batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l2558-l2605
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l2558-l2605
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: THE KORAN. / PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I. / SECTION II.; lines 2558-2605
start: '2558'
end: '2605'
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 characterizes Mohammed's moral and personal qualities, including
charity, refusal of earthly treasures, sagacity, persuasive ability, memory, sociability,
and lack of formal literary education. It says he used his inability to read or
write as an argument that his revealed writings could not be his own forgery.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Mohammed is described by Muslim authors as possessing religious and moral
virtues such as piety, veracity, justice, liberality, clemency, humility, and
abstinence.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: His charity is described as so conspicuous that he kept little money and spared
provisions for the poor.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Al Bokhri is cited as saying that God offered Mohammed the keys of the treasures
of the earth, but Mohammed did not accept them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The narrator cautions that the eulogies of these writers may be partial, while
still inferring that Mohammed had at least tolerable morals.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Mohammed is described as having piercing and sagacious wit, excellent judgment,
happy memory, experience, knowledge of men, and skill in insinuation.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Mohammed is described as having no acquired learning and as unable to write
or read.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Mohammed is said to have argued that the writings he produced as revelations
from God could not be his own forgery because he could neither write nor read.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Central figure described as charitable, sagacious, persuasive, unlearned
in formal literature, and producer of writings presented as revelations from God.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: Divine figure said to have offered Mohammed the keys of the treasures
of the earth and from whom Mohammed's writings were presented as revelations.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: al Bokhri
description: Cited authority who says that God offered Mohammed the keys of the
treasures of the earth and that Mohammed refused them.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mohammedan authors and eastern historians
description: Writers cited as praising Mohammed's virtues and personal qualities.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: charitable religious leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Mohammed is described as morally virtuous and especially charitable toward
the poor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: renouncer of earthly treasure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The cited report says he refused the keys of the treasures of the earth when
offered by God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: unlettered revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says he had no acquired learning, could neither write nor read,
and produced writings as revelations from God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: divine giver of revelation and wealth-offer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God is described as offering earthly treasures and as the claimed source
of revelations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: reporting authority
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Al Bokhri, Muslim authors, and eastern historians are cited as sources for
claims about Mohammed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: keys of the treasures of the earth
literal_form: keys and earthly treasures
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: revealed writings
literal_form: writings produced as revelations from God
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: inability to read or write
literal_form: a person who could neither write nor read
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Refusal of earthly treasures
summary: God is reported to have offered Mohammed the keys of the treasures of the
earth, and Mohammed refused them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Argument from unlettered revelation
summary: Mohammed is said to have used his lack of reading and writing ability to
argue that the writings presented as revelations from God could not be his own
forgery.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:3
label: Character portrait by cited authorities
summary: Cited authors describe Mohammed as morally virtuous, charitable, sagacious,
socially persuasive, and personally agreeable, while the narrator notes possible
partiality in such praise.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: refusal of divine offer of worldly wealth
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A cited report says God offered Mohammed the keys of the treasures of the
earth, but he refused them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports the motif through a cited authority within a biographical
discussion; it does not narrate a fuller mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: unlettered recipient or producer of divine revelation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that Mohammed had no acquired learning and argued that,
because he could neither write nor read, his revealed writings could not be his
own forgery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage emphasizes apologetic
proof of revelation rather than wisdom teaching itself.
- id: motif:3
label: charitable leader who gives away personal resources
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Mohammed is described as keeping little money and sparing his own provisions
to supply the needs of the poor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a character motif in a prose description, not a distinct narrative
episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2561-2567
quote_or_summary: Muslim authors are said to praise Mohammed's religious and moral
virtues, including piety, veracity, justice, liberality, clemency, humility, and
abstinence.
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 2567-2573
quote_or_summary: His charity is described as leaving little money in his house
and as giving even some of his provisions to the poor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2573-2575
quote_or_summary: '"GOD," says al Bokhri, "offered him the keys of the treasures
of the earth, but he would not accept them."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2575-2583
quote_or_summary: The narrator says these eulogies may be suspected of partiality
but still infers that Mohammed had at least tolerable morals.
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 2587-2598
quote_or_summary: Mohammed is described as sagacious, persuasive, of excellent judgment
and memory, experienced in knowledge of men, socially pleasant, and personally
agreeable.
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 2599-2605
quote_or_summary: The passage says Mohammed had no acquired learning and no education
beyond tribal custom, which neglected literature.
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 2605-2605
quote_or_summary: The passage says Mohammed insisted that writings produced as revelations
from God could not be his own forgery because a person unable to write or read
could not compose such a book.
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: uncertain
notes: The extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif candidates
are limited because the passage is biographical and apologetic commentary rather
than a mythic narrative. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself
does not support a specific comparison to another tradition or motif family beyond
broad taxonomy alignment.
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 locator for ev:7 is constrained by the supplied range; the relevant sentence continues at the end of the provided passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l2558-l2605
passage_sha256=e39f9dea36c1fe455d24b68ff1e79d7da66145819b2d9a35c3f3d896349eed44