batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23697-l23833
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23697-l23833
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 23697-23833
start: '23697'
end: '23833'
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: Man undertook to bear it, but hath proved unjust, senseless!
summary: The passage exhorts believers to fear God, speak rightly, and obey God
and the Apostle; recalls that Moses was affronted but cleared by God; describes
the Faith as a burden refused by the heavens, earth, and mountains but undertaken
by humankind; announces punishment for hypocrites and polytheists and mercy for
believers. It then opens Sura LXIII by describing hypocrites who falsely testify,
use faith as a cloak, have sealed hearts, appear impressive but are compared to
leaning timbers, and refuse the Apostle’s intercession.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Believers are told not to be like those who affronted Moses; God cleared Moses
from what was said of him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Believers are commanded to fear God and speak with well-guided speech.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Obedience to God and His Apostle is associated with blessed doings, forgiveness
of sins, and bliss.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Heavens, the Earth, and the Mountains were proposed to receive the Faith,
refused the burden, and feared to receive it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Man undertook to bear the Faith and is described as unjust and senseless.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: God is said to punish hypocritical men and women and those who join gods with
God, while turning mercifully to believing men and women.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Hypocrites tell the addressee that they bear witness he is the Sent One
of God, but God bears witness that they lie.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The Hypocrites use their faith as a cloak, turn others from God’s way, and
are described as having a seal set upon their hearts.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Hypocrites’ persons and speech are outwardly impressive, yet they are
compared to timbers leaning against a wall and fear every shout is against them.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: When invited to come so the Apostle of God may ask pardon for them, the Hypocrites
turn aside and withdraw in pride.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The text says God will not forgive the Hypocrites whether or not pardon is
asked for them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine speaker and agent who clears Moses, blesses and forgives
believers, judges hypocrites and polytheists, and withholds forgiveness from the
perverse.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Moses
description: A prophet who was affronted by others and cleared by God.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Believers / believing men and women
description: Those addressed to fear God, speak rightly, obey God and the Apostle,
and receive God’s mercy.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: God’s Apostle / the Sent One of God
description: The apostolic figure whose obedience is required and who may be asked
to seek pardon for the Hypocrites.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Man
description: Humankind, represented as undertaking the burden of the Faith after
cosmic entities refused it.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Heavens, Earth, and Mountains
description: Cosmic entities to whom the Faith was proposed and who refused and
feared the burden.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hypocrites / hypocritical men and women
description: Persons who falsely testify, use faith as a cloak, turn others from
God’s way, withdraw in pride, and are denied forgiveness.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Men and women who join gods with God
description: Those named alongside hypocrites as subject to divine punishment.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine clearer, judge, and forgiver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God clears Moses, blesses and forgives believers, punishes hypocrites and
polytheists, and refuses forgiveness to the perverse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: affronted and vindicated prophet
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Moses is said to have been affronted, then cleared by God and highly esteemed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: commanded faithful recipients of mercy
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Believers are commanded to fear God and speak rightly; believing men and
women receive God’s turning toward them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: apostolic envoy and potential intercessor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage requires obedience to the Apostle and depicts the Apostle of
God as one who may ask pardon for the Hypocrites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: bearer of the Faith burden
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Man undertakes the burden of the Faith after it is refused by the heavens,
earth, and mountains.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: cosmic refusers of the Faith burden
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Heavens, Earth, and Mountains refuse to receive the Faith and fear its
burden.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: false witnesses and enemies
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Hypocrites are said to lie, use faith as a cloak, turn others aside,
and be enemies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: polytheists subject to punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Men and women who join gods with God are included among those whom God will
punish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Mountains
literal_form: Mountains included among cosmic entities offered the Faith burden
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Faith as burden
literal_form: The Faith described as a burden offered to cosmic entities and borne
by Man
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Faith as cloak
literal_form: Faith used as a cloak by the Hypocrites
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: Seal upon hearts
literal_form: A seal set upon the hearts of those who believed and then became unbelievers
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: Leaning timbers
literal_form: The Hypocrites are compared to timbers leaning against a wall
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Moses affronted and cleared
summary: Believers are warned not to imitate those who affronted Moses; God clears
Moses and he is highly esteemed by God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Instruction to believers
summary: Believers are commanded to fear God, speak rightly, and obey God and the
Apostle so that their deeds may be blessed and sins forgiven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Faith burden offered to cosmos and Man
summary: The Faith is proposed to the heavens, earth, and mountains, which refuse
and fear it; Man undertakes the burden and is characterized negatively.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Judgment of hypocrites, polytheists, and believers
summary: God punishes hypocritical men and women and those who join gods with God,
while turning mercifully toward believing men and women.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Hypocrites’ false testimony and refusal of pardon
summary: The Hypocrites falsely testify to the Apostle’s mission, use faith as a
cloak, are sealed in heart, appear impressive, are likened to leaning timbers,
and refuse to come for the Apostle’s request for pardon.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Cosmic refusal and human acceptance of a sacred burden
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: The Faith is offered to the heavens, earth, and mountains, which refuse and
fear it, while Man undertakes to bear it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact entry for a sacred trust or burden;
'covenant' is a cautious approximate fit because the passage frames Faith as an
obligation undertaken.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine judgment separating hypocrites, polytheists, and believers
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage contrasts punishment of hypocrites and those who join gods with
God with mercy toward believing men and women; Sura LXIII also denies forgiveness
to the Hypocrites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The judgment is stated doctrinally rather than narrated as an extended
judgment scene.
- id: motif:3
label: Hidden unbelief beneath outward profession
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The Hypocrites outwardly bear witness and use faith as a cloak, while God
declares that they lie and describes sealed hearts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The 'duality' taxonomy fit is interpretive; the literal passage emphasizes
hypocrisy and false profession.
- id: motif:4
label: Vindication of an affronted prophet
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Moses is affronted by others, but God clears him and he remains highly esteemed
by God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief allusion, and the details of the affront
are supplied only by a translator’s note.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator’s note cautiously connects the affront to Moses with rabbinic
material about an accusation against Moses, including references to Tractate Sanhedrin
and Numbers xii. 1.
claim_level: same_function
target: Rabbinic tradition concerning Korah’s charge against Moses; Numbers xii.
1
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: This is a translator’s explanatory note, not a comparison made in the
Qur'anic verse itself; the note says 'may refer,' so the link is explicitly uncertain.
- id: claim:2
claim: The translator’s note reports a similar household-etiquette precept in the
Talmud concerning obeying the master of the house but not waiting to be asked
to depart.
claim_level: same_function
target: Talmudic precept quoted by Ullmann in translator’s note
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The Qur'anic precept being compared is only referred to by the note
and is not quoted in this extracted passage; no historical contact claim is established.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 23697-23699
quote_or_summary: '"O Believers! be not like those who affronted Moses... God cleared
him from what they said of him" and Moses was highly esteemed by God.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 23700-23705
quote_or_summary: Believers are told to fear God, speak with well-guided speech,
and obey God and His Apostle so that their deeds may be blessed and sins forgiven.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 23706-23709
quote_or_summary: The Faith is proposed to the Heavens, Earth, and Mountains; they
refuse and fear the burden, while Man undertakes it and is called unjust and senseless.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt summarized for evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 23710-23713
quote_or_summary: God will punish hypocritical men and women and those who join
gods with God, but will turn mercifully to believing men and women.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 23800-23817
quote_or_summary: The Hypocrites falsely bear witness that the addressee is God’s
Sent One; they use faith as a cloak, turn others from God’s way, have sealed hearts,
appear impressive, and are likened to timbers leaning against a wall.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 23818-23833
quote_or_summary: When told to come so the Apostle of God will ask pardon for them,
the Hypocrites turn aside and withdraw in pride; the passage says God will not
forgive them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 23785-23794, note 26
quote_or_summary: The translator says the Moses verse may refer to a rabbinic charge
of adultery brought by Korah against Moses, comparing Tractate Sanhedrin 110a
and Numbers xii. 1, and also reports a saying about Moses being wronged and patient.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized translator note.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 23780-23782, note 24
quote_or_summary: 'The translator cites a Talmudic precept: "Do all that the master
of the house biddeth, but wait not to be asked to depart."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from translator note.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The extraction combines Qur'anic translated text with translator’s notes
included in the supplied line range. Motif candidates are based on explicit wording;
comparison claims are limited to comparisons stated by the translator and require
review.
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: |-
No external sources were used. Taxonomy references were limited to the supplied available_taxonomy_refs.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l23697-l23833
passage_sha256=c1e4a24fcbcc48874c5881d5158bbdbfa1b33537df5976af6617c1f8637aaa71