batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l25070-l25157
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l25070-l25157
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXI. / IN THE
NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 25070-25157
start: '25070'
end: '25157'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Sale translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Abraham challenges his father and people for devotion to images, breaks
the idols except the largest, and uses the episode to argue that the images cannot
speak or help. The people decide to burn him, but God commands the fire to be
cold and preserving for Abraham. God delivers Abraham and Lot to a blessed land,
grants Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and makes them righteous religious models. Lot
is given wisdom and delivered from a wicked city. Noah calls for destruction on
his people, and God delivers Noah and his family from a great strait.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Abraham questions his father and people about the images to which they are
devoted.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Abraham says that the Lord is the creator of the heavens and the earth and
that he bears witness to this.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Abraham announces a plot against the idols after the people leave.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: In the people's absence, Abraham enters the temple and breaks the idols except
the largest one.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The returning people ask who damaged their gods and identify Abraham as one
who had spoken reproachfully of them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: When questioned, Abraham says the largest idol did it and tells the people
to ask the idols if they can speak.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The people acknowledge that the idols do not speak, and Abraham argues that
what they worship besides God cannot profit or hurt them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The people order that Abraham be burned to avenge their gods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: When Abraham is cast into the burning pile, God commands the fire to be cold
and a preservation for Abraham.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: God delivers Abraham and Lot to a blessed land.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: God grants Isaac and Jacob to Abraham and makes them righteous persons and
models of religion.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Lot receives wisdom and knowledge and is delivered from a city described as
wicked and criminal.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Noah calls for destruction on his people, and God delivers Noah and his family
from a great strait.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Abraham
description: Recipient of divine direction; challenges idol worship, breaks idols,
is threatened with burning, and is preserved from the fire.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Abraham's father and people
description: Devoted to images inherited from their fathers; question Abraham and
decide to burn him.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: The idols / images
description: Objects of devotion and worship; broken by Abraham, except the largest;
described as unable to speak, profit, or hurt.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: The biggest idol
description: The largest image left unbroken by Abraham, named by him as the apparent
doer of the damage in his argument.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: God / the Lord
description: Creator of the heavens and the earth; commands the fire to preserve
Abraham; delivers Abraham, Lot, and Noah's family; grants descendants and wisdom.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Lot
description: Delivered with Abraham to a blessed land; given wisdom and knowledge
and rescued from a wicked city.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Isaac
description: Granted to Abraham and made righteous.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Jacob
description: Granted to Abraham and made righteous.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Noah
description: Calls for destruction on his people and is heard by God.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Noah's family
description: Delivered with Noah from a great strait.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divinely directed witness
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Abraham is given direction and bears witness that the Lord created the heavens
and earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: iconoclast and disputant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Abraham plots against and breaks the idols, then argues from their inability
to speak.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: idol-worshipping community
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The people say they found their fathers worshipping the images and continue
defending them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: powerless cult image
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The images are broken and are said not to speak, profit, or hurt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: persecutors of Abraham
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The people call for Abraham to be burned to avenge their gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: divine protector and deliverer
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: God commands the fire to preserve Abraham and delivers Abraham, Lot, and
Noah's family.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: delivered figure
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:10
basis: Lot is delivered to a blessed land and from a wicked city; Noah's family
is delivered from a great strait.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: recipient of wisdom and knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage states that Lot is given wisdom and knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: righteous descendants and religious models
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Isaac and Jacob are bestowed on Abraham, made righteous, and included among
models of religion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: prophetic petitioner for judgment
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Noah calls for destruction on his people, and God hears him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: idols / images
literal_form: Images worshipped by Abraham's father and people; broken in the temple.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: temple
literal_form: Place where the idols stand and where Abraham breaks them.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: biggest idol left unbroken
literal_form: Largest image left intact so blame might be laid upon it.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: fire
literal_form: Burning pile into which Abraham is cast; commanded to be cold and
preserving.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: blessed land
literal_form: Land into which Abraham and Lot are brought and which is described
as blessed for all creatures.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: wicked city
literal_form: City from which Lot is delivered, described as committing filthy crimes.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Abraham questions inherited image worship
summary: Abraham asks his father and people about the images they worship, and they
answer that they found their fathers worshipping them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Breaking of the idols
summary: After announcing a plot, Abraham enters the temple during the people's
absence and breaks the idols except the largest one.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Public interrogation and argument
summary: The people bring Abraham before the assembly; he tells them to ask the
largest idol if it can speak, and then argues against worshipping beings that
cannot help or harm.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Threat of burning and preservation in fire
summary: The people call for Abraham to be burned, but when he is cast into the
burning pile God commands the fire to be cold and preserving for him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Deliverance to a blessed land and righteous lineage
summary: God delivers Abraham and Lot to a blessed land, grants Abraham Isaac and
Jacob, and makes them righteous models of religion.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Lot delivered from the wicked city
summary: Lot is given wisdom and knowledge and rescued from a city characterized
by wicked crimes.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Noah heard and delivered with his family
summary: Noah calls for destruction on his people; God hears him and delivers him
and his family from a great strait.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Challenge to powerless idols
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Abraham breaks the images and argues that they cannot speak, profit, or hurt,
exposing their impotence within the passage's logic.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No external motif taxonomy reference is supplied for iconoclasm or idol
trial, so the label is descriptive.
- id: motif:2
label: Miraculous preservation from fire
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Abraham is cast into a burning pile, and God commands the fire to become
cold and preserving for him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy contains the symbol 'fire' but no exact motif family
for non-burning fire; not mapped to 'world_destroying_fire' because the fire is
localized.
- id: motif:3
label: Divine reversal of persecutors' plot
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: After the people seek to plot against Abraham, God causes them to be the
sufferers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states reversal and suffering but gives limited detail about
the mode of judgment.
- id: motif:4
label: Deliverance to a blessed land
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: God delivers Abraham and Lot by bringing them into a land described as blessed
for all creatures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage emphasizes divine deliverance and relocation; the taxonomy
label 'departure' is approximate.
- id: motif:5
label: Wisdom given to a righteous figure
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Lot is explicitly given wisdom and knowledge before being delivered from
the wicked city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: This is a brief notice rather than an extended wisdom episode.
- id: motif:6
label: Prophetic petition and family deliverance
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Noah calls for destruction on his people, God hears him, and Noah and his
family are delivered from a great strait.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt does not explicitly mention a flood, so it is not mapped to
'flood_and_renewal' here.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Sale's note explicitly compares the Abraham idol-breaking episode with a
Jewish version involving Abraham, Terah, idols, and Nimrod-like punishment.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Jewish Abraham idol-breaking story involving Terah and punishment before
Nimrod
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim rests on the translator's footnote within the supplied passage,
not on independent verification; the note is polemical in wording and says the
Jewish version differs in details.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 25070-25157; Abraham questions images
quote_or_summary: Abraham asks his father and people what the images are to which
they are devoted; they reply that their fathers worshipped them, and Abraham says
they and their fathers are in manifest error.
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 25070-25157; Abraham's witness and plot
quote_or_summary: Abraham states that the Lord of the heavens and earth created
them and says he will devise a plot against the idols after the people leave.
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 25070-25157; temple and broken idols
quote_or_summary: In the people's absence Abraham goes into the temple, breaks the
idols in pieces except the biggest, and the returning people ask who has done
this to their gods.
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 25070-25157; assembly interrogation
quote_or_summary: Before the assembly, Abraham denies direct admission and says
the biggest idol did it, telling the people to ask the idols if they can speak;
they then recognize their own fault before relapsing and admitting the images
do not speak.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 25070-25157; argument against idols and burning order
quote_or_summary: Abraham asks whether they worship besides God what cannot profit
or hurt them; the people say, "Burn him, and avenge your gods."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 25070-25157; translator note i
quote_or_summary: 'The note says Abraham''s idol-breaking story is also told by
Jews with variation: Abraham breaks idols in his father''s shop and attributes
the disorder to a quarrel among the idols, leading to punishment before Nimrod.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 25070-25157; burning pile and preservation
quote_or_summary: When Abraham is cast into the burning pile, God says, "O fire,
be thou cold, and a preservation unto Abraham"; the plotters are made the sufferers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 25070-25157; deliverance and descendants
quote_or_summary: God delivers Abraham and Lot into a blessed land, bestows Isaac
and Jacob on Abraham, makes them righteous, and makes them models of religion
who direct others by divine command.
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 25070-25157; Lot
quote_or_summary: Lot is given wisdom and knowledge and delivered out of a city
described as committing filthy crimes; he is led into God's mercy as an upright
person.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 25070-25157; Noah
quote_or_summary: Noah calls for destruction on his people; God hears him and delivers
him and his family from a great strait.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong for the Abraham fire episode and the brief Lot
and Noah notices. Motif mapping is more cautious where available taxonomy labels
are approximate or where the excerpt is brief. Comparison claim is limited to
the supplied translator 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: |-
All observations and motifs are based only on the supplied passage and metadata. No external Quranic, biblical, or folklore sources were used beyond the passage's own notes.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l25070-l25157
passage_sha256=518fca051efc0f75ee7fbf26141836cac0b5efa7fd19f94f55491d8c1992c1fc