batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l18598-l18731
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l18598-l18731
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 18598-18731
start: '18598'
end: '18731'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage contrasts those who endure, believe, remember God, and fear
Him with those who break covenant, reject revelation, or associate others with
God. It presents God as guide, sovereign, revealer, judge, and taker of account;
describes Paradise with perpetual rivers, food, and shade; contrasts it with Fire
for unbelievers; and states that the messenger's task is preaching. It also includes
remarks on the Arabic Koran, earlier apostles, each age having its Book, divine
abrogation or confirmation, and the opening of Sura II describing the Book as
guidance for the God-fearing.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Unidentified speakers greet those who have endured with peace and call their
abode a charming recompense.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Those who break their covenant with God, sever what God commanded to be united,
and commit misdeeds on earth are assigned a curse and an ill abode.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The present life is described as a passing good in relation to the life to
come.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: God is described as misleading whom he wills and guiding to himself the one
who turns to him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Believers' hearts are said to rest securely in the thought of God, and believers
who act rightly are promised blessedness and a goodly home.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The addressed messenger is sent to recite revelations to a people preceded
by other peoples.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A hypothetical Koran is described as capable of moving mountains, cleaving
the earth, or making the dead speak, but all sovereignty is said to be in God's
hands.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: God is described as standing over every soul to mark its actions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Unbelievers are said to face chastisement in the present life and a more grievous
chastisement in the next.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Paradise promised to those who fear God is pictured with rivers flowing beneath
its bowers and with perpetual food and shade.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Fire is named as the reward of unbelievers.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The Koran is described as sent down as a code in the Arabic tongue.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Earlier apostles are said to have had wives and offspring, and no apostle
is said to bring miracles except by God's leave.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Each age is said to have its Book; God abrogates or confirms what he pleases,
and with him is the source of revelation.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: The messenger's work is described as preaching only, while taking account
belongs to God.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:16
text: At the opening of Sura II, the Book is described as guidance for the God-fearing,
who believe in the unseen, observe prayer, expend from what has been bestowed,
believe in revelations sent down before, and have faith in the life to come.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The sole deity invoked as Lord, guide, sovereign, revealer, judge,
witness, and taker of account.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Those who endure
description: Recipients of a peace greeting and recompense of their abode.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Believers and God-fearing
description: Those whose hearts rest in the thought of God, who do right, fear God,
and are promised blessedness, a goodly home, and Paradise.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:11
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Covenant breakers and misdoers
description: Those who break their covenant with God, cut apart what God ordered
joined, and commit misdeeds on earth.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Unbelievers or infidels
description: Those who reject the messenger or revelation, associate others with
God, and are threatened with chastisement and Fire.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Addressed messenger
description: The one sent to recite revelations, commanded to worship God, and told
that his work is preaching only.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Earlier apostles
description: Apostles sent before the addressed messenger, described as mocked and
as having wives and offspring.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Those given the Book
description: A group said to rejoice in what has been sent down, while some banded
groups deny part of it; a note identifies the Jews in this context.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: God-fearing at the opening of Sura II
description: Recipients of guidance from the Book, characterized by belief in the
unseen, prayer, expenditure, belief in revelation, and faith in the life to come.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Sole deity and Lord
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage has the messenger say that God is his Lord and that there is
no God but He.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: Guide, revealer, and source of revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God guides whom he wills, sends down revelation, and holds the source of
revelation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: Sovereign judge and taker of account
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sovereignty, doom, punishment, marking of actions, and taking account are
assigned to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: Righteous recipients of reward
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:9
basis: Those who endure, believe, act rightly, fear God, and follow the Book's guidance
are associated with peace, blessedness, Paradise, and the life to come.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:11
- id: role:5
label: Transgressors subject to curse or chastisement
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Covenant breakers receive a curse and ill abode, and unbelievers receive
chastisement and Fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: Messenger and preacher
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The addressed figure is sent to recite revelations and told that his work
is preaching only.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: Preceding apostles
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage says apostles were sent before and were mocked; it also says
earlier apostles had wives and offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: Recipients or possessors of prior scripture
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: They are called those to whom the Book was given and are connected by a note
with Jews and their scriptures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Covenant with God
literal_form: Contracted covenant with God
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: Abode or home as recompense
literal_form: Abode, ill abode, goodly home, recompense of the abode
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: sym:3
label: Koran as powerful revelation
literal_form: Koran hypothetically moving mountains, cleaving earth, or making the
dead speak
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: Mountain
literal_form: Mountains set in motion by a hypothetical Koran
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: Paradise rivers
literal_form: Rivers flowing beneath the bowers of Paradise
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: Perpetual food and shade
literal_form: Food and shades of Paradise described as perpetual
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: Fire
literal_form: The Fire as reward of unbelievers
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: Book
literal_form: Book, Arabic code, each age its Book, source or prototype of revelation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:13
- id: sym:9
label: Unseen
literal_form: The unseen believed in by the God-fearing
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Peace greeting to those who endured
summary: Those who have endured are greeted with peace and praised for the recompense
of their abode.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Covenant-breaking and curse
summary: The passage states that people who break covenant with God, sever what
God commands to be united, and commit earthly misdeeds will receive a curse and
an ill abode.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Guidance, remembrance, and the passing present life
summary: The present life is contrasted with the life to come, and God is described
as guiding those who turn to him while believers find repose in remembering God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Messenger sent with revelation
summary: The addressed messenger is sent to a people with revelations, declares
God as Lord, and states trust in and return to God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Hypothetical wonder-working Koran
summary: A hypothetical Koran is imagined as moving mountains, cleaving earth, or
making the dead speak, while sovereignty remains with God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Divine surveillance and punishment
summary: God is described as marking every soul's actions, punishing mockers and
unbelievers, and leaving no protector from chastisement.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Paradise and Fire contrasted
summary: Paradise for the God-fearing is pictured with flowing rivers, perpetual
food, and shade, while unbelievers receive Fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Arabic code and source of revelation
summary: The Koran is described as sent down in Arabic, earlier apostles are mentioned,
each age is said to have its Book, and God is said to abrogate or confirm what
he wills.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:9
label: Preaching and divine account
summary: The messenger's task is limited to preaching, while God takes account,
pronounces doom, controls plotting, and serves as witness.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:10
label: Opening guidance of Sura II
summary: The Book is introduced as guidance for the God-fearing, who believe in
the unseen, observe prayer, give from what they have received, accept revelation,
and believe in the life to come.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Covenant broken and punished
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage explicitly names a covenant with God and assigns curse and ill
abode to those who break it and commit misdeeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not narrate the original making of the covenant, only
its violation and consequence.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine judgment by account, reward, and punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: God marks every soul's actions, punishes unbelievers, takes account, and
assigns Paradise to the God-fearing and Fire to unbelievers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is exhortative and doctrinal rather than a single narrative
judgment scene.
- id: motif:3
label: Afterlife contrast of Paradise and Fire
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The life to come is contrasted with present life, Paradise is described for
those who fear God, and Fire is assigned to unbelievers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: Available taxonomy has no simple heaven-hell pair; mapped to divine judgment
rather than afterlife journey.
- id: motif:4
label: Revelatory Book as guidance and divine wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Koran and Book are described as sent down, as Arabic code, as guidance
for the God-fearing, and as connected with God's source of revelation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is a revelation motif rather than a wisdom tale in narrative form.
- id: motif:5
label: Miraculous scripture capable of cosmic signs
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mountain
basis: The passage imagines a Koran by which mountains could be moved, earth cleft,
or the dead made to speak, while attributing sovereignty to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The wording is hypothetical and denies that such signs are independent
of God's sovereignty.
- id: motif:6
label: Predecessor messengers mocked before later vindication
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Earlier apostles are said to have been mocked; God bore with unbelievers
and then seized them in severe punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The specific earlier apostles are not named in this passage.
- id: motif:7
label: Pre-existent or heavenly prototype of scripture
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A footnote glosses the source of revelation as the Mother or Prototype of
the Book, either God's knowledge, prescience, or a preserved tablet on which decrees
are written.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: This detail appears in the translator's note rather than in the main translated
verse, and the note offers multiple interpretations.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator's note compares the passage's contrast between the present
life and the life to come with a saying in Mishnah Aboth that one hour of bliss
in the world to come is better than all life in this world.
claim_level: same_function
target: Mishnah Aboth iv.17 on the world to come
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supplied by the translator's note, not by the Qur'anic
verse itself; it supports functional similarity in valuation of the afterlife
rather than direct dependence.
- id: claim:2
claim: The translator's note cautiously relates the 'Mother' or 'Prototype of the
Book' and preserved tablet idea to a Jewish tradition that the Law existed before
creation.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Jewish tradition of pre-existent Law, cited as Midr. Jalkut 7
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The note presents alternative explanations for the phrase and only
mentions the Jewish tradition as a comparison; no historical contact or borrowing
is established by the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 18598-18600
quote_or_summary: '"Peace be with you!" say they, "because ye have endured all things!"
Charming the recompense of their abode.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 18601-18604
quote_or_summary: Those who break their covenant with God, cut apart what God commanded
to be united, and commit misdeeds on earth are told that a curse and an ill abode
await them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 18605-18613
quote_or_summary: God gives supplies as he wills; present life is a passing good
compared with the life to come; God guides those who turn to him; believers' hearts
repose in the thought of God and are promised blessedness and a goodly home.
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 18614-18619
quote_or_summary: The messenger is sent to a people preceded by others to recite
revelations; he is told to say that God is his Lord, that there is no God but
He, and that he trusts in and returns to Him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 18620-18625
quote_or_summary: '"If there were a Koran by which the mountains could be set in
motion, or the earth cleft, or the dead be made to speak"; the passage adds that
all sovereignty is in God''s hands.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 18626-18636
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers are threatened with continuing misfortune until God's
threat comes to pass; earlier apostles were mocked before God seized unbelievers;
God stands over every soul to mark its actions, while alleged associates are treated
as empty names.
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 18637-18642
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers face chastisement in this life and the next; Paradise
promised to those who fear God has rivers under its bowers and perpetual food
and shade; the reward of unbelievers is Fire.
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 18643-18651
quote_or_summary: Those given the Book rejoice in what was sent down, though some
deny part of it; the messenger is commanded to worship God alone; the Koran is
sent down as a code in Arabic, and no protector against God is available if desires
are followed after knowledge.
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 18652-18658
quote_or_summary: Earlier apostles were given wives and offspring; no apostle brings
miracles except by God's leave; each age has its Book; God abrogates or confirms
what he pleases, and with Him is the source of revelation.
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 18659-18669
quote_or_summary: The messenger's work is preaching only, while God takes account;
God cuts short borders, pronounces irreversible doom, controls plotting, knows
everyone's works, and is witness enough between the messenger and his opponents.
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 18724-18731
quote_or_summary: The opening of Sura II calls the Book guidance for the God-fearing,
who believe in the unseen, observe prayer, spend from what has been bestowed,
believe in what was sent down before, and have faith in the life to come.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: quote
locator: footnote 3, lines 18672-18673
quote_or_summary: '"one hour of bliss in the world to come is better than all life
in this world." The note cites Mischnah Aboth iv.17.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from translator note used for
extraction.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: footnote 7, lines 18685-18689
quote_or_summary: The note glosses 'Mother, or Prototype of the Book' as God's knowledge
or prescience, or a preserved tablet containing the original Koran and God's decrees,
and compares a Jewish tradition that the Law existed before Creation.
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: Main passage themes are explicit. Motif mapping is sometimes approximate
because several items are doctrinal statements rather than narrative episodes.
Comparison claims rely on translator footnotes and should be reviewed separately
from primary text claims.
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: |-
Only supplied passage text and metadata were used. Taxonomy references are limited to provided motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l18598-l18731
passage_sha256=493cc631213004a067eb825906c296f5b7bb6d329a52ea2df7cd0fac009c9aef