: angel
description: A demanded heavenly envoy; the passage says that if appointed, the
angel would appear in human form and garments.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine creator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is described as creating the heavens, earth, darkness, light, and humans
from clay.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: divine judge and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is associated with punishment before the fire, destruction of peoples,
and power over final judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: giver of revelation and signs
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage refers to God's signs, the Koran, previous scriptures, and a
book sent down.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: rejecters of warning or signs
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:4
basis: Unbelievers and the people of Ad reject signs, warnings, or the threatened
punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:5
label: recipients of fiery punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Unbelievers are set before the fire and told to taste punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: warner or messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: The brother of Ad warns his people; the djinn return with warnings; the Summoner
of God is to be obeyed; apostles are models of prophetic endurance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: destroyed people
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:10
basis: The people of Ad and earlier generations are described as destroyed after
rejecting signs or sinning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: failed protector
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The deities taken beside God do not help and withdraw from their worshippers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: receptive nonhuman listener
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The djinn listen quietly to the Koran and respond by warning their own people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: warned audience
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The djinn address their people and urge obedience to God's Summoner.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: patient exemplar
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The addressee is told to be patient as the apostles endowed with firmness
were patient.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: requested visible envoy
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The unbelievers ask that an angel be sent down, and the passage explains
how such an angel would appear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire of punishment
literal_form: fire
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: cloud mistaken for rain
literal_form: cloud approaching the valleys
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: afflictive blast
literal_form: blast carrying punishment
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: empty dwellings
literal_form: empty dwellings left after destruction
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: ears, eyes, and hearts
literal_form: human faculties given to a people but unable to aid them after rejecting
signs
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: Koran as heard book
literal_form: book listened to by the djinn, sent down after Moses and affirming
previous scriptures
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: heavens and earth
literal_form: created heavens and earth
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: clay origin
literal_form: humans created of clay
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: darkness and light
literal_form: darkness and light ordained by God
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:10
label: rains and rivers
literal_form: copious rains and rivers flowing beneath earlier generations
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:11
label: parchment book
literal_form: book written on parchment and touched by hands
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:12
label: angel in human form
literal_form: angel appointed in the form and garments of a man
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Unbelievers before the fire
summary: Unbelievers are placed before the fire and told that their earthly pleasure,
pride, injustice, and excess are answered with shameful punishment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Warning of the people of Ad
summary: The brother of Ad warns his people to worship only God; they challenge
him to bring the threatened woes, and he answers that the knowledge is with God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: scene:3
label: Destructive cloud and empty dwellings
summary: The people see an approaching cloud and call it rain, but it is a destructive
blast; in the morning only empty dwellings remain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Signs rejected and protectors failing
summary: A destroyed people had faculties and power, but these did not help after
rejecting God's signs; former cities were destroyed, and false deities gave no
aid.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Djinn hear the Koran
summary: A company of djinn listens to the Koran, recognizes it as confirming previous
scripture, and returns to warn its people to obey God's Summoner.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Creation, resurrection, and patience
summary: The passage asks whether the creator of heavens and earth can quicken the
dead, again depicts unbelievers before the fire, and exhorts patience like that
of firm apostles.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Opening praise of Sura VI
summary: God is praised as creator of heavens, earth, darkness, light, and humans
from clay, while unbelievers are said to assign peers and turn from signs.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Destroyed and succeeded generations
summary: Earlier generations receive settlement, rain, and rivers, yet are destroyed
for their sins and replaced by other generations.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:9
label: Rejected tangible proofs and angelic demand
summary: A hypothetical parchment revelation would still be called sorcery; a demanded
angel would, if appointed, appear in human form, and earlier apostles were mocked.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:9
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Final judgment before fire
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Unbelievers are repeatedly set before the fire and addressed with punishment
for unbelief, pride, injustice, and excess.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage uses judgment imagery but does not provide a detailed afterlife
itinerary.
- id: motif:2
label: Rejected warner before communal destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The brother of Ad warns his people; they reject and challenge him; a destructive
punishment follows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The extracted pattern is limited to this passage's summary of the Ad episode.
- id: motif:3
label: Beneficent-looking cloud as vehicle of destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The people interpret the approaching cloud as rain, but it is declared to
be the punishment they challenged.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference exactly names the cloud/blast reversal.
- id: motif:4
label: Faculties fail when divine signs are denied
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Ears, eyes, and hearts are said not to aid those who rejected God's signs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The wisdom taxonomy reference is broad; the passage frames the motif as
failure to heed signs rather than wisdom teaching alone.
- id: motif:5
label: False protectors fail at judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Deities taken beside God do not help their worshippers and withdraw from
them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a polemical theological claim, not a narrative scene
of the deities acting independently.
- id: motif:6
label: Nonhuman beings hear revelation and become warners
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The djinn listen to the Koran, recognize its guidance, and return to warn
their people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no specific djinn or nonhuman-auditor category.
- id: motif:7
label: Creator's power grounds resurrection
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: God's creation of the heavens and earth without weariness is cited as evidence
of power to quicken the dead, and Sura VI also mentions a term for resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage asserts resurrection doctrine without narrating an individual
resurrection event.
- id: motif:8
label: Destroyed generations replaced by successors
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Earlier generations are destroyed in their sins after receiving worldly abundance,
and other generations are raised up after them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: This is succession after punishment, not necessarily a death-and-rebirth
motif for the same figures.
- id: motif:9
label: Demand for tangible or angelic proof rejected
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage says a parchment book would be called sorcery and that a demanded
angel would appear in human form if appointed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference exactly matches proof-demand or angelic-human
manifestation.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Within the passage, the Koran is presented by the djinn as continuous with
earlier scripture associated with Moses, affirming previous scriptures and guiding
to truth.
claim_level: same_function
target: Mosaic and previous scripture traditions as named in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an internal theological continuity claim in the passage, not
an external historical-contact claim.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 17577-17582
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers are set before the fire and told that earthly pleasure,
pride, injustice, and excess are answered with shameful punishment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 17583-17594
quote_or_summary: The brother of Ad warns his people in Al Ahkaf to worship only
God; they challenge him to bring the threatened woes; he says the knowledge is
with God alone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 17595-17602
quote_or_summary: A cloud approaching the valleys is mistaken for rain but is identified
as an afflictive blast that destroys at its Lord's bidding, leaving empty dwellings
by morning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 17603-17614
quote_or_summary: A destroyed people had power, ears, eyes, and hearts, but these
did not help after they rejected signs; nearby cities were destroyed, and false
gods failed to help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 17615-17629
quote_or_summary: A company of djinn hears the Koran, asks for silence, returns
to its people with warnings, and describes the book as sent down after Moses and
confirming previous scriptures.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 17630-17638
quote_or_summary: God's creation of the heavens and earth is cited as proof of power
to quicken the dead; unbelievers are set before the fire; the addressee is told
to be patient like firm apostles.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 17641-17664
quote_or_summary: Translator notes identify the brother of Ad as the Prophet Houd,
explain Al Ahkaf as Sandhills, and discuss the phrase about deities beside God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized translator notes.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 17666-17685
quote_or_summary: Sura VI opens by praising God as creator of heavens, earth, darkness,
light, and humans from clay; infidels assign peers, doubt resurrection, and turn
away from signs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 17686-17692
quote_or_summary: Earlier generations were settled on earth, given copious rains
and rivers, destroyed for sins, and succeeded by other generations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 17693-17717
quote_or_summary: A parchment book touched by unbelievers would still be called
sorcery; they demand an angel; an angel would appear in human form; earlier apostles
were mocked, and mockers were encompassed by what they mocked.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is clear, but it spans a sura boundary and includes translator
notes. Motif taxonomy mapping is sometimes broad because the supplied taxonomy
lacks exact categories for djinn, rejected signs, and proof-demand episodes.
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 interpretations are based only on the supplied passage text and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l17577-l17717
passage_sha256=aedbbab6988ef07d369f5a8e00d2e1e834190510b12f14b06a0ecc031a6c4a89