batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l3678-l3891
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l3678-l3891
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 3678-3891
start: '3678'
end: '3891'
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 announces certain judgment through oaths by cosmic phenomena,
contrasts the torment of deniers with gardens and fountains for the God-fearing,
recounts Abraham receiving honored guests who announce a wise son and their mission
against a wicked people, recalls punitive signs in the stories of Moses and Pharaoh,
Ad, Themoud, and Noah's people, affirms divine creation of heaven, earth, and
pairs, and opens the next sura with oaths by the mountain, book, fane, vault,
and sea before warning of imminent chastisement.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage begins with oaths by scattering clouds or winds, burden-bearing
entities, swift-moving entities, and entities that apportion by command.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The threatened judgment is stated to be true and certain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Deniers ask when the day of judgment will occur and are described as being
tormented at the fire on that day.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The God-fearing are described as dwelling among gardens and fountains and
as having prayed at dawn and shared wealth with the suppliant and the outcast.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Abraham receives strangers who greet him with peace; he brings them a fatted
calf and asks why they do not eat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Abraham fears the guests, and they tell him not to fear and announce a wise
son.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Abraham's wife reacts with an outcry, strikes her face, and says she is old
and barren.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The messengers say they have been sent to a wicked people to hurl stones of
clay marked or destined by the Lord for guilty men.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Believers are brought forth from the city, and only one family of Muslims
is found there.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Moses is sent to Pharaoh with manifest power; Pharaoh rejects him as a sorcerer
or possessed, and Pharaoh and his hosts are cast into the sea.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: Ad is punished by a desolating blast that turns what it touches to dust.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: Themoud rebels against the Lord's command and is taken by a tempest while
watching its coming.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: The people of Noah are said to have been destroyed before the other examples
because they were impious.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:14
text: Heaven is described as built and expanded, the earth as spread out, and everything
as created in pairs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:15
text: God states that Djinn and men were created to worship him and that he requires
no sustenance from them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:16
text: The opening of Sura LII swears by the mountain, a written book, the frequented
fane, the lofty vault, and the swollen sea before declaring imminent chastisement.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:17
text: The opening of Sura LII describes heaven reeling, mountains stirring, and
deniers being thrust into the fire of Hell.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / Lord
description: The divine speaker and agent who promises judgment, creates heaven
and earth, sends messengers, sustains creation, and requires worship.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The God-fearing
description: People who are said to dwell amid gardens and fountains because they
were formerly well-doers.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Liars / infidels / deniers
description: Those who question or reject judgment and are threatened with fire
and woe.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:15
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Abraham
description: A host who receives honored guests, brings a fatted calf, fears them,
and asks their errand.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Abraham's honored guests / messengers
description: Visitors who greet Abraham with peace, decline or do not eat, reassure
him, announce a wise son, and state their punitive mission.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Abraham's wife
description: An old and barren woman who reacts with outcry and self-striking when
a son is announced.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Wise son
description: A son announced to Abraham by the guests; he is described as wise.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Wicked people / guilty men of the city
description: The people against whom the messengers are sent with stones of clay.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: One family of Muslims in the city
description: The only Muslim family found in the city after believers are brought
forth.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Moses
description: A messenger sent to Pharaoh with manifest power.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Pharaoh and his hosts
description: Pharaoh rejects Moses and, with his hosts, is seized and cast into
the sea.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Ad
description: A people punished by a desolating blast.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Themoud
description: A people who rebel against the Lord's command and are taken by a tempest.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: People of Noah
description: An impious people destroyed before the other named examples.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Djinn and men
description: Created beings said to have been created to worship God.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God threatens a certain day of judgment and imminent chastisement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:14
- ev:15
- id: role:2
label: creator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage attributes the building of heaven, spreading of earth, creation
of pairs, and creation of Djinn and men to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:3
label: sustainer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is called the sole sustainer and is said not to require sustenance or
feeding from created beings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:4
label: righteous recipients of reward
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They dwell among gardens and fountains because of prior good deeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: guilty recipients of punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:8
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
basis: These figures are connected with denial, wickedness, impiety, or rebellion
followed by punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:15
- id: role:6
label: host
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Abraham receives guests and brings a fatted calf for them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:10
basis: The guests call themselves messengers, and Moses is sent to Pharaoh with
manifest power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: announcer of birth and punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The guests announce a wise son and announce their mission to a wicked people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: barren woman receiving birth announcement
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: She says she is old and barren when the wise son is announced.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: promised child
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The son is announced before birth by the guests.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: surviving righteous household
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Only one family of Muslims is found in the city after the believers are brought
forth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: created worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Djinn and men are said to have been created for worship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire of punishment
literal_form: fire / fire of Hell
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:15
- id: sym:2
label: gardens and fountains
literal_form: gardens and fountains
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: fatted calf
literal_form: fatted calf set before guests
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: stones of clay
literal_form: stones of clay destined by the Lord
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: sea as place of punishment
literal_form: sea into which Pharaoh and his hosts are cast
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: desolating blast
literal_form: blast that turns what it touches to dust
associated_figures:
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:7
label: tempest
literal_form: tempest that takes Themoud
associated_figures:
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:8
label: created pairs
literal_form: everything created in pairs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:9
label: mountain oath
literal_form: the mountain sworn by at the opening of Sura LII
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:10
label: swollen sea
literal_form: the swollen sea sworn by at the opening of Sura LII
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:11
label: written book on an outspread roll
literal_form: book written on an outspread roll
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Cosmic oath and certain judgment
summary: The sura opens with oaths by scattering, burden-bearing, swift, and apportioning
entities and declares that the threatened judgment will surely come.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Contrasting destinies of deniers and the God-fearing
summary: Deniers are associated with torment at the fire, while the God-fearing
dwell among gardens and fountains after acts of prayer and giving.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Abraham and the honored guests
summary: Abraham welcomes strangers, offers a fatted calf, becomes afraid when they
do not eat, and hears them announce a wise son to him despite his wife's old age
and barrenness.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Mission against a wicked city
summary: The messengers state that they are sent to a wicked people with stones
of clay, and the believers are removed, with only one Muslim family found in the
city.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Punitive examples from earlier peoples
summary: Moses and Pharaoh, Ad, Themoud, and Noah's people are cited as examples
in which rejection or impiety is followed by destructive punishment.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:6
label: Creation signs and purpose of created beings
summary: Heaven, earth, and pairs are presented as created signs, and Djinn and
men are said to have been created to worship God, who is the sole sustainer.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: scene:7
label: Mountain oath and imminent chastisement
summary: The next sura opens with oaths by the mountain, written book, fane, vault,
and sea, followed by warning of imminent chastisement, cosmic upheaval, and the
fire of Hell.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:9
- sym:10
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Certain divine judgment against deniers
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage repeatedly declares judgment or chastisement certain and associates
deniers with fire, woe, or destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:14
- ev:15
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction is based on this passage's explicit judgment language and
does not infer doctrinal details beyond it.
- id: motif:2
label: Afterlife reward and punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- resurrection
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage contrasts torment at the fire for deniers with gardens and fountains
for the God-fearing and uses judgment-day language.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives destination images but not a detailed journey map.
- id: motif:3
label: Miraculous or unexpected promised child
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
- sacred_birth
basis: A wise son is announced to Abraham after his wife identifies herself as old
and barren.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states an announcement of birth but does not narrate the birth
itself.
- id: motif:4
label: Sacred hospitality preceding revelation
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Abraham offers a fatted calf to guests who then deliver divine announcements
of a child and a punitive mission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the meal an exchange; the motif label
reflects the sequence of hospitality and revelation.
- id: motif:5
label: Righteous household spared from doomed city
taxonomy_refs:
- survivor_pair
- divine_judgment
basis: Believers are brought forth from the city, and only one family of Muslims
is found before signs of chastisement are left.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage mentions one family, not specifically a pair.
- id: motif:6
label: Punitive destruction of rebellious peoples
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Pharaoh and his hosts are cast into the sea; Ad is destroyed by a blast;
Themoud by a tempest; and Noah's people are destroyed for impiety.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The individual modes of destruction differ; the shared motif is judgment
after rejection or rebellion.
- id: motif:7
label: Creation in pairs
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage states that everything has been created in pairs so that people
may reflect.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not elaborate the cosmological scope beyond the statement
itself.
- id: motif:8
label: Cosmic upheaval at judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- chaos
- divine_judgment
basis: The opening of Sura LII describes heaven reeling, mountains stirring, and
deniers being thrust to the fire of Hell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
confidence: high
cautions: The imagery is confined to the opening lines of Sura LII in this passage.
- id: motif:9
label: Mountain and sea as oath-symbols of judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- cosmic_mountain
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage swears by the mountain and the swollen sea immediately before
announcing imminent chastisement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses oath-symbols but does not identify the mountain as a
world-center or axis.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage itself groups multiple earlier peoples as examples of the same
warning pattern: a messenger or command is rejected, followed by divine punishment.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Internal Qur'anic pattern of former peoples as warnings to present hearers
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:16
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal comparison within the passage, not a claim of historical
contact or external parallel.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Abraham episode functions similarly to the later punitive examples by
pairing divine messengers with both announcement and judgment.
claim_level: same_function
target: Messenger-associated announcement and judgment pattern within the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Abraham scene includes a birth announcement as well as a punitive
mission, so it is not identical to the Moses, Ad, Themoud, or Noah examples.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI opening oath
quote_or_summary: '"True, indeed, is that with which ye are threatened, / And lo!
the judgment will surely come."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI judgment-day question and fire
quote_or_summary: '"They ask, ''When this day of judgment?'' / On that day they
shall be tormented at the fire."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI reward of the God-fearing
quote_or_summary: The God-fearing dwell amid gardens and fountains, having previously
done good, slept little at night, prayed at dawn, and shared wealth with suppliants
and outcasts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI Abraham's guests
quote_or_summary: Abraham's honored guests enter with a greeting of peace; Abraham
calls them strangers, goes to his family, brings a fatted calf, sets it before
them, and asks why they do not eat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI birth announcement
quote_or_summary: Abraham fears the guests; they tell him not to fear and announce
a wise son. His wife cries out, strikes her face, and says she is old and barren;
the guests say this is what the Lord says.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI mission against wicked people
quote_or_summary: When Abraham asks the messengers' errand, they say they have been
sent to a wicked people to hurl stones of clay destined by the Lord for guilty
men.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI believers brought forth
quote_or_summary: The believers are brought forth from the city, but only one family
of Muslims is found there, and signs are left for those who dread chastisement.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI Moses and Pharaoh
quote_or_summary: Moses is sent to Pharaoh with manifest power; Pharaoh rejects
him as a sorcerer or possessed, and Pharaoh and his hosts are seized and cast
into the sea.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI Ad
quote_or_summary: A desolating blast is sent against Ad, turning whatever it touches
to dust.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI Themoud
quote_or_summary: Themoud are told to enjoy themselves for a while, rebel against
the Lord's command, and are taken by a tempest while watching it come.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI people of Noah
quote_or_summary: The people of Noah are said to have been destroyed before the
other examples because they were impious.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI creation signs
quote_or_summary: Heaven is built and expanded, earth is spread out, and everything
is created in pairs so that people may reflect.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:13
type: quote
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI purpose of Djinn and men
quote_or_summary: '"I have not created Djinn and men, but that they should worship
me"; God is called "the sole sustainer."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LII opening oath
quote_or_summary: Sura LII opens by swearing by the mountain, the written book on
an outspread roll, the frequented fane, the lofty vault, and the swollen sea,
then says chastisement from the Lord is imminent.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:15
type: quote
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LII cosmic upheaval and Hell
quote_or_summary: '"Reeling on that day the Heaven shall reel, / And stirring shall
the mountains stir"; deniers are thrust "to the fire of Hell."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:16
type: summary
locator: lines 3678-3891; Sura LI repeated rejection of apostles
quote_or_summary: The passage says no apostle came to earlier peoples without being
called a sorcerer or possessed, and it frames the scoff as a repeated legacy among
a rebel people.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is limited to the supplied passage. Motif assignments use only
the provided taxonomy references where directly or cautiously supported.
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: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Translator footnotes were used only where they clarify literal wording present in the passage, such as the note on the opening oath and the marked stones.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l3678-l3891
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