batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l25815-l25887
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l25815-l25887
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXII. / IN
THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 25815-25887
start: '25815'
end: '25887'
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: The passage affirms God's truth, sovereignty, mercy, knowledge, creation,
control of water, earth, sea, heaven, life, death, resurrection, judgment, and
choice of messengers. It contrasts God with powerless idols through a parable
of idols unable to create or recover from a fly. It warns unbelievers of hell
and instructs believers to prostrate, worship, fight in defense of God's religion,
follow the religion of Abraham, pray, give alms, and adhere to God.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: God is described as truth, high, mighty, self-sufficient, worthy of praise,
gracious, wise, merciful, powerful, hearing, and seeing.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: obs:2
text: God sends water down from heaven, after which the earth becomes green.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: God has subjected things in the earth and ships sailing in the sea to human
service, and he withholds heaven from falling on earth except by his permission.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: God gives life, causes death, and will raise people to life again at the resurrection.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: God will judge disagreements on the day of resurrection, and all things are
said to be written in the book of his decrees.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Those who worship besides God are described as having no convincing proof
or knowledge, and unbelievers react with disdain to rehearsed signs.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The fire of hell is presented as a worse thing than violent disdain against
those who rehearse signs, and the journey to it is called unhappy.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: A parable says that the invoked idols cannot create a single fly, even if
assembled, and cannot recover anything snatched by the fly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: God chooses messengers from among angels and from among men, and all things
return to God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: True believers are commanded to bow, prostrate, worship, work righteousness,
fight in defense of God's religion, pray, give alms, and adhere firmly to God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The believers' religion is identified with the religion of Abraham, and believers
are named Moslems in earlier revelation and in this book.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: The apostle is to be a witness against the believers at the day of judgment,
and the believers are to be witnesses against the rest of mankind.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine being described as true, sovereign, life-giving, judging,
knowing, choosing messengers, and protecting believers.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mankind / man
description: Humanity is addressed as receiving divine service of creation, life,
death, resurrection, and instruction, but man is also called ungrateful.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Those who invoke or worship besides God
description: People who invoke idols or other beings besides God and are described
as lacking proof or knowledge.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Unbelievers
description: People whose countenances show disdain when signs are rehearsed and
who are threatened with the fire of hell.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Idols invoked besides God
description: Objects of invocation in the parable; they cannot create a fly or recover
what a fly snatches.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Fly
description: A small creature in the parable that the idols cannot create and from
which they cannot recover a snatched thing.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Messengers from among angels and men
description: Chosen messengers from angelic and human groups.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: True believers / Moslems
description: Believers commanded to worship, prostrate, fight in defense of religion,
pray, give alms, and adhere to God; named Moslems and made witnesses against mankind.
role_refs:
- role:11
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Abraham
description: Named as the father whose religion is the believers' religion.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Apostle
description: The apostle is to be a witness against the believers at the day of
judgment.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Supreme truth and sovereign
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is called truth, high, mighty, and owner of what is in heaven and on
earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Life-giver, death-causer, and resurrector
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God gives life, causes death, and raises again at resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Judge and knower
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God judges on the day of resurrection and knows whatever is in heaven and
earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: Protector and master
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Believers are told to adhere to God, who is their master and protector.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: Recipient of divine beneficence and judgment
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Mankind receives life, death, resurrection, and divine ordering of earth,
sea, and heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: False worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They worship besides God without proof or knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: Threatened unbelievers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Unbelievers show disdain toward signs and are threatened with hellfire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: Powerless petitioned beings
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The idols cannot create a fly or recover what a fly takes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: Parable creature exposing idol weakness
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The fly's snatching action demonstrates that the idols cannot recover what
it takes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: Chosen messengers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: God chooses messengers from among angels and men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: Chosen worshipping community
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Believers are commanded to worship and are told God has chosen them and named
them Moslems.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: Witnesses against mankind
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Believers are to be witnesses against the rest of mankind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:13
label: Ancestral religious model
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The believers' religion is called the religion of their father Abraham.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:14
label: Judgment-day witness
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The apostle is to be a witness against the believers at the day of judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Heavenly water
literal_form: Water sent down from heaven
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Greening earth
literal_form: Earth becoming green after heavenly water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Held-up heaven
literal_form: Heaven withheld from falling on earth except by God's permission
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: Book of decrees
literal_form: The book in which what God knows is written
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: Fire of hell
literal_form: The fire of hell threatened to unbelievers
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Unhappy journey to hell
literal_form: Journey thither to the fire of hell
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Idols unable to create
literal_form: Idols assembled but unable to create a single fly
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: Fly snatching from idols
literal_form: A fly snatches something from the idols, and they cannot recover it
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:9
label: Prostration
literal_form: Bowing down and prostrating before the Lord
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:10
label: Witness at judgment
literal_form: Apostle as witness against believers, believers as witnesses against
mankind
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Divine sovereignty over creation
summary: God is declared true and sovereign; he sends heavenly water that greens
the earth, subjects the earth and ships to human service, and prevents heaven
from falling except by permission.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Life, death, resurrection, and judgment
summary: God gives life, causes death, raises humans at resurrection, judges disputes
on the resurrection day, and has all things written in a book of decrees.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Warning to unbelievers
summary: Unbelievers disdain rehearsed signs and are warned that the fire of hell
is worse than their threatened violence, with the journey to it called unhappy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Parable of idols and the fly
summary: 'A parable challenges the idols invoked besides God: even assembled, they
cannot create a fly, nor recover anything a fly snatches from them.'
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Chosen messengers and return to God
summary: God chooses messengers from among angels and men, knows what is before
and behind them, and all things return to him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Commands to the chosen believing community
summary: True believers are instructed to prostrate, worship, work righteousness,
fight for God's religion, identify with Abraham's religion, pray, give alms, and
adhere to God as master and protector; apostolic and communal witness are linked
to judgment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Resurrection after life and death
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: The passage explicitly states that God gives life, causes death, and afterwards
raises people to life again at the resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction is limited to the doctrinal statement in this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine judgment on the resurrection day
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: God is said to judge between disputants on the day of resurrection; the apostle
and believers are also assigned witness roles at judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not narrate the judgment event in detail.
- id: motif:3
label: Afterlife journey to hellfire
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Hellfire is threatened to unbelievers, and the passage calls the journey
thither unhappy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses journey language but does not provide a detailed itinerary
or map of the afterlife.
- id: motif:4
label: Life-renewing heavenly water
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Water sent down from heaven causes the earth to become green.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents divine beneficence and renewal, not an explicit seasonal
myth.
- id: motif:5
label: Powerless false gods exposed by a small creature
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: 'The parable contrasts invoked idols with a fly: the idols cannot create
it or recover what it snatches.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No taxonomy reference is assigned because the available list has no specific
idol-impotence or animal-parable category.
- id: motif:6
label: Chosen community in Abrahamic continuity
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: Believers are told God has chosen them, given them the religion of their
father Abraham, named them Moslems, and made them witnesses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses election, naming, and Abrahamic lineage language; it
does not explicitly use the word covenant in this translation.
- id: motif:7
label: Cosmic order upheld by divine permission
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: God withholds heaven from falling on earth except by his permission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states cosmic control, but does not expand it into a separate
cosmogonic narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator's footnote cautiously links the fly-and-idols argument with
a Jewish tradition contrasting the Jerusalem temple, said not to be annoyed by
flies, with heathen temples infested by flies.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish temple anti-fly tradition and heathen temple fly infestation, as
cited in Sale's note
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: This comparison comes from the translator's commentary, not from the
Qur'anic passage itself, and the note is explicitly speculative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 25815-25832
quote_or_summary: God is declared truth and sovereign; he sends water from heaven
so the earth becomes green, owns heaven and earth, subjects the earth and ships
to humans, and withholds heaven from falling except by permission.
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 25833-25847
quote_or_summary: God gives life, causes death, raises people again at resurrection,
knows deeds and all in heaven and earth, judges disputes on the day of resurrection,
and has this written in the book of decrees.
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 25848-25859
quote_or_summary: Those who worship besides God lack proof and knowledge; unbelievers
disdain rehearsed signs and are warned that the fire of hell is worse, with an
unhappy journey to it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 25860-25866
quote_or_summary: "“the idols which ye invoke, besides GOD, can never create a single
fly” and cannot recover what the fly snatches."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 25867-25872
quote_or_summary: God is powerful and mighty, chooses messengers from among angels
and men, knows what is before and behind them, and all things return to God.
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 25873-25887
quote_or_summary: True believers are commanded to bow, prostrate, worship, work
righteousness, fight for God's religion, follow Abraham's religion, be named Moslems,
serve as witnesses, pray, give alms, and adhere to God as master and protector.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: translator notes f, lines 25888-25900 within provided passage text
quote_or_summary: The translator notes that commentators describe flies eating substances
applied to Arab images, and speculates that Mohammed may have taken the argument
from Jews who said the Jerusalem temple sacrifices were not annoyed by flies while
heathen temples were infested.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized translator commentary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward for the supplied English passage. Motif
taxonomy assignments are cautious where the passage states doctrine or imagery
without a full narrative. The single comparison claim relies on a speculative
translator's 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: |-
Used only the provided passage text and metadata. Footnote material was treated as translator commentary rather than primary passage narrative.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l25815-l25887
passage_sha256=52f057e29e07916548ad7ce541ac2a4b865919bc43f21649f42a26a7a240e23e