batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23835-l23972
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l23835-l23972
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 23835-23972
start: '23835'
end: '23972'
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 closes one section by condemning the Hypocrites of Medina,
warning believers not to let wealth and children distract them from God, and urging
expenditure before death, since no soul is respited once its hour comes. It then
begins Sura XXIV, Light, presenting divine signs and legal-moral rulings on sexual
misconduct, accusations, witness requirements, oaths, calumny, Satanic prompting,
charity, pardon, curse and punishment for false charges, bodily testimony on the
day of judgment, and vindication of the virtuous.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A group identified as Hypocrites tells people in Medina not to spend on those
with the Apostle of God, expecting them to quit him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that the treasures of the heavens and the earth are God's
and that might belongs with God, the Apostle, and the Faithful.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Believers are warned not to let wealth and children cause forgetfulness of
God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Believers are urged to spend from what they have been supplied before death
arrives, when a soul's hour will not be delayed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The opening of Sura XXIV describes the sura as sent down and sanctioned with
clear signs for warning.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The passage prescribes public chastisement for sexual misconduct and commands
that some of the faithful witness it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Accusers of virtuous women must bring four witnesses; those who do not are
to be scourged and their testimony rejected, except those who repent and live
virtuously.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: A husband accusing his wife without other witnesses gives four testimonies
by God and a fifth invoking God's malison if he lies; the wife may avert punishment
by four testimonies and a fifth invoking God's wrath if he is truthful.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Those who advanced a lie within the community are said to bear responsibility
according to their offence, and the community is told that four witnesses are
required and that the charge should have been called a manifest lie or gross calumny.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Those who desire foul calumnies to spread against believers are threatened
with grievous chastisement in this world and the next.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Believers are told not to follow the steps of Satan, who enjoins what is base
and blameworthy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Persons of wealth and means are told not to swear that they will withhold
aid from kindred, the poor, and those who fled their homes in God's cause; they
are instead told to pardon and pass over the offence.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Those who charge virtuous believing women are cursed in this world and the
world to come and face terrible punishment.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: On a future day, the tongues, hands, and feet of wrongdoers will bear witness
against them concerning their own actions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: The passage contrasts bad women and men with virtuous women and men, and says
the virtuous will be cleared from calumnies and receive forgiveness and honourable
provision.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Divine owner of the treasures of the heavens and earth, source of might,
sender of signs, lawgiver, knower, merciful forgiver, cleanser, and final judge.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Apostle of God
description: The Apostle is named as the one accompanied by people whom the Hypocrites
seek to deprive, and as sharing in the true might that belongs with God and the
Faithful.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: The Faithful / believers
description: The believing community is addressed with commands about wealth, charity,
chastisement, witness, calumny, Satan, pardon, and moral conduct.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: The Hypocrites
description: A group associated with Medina who discourage spending on those with
the Apostle and claim the mightier will drive out the weaker.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Satan
description: A figure whose steps believers are told not to follow, and who enjoins
what is base and blameworthy.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Virtuous women / virtuous believing women
description: Women protected by rulings against defamation and calumny, and described
as cleared from calumnies with forgiveness and honourable provision.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Accusers and spreaders of calumny
description: Persons who defame, accuse without required witnesses, advance a lie,
or desire calumnies to spread against believers.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Persons of wealth and means
description: Those instructed not to withhold giving from kindred, the poor, and
emigrants in God's cause, but to pardon and pass over offences.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Kindred, the poor, and those who fled their homes in God's cause
description: Recipients named as people from whom wealthy persons should not withhold
giving.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Divine owner, lawgiver, merciful cleanser, and final judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to own the treasures of heaven and earth, send down signs, know
actions, show mercy, forgive, cleanse, and pay the just due on the day of judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: Prophetic authority opposed by internal rivals
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Apostle is the leader whose companions the Hypocrites seek to pressure
economically and from whom they expect desertion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: Addressed covenantal community under instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Believers are repeatedly addressed with commands about spending, conduct,
punishment, witness, speech, Satan, and pardon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: Covert opponents in Medina
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They are described as discouraging support for the Apostle's companions and
claiming the stronger will expel the weaker; the note identifies them as a disaffected
Medinan group.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: Tempter toward blameworthy conduct
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Satan's steps are forbidden because he enjoins what is base and blameworthy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: Protected targets of false accusation
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage prohibits defamation of virtuous women and threatens accusers
with punishment while promising vindication to the virtuous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: False accusers and calumniators
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: They bring charges without the required witnesses, spread a lie, or love
calumny against believers and are threatened with penalties.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: Obligated givers and pardoners
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Wealthy persons are instructed not to swear off giving, but to aid named
groups and pardon offences.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: Recipients of charitable support
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Kindred, poor people, and those who fled homes in God's cause are specifically
named as recipients of aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Treasures of the heavens and the earth
literal_form: Treasures belonging to God
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Wealth and children as distractions
literal_form: Wealth and children that may delude believers into forgetfulness of
God
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: The appointed hour of death
literal_form: A soul's hour that cannot be delayed when it arrives
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: Four witnesses and repeated testimony
literal_form: Four witnesses; four testimonies by God and a fifth invocation of
curse or wrath
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: Steps of Satan
literal_form: Steps or path of Satan that believers are told not to follow
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: Body parts as witnesses
literal_form: Tongues, hands, and feet bearing witness against their owners
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hypocrites oppose support for the Apostle's companions
summary: The Hypocrites advise withholding spending from those with the Apostle
and claim the stronger will expel the weaker, while the passage counters that
treasures and might belong to God and to God's party.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Warning to spend before death
summary: Believers are warned that wealth and children may distract them from God
and are urged to give before death, since God will not delay the soul once its
hour arrives.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Legal rulings on chastisement, accusation, and testimony
summary: The sura introduces divine signs and gives rulings on sexual misconduct,
public witnessing of punishment, accusation of virtuous women, four witnesses,
repentance, and spousal oath procedure.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: The community is warned about calumny
summary: The passage treats a circulated lie as a serious communal offence, insists
on witnesses, instructs believers to reject calumny, and threatens punishment
for those who spread it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Satanic prompting, cleansing, charity, and pardon
summary: Believers are told not to follow Satan's steps; God cleanses whom He will;
wealthy persons are told not to withhold aid from kin, poor people, and emigrants,
but to pardon and seek divine forgiveness.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Judgment and vindication
summary: False accusers of virtuous believing women are cursed and threatened with
punishment; on the day of judgment their body parts testify against them, God
pays their due, and the virtuous are cleared from calumnies.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment with bodily testimony
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage describes a future day when tongues, hands, and feet bear witness
against wrongdoers and God pays them their just due.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is legal-eschatological rather than a narrative myth; the
motif label is based on explicit judgment imagery.
- id: motif:2
label: Irreversible appointed death and denied reprieve
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: A person asks for respite at death in order to give alms and become just,
but the passage states that God will not delay a soul when its hour has come.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The afterlife journey itself is not described; only the irreversible arrival
of death and divine knowledge are stated.
- id: motif:3
label: False accusation, required witnesses, and vindication of the virtuous
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage demands four witnesses for accusations, condemns calumny, threatens
accusers with punishment, and says the virtuous will be cleared from calumnies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is expressed primarily as legal and moral instruction, not as a fully
developed story episode.
- id: motif:4
label: Tempting adversary's path
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Believers are warned not to follow the steps of Satan, who enjoins what is
base and blameworthy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a brief admonition and does not narrate a temptation
episode.
- id: motif:5
label: Mercy mirrored through charity and pardon
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Wealthy persons are told to continue giving to kin, the poor, and emigrants,
to pardon offences, and are asked whether they desire God to forgive them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames the relationship as moral exhortation; the exchange
structure is implicit and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:6
label: Divine possession of cosmic treasure and true might
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage contrasts the Hypocrites' social and political claims with the
statement that the treasures of heaven and earth are God's and might is with God,
the Apostle, and the Faithful.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The image is theological and polemical; no extended mythic scene of cosmic
treasure is present.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The scene in which tongues, hands, and feet testify against wrongdoers can
be cautiously classified within the divine judgment motif family.
claim_level: same_motif
target: divine_judgment
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is a motif-family classification, not evidence for historical
contact with any other tradition.
- id: claim:2
claim: The denied plea for delay at death shares the function of an irreversible
judgment threshold with divine judgment motifs.
claim_level: same_function
target: divine_judgment
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage does not describe the afterlife setting or journey beyond
the refusal of respite.
- id: claim:3
claim: The exhortation to pardon others while desiring God's forgiveness has a cautious
functional resemblance to sacred exchange patterns.
claim_level: same_function
target: sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The text presents ethical reciprocity and divine mercy; it does not
describe a ritual exchange or transaction in detail.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 23835-23844
quote_or_summary: The Hypocrites say not to spend on those with the Apostle and
claim the stronger will drive out the weaker; the passage replies that God's are
the treasures of heaven and earth and that might belongs with God, the Apostle,
and the Faithful.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 23845-23853
quote_or_summary: Believers are warned not to let wealth and children distract them
from God, are urged to spend before death, and are told that God will not respite
a soul once its hour has come.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 23856-23862, footnote 1
quote_or_summary: The note says the Hypocrites in later suras were a disaffected
portion of Medina who covertly opposed Muhammad's temporal authority and were
gradually absorbed as Islam's authority increased.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 23872-23877
quote_or_summary: Sura XXIV, Light, begins in the name of God and describes the
sura as sent down and sanctioned, containing clear signs so that the audience
may take warning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 23878-23890
quote_or_summary: The passage gives rulings on chastisement for sexual misconduct,
public witnessing by some faithful, marriage restrictions, and penalties for defaming
virtuous women without four witnesses, with an exception for later repentance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 23891-23903
quote_or_summary: For a husband accusing his wife without other witnesses, the passage
prescribes four testimonies by God and a fifth curse if he lies; the wife may
avert punishment through four testimonies and a fifth invocation of wrath if he
is truthful.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 23904-23934
quote_or_summary: The passage condemns those who advanced a lie, requires witnesses,
instructs believers to call it a manifest lie or gross calumny, and threatens
those who love calumnies against believers with grievous chastisement in this
world and the next.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 23935-23941
quote_or_summary: Believers are told not to follow the steps of Satan, because Satan
enjoins what is base and blameworthy; God cleanses whom He will.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 23942-23947
quote_or_summary: Persons of wealth and means are told not to swear off giving to
kindred, the poor, and those who fled homes in God's cause, but instead to pardon
and pass over offences, desiring God's forgiveness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 23948-23959
quote_or_summary: Those who charge virtuous believing women are cursed in this world
and the next; their tongues, hands, and feet will bear witness against them, and
God will pay their just due.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 23960-23972
quote_or_summary: The passage contrasts bad women and men with virtuous women and
men, and states that the virtuous will be cleared from calumnies and receive forgiveness
and honourable provision.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif and
comparison labels require review because the passage is mostly legal, ethical,
and eschatological instruction rather than narrative mythology.
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 the supplied passage and metadata were used. Line locators are approximate within the provided stable range.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l23835-l23972
passage_sha256=5b65e05e0b2eddac52424fce00b36731a5cdcbc64e607433ffccd1bde2ebb48e