batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l8695-l8860
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l8695-l8860
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 8695-8860
start: '8695'
end: '8860'
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 closes a section on the djinn, divine warning, exclusive worship
of God, apostolic message, punishment for rebellion, and God's guarded knowledge
of the unseen. It then presents Sura LXVII, 'The Kingdom,' describing God's dominion,
creation of death and life as a test, the seven heavens, lights in the lowest
heaven used against Satans, the fate of unbelievers in Hell, the role of warners,
God's knowledge of hidden and open speech, resurrection, threatened earth and
storm punishments, birds upheld by God, human dependence on divine provision,
and the question of who can restore running water if it disappears.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Some beings are described as resigned to God, while others are described as
having gone astray.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Those who go astray are said to become fuel for Hell.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Abundant waters may be given as a means of proving people, while withdrawal
from remembrance of the Lord leads to severe torment.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Temples are set apart for God, and calling on any other being there with God
is forbidden.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: When the servant of God stood to call upon God, the djinn nearly crowded or
jostled him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker is commanded to say that he calls only upon his Lord and joins
no other being with Him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The speaker denies having control over harm or benefit and states that none
can protect him against God or provide refuge beside God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The speaker's work is described as preaching from God and delivering God's
message.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Those who rebel against God and His apostle are assigned to the fire of Hell
forever.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: God knows the secret and does not disclose it except to an apostle who pleases
Him, before and behind whom guards are made to march.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: God is described as holding the Kingdom in His hand, powerful over all things,
and as creating death and life to test righteous conduct.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Seven heavens are said to have been created one above another, with lights
placed in the lowest heaven and hurled at Satans.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Hell is described as a destination for unbelievers, where it brays, boils,
and nearly bursts with fury when crowds are thrown into it.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: Keepers of Hell question each crowd about whether a warner came to them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: The condemned acknowledge that a warner came, that they rejected him as a
liar, and that they did not listen or understand.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:16
text: God is said to know both hidden and open speech and the inmost recesses of
human breasts.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:17
text: The earth is described as made level for humans to traverse and eat from,
and resurrection is said to be unto God.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:18
text: The passage asks whether people are secure from God cleaving the earth beneath
them so that it quakes, or sending a stone-charged whirlwind.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:19
text: Birds overhead are described as stretching and drawing in their wings, upheld
only by the God of Mercy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:20
text: A contrast is drawn between one who goes grovelling on his face and one who
goes upright on a straight path.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:21
text: God is said to have brought people forth, given them hearing, sight, and heart,
sown them in the earth, and to Him they shall be gathered.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:22
text: The time of the threatened event is said to be known by God alone, while the
speaker is only an open warner.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:23
text: If waters sink away by early morning, the passage asks who will provide clear
running water.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / Lord / God of Mercy
description: The divine figure addressed as God, Lord, God of Mercy, and holder
of the Kingdom; described as creator, judge, knower, provider, and the one in
whom believers trust.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
- ev:15
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: servant of God / speaker / apostle / open warner
description: A messenger figure who stands to call upon God, preaches from God,
delivers God's message, denies control over harm or benefit, and is described
as an open warner.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:14
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: djinn
description: A crowd of djinn is described as nearly jostling the servant of God
when he stood to call upon God; the preceding speech distinguishes those resigned
to God from those gone astray.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Muslims / those resigned to God
description: Those who have resigned themselves to God and are said to pursue the
way of truth.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: those gone astray / rebels / unbelievers / infidels
description: Groups described as going astray, rebelling against God and His apostle,
rejecting warners, persisting in pride, and facing Hell or torment.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:14
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Satans
description: Beings at whom the lights of the lowest heaven are hurled; flaming
torment is prepared for them.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: keepers of Hell
description: The keepers question each crowd thrown into Hell about whether a warner
came to them.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: birds
description: Birds over human heads stretch and draw in their wings and are upheld
by the God of Mercy.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: creator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is said to have created death and life, the seven heavens, and humans
with hearing, sight, and heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:13
- id: role:2
label: judge and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God sends severe torment, assigns rebels and unbelievers to Hell, and threatens
earth-cleaving or whirlwind punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:11
- ev:14
- id: role:3
label: knower of secrets
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God knows the secret, hidden and open speech, and the inmost recesses of
breasts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: provider and sustainer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God provides food from the earth, upholds birds, and is invoked as the one
able to restore running water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:15
- id: role:5
label: messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The speaker's sole work is preaching from God and delivering His message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: warner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The speaker says that he is only an open warner, and the condemned acknowledge
that a warner came to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:14
- id: role:7
label: crowding listeners
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The djinn almost jostle the servant of God by their crowds when he stands
to call upon God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: rightly directed believers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Those resigned to God are said to pursue the way of truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:9
label: condemned rejecters
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Those gone astray, rebels, and unbelievers are associated with Hell, torment,
and rejection of warnings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: questioners of the threat
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They ask when the threat will be put in force if the speakers tell the truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: role:11
label: targets of heavenly missiles
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Lights in the lowest heaven are placed to be hurled at the Satans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: interrogators at Hell
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Keepers of Hell ask each thrown crowd whether a warner came to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:13
label: upheld creatures
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Birds are described as upheld only by the God of Mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water as provision and test
literal_form: abundant waters; clear running water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:15
- id: sym:2
label: fire of Hell
literal_form: fuel for Hell; fire of Hell; flaming fire; flames
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: seven heavens
literal_form: seven Heavens one above another
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: lights of the lowest heaven
literal_form: lights placed in the lowest heaven and hurled at the Satans
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: straight path and grovelling posture
literal_form: one grovelling on his face contrasted with one upright on a straight
path
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: earth as traversed place and gathering ground
literal_form: level earth to traverse; humans sown in the earth and gathered to
God
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: sym:7
label: guarded secret
literal_form: God's secret disclosed only to a pleasing apostle, with guards before
and behind him
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Djinn and the servant of God
summary: The passage distinguishes those resigned to God from those gone astray,
warns of Hell for the latter, and describes the djinn crowding the servant of
God when he stands to call upon God.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Exclusive worship and apostolic limitation
summary: The speaker is told to say that he calls only on his Lord, associates no
other being with Him, lacks control over harm or benefit, has no refuge beside
God, and serves by preaching God's message.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Rebellion and Hell
summary: Those who rebel against God and His apostle are assigned to the fire of
Hell forever, and they will later know which side was weakest in protector and
number.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Guarded disclosure of the unseen
summary: God knows the secret and discloses it only to an approved apostle, before
and behind whom guards march so that the delivery of divine messages is known
and counted.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Creation of the kingdom and heavens
summary: God is blessed as holder of the Kingdom, creator of death and life as a
test, creator of seven heavens, and placer of lights in the lowest heaven to be
hurled at Satans.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Hell interrogates the warned rejecters
summary: Unbelievers are thrown into Hell, which brays, boils, and almost bursts;
its keepers ask whether a warner came, and the condemned acknowledge rejecting
the warning.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Divine knowledge, earth, and resurrection
summary: God knows hidden and open speech and human interiors; He has made the earth
usable, provides from it, and resurrection is unto Him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:8
label: Threatened earth and storm punishments
summary: The passage asks whether people are safe from God causing the earth to
quake beneath them or sending a stone-charged whirlwind, and recalls earlier peoples
who rejected prophets.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: scene:9
label: Birds upheld and human dependence
summary: Birds over human heads move their wings and are upheld by the God of Mercy;
the passage asks who could serve as an army or provider if God withheld support.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: scene:10
label: Straight path, gathering, and threatened event
summary: The passage contrasts grovelling and upright movement, says God gave humans
faculties and will gather them to Himself, and states that the timing of the threatened
event belongs to God alone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: scene:11
label: Vanishing water
summary: The passage closes by asking who would provide clear running water if the
waters had sunk away at early morning.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine judgment after rejected warning
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage repeatedly presents warning by a messenger, rejection by unbelievers
or rebels, and subsequent punishment in Hell or other divine torment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction names a broad motif family supplied in the available taxonomy;
it does not assert a specific cross-cultural type.
- id: motif:2
label: resurrection and gathering to God
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: The passage states that resurrection is unto God and that humans, sown in
the earth, shall be gathered to Him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not narrate a full afterlife journey, only resurrection
and gathering.
- id: motif:3
label: cosmic stratification of seven heavens
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes seven heavens arranged one above another and lights
in the lowest heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names seven heavens or cosmic layers;
retained as an untaxonomized candidate pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: water as divine provision and trial
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Waters are described both as abundance used to prove people and as a provision
that only God can restore if it sinks away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: Although the water symbol is explicit, the available motif-family taxonomy
does not include a precise provision-and-testing water motif.
- id: motif:5
label: guarded revelation to an apostle
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: God's secret knowledge is not generally disclosed, but an approved apostle
receives disclosure with guards before and behind him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy ref 'wisdom' is broad; the passage emphasizes guarded divine
knowledge and message-delivery rather than wisdom-seeking.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: A translator's note compares the sound of Hell's 'braying' to literary uses
of 'braying' for infernal clamour in Shakespeare and Milton.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: English literary descriptions of infernal clamour in Shakespeare and Milton,
as cited in the note
evidence_refs:
- ev:16
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a translator's lexical/literary comparison in a note, not evidence
for shared mythic transmission or a common narrative motif.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8695-8699
quote_or_summary: Some among the speaking group have resigned themselves to God,
while others have gone astray; the resigned follow truth, and the astray become
fuel for Hell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 8701-8705
quote_or_summary: If the Meccans keep straight in that way, God will give abundant
waters to test them; whoever withdraws from remembrance of his Lord will be sent
into severe torment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8707-8711
quote_or_summary: Temples are set apart for God; no other is to be called on there
with God. When the servant of God stood to call on Him, the djinn nearly jostled
him by their crowds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8713-8723
quote_or_summary: The speaker says he calls only on his Lord, joins no other being
with Him, has no control over harm or benefit, has no protector or refuge beside
God, and has only the work of preaching God's message.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8723-8729
quote_or_summary: Those who rebel against God and His apostle receive the fire of
Hell forever; when they see the threatened vengeance, they will know which side
had the weaker protector and fewer numbers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 8731-8739
quote_or_summary: The speaker does not know whether the threat is near or distant;
God knows the secret and discloses it only to an apostle who pleases Him, with
guards marching before and behind, and God counts all concerning the apostles.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 8749-8763
quote_or_summary: Sura LXVII opens by blessing the one in whose hand is the Kingdom,
who created death and life to test righteous deeds, created seven heavens, and
placed lights in the lowest heaven to be hurled at Satans, for whom flaming torment
is prepared.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 8765-8773
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers face the torment of Hell; when thrown into it they
hear it braying and boiling, almost bursting with fury, and its keepers ask each
crowd whether a warner came to them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 8775-8783
quote_or_summary: The condemned say that a warner came, but they called him a liar;
they admit that if they had listened or understood they would not be among the
dwellers in the flames, and they acknowledge their sin.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 8785-8795
quote_or_summary: Those who fear their Lord in secret receive pardon and reward.
God knows hidden and open conversation and the inmost breasts; He made the earth
level for humans to traverse and eat from, and unto Him is resurrection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 8797-8805
quote_or_summary: The passage asks whether people are secure from God in heaven
cleaving the earth so it quakes or sending a stone-charged whirlwind; earlier
peoples treated prophets as liars and met grievous wrath.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 8807-8815
quote_or_summary: Birds over human heads stretch and draw in their wings, upheld
only by the God of Mercy; the passage asks who could serve as an army or provider
except Him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 8817-8825
quote_or_summary: The passage contrasts one grovelling on his face with one upright
on a straight path; God brought people forth, gave hearing, sight, and heart,
sowed them in the earth, and to Him they shall be gathered.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 8827-8843
quote_or_summary: The people ask when the threat will occur; the speaker says the
knowledge belongs to God alone and that he is only an open warner. When the threat
appears, the infidels' faces become sad, and no one protects them from torment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 8845-8847
quote_or_summary: The passage asks who will give clear running water if, at early
morning, the waters have sunk away.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: note
locator: lines 8849-8852
quote_or_summary: A footnote says Shakespeare uses 'braying' for clamours of Hell
and that Milton speaks of 'braying horrible discord,' comparing Sura xxv. 12-21.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized translator note.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about divine judgment, resurrection, water, fire,
and guarded revelation. Some motif labels are broad because only the provided
taxonomy refs were available. The sole comparison claim is limited to the translator's
own 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: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No figures or comparisons were added beyond those supported by the supplied passage and notes.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l8695-l8860
passage_sha256=a4b4ff997d49af0954288d3aaca798124d68a5a58a3831591165d5e0d9f63df3