batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l24584-l24720
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l24584-l24720
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 24584-24720
start: '24584'
end: '24720'
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 presents God as sending water from heaven, greening the earth,
owning heaven and earth, subjecting earthly things and ships to humans, restraining
heaven, giving life, death, and renewed life, judging disputes on the day of resurrection,
knowing all things in heaven and earth, rejecting unwarranted worship beside God,
threatening unbelievers with fire, and using the parable of powerless beings unable
to create or recover from a fly. Believers are commanded to prostrate, worship,
act righteously, strive for God, observe prayer, pay the legal impost, and cleave
to God; they are linked with Abraham and made witnesses. Translator notes discuss
Kaaba rites, pre-Islamic Arabian astral worship, pilgrimage days, animal sacrifice
customs, and related ethnographic comparisons. The next sura begins by proclaiming
victory, forgiveness, guidance, divine succour, and secure repose in believers'
hearts.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: God is described as sending water from heaven, after which the earth becomes
covered with verdure.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: God is described as owning all that is in the heavens and on earth.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: God is described as subjecting what is in the earth and the ships that traverse
the sea to human use by His bidding.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: God is described as holding back heaven so that it does not fall upon the
earth unless He permits it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that God gives life, causes death, and then gives life
again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Different peoples are said to have appointed observances, and disputants are
told that God will judge between them on the day of resurrection.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says that some worship beside God without divine warrant or knowledge.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Unbelievers are described as showing disdain when clear signs are rehearsed
and as being threatened with fire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: A parable states that those called upon beside God cannot create a fly, even
if they assemble for it, and cannot recover anything a fly carries away from them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: God is described as choosing messengers from among angels and from among men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Believers are commanded to bow, prostrate, worship their Lord, work righteousness,
strive for God, observe prayer, pay the legal impost, and cleave fast to God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Believers are linked to the faith of Abraham and are said to have been named
Muslims, so that the apostles may witness against them and they may witness against
the rest of mankind.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: A translator note reports an opinion that walking around the Kaaba and other
ceremonies symbolized planetary motion, and also reports pre-Islamic Arabian astral
worship and idols around the Kaaba.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: A translator note describes vows of animals, sacrifice for blessings, public
feasts after sacrifice, slaughter at Mina, and an interpretation of the victim
as expressing that death is deserved at God's hands.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: The opening of Sura XLVIII states that God grants victory, forgiveness, guidance,
mighty succour, and secure repose in the hearts of the faithful.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine speaker or subject described as sending water, owning heaven
and earth, restraining heaven, giving life and death, judging, choosing messengers,
assisting believers, and granting victory and repose.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: mankind / men
description: Human recipients addressed or described as receiving divine mercy,
being ungrateful, disputing, worshipping, and being commanded or warned.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: those worshipped beside God
description: Beings invoked apart from God and depicted in the parable as unable
to create a fly or recover what a fly carries off.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Infidels / those who believe not
description: People described as showing disdain toward clear signs and being threatened
with fire.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: fly
description: Small creature used in a parable; those called beside God cannot create
it or recover what it carries off.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: messengers from among angels and men
description: Chosen messengers selected by God from angels and human beings.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: believers / Muslims
description: People addressed as believers, commanded to worship and act righteously,
elected by God, linked to Abraham, and named Muslims.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Abraham
description: Named as the father associated with the faith assigned to the believers.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: apostles
description: Figures said to be witnesses against the believers, while the believers
are to be witnesses against the rest of mankind.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: pre-Islamic Arabian groups in translator note
description: Groups described in the note as star-, sun-, or moon-worshippers, including
people of Saba and tribes named Asad and Kaninah.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: pilgrims and sacrificers in translator note
description: Persons described in the note as making animal vows, sacrificing animals,
or slaughtering animals at Mina.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: life-giver and death-causer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage states that God gives life, causes death, and gives life again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: cosmic sovereign
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God owns heaven and earth, subjects earthly things and ships, and restrains
heaven from falling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: judge of disputes
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to judge between people on the day of resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: chooser and helper
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God chooses messengers, elects believers, is called Lord and Helper, and
grants victory and succour.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: role:5
label: human recipients of command, benefit, and judgment
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Humans receive subjected earthly things, dispute about observances, worship
or reject signs, and are addressed with commands and warnings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: powerless objects of worship
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Those called beside God lack warrant and cannot create a fly or recover what
it removes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: rejecters of signs
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They show disdain when clear signs are rehearsed and are threatened with
fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: parable creature exposing impotence
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The fly is used to show the inability of those invoked beside God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: chosen emissaries
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: God chooses messengers from among angels and men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: ritual worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Believers are ordered to bow, prostrate, worship, pray, pay the legal impost,
and cleave to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: witnesses in religious community
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:9
basis: The apostles witness against believers, and believers witness against the
rest of mankind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: ancestral religious father
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The faith is described as the faith of their father Abraham.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:13
label: astral worshippers in translator note
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The note describes Arabian groups as worshipping stars, the sun, or the moon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:14
label: animal sacrificers in translator note
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The note describes vows and sacrifices of animals for blessings and pilgrimage
slaughter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: heavenly water
literal_form: water sent down from Heaven that causes the earth to become verdant
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: verdant earth
literal_form: earth clad with verdure after the descent of water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: ships on the sea
literal_form: ships traversing the sea at God's bidding
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: restrained heaven
literal_form: heaven held back from falling on the earth unless God permits it
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: fire threatened to unbelievers
literal_form: fire threatened by God to those who do not believe
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: fly in parable
literal_form: a fly that cannot be created by rival objects of worship and whose
theft cannot be recovered from them
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: the Book
literal_form: a Book in which knowledge of what is in heaven and earth is said to
be written
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: prostration
literal_form: bowing down and prostrating in worship
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: Kaaba rites in translator note
literal_form: walking round the Kaaba and associated ceremonies interpreted in the
note as symbolizing planetary motion
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:10
label: animal victim in translator note
literal_form: vowed or sacrificed animal, including pilgrimage victims at Mina
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:11
label: secure repose in hearts
literal_form: a spirit of secure repose sent down into the hearts of the faithful
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Heavenly water and cosmic ordering
summary: God sends down water, makes the earth verdant, owns heaven and earth, subjects
earthly things and ships, and restrains heaven from falling.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Life, death, resurrection, and judgment
summary: God gives life, causes death, gives life again, appoints observances for
peoples, and will judge disputes on the day of resurrection.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Warning against worship beside God
summary: People who worship without warrant are warned; unbelievers show disdain
at signs and are threatened with fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Parable of the fly
summary: The parable says those invoked beside God cannot create even a fly and
cannot recover what the fly carries away.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Election, worship, and witness
summary: Believers are commanded to prostrate, worship, act righteously, strive
for God, follow the faith of Abraham, and serve as witnesses among mankind.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Translator note on Kaaba and astral rites
summary: The note reports interpretations of Kaaba circumambulation as planetary
symbolism and describes pre-Islamic Arabian astral worship and idols around the
Kaaba.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Translator note on animal vows and sacrifice
summary: The note describes animal vows, sacrifices for blessings, public feasts,
large-scale slaughter at Mina, and an interpretation of the victim's meaning.
figure_refs:
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:8
label: Victory and repose
summary: The next sura opens with God granting victory, forgiveness, guidance, succour,
and secure repose in the hearts of the faithful.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Life-giving water from heaven
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Water descends from heaven and the earth becomes verdant afterward.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the image as divine beneficence; no longer seasonal
cycle is explicitly described.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine maintenance of cosmic order
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: God owns heaven and earth, subjects ships and earthly things, and holds heaven
back from falling upon earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference exactly matches the restrained-heaven
image.
- id: motif:3
label: Life, death, and renewed life
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- death_rebirth
basis: The sequence states that God gives life, causes death, and then gives life
again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The wording supports resurrection; broader death-rebirth comparison should
remain general.
- id: motif:4
label: Judgment after resurrection
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- resurrection
basis: God will judge between disputing people on the day of resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not detail the mechanics or full geography of the afterlife.
- id: motif:5
label: Fire as punishment for unbelief
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Unbelievers who reject signs are threatened with fire and a wretched passage
to it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: Although fire is explicit, the available motif family 'world_destroying_fire'
would overstate the passage; the fire is punitive rather than world-ending here.
- id: motif:6
label: Powerless rival deities tested by creation of a small creature
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The fly parable exposes the inability of those invoked beside God to create
or recover from a fly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The 'wisdom' taxonomy fit is broad; the passage presents a polemical parable
rather than a narrative trick or contest.
- id: motif:7
label: Elected community under ancestral faith
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: Believers are described as elected, linked to Abraham's faith, named Muslims,
and assigned witness obligations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The term covenant is not used in the passage; the identification rests
on election, naming, obligations, and ancestral religious affiliation.
- id: motif:8
label: Ritual prostration and righteous striving
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Believers are instructed to bow, prostrate, worship, work righteousness,
and strive for God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a ritual and ethical command rather than a mythic narrative episode.
- id: motif:9
label: Animal sacrifice for blessing and submission
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The translator note describes vowed animals, sacrifice for saints or pilgrimage,
public feasts, and an interpretation of the victim as acknowledging deserved death
before God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: This evidence comes from translator commentary rather than the translated
Quranic verses in this line range.
- id: motif:10
label: Divinely granted victory and inner repose
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The opening of Sura XLVIII describes victory, forgiveness, guidance, succour,
and repose sent into believers' hearts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy family precisely captures the victory-and-repose
complex.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator note cautiously associates Kaaba circumambulation and ceremonies
with a reported symbolic correspondence to planetary motion and with pre-Islamic
Arabian astral worship.
claim_level: same_function
target: pre-Islamic Arabian astral rites and planetary symbolism
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: This is a secondary translator note reporting opinions and historical
claims; it is not presented as a direct claim within the Quranic verses in the
passage.
- id: claim:2
claim: The translator note compares animal sacrifice and vowed animals in the pilgrimage
context with animal-vow and sacrifice customs among modern Egyptians and Abyssinian
Christians of probably Arabian extraction.
claim_level: same_function
target: Egyptian saint-vow animal sacrifice and Abyssinian Christian animal sacrifice
customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is explicitly supplied by the translator's note and
depends on cited ethnographic reports; it is not independently established by
the passage itself.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 24584-24587
quote_or_summary: God sends water from heaven, and the earth is afterward clothed
with verdure.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 24589-24594
quote_or_summary: All in heaven and earth belongs to God; God subjects earthly things
and ships to humans and holds back heaven from falling unless permitted.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: '24596'
quote_or_summary: "“He it is who hath given you life, then will cause you to die,
then will give you life”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 24598-24604
quote_or_summary: Every people has appointed observances; disputes are referred
to God, who will judge on the day of resurrection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 24606-24613
quote_or_summary: God knows what is in heaven and earth and it is written in the
Book; those worshipping without warrant are warned, and unbelievers who disdain
signs are threatened with fire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 24615-24620
quote_or_summary: A parable says those called upon beside God cannot create a fly
and cannot recover anything the fly carries away.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 24622-24628
quote_or_summary: God is powerful, chooses messengers from angels and men, knows
what is before and behind them, and all things return to God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 24630-24638
quote_or_summary: Believers are commanded to prostrate, worship, act righteously,
strive for God, follow Abraham's faith, serve as witnesses, pray, pay the legal
impost, and cleave to God as Lord and Helper.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 24650-24658, translator note 6
quote_or_summary: The note identifies the Kaaba, reports an opinion that circumambulation
and ceremonies symbolized planetary motion, describes Arabic tribes as originally
star-worshippers, and says idols around the Kaaba numbered 360 in Muhammad's time.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized translator note.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 24666-24680, translator note 10
quote_or_summary: The note describes vows and sacrifices of animals for blessings,
compares related customs, mentions thousands of animals slain at Mina, and says
the devout view the victim as expressing that death is deserved before God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized translator note.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 24711-24720
quote_or_summary: The opening of Sura XLVIII proclaims victory, forgiveness, guidance,
divine succour, and a spirit of secure repose sent into faithful hearts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The Quranic verse material is straightforward, but the line range also contains
translator notes and the opening of another sura; motifs derived from notes are
marked as commentary-based and need 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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references were limited to provided motif families and symbols; no unsupported taxonomy IDs were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l24584-l24720
passage_sha256=bfada1be1f2063dbc1de1d7d811a20853517749941cce5acedbcedeb65e92627