batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l24209-l24323
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l24209-l24323
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 24209-24323
start: '24209'
end: '24323'
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 opens with a translator note comparing respectful address to
the Apostle with Talmudic rules about addressing a Rabbi. Sura LVIII then presents
God hearing a woman's complaint against her husband, regulates a repudiation formula
involving wives, prescribes expiation before reunion, warns opponents of God and
the Apostle of resurrection and judgment, describes God as witness to private
speech, condemns malicious secret counsel as Satanic, instructs believers in assembly
and private conference etiquette, contrasts Satan's party with God's party, and
promises punishment or gardens with flowing rivers according to allegiance and
faith.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A translator note states that the Apostle should not be addressed in an ordinary
manner and compares this with Talmudic rules about a disciple addressing a Rabbi.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: God is said to have heard the words of a woman who pleaded with the Apostle
against her husband and made her complaint to God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage rejects the claim that wives repudiated by the formula 'as my
mother's back' are actually mothers, stating that mothers are those who gave birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Those who use the repudiation formula and then recall their words are instructed
to free a captive before reunion; if unable, they must fast two successive months
or feed sixty poor men.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Opponents of God and the Apostle are said to be brought low and to face shameful
or afflictive chastisement.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: On a day of resurrection, God is said to raise all people and tell them their
deeds, which God has counted though they forgot them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: God is described as knowing what is in the heavens and earth and as present
with private groups of three, five, fewer, or more.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Some people are described as returning to forbidden secret talk involving
wickedness, hate, and disobedience toward the Apostle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Hell is described as the destination of malicious speakers, where they will
be burned at its fire.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Believers are told that private talk should be with justice and fear of God,
and that they will be gathered to God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: Clandestine talk is attributed to Satan as a means of bringing grief to the
faithful, but it cannot harm them except by God's permission.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: Believers are instructed to make room in assemblies and to rise when told;
God is said to uplift believers and those given knowledge to lofty grades.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: Believers are instructed to give alms before private conference with the Apostle,
with leniency for those lacking means.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Some people are described as making a cloak of their faith, turning others
from God's way, and belonging to Satan's party.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:15
text: God is said to have graven faith on the hearts of those who do not love opponents
of God and the Apostle, strengthened them with His Spirit, and promised them gardens
beneath which rivers flow.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Divine speaker and actor who hears, forgives, legislates, knows, witnesses,
raises the dead, judges deeds, strengthens believers, and grants punishment or
gardens.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The Apostle
description: The recipient of the woman's plea, the one toward whom obedience or
disobedience is measured, and the figure with whom believers may confer privately.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Her who pleaded
description: A woman whose words against her husband and complaint to God are heard
by God.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: The husband
description: The husband against whom the woman pleads in the opening verse of the
sura.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Wives repudiated by the mother's-back formula
description: Women addressed by the legal ruling that a repudiation formula does
not make them mothers.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Believers or faithful
description: Those instructed in private conversation, assemblies, almsgiving before
conference, prayer, impost, obedience, trust in God, and fear of God.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Opponents of God and the Apostle
description: Those who oppose God and the Apostle, engage in forbidden secret talk,
swear falsely, and are threatened with humiliation, fire, and severe torment.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:13
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Satan
description: A figure associated with clandestine talk and mastery over those who
forget the remembrance of God.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: God's party
description: Those who believe in God and the last day, do not love opponents of
God and the Apostle, have faith graven on their hearts, are strengthened by God's
Spirit, and enter gardens with rivers.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine hearer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God hears the pleading woman's words and complaint.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: omniscient witness
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is described as knowing heavens and earth and being present with private
groups wherever they are.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: resurrection judge and rewarder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God raises all, recounts their deeds, prepares torment for some, and brings
others into gardens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: role:4
label: apostolic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage treats obedience or disobedience toward the Apostle as religiously
consequential and regulates private conference with him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:5
label: petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The woman pleads against her husband and makes plaint to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: respondent husband
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The woman's plea is directed against her husband.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: protected spouse in legal ruling
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage denies that the repudiation formula changes wives into mothers
and requires expiation before reunion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: instructed community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Believers receive commands about private talk, assemblies, alms, prayer,
impost, and obedience.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: role:9
label: condemned opponents
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Those opposing God and the Apostle or engaging in malicious secret talk are
threatened with chastisement, humiliation, and fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:13
- id: role:10
label: instigator of clandestine grief
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Clandestine talk is said to be of Satan, and Satan is said to master those
who forget God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: role:11
label: blessed divine faction
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: God's party is described as strengthened, pleasing and pleased, and eternally
blessed in gardens.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mother's-back repudiation formula
literal_form: The saying, 'Be thou to me as my mother's back.'
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: expiatory release, fasting, and feeding
literal_form: Freeing a captive, fasting two successive months, or feeding sixty
poor men before reunion.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: hell fire
literal_form: Hell as a destination where people are burned at its fire.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:13
- id: sym:4
label: clandestine talk
literal_form: Private or secret speech involving wickedness, hate, disobedience,
or Satanic grief-making.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: alms before private conference
literal_form: Alms given before private conference with the Apostle.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:6
label: knowledge and lofty grades
literal_form: Those to whom 'the Knowledge' is given are uplifted to lofty grades.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:7
label: gardens with flowing rivers
literal_form: Gardens beneath whose shades the rivers flow.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:8
label: faith graven on hearts
literal_form: Faith graven on the hearts of God's party.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The woman's plea is heard
summary: God hears the words of a woman who pleads with the Apostle against her
husband and complains to God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Repudiation formula and expiation
summary: The passage rejects the formula equating a wife with a mother's back and
sets requirements of freeing a captive, fasting, or feeding the poor before reunion.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Resurrection and accounting of deeds
summary: God raises all people, recounts their forgotten deeds, and judges those
who oppose God and the Apostle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Secret talk under divine witness
summary: God is described as present with all private groups, while malicious clandestine
talk is condemned and attributed to Satan.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:5
label: Assembly and conference etiquette
summary: Believers are told to make room, rise when told, honor knowledge, and give
alms before private conference with the Apostle when able.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:6
label: Parties of Satan and God
summary: Those mastered by Satan are called Satan's party and lost, while God's
party has faith graven on hearts, divine strengthening, and entry into gardens
with rivers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine hearing of a vulnerable petition
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: God hears the woman's plea against her husband and her complaint to God,
initiating the passage's legal and moral response.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not elaborate a narrative beyond the brief petition notice.
- id: motif:2
label: Expiation before restored union
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After a repudiation formula is recalled, reunion is conditioned on freeing
a captive, fasting, or feeding poor men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is primarily a legal prescription; broader ritual interpretation
should be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: Resurrection for divine accounting
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- divine_judgment
basis: God raises all people and tells them their deeds, which God has counted though
they forgot them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No detailed journey through the afterlife is given in this specific passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Divine witness to hidden speech
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: God is present with private groups of any number and will tell them their
deeds on the day of resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is expressed as omniscience and witness rather than as a personified
spying figure.
- id: motif:5
label: Satanic clandestine counsel
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: Clandestine talk meant to grieve the faithful is attributed to Satan, and
Satan's party is contrasted with God's party.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage emphasizes moral and communal allegiance; a broad dualistic
reading should not erase God's overriding permission and authority.
- id: motif:6
label: Elevation through faith and knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- ascent
basis: Believers and those given knowledge are said to be uplifted to lofty grades.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The ascent language is social or spiritual elevation, not a narrated upward
journey.
- id: motif:7
label: Afterlife separation into fire and garden
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: The passage describes opponents as companions of the fire and God's party
as entering gardens beneath which rivers flow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The passage names destinations and outcomes but gives limited spatial
mapping.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator note explicitly compares respectful address to the Apostle
with Talmudic disciple-Rabbi etiquette, presenting both as rules that restrict
ordinary modes of address toward a revered religious authority.
claim_level: same_function
target: Talmudic rules on disciple-Rabbi address cited in the translator note
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This comparison comes from the translator's annotation rather than
the Quranic sura text itself; it does not establish historical contact or dependence.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 24209-24217
quote_or_summary: 'Translator note: the Apostle should not be called as ordinary
people call one another; the note compares this with Talmudic prohibitions on
a disciple calling his Rabbi by name or exchanging greetings as among friends.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 1; lines 24225-24228
quote_or_summary: God has heard the words of the woman who pleaded with the Apostle
against her husband and made her plaint to God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt/close summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 2; lines 24229-24234
quote_or_summary: Those who put away wives by saying 'Be thou to me as my mother's
back' speak an untruth; only birth mothers are mothers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary with brief quoted formula used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verses 3-4; lines 24235-24244
quote_or_summary: Those who recall the repudiation words must free a captive before
reunion; if unable, they must fast two months, or feed sixty poor men.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 5; lines 24245-24249
quote_or_summary: Those who oppose God and His Apostle will be brought low, and
infidels face shameful chastisement.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 6; lines 24250-24253
quote_or_summary: On the day God raises all to life, He will tell them their deeds;
God counted what they forgot and witnesses all things.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 7; lines 24254-24260
quote_or_summary: God knows what is in heaven and earth and is with every private
group, whether three, five, fewer, or more; on resurrection day He tells them
their deeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 8; lines 24261-24268
quote_or_summary: Those forbidden secret talk return to private speech of wickedness,
hate, and disobedience toward the Apostle; Hell is their meed and they are burned
at its fire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 9; lines 24269-24272
quote_or_summary: Believers are told not to converse privately with wickedness,
hate, or disobedience, but with justice and fear of God, to whom they will be
gathered.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 10; lines 24273-24276
quote_or_summary: Clandestine talk is said to be of Satan, intended to bring grief
to the faithful, but unable to harm except by God's permission.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verse 11; lines 24277-24282
quote_or_summary: Believers are told to make room in assemblies and rise when told;
God will make room in Paradise and uplift believers and those given knowledge
to lofty grades.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verses 12-13; lines 24283-24291
quote_or_summary: Believers are told to give alms before private conference with
the Apostle; if they do not, they should observe prayer, pay the stated impost,
and obey God and His Apostle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verses 14-19; lines 24292-24309
quote_or_summary: Those who make friends with people angering God, swear falsely,
and use faith as a cloak face severe torment; their wealth and children will not
avail them; they are Satan's party and lost.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: Sura LVIII, verses 20-22; lines 24310-24322
quote_or_summary: Those who oppose God and His Apostle are most vile; believers
in God and the last day do not love such opponents even among kin; God has graven
faith on their hearts, strengthened them with His Spirit, and will bring them
into gardens with rivers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong for this passage. Motif labels involving broad
taxonomy, especially ascent, afterlife mapping, and duality, require human review
to avoid overextension. The comparison claim is limited to the translator's note.
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 figures or comparisons were added beyond those directly supported by the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l24209-l24323
passage_sha256=c5c1efc1165735a6bc0ccd348d78db0eb27f5c168a9debc0a58dd513e337721f