batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l21851-l21964
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l21851-l21964
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 21851-21964
start: '21851'
end: '21964'
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: Translator’s notes discuss traditions and interpretive comparisons concerning
the family of Imran, Mary/Miriam, Zacharias, Jesus, John, Satan’s touch on newborns,
angelic care of Mary, a lot-casting sign with reeds in the Jordan, and beliefs
about Jesus being taken to heaven and returning at the end of the world.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The note says Muhammad is alleged to have treated Imran/Amran as father of
the Virgin Mary and to have linked Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, John, and Zacharias
as the family of Imran.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The note reports a possible Muslim explanation that Miriam’s soul and body
were miraculously preserved until the time of Jesus so she could become Mary his
mother.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The note says Talmudists fabled that the Angel of Death and the worm of corruption
had no power over Miriam.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The note says Hannah or Anne, wife of Imran, vowed a child to God’s service
if one were granted.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The note reports a tradition that every newborn child is touched by Satan
except Mary and her Son, between whom and Satan God placed a veil.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The note cites apocryphal infancy traditions in which Mary is visited daily
by angels and sustained by food received from an angel’s hand.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The note says reeds or divining arrows were used to determine who would take
charge of Mary; commentators say reeds inscribed with law passages were cast into
the Jordan, and Zacharias’s reed alone swam.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The note says the title applied to Jesus identifies him as illustrious in
this world as a prophet and in the next as an intercessor.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The note says Muhammad probably believed that God took Jesus’s dead body to
heaven while the Jews crucified a man resembling him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The note says Muslims believe Jesus will return to earth at the end of the
world, slay the Antichrist, die, and be raised again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The note says a vacant place is reserved for Jesus’s body in the Prophet’s
tomb at Medina.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Muhammad
description: Discussed by the translator as the recipient or formulator of beliefs
about Imran, Mary/Miriam, Jesus, and related traditions.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Imran or Amran
description: Named as the figure Muhammad supposedly treated as father of the Virgin
Mary; associated with the family of Imran.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Miriam / Virgin Mary
description: Discussed as a figure whom the translator says may have been identified
or confused across biblical periods; described in traditions as preserved, protected
from Satan, visited by angels, and placed under Zacharias’s charge.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Elizabeth
description: Named as Mary’s sister in the family grouping described by the note.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Jesus / Isa son of Mary
description: Named as Mary’s son, associated with protection from Satan, prophetic
and intercessory status, heavenly taking, future return, death, and resurrection.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: John
description: Named as part of the family of Imran in the note.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Zacharias
description: Named as part of the family of Imran and as the figure whose reed became
the token that Mary’s charge should devolve on him.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Hannah or Anne
description: Identified as the wife of Imran who vowed a child to divine service
if granted offspring.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Satan
description: In the cited tradition, touches every newborn child except Mary and
her Son, from whom he is separated by a veil placed by God.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: God
description: Said to interpose a veil between Satan and Mary and her Son; said to
take Jesus to heaven in the translator’s account of Muhammad’s probable belief.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Angel of Death
description: In the cited Talmudic fable, has no power over Miriam.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Angels
description: In apocryphal traditions cited by the note, visit Mary daily and provide
food.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Antichrist
description: In the reported Muslim belief, Jesus will slay the Antichrist at the
end of the world.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: tradition-receiver or tradition-formulator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The notes attribute beliefs or supposed interpretations about Imran, Mary,
and Jesus to Muhammad.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: role:2
label: family ancestor or father figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Imran or Amran is described as father of the Virgin Mary in the note’s account
of Muhammad’s supposed view.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: miraculously preserved figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The note reports the idea that Miriam’s soul and body were preserved until
the time of Jesus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: protected newborn or sinless child figure
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
basis: The note reports that Satan touches every newborn except Mary and her Son,
with God placing a veil between them and Satan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: angelically nourished temple virgin
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cited apocryphal traditions describe Mary being visited by angels and
sustained by food from an angel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: prophet and intercessor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note glosses Jesus as illustrious in this world as a prophet and in the
next as an intercessor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: heaven-taken figure
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note says God took Jesus’s dead body to heaven in Muhammad’s probable
belief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: eschatological returner
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note reports Muslim belief that Jesus will return at the end of the world,
slay the Antichrist, die, and be raised again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: chosen guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Zacharias’s reed alone swam and was the token that Mary’s charge would devolve
on him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: vowing mother
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Hannah or Anne is described as vowing a child to God’s service if granted
offspring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:11
label: newborn-touching adversary
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Satan is said to touch every newborn child except Mary and her Son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:12
label: divine protector and taker-to-heaven
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: God interposes the veil against Satan and takes Jesus to heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:13
label: death power excluded
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Angel of Death is said to have no power over Miriam.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:14
label: angelic visitors and providers
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Angels are said to visit Mary daily and provide food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:15
label: eschatological opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The Antichrist is named as the being Jesus will slay at the end of the world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: veil between Satan and Mary and her Son
literal_form: veil
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: angelic food
literal_form: food received from an angel’s hand
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: reeds or divining arrows
literal_form: reeds written with passages from the law or divining arrows
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: Jordan water used in lot sign
literal_form: Jordan, into which reeds were cast
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: vacant place in the Prophet’s tomb
literal_form: reserved vacant place for Jesus’s body in the tomb at Medina
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Family of Imran identification
summary: The note describes Muhammad as supposing Imran to be father of the Virgin
Mary and grouping Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, John, and Zacharias as the family of
Imran.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Miraculous preservation of Miriam/Mary
summary: The note reports the idea that Miriam’s soul and body were preserved until
Jesus’s time and cites a fable that death and corruption had no power over her.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:11
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Protection from Satan at birth
summary: A tradition reported in the note says all newborns are touched by Satan
except Mary and her Son, because God placed a veil between them and Satan.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Angelic care of Mary
summary: Apocryphal traditions cited by the note describe Mary being visited daily
by angels and fed with food from an angel’s hand.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Reed sign appointing Mary’s guardian
summary: The note reports that reeds or divining arrows decided Mary’s guardian;
Zacharias’s reed alone swam in the Jordan, signaling that he should take charge
of her.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Jesus taken to heaven and eschatological return
summary: The note says Jesus was believed to have been taken to heaven, and reports
Muslim belief that he will return at the end of the world, slay the Antichrist,
die, and be raised again.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Miraculous preservation from death and corruption
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage reports traditions in which Miriam’s soul and body are preserved
and death and corruption have no power over her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a precise incorruptibility category;
the death_rebirth reference is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: Child protected from demonic touch by divine barrier
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
- sacred_birth
basis: The passage reports that Satan touches every newborn except Mary and her
Son, with God interposing a veil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The note presents this as a tradition connected to the passage, not as
a direct quotation from the Qur'anic verse.
- id: motif:3
label: Angelic visitation and supernatural nourishment
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
- sacred_birth
basis: The cited traditions describe Mary as visited daily by angels and nourished
by food from an angel’s hand.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This material is from cited apocryphal traditions in a translator’s note
rather than the main translated text.
- id: motif:4
label: Lot or ordeal sign appointing a sacred guardian
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The reed or divining-arrow episode determines that Mary’s care should devolve
on Zacharias.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the passage describes a selection
sign rather than an explicit exchange.
- id: motif:5
label: Heavenly taking and eschatological return of Jesus
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
- resurrection
- return
basis: The note describes Jesus being taken to heaven and later returning at the
end of the world, dying, and being raised again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The note frames part of this as Muhammad’s probable belief and part as
later Muslim belief.
- id: motif:6
label: End-time combat with the Antichrist
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The note reports that Jesus will return at the end of the world and slay
the Antichrist.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy lacks a specific eschatological combat category;
divine_judgment is approximate.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares traditions about Miriam/Mary’s preservation
from death and corruption with Talmudic material.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Talmudic fable that the Angel of Death and worm of corruption had no power
over Miriam
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note states a comparison but does not provide the full Talmudic
passage.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage links Mary’s dedication to divine service with apocryphal Christian
infancy traditions about Joachim and Anna or Mary’s parents.
claim_level: same_function
target: Protevangelium of James and Gospel of the Nativity of Mary traditions of
Mary’s dedication
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note suggests common tradition or influence but does not prove
direct textual dependence.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage compares Mary’s angelic visitation and nourishment with apocryphal
Gospel traditions.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Gospel of the Nativity of Mary and Protevangelium of James accounts of angelic
care and food
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is confined to the translator’s cited parallels and
does not establish historical contact.
- id: claim:4
claim: The passage compares the reed or divining-arrow selection of Mary’s guardian
with apocryphal accounts using rods or lots.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Protevangelium of James and History of the Nativity of Mary selection traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note presents variant forms of the selection device, and the exact
relationship between them is not established.
- id: claim:5
claim: The passage cautiously relates Qur'anic-era beliefs about Jesus’s heavenly
taking and end-time role to broader Muslim eschatological tradition.
claim_level: same_function
target: Muslim belief in Jesus’s return, slaying of the Antichrist, death, and resurrection
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage distinguishes Muhammad’s probable belief from later Muslim
belief; chronology and source development require review.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 21851-21964, note 1
quote_or_summary: The note says Muhammad supposed Imran/Amran to be father of the
Virgin Mary and grouped Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, John, and Zacharias as the family
of Imran; it also raises the issue of Miriam and the Virgin Mary being identified
or confused.
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 21851-21964, note 1
quote_or_summary: The note says some Muslim writers assert that Miriam’s soul and
body were miraculously preserved until the time of Jesus to become Mary his mother.
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 21851-21964, note 1
quote_or_summary: The note says Talmudists fabled that the Angel of Death and the
worm of corruption had no power over Miriam, citing Babha Bathra and Josephus.
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 21851-21964, note 9
quote_or_summary: The note identifies the wife of Imran as Hannah or Anne and compares
a vow to dedicate offspring to God’s service with apocryphal Gospel material.
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 21851-21964, note 12
quote_or_summary: According to a tradition cited in the note, every newborn is touched
by Satan except Mary and her Son, between whom and Satan God placed a veil.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 21851-21964, note 13
quote_or_summary: The note cites apocryphal traditions saying Mary was visited daily
by angels and received food from an angel’s hand.
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 21851-21964, note 18
quote_or_summary: The note reports that reeds written with passages from the law
were cast into the Jordan; Zacharias’s reed alone swam and became the token that
Mary’s charge would devolve on him, with divining arrows and apocryphal rod parallels
also mentioned.
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 21851-21964, note 19
quote_or_summary: The note glosses Jesus son of Mary as illustrious in this world
as a prophet and in the next as an intercessor.
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 21851-21964, note 22
quote_or_summary: The note says Muhammad probably believed that God took Jesus’s
dead body to heaven while the Jews crucified a man who resembled him, and discusses
Qur'anic wording about God causing to die or taking to himself.
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 21851-21964, note 22
quote_or_summary: The note says Muslims believe Jesus will return to earth at the
end of the world, slay the Antichrist, die, and be raised again; it also says
a place is reserved for his body in the Prophet’s tomb at Medina.
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 21851-21964, note 17
quote_or_summary: The note cites a Nativity of Mary tradition in which Joachim and
Anna bring Mary to the temple and place her among virgins who remain in God’s
praise day and night.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a translator’s note apparatus rather than a continuous primary
narrative. Motif extraction is strongest where the notes explicitly summarize
traditions; taxonomy matches are sometimes approximate.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. No unsupported taxonomy IDs were added; available taxonomy references were used only where reasonably supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l21851-l21964
passage_sha256=68b848588c535c2a1c7ddbf2555e0065e9485485eabfadf3ba7027434172ffbc