batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l2037-l2091
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l2037-l2091
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 2037-2091
start: '2037'
end: '2091'
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 pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arab poetic assemblies
at Ocadh, the preservation and later loss of ancient poetry, the revival and formalization
of learning, Arab martial customs, a saying about four divine gifts to Arabs,
and the high value placed on hospitality. A footnote recounts an anecdote about
a grammarian at the Nilometer being mistaken for someone using a charm against
the Nile's rise.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Arab tribes held an annual month-long assembly and fair at Ocadh where poets
recited compositions and competed for a prize.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Poems judged excellent were said to be stored in kings' treasuries, including
the seven celebrated poems called al Moallakt, also described as written on Egyptian
silk in letters of gold.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The fair and assembly at Ocadh were suppressed by Mohammed, after which poetry
was neglected for a time while the Arabs were occupied in conquests.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: After conquests were completed and peace returned, poetry and many kinds of
learning were revived and improved.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The interruption contributed to the loss of many ancient poems, which had
chiefly been preserved in memory because writing was rare among Arabs in the time
described as ignorance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Arab prosody is described as not having been digested into rules until after
Mohammed, attributed to al Khall Ahmed al Farhdi in the reign of Harun al Rashid.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Because independent tribes often quarreled, the exercise of arms and horsemanship
was practiced and encouraged.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: 'A saying states that God gave Arabs four peculiar things: turbans instead
of diadems, tents instead of walls and houses, swords instead of entrenchments,
and poems instead of written laws.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Hospitality is described as habitual and highly esteemed among Arabs, with
Hatem and Hasn named as especially famous examples.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: A poet reproaches the inhabitants of Waset by saying that none of their men
had the heart to give, nor their women to deny.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: A footnote recounts that Abu Jaafar, while analyzing poetry at the Nilometer
during a feared famine caused by low Nile levels, was mistaken for someone uttering
a charm to hinder the river and was pushed into the water, where he died.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Arab tribes at Ocadh
description: Tribes participating in the annual assembly, fair, trade, and poetic
competition at Ocadh.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Poets at Ocadh
description: Poets who recited compositions and vied for a prize at the assembly.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Named as the person who suppressed the fair and assembly at Ocadh.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Arabs
description: Collective group described in relation to poetry, conquests, learning,
arms, horsemanship, and hospitality.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: al Khall Ahmed al Farhdi
description: Person said to have systematized Arab prosody into rules after Mohammed.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Hatem of Tay
description: Person named as particularly famous for hospitality.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hasn of Fezrah
description: Person named as particularly famous for hospitality.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Inhabitants of Waset
description: Group reproached by a poet for lack of giving or denial in a hospitality-related
accusation.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Abu Jaafar
description: Grammarian in the footnote who analyzed a poem at the Nilometer and
was pushed into the water after being mistaken for using a charm.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: poetic competitor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The tribes and poets are described as reciting compositions and vying for
a prize at Ocadh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: traders and assembly participants
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: The Ocadh gathering is described as both a fair or mart and a poetic assembly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: suppressor of assembly
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mohammed is named as suppressing the fair and assembly at Ocadh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: conquerors and later patrons of learning
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Arabs are described as occupied in conquests and later reviving poetry
and encouraging learning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: warriors and horsemen
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage states that arms and horsemanship were practiced because tribal
wars were frequent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: systematizer of prosody
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage attributes the formal rules of prosody to al Khall Ahmed al Farhdi.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: exemplar of hospitality
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Hatem and Hasn are singled out as particularly famous for hospitality.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: reproached inhospitable group
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The inhabitants of Waset are cited as the object of a poet's reproach about
failure to give or deny.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: grammarian
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The footnote names Abu Jaafar as a grammarian analyzing a poem.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: victim of mistaken charm accusation
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Abu Jaafar is said to have been mistaken for uttering a charm and pushed
into the water, where he died.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: golden written poems
literal_form: Poems written on Egyptian silk in letters of gold and stored or honored
publicly.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: four Arab substitutes
literal_form: Turbans, tents, swords, and poems presented in a saying as substitutes
for diadems, walls and houses, entrenchments, and written laws.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: Nile water
literal_form: The Nile's water at the Nilometer, into which Abu Jaafar is said to
have been pushed.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Poetic assembly and fair at Ocadh
summary: Tribes meet at Ocadh for a month-long assembly combining trade with recitation
and competition among poets.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Suppression, loss, and revival of poetry
summary: Mohammed suppresses the Ocadh fair and assembly; poetry is neglected during
conquests, ancient poems are lost because they were mostly preserved in memory,
and later poetry and learning revive.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Arms, horsemanship, and divine-gift saying
summary: The passage links tribal independence and frequent wars with the practice
of arms and horsemanship and cites a saying that God gave Arabs turbans, tents,
swords, and poems in place of royal, architectural, military, and legal equivalents.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Hospitality and reproach
summary: Hospitality is described as central to Arab custom, with Hatem and Hasn
cited as exemplars and the inhabitants of Waset reproached for the contrary vice.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Nilometer charm misunderstanding
summary: In a footnote, Abu Jaafar analyzes a poem near the Nilometer during a low
Nile year; bystanders mistake his analysis for a charm against the river and push
him into the water, where he dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Poetry as communal contest and cultural prestige
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage presents poetry as publicly performed, judged, rewarded, preserved
in royal treasuries, and later systematized as a field of learning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage is historical-discursive
rather than mythic narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: Oral preservation and cultural loss
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ancient poems are said to have been mostly preserved in memory, and the interruption
of poetic practice is said to have caused the loss of many pieces.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a cultural-history pattern, not a named mythological motif in
the supplied taxonomy.
- id: motif:3
label: Divinely granted cultural emblems
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: 'A saying attributes four distinctive Arab institutions or emblems to God''s
bestowal: turbans, tents, swords, and poems.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports a saying rather than narrating a myth of origin; no
supplied taxonomy family directly matches it.
- id: motif:4
label: Hospitality as social virtue
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Hospitality is described as habitual, highly esteemed, and exemplified by
named figures, while failure in hospitality is treated as a grave reproach.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The sacred_exchange taxonomy reference is only approximate; the passage
discusses hospitality socially rather than ritually.
- id: motif:5
label: Mistaken charm affecting river rise
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The footnote tells of a grammarian mistaken for uttering a charm to prevent
the Nile from rising, leading to his death in the water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a cited anecdote in a note, not part of the main discussion, and
it is framed as misunderstanding rather than an effective charm.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The author explicitly compares Arab hospitality with that of other nations,
saying Arab examples exceed what can be produced elsewhere.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: hospitality examples among other nations
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The comparison is a general authorial assertion, not a developed comparative
motif analysis; the claim_level options do not include a precise category for
a social-virtue comparison.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2037-2044
quote_or_summary: Tribes held an annual assembly at Ocadh, a fair or mart, lasting
a month, where they traded and recited poetical compositions in competition for
a prize.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2044-2050
quote_or_summary: Excellent poems were laid up in kings' treasuries; the seven celebrated
al Moallakt are described as written on Egyptian silk in letters of gold and also
called golden verses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2051-2057
quote_or_summary: Mohammed suppressed the fair and assembly at Ocadh; poetry was
neglected during Arab conquests, then revived along with other learning after
peace returned.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2057-2062
quote_or_summary: The interruption caused loss of many ancient poetic pieces, which
had chiefly been preserved in memory because writing was rare among Arabs in their
time of ignorance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2062-2068
quote_or_summary: Arabs first expressed themselves in occasional verse; prosody
was later reduced to rules, said to be by al Khall Ahmed al Farhdi under Harun
al Rashid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2069-2074
quote_or_summary: Arms and horsemanship were encouraged because independent tribes
frequently quarreled and wars were nearly continual.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 2074-2079
quote_or_summary: "“GOD had bestowed four peculiar things on the Arabs-that their
turbans should be to them instead of diadems, their tents instead of walls and
houses, their swords instead of entrenchments, and their poems instead of written
laws.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2080-2085
quote_or_summary: Hospitality was habitual and highly esteemed among Arabs; Hatem
of Tay and Hasn of Fezrah are named as especially famous for it, and Arab examples
are said to exceed those of other nations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 2085-2088
quote_or_summary: A poet reproaches the inhabitants of Waset by saying that none
of their men had the heart to give, nor their women to deny.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 2089-2091 note 8
quote_or_summary: A footnote says the grammarian Abu Jaafar analyzed a poem by the
Egyptian Nilometer during a low Nile year; passersby thought he was uttering a
charm to hinder the river's rise and pushed him into the water, where he died.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The passage is mainly historical and cultural commentary rather than mythic
narrative. Motif labels are therefore broad and require review, especially taxonomy
assignments.
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: |-
Line subranges are approximate within the supplied stable range. The Sale text contains transliteration and OCR-like spelling variants retained only in labels where needed.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l2037-l2091
passage_sha256=ca674ee8a54ba9301ad6fed0cf7591cd36b7f15245ecf8c5f2928dcdf4edeee4