batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l1726-l1776
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l1726-l1776
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS / THE KORAN. / PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I.;
lines 1726-1776
start: '1726'
end: '1776'
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 describes several pre-Islamic Arabian idols, stones, and rites
as represented in Sale''s preliminary discourse: Hobal and other Caaba images
with divining arrows; Asf and Nayelah, said to have been transformed into stone
for sexual transgression in the Caaba and later revered near two mountains; a
dough idol eaten during famine; sacred stones carried from Mecca and later worshipped;
and beliefs about creation, resurrection, funerary camels, metempsychosis, and
the avenging bird Hmah.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An idol associated with Hobal is described as having a gold-repaired hand
and holding seven headless and featherless arrows used in divination.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that Mohammed destroyed an image identified as Abraham
in the Caaba when he entered it after taking Mecca.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Abraham image is described as surrounded by many angels and prophets treated
as inferior deities, with Ismael among them in some accounts and also holding
divining arrows.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Asf and Nayelah are described as male and female idols brought from Syria
with Hobal and placed respectively on Mount Saf and Mount Merwa.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage reports a story that Asf and Nayelah committed whoredom in the
Caaba and were converted by God into stone.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Asf and Nayelah were later worshipped and reverenced by the Koreish; Mohammed
condemned the superstition but allowed visits to the mountains as monuments of
divine justice.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A lump of dough was worshipped by the tribe of Hanfa and was not eaten until
famine compelled them.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Several idols, including Manah, are described as large rude stones.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Migrants from the posterity of Ismael are said to have taken stones from the
reputed holy land of Mecca, set them up in new settlements, compassed them devotionally,
and eventually worshipped fine stones as divine objects.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Some pagan Arabs are described as denying both past creation and future resurrection,
attributing origins to nature and dissolution to age.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Other pagan Arabs are described as believing in resurrection and tying a camel
by a dead person's sepulchre to die and accompany the person to the other world,
so the person would not go on foot at the resurrection.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Some are described as believing in metempsychosis, in which blood near a dead
person's brain formed a bird named Hmah that visited the sepulchre once in a hundred
years.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Another account says the Hmah bird is animated by the soul of an unjustly
slain person and cries for drink, meaning the murderer's blood, until the death
is revenged.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Hobal
description: An idol associated with a gold-repaired hand and divining arrows, and
with other idols brought from Syria.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Image of Abraham
description: An image found in the Caaba and destroyed by Mohammed after the taking
of Mecca.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: The figure who destroys the Caaba image, condemns the superstition
around Asf and Nayelah, and allows visits to their mountains as monuments of divine
justice.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Angels and prophets
description: Figures represented around the image of Abraham and described as inferior
deities.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ismael
description: Named in some accounts among the surrounding figures and shown with
divining arrows in his hand.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Asf
description: Male idol, said to be the son of Amru of the tribe of Jorham, placed
on Mount Saf and later said to have been converted into stone.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Nayelah
description: Female idol, said to be the daughter of Sahl of the tribe of Jorham,
placed on Mount Merwa and later said to have been converted into stone.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: GOD
description: The divine agent said to have converted Asf and Nayelah into stone.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Koreish
description: The group said to have worshipped and reverenced Asf and Nayelah after
their transformation into stone.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Tribe of Hanfa
description: The tribe described as worshipping a lump of dough and eating it only
under famine.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Manah
description: An idol described as a large rude stone.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Posterity of Ismael / Ismaelites
description: People described as taking stones from the holy land of Mecca during
migrations and eventually worshipping stones.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Some pagan Arabs
description: Groups described with differing beliefs about creation, resurrection,
metempsychosis, and funerary rites.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Dead person
description: A deceased person for whom a camel is tied by the sepulchre to accompany
them to the other world.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Camel
description: Animal tied by the sepulchre without food or drink to perish and accompany
the deceased.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Hmah bird
description: A bird said either to form from blood near the dead person's brain
or to be animated by the soul of an unjustly slain person.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Unjustly slain person
description: A murdered person whose soul is said in one account to animate the
Hmah bird.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: Murderer
description: The person whose blood is desired by the Hmah bird until the killing
is revenged.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: cult image or idol
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:11
basis: These figures are represented as images, idols, or inferior deities in the
passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: destroyer or reformer of idolatry
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mohammed is described as destroying an image in the Caaba and condemning
the superstition surrounding Asf and Nayelah.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: divine judge
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: God is described as converting Asf and Nayelah into stone after their offense
in the Caaba.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: worshipping community
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:12
basis: The Koreish, Hanfa, and Ismaelites are each described as worshipping idols
or stones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: transgressors transformed into stone
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Asf and Nayelah are said to have committed whoredom in the Caaba and to have
been converted into stone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: holders of varied afterlife beliefs
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Some pagan Arabs are described as denying creation and resurrection, while
others believe in resurrection or metempsychosis.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: deceased traveler to the other world
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The dead person is expected to be accompanied by a camel to the other world
and at the resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: funerary animal companion
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: The camel is tied by the sepulchre to perish and accompany the deceased to
the other world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: soul or blood bird
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: The Hmah bird is said to arise from blood near the brain or to be animated
by the soul of the unjustly slain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: murder victim whose soul seeks redress
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: The soul of the unjustly slain person is said to animate the Hmah bird until
revenge occurs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: target of blood vengeance
assigned_to:
- fig:18
basis: The Hmah bird's cry is interpreted as demanding the murderer's blood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: divining arrows
literal_form: Seven arrows without heads or feathers, held by Hobal and also attributed
to Ismael in some accounts.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: stone idol or petrified body
literal_form: Large rude stones used as idols, and Asf and Nayelah converted into
stone.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: Mount Saf and Mount Merwa
literal_form: Two mountains where the idols Asf and Nayelah were placed and later
visited as monuments of divine justice.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: lump of dough idol
literal_form: A lump of dough worshipped by the tribe of Hanfa and eaten only under
famine.
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: stones from the holy land
literal_form: Stones taken from the reputed holy land of Mecca, set up in new settlements,
compassed, and eventually worshipped.
associated_figures:
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: sepulchre
literal_form: The grave beside which a camel is tied and which the Hmah bird is
said to visit.
associated_figures:
- fig:14
- fig:15
- fig:16
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:7
label: funerary camel
literal_form: A camel left without food or drink to die by the sepulchre and accompany
the dead person to the other world.
associated_figures:
- fig:14
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: Hmah bird
literal_form: A bird formed from blood near the dead person's brain or animated
by the soul of the unjustly slain.
associated_figures:
- fig:16
- fig:17
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:9
label: blood demanded for vengeance
literal_form: The murderer's blood, described as the drink demanded by the Hmah
bird until the death is revenged.
associated_figures:
- fig:16
- fig:18
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Image destroyed in the Caaba
summary: Mohammed enters the Caaba after taking Mecca and destroys an image identified
as Abraham, which is described as surrounded by angels, prophets, and sometimes
Ismael with divining arrows.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Asf and Nayelah transformed and revered
summary: Asf and Nayelah are described as a male and female pair who offend in the
Caaba, are converted by God into stone, and later become objects of reverence
at Mount Saf and Mount Merwa.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Dough idol eaten in famine
summary: The tribe of Hanfa worships a lump of dough and eats it only when compelled
by famine.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Migration of sacred stones from Mecca
summary: People from the posterity of Ismael carry stones from Mecca to new settlements,
first compass them devotionally and later worship stones as divine objects.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Camel left by sepulchre for the other world
summary: For a dead person, a camel is tied by the sepulchre and left without food
or drink to perish and accompany the dead person to the other world and at the
resurrection.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Hmah bird and blood vengeance
summary: The Hmah bird is described either as arising from blood near the dead person's
brain or as animated by the soul of the unjustly slain, crying for the murderer's
blood until revenge occurs.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:16
- fig:17
- fig:18
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divinatory arrows held by cult images
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hobal and, in some accounts, Ismael are described as holding divining arrows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports the detail as part of an antiquarian account; no broader
divination rite is described beyond the arrows.
- id: motif:2
label: petrifaction as divine punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Asf and Nayelah are said to be converted by God into stone after a sexual
offense in the Caaba, and the mountains are visited as monuments of divine justice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The account is reported indirectly by the author and framed polemically
as superstition.
- id: motif:3
label: transformed sinners become cult objects
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: After Asf and Nayelah are said to have been turned into stone, they are later
worshipped and reverenced by the Koreish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The transformation story and later worship are reported as tradition rather
than narrated as a primary myth.
- id: motif:4
label: sacred stones transported from a holy place and worshipped
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Migrants are said to take stones from the reputed holy land of Mecca, install
them elsewhere, compass them devotionally, and eventually worship stones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes a ritual-historical development rather than a single
narrative episode.
- id: motif:5
label: edible idol consumed under famine
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A dough idol worshipped by the tribe of Hanfa is eaten only when famine compels
them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The object and action are reported briefly with no expanded narrative
context.
- id: motif:6
label: animal companion provided for the afterlife journey
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- resurrection
basis: A camel is tied beside the sepulchre to perish and accompany the dead person
to the other world, so the person need not go on foot at the resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The rite is described as a belief or custom of some pagan Arabs; it is
not presented as a narrative journey.
- id: motif:7
label: soul bird demanding blood vengeance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Hmah bird is said to be animated by the soul of the unjustly slain and
to cry for the murderer's blood until revenge is achieved.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives alternate explanations for the bird's origin, so the
soul-bird interpretation is one reported variant.
- id: motif:8
label: metempsychosis into a bird from the dead
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: Some are said to believe that blood near the dead person's brain forms the
Hmah bird, or that the bird is animated by a murdered person's soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a precise metempsychosis category;
'death_rebirth' is only an approximate motif-family reference.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1726-1728
quote_or_summary: Hobal is described with a hand repaired in gold and seven headless,
featherless arrows used by Arabs in divination.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1728-1733
quote_or_summary: The idol is identified with an image of Abraham found and destroyed
by Mohammed in the Caaba when he took Mecca; it is described as surrounded by
angels and prophets as inferior deities, and some accounts include Ismael with
divining arrows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1734-1739
quote_or_summary: Asf and Nayelah are described as male and female idols brought
from Syria with Hobal, placed on Mount Saf and Mount Merwa, and said to have been
converted by God into stone after committing whoredom in the Caaba.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1739-1743
quote_or_summary: Asf and Nayelah are said to have been worshipped and reverenced
by the Koreish; Mohammed condemned the superstition but allowed visits to the
mountains as monuments of divine justice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1744-1748
quote_or_summary: A lump of dough worshipped by the tribe of Hanfa is described
as respected and not eaten until famine compelled them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1749-1760
quote_or_summary: Some idols, including Manah, are called large rude stones; the
posterity of Ismael are said to have carried stones from Mecca to new homes, compassed
them devotionally as at the Caaba, and eventually worshipped stones.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1761-1764
quote_or_summary: Some pagan Arabs are described as believing neither in past creation
nor future resurrection, attributing origins to nature and dissolution to age.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1764-1770
quote_or_summary: Others believed in resurrection and tied a camel by a sepulchre,
leaving it to perish and accompany the dead to the other world so the deceased
would not go on foot at the resurrection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1770-1773
quote_or_summary: Some believed in metempsychosis and that blood near the dead person's
brain formed a bird named Hmah, which visited the sepulchre once in a hundred
years.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 1773-1776
quote_or_summary: Another account says the Hmah is animated by the soul of an unjustly
slain person and cries, "give me to drink," meaning the murderer's blood, until
revenged.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The extraction is based on a translated preliminary discourse that reports
traditions indirectly and uses polemical language. Literal objects and actions
are clear, but motif classification should be reviewed.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage does not provide sufficient internal basis for a controlled cross-tradition comparison, apart from a polemical aside not treated here as a motif comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l1726-l1776
passage_sha256=311921056b7a4539ab210abf03e00d174386dbd6c5e000eaa7dddac7d4676ef4