batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23197-l23320
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23197-l23320
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 23197-23320
start: '23197'
end: '23320'
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 contains Rodwell's notes on a crucifixion-substitution interpretation,
then Sura LXV on divorce procedure, waiting periods, provision for divorced and
pregnant women, warnings of punishment for communities that disobey divine commands,
promise of guidance from darkness to light and gardens with rivers for believers,
and a cosmological statement that God created seven heavens and like earths. It
then begins Sura LIX, praising God, recounting the expulsion of unbelievers among
the People of the Book, their demolished houses, threat of fire in the world to
come, and permission concerning palm trees and spoils.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A note says that one was made to appear like Jesus, and compares variant identifications
including Simon of Cyrene, Judas, and a Manichaean passage about the prince of
darkness being crucified and crowned with thorns.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The divorce instructions address the prophet and believers, requiring divorce
at appointed times and exact reckoning of those periods.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Divorced women are not to be expelled from their houses or allowed to depart
except in a case of proven adultery.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: At the end of the set period, the parties are instructed either to remain
together with kindness or to separate with kindness, with upright witnesses.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that God provides a prosperous outcome and sufficiency
for those who fear or trust Him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Waiting periods are specified for wives past menstruation, those who have
not menstruated, and pregnant women until delivery.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Divorced women are to be lodged according to the husband's means, not distressed,
and pregnant women are to be maintained until delivery.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: If divorced women suckle children, they are to be paid, and if obstacles arise
another woman may suckle the child.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The passage says God imposes burdens only according to the means He has given
and will cause ease to follow difficulties.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Cities that turned aside from the command of their Lord and apostles underwent
severe reckoning, stern chastisement, and ruin.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: A prophet is described as reciting clear signs of God to bring believers and
righteous actors out of darkness into light.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: Believers who do right are promised entry into gardens beneath which rivers
flow, remaining there forever.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: God is said to have created seven heavens and as many earths, with the divine
command descending through them all.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:14
text: All that is in the heavens and on the earth is said to praise God.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:15
text: God caused unbelievers among the People of the Book to leave their homes;
fear was cast into their hearts and their houses were demolished by their own
hands and by victorious believers.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:16
text: The passage says that if God had not decreed exile, worldly chastisement would
have occurred, while fire awaits in the world to come.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:17
text: Cutting down some palm trees and sparing others is described as occurring
by God's permission.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Jesus
description: Named in a note as the one whom another was made to appear like.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Simon of Cyrene
description: Named in the note as the Basilidan identification of the individual
made to appear like Jesus.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Judas
description: Named in the note as the Gospel of Barnabas identification of the individual
made to appear like Jesus.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Prince of darkness
description: Named in the note as crucified and bearing a crown of thorns in a Manichaean
citation.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: God
description: The speaker's divine authority who commands, provides, judges, creates,
and grants permission.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:11
- ev:13
- ev:15
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Prophet
description: Addressed in the divorce instructions and later described as reciting
clear signs of God.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Divorced women / wives
description: Women subject to divorce regulations, waiting periods, lodging, maintenance,
and suckling provisions.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Believers
description: Those instructed to observe divine command and promised guidance and
gardens if they believe and do right.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Cities that turned aside
description: Communities said to have rejected the command of their Lord and apostles
and to have ended in ruin.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Unbelievers among the People of the Book
description: A group caused to leave their homes and associated with demolished
houses, exile, and future fire.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Victorious believers
description: Those by whose hands, along with the exiles' own hands, houses were
demolished.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Apostles
description: God's messengers whose commands or opposition are mentioned in connection
with chastisement and divine empowerment.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:16
roles:
- id: role:1
label: figure imitated in appearance
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note says someone was made to appear like Jesus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: variant substitute identification
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The note reports different traditions identifying the individual as Simon
of Cyrene or Judas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: crucified adversarial figure in cited tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Manichaean citation says the prince of darkness was affixed to a cross
and wore a thorny crown.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: divine lawgiver
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Divorce rules and social provisions are repeatedly called God's precept or
command.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: divine judge and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: God is described as reckoning with disobedient cities and preparing chastisement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:14
- id: role:6
label: cosmic creator
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: God is said to have created seven heavens and as many earths.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: messenger or reciter of divine signs
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:12
basis: The prophet recites clear signs, and apostles are associated with divine
command and empowerment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:16
- id: role:8
label: protected divorce party
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage gives rules about housing, waiting periods, maintenance, and
suckling compensation for divorced women.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: obedient recipients of guidance and reward
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Believers who do right are brought from darkness to light and enter gardens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: disobedient community judged
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Cities that turned aside from divine command are reckoned with and ruined.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: exiled opponents
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Unbelievers among the People of the Book are caused to quit their homes and
face exile and future fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: role:12
label: agents in demolition after victory
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The passage says houses were demolished by the exiles' own hands and by the
hands of victorious believers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire of chastisement
literal_form: fire
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:2
label: gardens with rivers
literal_form: gardens beneath which rivers flow
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:3
label: darkness and light
literal_form: darkness into light
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: seven heavens and like earths
literal_form: seven heavens and as many earths
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:5
label: palm trees
literal_form: palm trees cut down or spared
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: sym:6
label: houses and fortresses
literal_form: homes, fortresses, and demolished houses
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:7
label: crown of thorns
literal_form: crown of thorns in the cited Manichaean note
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Footnoted crucifixion-substitution variants
summary: A translator's note reports a claim that someone was made to appear like
Jesus and lists different identifications of the substitute in Basilidan, Gospel
of Barnabas, and Manichaean materials.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Divorce timing and restraint
summary: The prophet and believers are instructed to divorce women at appointed
times, reckon the periods, and not expel them from their houses except in the
specified case.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Kind separation or reconciliation
summary: At the end of the waiting period, the parties are told either to remain
together with kindness or to part with kindness, with witnesses and trust in God.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Waiting periods and maintenance
summary: The passage specifies waiting periods for different circumstances and requires
lodging, financial support, and payment for suckling according to means.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Judgment on disobedient cities
summary: Cities that turned aside from divine command are severely reckoned with,
chastised, and ruined.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Warning, guidance, and promised gardens
summary: A prophet recites clear divine signs so that believers who do right may
be brought from darkness to light and enter gardens with rivers forever.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:7
label: Seven heavens and earths
summary: God is described as creating seven heavens and like earths, with divine
command descending through them all.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: scene:8
label: Expulsion of unbelievers among the People of the Book
summary: God causes the group to leave their homes; their expected fortresses do
not protect them, fear is cast into their hearts, and their houses are demolished.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: scene:9
label: Exile, future fire, palms, and spoils
summary: The passage states that exile was decreed, fire awaits in the world to
come, some palm trees were cut or spared by permission, and spoils were assigned
to the apostle by God.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- ev:15
- ev:16
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine command regulating social transition
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Divorce, waiting periods, lodging, and maintenance are framed as God's precept
or command, with fear of God attached to proper conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is primarily legal instruction; motif status depends on comparative
use of divine lawgiving patterns.
- id: motif:2
label: divine judgment on disobedient communities
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Communities that turned aside from divine command are severely reckoned with,
chastised, and ruined; another group faces exile and fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents judgment theologically rather than as an extended
narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: guidance from darkness to light
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The prophet recites clear signs to bring believers who do right out of darkness
into light.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy lacks a direct light/darkness guidance category;
wisdom is only approximate.
- id: motif:4
label: afterlife reward in watered gardens
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Believers who do right are promised gardens beneath which rivers flow, remaining
there forever.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives an afterlife destination but not a journey map in detail.
- id: motif:5
label: layered cosmos of seven heavens and earths
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: God creates seven heavens and as many earths, and divine command descends
through them all.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly matches layered cosmology.
- id: motif:6
label: crucifixion substitute variants
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The note reports traditions in which another individual or figure is associated
with being made to appear like Jesus or crucified in a comparable role.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This material is in a translator's note, not in the Sura text within this
passage.
- id: motif:7
label: divinely caused exile and collapse of protective dwellings
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The group trusts in fortresses, but God comes unexpectedly, casts fear into
hearts, and their homes are demolished as exile is decreed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: This is a specific historical-theological episode rather than a fully
generalized mythic pattern.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Rodwell's note compares the divorce Sura with Sura ii.228 and says the present
Sura may supplement that earlier passage.
claim_level: same_function
target: Sura ii.228 divorce regulations
evidence_refs:
- ev:17
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supplied by the translator's footnote and is limited
to legal supplementation, not a narrative motif.
- id: claim:2
claim: The translator's note presents variant traditions that identify the figure
made to appear like Jesus as Simon of Cyrene, Judas, or, in a Manichaean citation,
the prince of darkness.
claim_level: same_motif
target: crucifixion-substitution traditions in Basilidan, Gospel of Barnabas, and
Manichaean materials
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage reports these as comparative notes; it does not provide
the full source contexts or adjudicate their relationships.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 23197-23202
quote_or_summary: 'Translator''s note: one was made to appear like Jesus; Basilidans
identify the individual as Simon of Cyrene, Gospel of Barnabas as Judas, and a
Manichaean citation says the prince of darkness was crucified and crowned with
thorns.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.1 / lines 23212-23218
quote_or_summary: Divorce is to occur at special times, those times are to be reckoned
exactly, and women are not to be put out of their houses except for proven adultery.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.2 / lines 23220-23225
quote_or_summary: When the set time is reached, the instruction is to keep the women
with kindness or part from them with kindness, taking upright witnesses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.3 / lines 23226-23228
quote_or_summary: Whoever trusts in God will find God all-sufficient; God has assigned
a period for everything.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.4 / lines 23230-23235
quote_or_summary: Waiting periods are set for wives past recurrence, those who have
not yet had it, and pregnant women until delivery.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.6 / lines 23239-23245
quote_or_summary: Divorced women are to be lodged according to means, not distressed;
pregnant women are to be maintained until delivery; suckling is to be compensated,
or another woman may suckle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.7 / lines 23247-23250
quote_or_summary: Each person is to give according to abundance or scarcity; God
burdens only according to what He has given and will cause ease after difficulty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.8-10 / lines 23252-23258
quote_or_summary: Many cities turned aside from their Lord's and apostles' command;
they underwent severe reckoning, chastisement, harmful consequences, ruin, and
prepared chastisement.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.11 / lines 23260-23264
quote_or_summary: God sends a warning, a prophet reciting clear signs, to bring
believers who do right out of darkness into light.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.11 / lines 23264-23267
quote_or_summary: Those who believe and do right are caused by God to enter gardens
beneath which rivers flow and remain there forever.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: Sura LXV.12 / lines 23269-23272
quote_or_summary: God created seven heavens and as many earths; divine command descends
through them so that God's power and knowledge may be known.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: Sura LIX.1 / lines 23288-23290
quote_or_summary: All in the heavens and on earth praises God, the Mighty and Wise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: Sura LIX.2 / lines 23292-23299
quote_or_summary: God caused unbelievers among the People of the Book to leave their
homes; their fortresses did not protect them, fear entered their hearts, and houses
were demolished by their own hands and by victorious believers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: Sura LIX.3-4 / lines 23301-23306
quote_or_summary: If God had not decreed exile, worldly chastisement would have
occurred; in the world to come, chastisement of fire awaits because they opposed
God and his apostle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: Sura LIX.5 / lines 23308-23309
quote_or_summary: Cutting down some palm trees and sparing others is said to be
by God's permission and to shame the wicked.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: summary
locator: Sura LIX.6 / lines 23311-23313
quote_or_summary: Spoils assigned by God to his apostle were not gained by pressing
with horse or camel; God gives apostles power over what he wills.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:17
type: summary
locator: Footnote to Sura LXV / lines 23276-23279
quote_or_summary: Rodwell's note compares Sura LXV with Sura ii.228 and says it
may be intended to supplement that passage; it also reports a tradition about
Ibn Omar's improper divorce timing.
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: Legal and theological content is explicit. Motif assignment is cautious because
much of the passage is juridical instruction or translator's commentary rather
than narrative myth. Comparison claims are limited to explicit translator notes.
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 provided passage and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to supplied options and used only where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l23197-l23320
passage_sha256=2e2efadf3dac531e0b65d18ac256684bd8d58e24035192bc3da6fccf55939360