batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l22593-l22708
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l22593-l22708
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 22593-22708
start: '22593'
end: '22708'
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 contrasts punishment for disbelievers with reward for believers,
commands just judgment and obedience to God, the apostle, and legitimate authority,
criticizes hypocrites and those seeking judgment from Thagout, urges submission
to the apostle's judgment, promises companionship with righteous exemplars, instructs
believers about war and fighting on God's path, describes the plea of the oppressed,
contrasts the paths of God and Thagout, and teaches that death, fortune, accountability,
and proper reporting of tidings are under God's knowledge and authority.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Disbelievers in God's signs are said to be cast into fire, with their burnt
skins changed for fresh skins so that they taste torment.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Believers who do right are promised gardens with rivers, eternal abiding,
pure wives, and shade.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The audience is instructed to return trusts to their owners and judge between
people with fairness.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Believers are told to obey God, the apostle, and those invested with authority,
and to refer disputes to God and the apostle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Some who profess belief are described as wanting judgment before Thagout,
while Satan desires to make them wander from truth.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Hypocrites are described as averting themselves from the apostle and later
swearing that they intended only good and concord after misfortune comes.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Those who have sinned are told to come to the apostle and ask God's pardon,
with the apostle also asking pardon for them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Belief is linked to making the apostle judge in disputes and submitting to
his decisions without inner resistance.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: 'A hypothetical severe command is mentioned: to kill themselves or abandon
their dwellings; the passage says few would have done it.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Obedience to God and the apostle is said to place people with prophets, the
sincere, martyrs, and the just.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Believers are instructed to take precautions and advance either in detachments
or as a body.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: A laggard is described as rejoicing at avoiding battle after a reverse and
wishing for participation after success and prize.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Those who fight on God's path are described as bartering the present life
for the life to come and are promised reward whether slain or victorious.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: The passage calls for fighting on behalf of weak men, women, and children
who ask to be brought out from an oppressive city and given a champion and defender.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: Believers are said to fight on God's path, while unbelievers fight on the
path of Thagout and are associated with the friends of Satan.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:16
text: Some commanded to war are described as fearing men as much as, or more than,
God and asking why war was commanded.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:17
text: The passage states that death will overtake people wherever they are, even
in lofty towers.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:18
text: A party says outwardly, "Obedience," but later broods by night over other
words; God is said to write down what they brood over.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:19
text: The audience is asked to consider the Koran, with the claim that if it came
from other than God it would contain many contradictions.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:20
text: Tidings of security or alarm should be reported to the apostle and those in
authority rather than spread abroad.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine speaker and authority who punishes, rewards, commands justice,
knows hearts, grants mercy, and suffices as witness and protector.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Disbelievers
description: Those who disbelieve God's signs and are said to be cast into fire.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Believers who do right
description: Those who believe and do right, promised gardens, rivers, pure wives,
shade, and reward.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: The apostle
description: The messenger to be obeyed, consulted in disputes, and accepted as
judge; he may ask pardon for sinners.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Those invested with authority
description: Authorities among the believers who are to be obeyed and consulted
about tidings.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Those who profess belief but seek judgment before Thagout
description: A group described as professing belief while desiring judgment before
Thagout.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hypocrites
description: People who avert themselves from the apostle and later claim to have
sought only good and concord.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Thagout
description: A rival object of judgment and an opposing path associated with unbelievers.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Satan
description: A figure who wishes to make people wander from truth and whose friends
are to be opposed.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Prophets, the Sincere, Martyrs, and the Just
description: A goodly band with whom those obeying God and the apostle are promised
companionship.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Laggard
description: A person among the believers who avoids battle and comments differently
after reverses and successes.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Weak men, women, and children
description: Oppressed people who ask to be brought out from a city of oppressors
and to receive a champion and defender.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Friends of Satan
description: Opponents connected with Satan against whom believers are told to fight.
role_refs:
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: A party who brood by night
description: People who say "Obedience" publicly but privately brood over other
words.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is described as casting disbelievers into fire and promising reward to
believers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: divine lawgiver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God enjoins return of trusts, fair judgment, obedience, and other communal
duties.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: omniscient witness and protector
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God knows hearts, hears, beholds, writes down secret brooding, and suffices
as witness and protector.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:4
label: punished unbelievers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They disbelieve signs and are cast into fire for torment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: rewarded obedient believers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They believe, do right, obey, and fight on God's path for future reward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: apostolic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The apostle is to be obeyed and consulted, and obedience to him is equated
with obedience to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: judge and intercessory petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: People must set him as judge in disputes, and he asks pardon for those who
come seeking God's pardon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: communal authority
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Those invested with authority are to be obeyed and consulted about public
tidings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: role:9
label: hypocritical or divided adherents
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:14
basis: These groups profess belief or obedience while turning aside, seeking other
judgment, or privately brooding over different words.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: rival judgment authority
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Thagout is named as the one before whom some desire judgment and whose path
unbelievers fight upon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: misleader and adversary
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Satan wants to make people wander from truth, and his friends are opposed
by believers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: exemplary righteous company
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The obedient are promised to be with prophets, sincere, martyrs, and just
people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:13
label: battle-avoiding opportunist
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The laggard is pleased at avoiding a fight after reversal and regrets missing
spoils after success.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: oppressed petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: They ask God to bring them out from an oppressive city and provide a champion
and defender.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:15
label: adversarial faction
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: They are called friends of Satan and are to be fought.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire of punishment
literal_form: fire
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: renewed skins in torment
literal_form: burnt skins changed for fresh skins
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: gardens with rivers
literal_form: gardens beneath which rivers flow
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: aye-shadowing shades
literal_form: shades
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: straight path
literal_form: straight path
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: path of God
literal_form: path of God
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: path of Thagout
literal_form: path of Thagout
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: oppressive city
literal_form: city whose inhabitants are oppressors
associated_figures:
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: skin of a date stone
literal_form: skin of a date stone
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:10
label: lofty towers
literal_form: lofty towers
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Afterlife punishment and reward
summary: The passage first depicts disbelievers receiving fire and renewed skins
for torment, then believers receiving gardens, rivers, pure wives, and shade.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Justice, obedience, and dispute settlement
summary: The audience is commanded to return trusts, judge fairly, obey God, the
apostle, and authority, and refer disputes to God and the apostle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Hypocritical appeal to rival judgment
summary: Some profess belief but seek judgment before Thagout; Satan seeks to mislead
them, and hypocrites turn away from the apostle before later claiming good intentions
after misfortune.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Submission to apostolic judgment and divine pardon
summary: Sinners are told to seek God's pardon with the apostle also asking pardon,
and true belief is linked to accepting the apostle as judge without resistance.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Obedient company and straight path
summary: Those who obey God and the apostle are promised divine recompense, guidance
on the straight path, and companionship with prophets, sincere ones, martyrs,
and just people.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Preparedness, laggard speech, and reward for fighting
summary: Believers are instructed to take precautions and advance; a laggard's reactions
to battle outcomes are described, and those fighting on God's path are promised
reward whether slain or victorious.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:11
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Rescue of the oppressed and opposed paths
summary: The passage urges fighting for weak people in an oppressive city who ask
for a champion and defender, and it contrasts believers fighting on God's path
with unbelievers fighting on Thagout's path.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:12
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:13
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Fear of war and certainty of death
summary: Some fear men when war is commanded and ask for delay, while the passage
says the next life is better and death will overtake people even in lofty towers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:9
label: Secret speech, scripture, and public tidings
summary: Some say obedience but brood otherwise by night; God records this, the
Koran is presented as free from contradictions from any source other than God,
and tidings should be referred to the apostle and authorities.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:14
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment with punishment and reward
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage sets disbelievers' fiery torment against believers' eternal gardens
and also repeatedly frames reward, punishment, and accountability as God's actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction identifies a broad motif family; the passage itself presents
doctrinal exhortation rather than a narrative episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Sacred exchange of present life for the life to come
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Fighters on God's path are described as bartering the present life for what
is to come, with reward whether slain or victorious.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses explicit exchange language, but in an ethical-legal exhortation
rather than a developed mythic exchange story.
- id: motif:3
label: Wisdom and divine knowledge as guidance
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: God is called Wise, all-seeing and all-hearing; the passage commands fair
judgment, referral of disputes, consideration of the Koran, and proper handling
of tidings under divine knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is thematic and instructional; no separate wisdom figure or
wisdom quest appears.
- id: motif:4
label: Opposed sacred paths
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage explicitly contrasts fighting on the path of God with fighting
on the path of Thagout and identifies Satan's faction as adversarial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The duality is moral and communal; the passage does not develop a full
cosmic dualist system.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 22593-22595
quote_or_summary: Disbelievers in God's signs are cast into fire; when their skins
are burnt, fresh skins replace them so they taste torment; God is called Mighty
and Wise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 22596-22599
quote_or_summary: Believers who do right are brought into gardens with flowing rivers,
eternal abiding, pure wives, and enduring shade.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 22600-22608
quote_or_summary: God commands returning trusts to their owners, judging fairly,
obeying God, the apostle, and those in authority, and referring disputes to God
and the apostle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 22609-22620
quote_or_summary: Some profess belief but want judgment before Thagout; Satan wants
to lead them astray; hypocrites avert themselves from the apostle and later swear
they intended good and concord after misfortune.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 22621-22632
quote_or_summary: The apostle is sent to be obeyed; sinners may seek God's pardon
with the apostle asking pardon; belief requires accepting the apostle as judge;
a severe hypothetical command to kill themselves or leave dwellings is mentioned.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 22633-22641
quote_or_summary: If obedient, they would receive great recompense and guidance
on the straight path; those obeying God and the apostle are with prophets, sincere,
martyrs, and just people; God's bounty and knowledge suffice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 22642-22651
quote_or_summary: Believers are told to use precautions and advance in detachments
or together; a laggard speaks differently after reverses and successes; those
who fight on God's path barter present life for the next and receive reward whether
slain or victorious.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 22652-22660
quote_or_summary: The passage urges fighting for weak men, women, and children asking
rescue from an oppressive city and a champion; believers fight on God's path,
unbelievers on Thagout's path, and Satan's craft is powerless.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 22661-22668
quote_or_summary: Some who had been told to withhold from war fear men when war
is commanded and ask for respite; the next life is said to be better, and no one
will be wronged even as much as the skin of a date stone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 22669-22675
quote_or_summary: Death will overtake people wherever they are, even in lofty towers;
good and evil fortune are discussed as from God or from oneself; the apostle is
sent to mankind, with God as witness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 22676-22708
quote_or_summary: Obeying the apostle is obeying God; some claim obedience but brood
otherwise by night and God records it; the Koran is to be considered; tidings
should be referred to the apostle and authorities; God's mercy prevents most from
following Satan.
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: uncertain
notes: The passage is doctrinal and exhortatory with clear recurring motifs of judgment,
reward, obedience, opposed paths, and sacred exchange. No external comparison
claims were made because the supplied passage alone does not support specific
cross-textual or historical comparison.
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. Taxonomy references are limited to the provided motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l22593-l22708
passage_sha256=4f49c78344728b61361405d8e4d76ffbc230cfa04d8284d3b6055ee90e05c700