batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l4120-l4331
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l4120-l4331
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 4120-4331
start: '4120'
end: '4331'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage challenges human beings to reflect on divine creation, death,
crops, rainwater, and fire; affirms the Koran as revelation in a preserved Book;
depicts the dying soul and contrasted afterlife outcomes; then begins Sura LIII
with an oath by the setting star, the revelation taught to a visionary recipient,
a vision near the Sidrah-tree boundary, rejection of named goddesses or idols,
and affirmation that reward and punishment belong to God.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker asks whether humans create the germs of life or whether the divine
speaker is their creator.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker says death has been decreed among humans and that replacing or
producing them again in an unknown form is not prevented.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage asks whether humans make sown plants grow or whether the divine
speaker causes them to spring forth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says the harvest could be made dry and brittle, causing humans
to lament being deprived of harvest.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage asks whether humans send down drinking water from the clouds or
whether the divine speaker sends it down, and says it could be made brackish.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The passage describes fire obtained by friction and asks whether humans rear
its tree or whether the divine speaker rears it.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The fire is described as a memorial and benefit for desert wayfarers.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: The passage swears by the setting of the stars and declares the Koran honorable,
written in a preserved Book, and a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The passage describes a dying man's soul coming up into his throat while others
gaze at him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage challenges the hearers to cause the soul to return if they are
able to escape judgment.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: One who has near access to God receives repose, pleasure, and a garden of
delights.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:12
text: The people of the right hand receive a greeting of peace from the people of
the right hand.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:13
text: Those who treat the prophets as deceivers and are erring receive scalding
water and the broiling of hell-fire.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:14
text: Sura LIII opens with an oath by the star when it sets.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:15
text: The recipient called 'your compatriot' is said not to err or speak from mere
impulse; the Koran is described as revelation revealed to him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:16
text: A powerful, wise figure teaches the revelation, stands in the highest part
of the horizon, approaches, and reveals to the servant what he revealed.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:17
text: The recipient is said to have seen him another time near the Sidrah-tree,
which marks the boundary, near the garden of repose.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:18
text: The Sidrah-tree is described as being covered with what covered it, and the
recipient's eye did not turn aside or wander.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:19
text: The passage names Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat, then rejects the names as lacking
divine warrant.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:20
text: The passage says angels' intercession is of no avail until God permits it
for whom he pleases and accepts.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:21
text: The passage says God owns whatever is in the heavens and the earth and will
reward evil and good deeds accordingly.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / Lord / divine speaker
description: The speaker who creates, decrees death, sends water, rears the fire-tree,
reveals the Koran, permits intercession, and rewards deeds.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Human addressees
description: The addressed 'ye' who are questioned about creation, sowing, water,
fire, and the dying soul.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dying man
description: A man whose soul comes up into his throat while others gaze at him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Soul of the dying man
description: The soul that comes up into the dying man's throat and is challenged
to be returned.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: One with near access to God
description: A person promised repose, pleasure, and a garden of delights.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: People of the right hand
description: A group associated with a greeting of peace.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Those who treat the prophets as deceivers and the erring
description: A group whose entertainment is scalding water and hell-fire.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Your compatriot / servant / revelation recipient
description: The one said not to err, not to speak from impulse, and to receive
revelation and see signs.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: One terrible in power, endued with wisdom
description: A powerful and wise figure who teaches the revelation, stands at the
horizon, approaches, and reveals.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Angels in the heavens
description: Angels whose intercession is ineffective unless God permits and accepts
it.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat
description: Named figures or idols rejected as names without divine warrant.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine creator, provider, revealer, and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The divine speaker creates life, decrees death, controls harvest, water,
and fire, reveals the Koran, and rewards deeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: questioned human addressees
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage repeatedly addresses 'ye' and asks whether they create, grow
crops, send water, or return the soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: deathbed subject
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The dying man is described at the moment when the soul reaches the throat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: departing soul
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The soul is described as rising into the throat and as something humans cannot
cause to return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: blessed afterlife recipients
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: These figures receive repose, pleasure, a garden, and a greeting of peace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: punished deniers and erring people
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: They receive scalding water and hell-fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: recipient and witness of revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The figure receives revelation and sees signs near the Sidrah-tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: heavenly teacher or revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: This figure teaches the revelation and reveals to the servant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: conditional intercessors
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The angels' intercession is said to depend on God's permission and acceptance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: rejected named idols
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The named figures are treated as mere names lacking divine warrant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: germs of life
literal_form: semen or emitted life-germs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: sown seed and harvest
literal_form: what humans sow, its upgrowth, and harvest made dry and brittle
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: water from clouds
literal_form: drinking water sent down from clouds, potentially made brackish
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: fire obtained by friction
literal_form: fire obtained by friction and its tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: setting stars
literal_form: the setting of the stars used as an oath
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: preserved Book
literal_form: the honorable Koran written in the preserved Book
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: soul at the throat
literal_form: the soul of a dying man coming up into his throat
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: right hand
literal_form: people of the right hand and their greeting of peace
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:9
label: garden of delights
literal_form: repose, pleasure, and a garden of delights
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:10
label: scalding water and hell-fire
literal_form: scalding water and broiling of hell-fire
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:11
label: setting star
literal_form: the star when it setteth
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:12
label: Sidrah-tree boundary
literal_form: the Sidrah-tree which marks the boundary, near the garden of repose
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:13
label: named idols
literal_form: Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat named as idols or names without warrant
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Questions on creation, death, and re-creation
summary: The speaker asks whether humans create life and states that death is decreed
while divine replacement or re-production in unknown form remains possible.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Questions on harvest, water, and fire
summary: The passage presents crops, drinking water, and friction-fire as things
humans use but do not ultimately control.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Oath by stars and preserved revelation
summary: An oath by the setting of the stars introduces the claim that the Koran
is honorable, preserved, purified in access, and revealed from the Lord of the
worlds.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Deathbed soul and divided afterlife
summary: 'A dying man''s soul is described at the throat, humans are challenged
to return it, and three outcomes are named: nearness to God, peace for the right
hand, and punishment for deniers and the erring.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Revelation and vision near the celestial boundary
summary: The revelation recipient is taught by a powerful wise figure and sees him
near the Sidrah-tree boundary close to the garden of repose.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Rejection of idols and constrained intercession
summary: The passage names Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat, rejects them as unwarranted
names, and says angelic intercession is ineffective without divine permission.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine creator and provider shown through ordinary natural processes
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Life-generation, crops, cloud-water, and fire are presented as signs of divine
agency rather than human ultimate control.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a thematic motif candidate rather than one of the supplied named
motif families.
- id: motif:2
label: Re-creation and resurrection after death
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: The passage speaks of decreed death, possible replacement or production again
in an unknown form, first creation, and inability of humans to return the dying
soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes divine power over death and return; it does not
narrate an individual resurrection event.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine judgment with differentiated afterlife destinies
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage contrasts repose and garden for those near God, peace for the
right hand, and scalding water and hell-fire for deceivers and the erring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No detailed journey through the afterlife is narrated in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: Vision at a celestial boundary tree
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- ascent
basis: The revelation recipient sees a figure near the Sidrah-tree that marks a
boundary and is near the garden of repose.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt gives a visionary boundary setting but does not explicitly
narrate an ascent or travel route.
- id: motif:5
label: Revelation transmitted by a powerful heavenly teacher
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A powerful, wise figure teaches the revelation, approaches, and reveals to
the servant what he revealed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The identity and full narrative context of the teacher are not supplied
in the excerpt.
- id: motif:6
label: Rejection of rival divine names and limited intercession
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat are rejected as names without divine warrant,
and angelic intercession is made dependent on God's permission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a doctrinal-polemical pattern in the passage rather than a supplied
taxonomy motif family.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: A translator's note reports that one learned Muslim compared Koranic descriptions
of Paradise to those in the Revelation of St. John, treating them in large measure
as figurative.
claim_level: same_function
target: Descriptions of Paradise in the Book of Revelation of St. John
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The comparison appears in a note, not in the Quranic passage itself;
it reports one informant's view and does not specify exact parallel passages.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 4120-4131
quote_or_summary: '"Is it ye who create them? or are we their creator?" and death
is decreed, yet the speaker is not hindered from replacing or producing humans
again.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4132-4165
quote_or_summary: The passage asks who causes sown plants to grow, who sends down
drinking water from clouds, and who rears the tree of friction-fire; harvest may
be withered and water made brackish.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 4166-4184
quote_or_summary: An oath by "the setting of the stars" declares "this is the honourable
Koran" written in the preserved Book and revealed from the Lord of the worlds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4185-4218
quote_or_summary: At death the soul reaches the throat; humans cannot cause it to
return. The passage assigns repose and garden to those near God, peace to the
right hand, and scalding water and hell-fire to deceivers and the erring.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4249-4265
quote_or_summary: Sura LIII begins by the setting star; the compatriot does not
err, the Koran is revelation, and a powerful wise figure teaches, stands at the
highest horizon, approaches, and reveals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 4266-4276
quote_or_summary: The recipient saw him "Near the Sidrah-tree, which marks the boundary"
and near "the garden of repose"; his eye did not turn aside.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4277-4291
quote_or_summary: The passage names Al-Lat, Al-Ozza, and Manat, then says these
are mere names given by people and their fathers without divine warranty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 4292-4331
quote_or_summary: Angelic intercession has no avail until God permits and accepts
it; God owns what is in the heavens and earth and rewards evil and good deeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:9
type: note
locator: note 13 within lines 4120-4331
quote_or_summary: Translator's note glosses the "germs of life" as literally semen
emitted.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: note 7 within lines 4120-4331
quote_or_summary: A note reports a Muslim informant saying Koranic Paradise descriptions
are largely figurative, "like those" in Revelation of St. John.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text use.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The passage contains two adjacent Quranic sections plus translator notes.
Extraction is literal, but line subranges inside the supplied range are approximate
because only the full line span was provided.
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: |-
Only supplied passage text and metadata were used. No external identifications, including the named identity of the revelation recipient or heavenly teacher, were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l4120-l4331
passage_sha256=acff48656f55862b74cfc2296cab8aaf29aac7ca7bb40e5e0ff9230689a47419