batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l26091-l26201
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l26091-l26201
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 26091-26201
start: '26091'
end: '26201'
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 gives divine ordinances about the value of life, punishment
for murder, disorder, theft, and repentance; exhorts believers to fear God and
seek union with Him; describes afterlife torment for infidels; instructs the Apostle
to judge equitably by what God has sent down; presents the Towrat, Evangel, and
Koran as revealed guidance; and warns believers about alliances with Jews and
Christians in this polemical context.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An ordinance to the children of Israel equates slaying one person unjustly
with slaying all mankind and saving one life with saving all mankind alive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Those who war against God and His Apostle and spread disorders on earth are
assigned punishments including death, crucifixion, mutilation, banishment, disgrace
in this world, and torment in the next.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Repentance before capture is excepted from the punishment for warring against
God and His Apostle, with God described as forgiving and merciful.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Believers are commanded to fear God, desire union with Him, and contend earnestly
on His path in order to attain happiness.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Infidels are described as unable to ransom themselves from resurrection-day
torment, and as unable to come forth from the Fire.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Male and female thieves are assigned hand-cutting as recompense and warning
from God, while repentance and amendment are followed by God's turning to the
offender.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: God is said to possess the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, to chastise
or forgive whom He wills, and to have power over all things.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The Apostle is warned about people who profess belief with their mouths while
their hearts do not believe, and about Jewish listeners who shift words of the
law from their places.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: If disputants come to the Apostle, he is instructed either to judge between
them or withdraw; if he judges, he must judge with equity.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The Towrat is described as sent down with guidance and light, and prophets,
doctors, and teachers are said to judge by the Book of God entrusted to them.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: 'The passage cites an enacted rule of retaliation: life for life, eye for
eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds for wounds; compromise
as alms is linked to expiation.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: Jesus, son of Mary, is said to follow in the footsteps of the prophets, confirming
the previous Law, and to receive the Evangel with guidance and light.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:13
text: The Koran is described as sent down with truth, confirming previous Scriptures
and safeguarding them; the Apostle is commanded to judge by what God sent down.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:14
text: Different communities are described as having a rule and a beaten track, and
God is said to test them by what He has given to each; all are to return to God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:15
text: Believers are warned not to take Jews or Christians as friends; those diseased
at heart are described as fearing a change of fortune and later regretting secret
imaginings.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine speaker and authority who ordains, forgives, chastises,
sends down scripture, judges, and has sovereignty over heavens and earth.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: children of Israel
description: The group to whom the ordinance about killing or saving a life is said
to have been ordained.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Apostle
description: The addressed messenger associated with God, opposed by disbelievers,
and instructed to judge or withdraw from disputants.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Believers
description: The addressed community commanded to fear God, seek union with Him,
contend on His path, and avoid certain alliances.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:15
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: infidels
description: Those described as facing resurrection-day torment and inability to
emerge from the Fire.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: those who war against God and His Apostle
description: Offenders who commit disorders on earth and are threatened with severe
worldly punishments and next-world torment.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: thief, man or woman
description: Persons guilty of theft for whom hand-cutting is prescribed, with repentance
and amendment afterward mentioned.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Jews / listeners to a lie
description: A group described as possessing the Law, listening to falsehood, shifting
words from their places, and sometimes seeking the Apostle's judgment.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:15
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: prophets, doctors, and teachers
description: Judicial and religious authorities said to judge by the Towrat or by
the portion of the Book of God entrusted to them.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Jesus, son of Mary
description: A figure caused to follow in the prophets' footsteps, confirming the
previous Law and receiving the Evangel.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: people of the Evangel
description: Those commanded to judge according to what God sent down in the Evangel.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Christians
description: A group named alongside Jews in the warning to believers about friends.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine lawgiver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is represented as ordaining rules, sending down law, and giving each
community a rule and track.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: role:2
label: sovereign judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to possess sovereignty, chastise and forgive whom He wills, and
be the best judge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:16
- id: role:3
label: forgiving and merciful one
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Repentance is met with God's forgiveness and mercy in multiple legal contexts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: recipients of revealed ordinance
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:11
basis: The children of Israel receive an ordinance, and the people of the Evangel
are to judge by what was sent down therein.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:12
- id: role:5
label: addressed messenger and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Apostle is addressed directly and instructed about judging disputants
by what God has sent down.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: role:6
label: exhorted faithful community
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Believers are addressed with commands to fear God, strive on His path, and
avoid named alliances.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:15
- id: role:7
label: offenders under judgment
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Infidels, those making war and disorder, and thieves are all described with
punishments or torment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: polemically marked out-group
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:12
basis: Jews and Christians are named in warnings or accusations within the passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:15
- id: role:9
label: keepers and witnesses of scripture
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Doctors and teachers are described as judging by the portion of God's Book
of which they were keepers and witnesses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: confirming prophetic successor
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Jesus is described as following the prophets' footsteps and confirming the
Law before him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Fire of torment
literal_form: Fire from which the condemned wish to come forth but cannot
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: guidance and light
literal_form: The Towrat and Evangel are described as containing guidance and light
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: sym:3
label: Book / revealed scripture
literal_form: Towrat, Evangel, Koran, and previous Scriptures as sent-down texts
for judgment
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: sym:4
label: path and beaten track
literal_form: God's path and the rule and beaten track given to each community
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:14
- id: sym:5
label: retaliatory body parts
literal_form: life, eye, nose, ear, tooth, and wounds named in the retaliation formula
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:6
label: severed hand penalty
literal_form: Cutting off the hands of male or female thieves
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ordinance on life and disorder
summary: God's ordinance to the children of Israel presents the killing or saving
of one life in universal terms, followed by warning that many still commit excesses
in the land.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Punishment and repentance for disorder and theft
summary: The passage states severe punishments for those who war against God and
His Apostle and for thieves, while also allowing repentance and amendment under
God's mercy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Exhortation and afterlife torment
summary: Believers are exhorted to fear God, seek union with Him, and strive on
His path, while infidels are described as unable to ransom themselves from resurrection-day
torment or escape the Fire.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: The Apostle and disputed judgment
summary: The Apostle is warned about hypocritical and Jewish listeners, then told
that if disputants come to him he may judge equitably or withdraw.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Towrat, retaliation, and scriptural keepers
summary: The Towrat is described as guidance and light, by which prophets, doctors,
and teachers judge; the passage then states a rule of retaliation and allows compromise
as alms for expiation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:6
label: Jesus, Evangel, and Koran in sequence
summary: Jesus follows the prophets and receives the Evangel confirming the previous
Law; the Koran is then described as sent down with truth, confirming previous
Scriptures and safeguarding them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: scene:7
label: Multiple communities and final return
summary: The passage says each community has a rule and beaten track, that God tests
them by what He has given, and that all return to God, who will resolve their
disputes.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: scene:8
label: Warning against alliances
summary: Believers are warned not to take Jews or Christians as friends; those diseased
at heart are portrayed as fearing misfortune and later regretting hidden intentions.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:8
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment through revealed law
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: God sends down laws and scriptures and commands judgment by what He has revealed;
refusal to judge by revelation is condemned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:16
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is primarily legal and exhortatory rather than narrative myth.
- id: motif:2
label: Afterlife punishment and resurrection-day accountability
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- divine_judgment
basis: Infidels are described as unable to ransom themselves from torment on the
day of resurrection and unable to leave the Fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes punishment rather than a full journey through the
afterlife.
- id: motif:3
label: Revelation as guidance and light
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Towrat and Evangel are explicitly called guidance and light, and the
Koran is said to arrive with truth confirming earlier scripture.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broader than the specific scriptural
image in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Sacred path of striving toward God
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Believers are told to desire union with God and contend earnestly on His
path to attain happiness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a brief exhortation, not an extended quest narrative.
- id: motif:5
label: Scriptural succession and confirmation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Jesus is said to confirm the previous Law, and the Koran is said to confirm
and safeguard previous Scriptures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference exactly matches this pattern.
- id: motif:6
label: Measured retaliation and merciful expiation
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage states a life-for-life and injury-for-injury rule, while compromise
as alms is said to expiate sin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The fit to 'sacred_exchange' is cautious because the passage frames the
matter as legal recompense and almsgiving rather than ritual exchange.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Within the passage, the Towrat, Evangel, and Koran share the function of
revealed standards by which communities are to judge, with the Koran described
as confirming and safeguarding previous Scriptures.
claim_level: same_function
target: Towrat, Evangel, Koran, and previous Scriptures as revealed legal guidance
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an intra-passage comparison of stated functions, not an external
historical claim.
- id: claim:2
claim: The repeated description of Towrat and Evangel as containing guidance and
light supports a cautious comparison of shared imagery for revelation within the
passage's scriptural sequence.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: Guidance-and-light imagery applied to Towrat and Evangel
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Koran is described as truth, confirmation, and safeguard here,
but the exact phrase 'guidance and light' is not applied to it in this passage.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage presents Jesus as a confirming successor to earlier prophets
and the Koran as confirming previous Scriptures, supporting a same-function comparison
of confirmation across stages of revelation.
claim_level: same_function
target: Prophetic and scriptural confirmation across Law, Evangel, and Koran
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim follows the passage's theological framing and does not assess
historical relationships beyond what the passage states.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 26091-26098
quote_or_summary: '"he who slayeth any one... shall be as though he had slain all
mankind" and whoever saves a life "as though he had saved all mankind alive."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 26099-26107
quote_or_summary: Those who war against God and His Apostle and spread disorders
on earth are to be slain, crucified, mutilated, or banished, with disgrace now
and great torment later.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 26108-26110
quote_or_summary: '"Except those who, ere you have them in your power, shall repent";
God is called "Forgiving, Merciful."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 26111-26113
quote_or_summary: '"O ye who believe! fear God. Desire union with Him. Contend earnestly
on his path" so as to attain happiness.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 26114-26120
quote_or_summary: Infidels cannot ransom themselves from resurrection-day torment
even with twice the earth's riches, and they wish to come forth from the Fire
but cannot.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 26121-26128
quote_or_summary: Male and female thieves are to have their hands cut off as recompense
and warning; whoever turns to God after wickedness and amends is met by God's
mercy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 26129-26132
quote_or_summary: '"the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth is God''s";
He chastises and forgives whom He wills.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 26133-26143
quote_or_summary: The Apostle is told not to be vexed by those who say 'We believe'
while their hearts do not, or by Jews who listen to lies and shift words of the
law from their places.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 26144-26150
quote_or_summary: Those described as listeners to falsehood may have recourse to
the Apostle; he may judge or withdraw, and if he judges he must judge equitably.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 26151-26161
quote_or_summary: The Law/Towrat is said to contain guidance and light; prophets,
doctors, and teachers judge by the Book of God entrusted to them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: quote
locator: 26162-26166
quote_or_summary: '"Life for life, and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and ear for
ear, and tooth for tooth, and for wounds retaliation"; compromise as alms brings
expiation.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 26167-26174
quote_or_summary: Jesus, son of Mary, follows in the footsteps of the prophets,
confirms the preceding Law, and receives the Evangel with guidance and light;
its people are to judge by it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 26175-26182
quote_or_summary: The Koran is sent down with truth, confirming previous Scriptures
and safeguarding them; the Apostle is told to judge by what God sent down and
not follow others' desires.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: 26183-26188
quote_or_summary: Each community has a rule and beaten track; God could have made
all one people but tests each by what He has given; all return to God, who will
tell them about their disputes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: 26194-26201
quote_or_summary: Believers are warned not to take Jews or Christians as friends;
those diseased at heart fear a change of fortune and may later regret secret imaginings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: quote
locator: 26189-26193
quote_or_summary: The Apostle is to judge by what God sent down; the passage asks,
"what better judge can there be than God" for firm believers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt used for evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif assignments
are cautious because much of the text is legal, polemical, and exhortatory rather
than narrative mythology. Comparison claims are limited to relationships stated
within the passage.
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: |-
All claims are based only on the supplied passage and metadata. Polemical descriptions are recorded as passage content, not endorsed.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l26091-l26201
passage_sha256=b864ad7e2a09321e0fe9890c813fc484180d093bff34546754a166d33cc8e87d