batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l26328-l26405
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l26328-l26405
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: ENTITLED, THE TRUE BELIEVERS; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST
MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXIV. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 26328-26405
start: '26328'
end: '26405'
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 condemns a false accusation concerning Ayesha, requires four
witnesses for such a charge, warns believers not to spread unverified calumny,
states that God knows and judges, and warns believers not to follow the steps
of the devil. Sale’s note narrates the incident in which Ayesha was left behind
after searching for a necklace, was later brought back by Safwn, and became the
subject of scandal until revelation declared the accusation unjust.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A party among the believers is said to have published a falsehood concerning
Ayesha.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Each person involved in the falsehood is said to be liable to punishment according
to the injustice committed.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says that the faithful men and women should have judged the report
to be a manifest falsehood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage requires four witnesses and calls those who did not produce witnesses
liars in the sight of God.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage describes the spreading of the calumny with tongues and mouths,
without knowledge, as a serious matter in the sight of God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage warns believers not to return to the same crime.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Those who love that scandal be published of believers are said to receive
severe punishment in this world and the next.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Believers are told not to follow the steps of the devil, who is said to command
filthy crimes and what is unlawful.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: God is said to cleanse whom he pleases and to hear and know.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Sale’s note states that Ayesha searched for a dropped necklace, returned to
the road after the army had left, and waited there.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Sale’s note states that Safwn found Ayesha asleep, woke her, set her on his
camel, and led her after the army.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Sale’s note states that Ayesha’s reputation was publicly questioned as if
she had committed adultery with Safwn, until revelation declared the accusation
unjust.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ayesha
description: The person concerning whom the falsehood was published; in Sale’s note,
Mohammed’s wife whose reputation was questioned after being left behind and later
brought back by Safwn.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: The divine figure who knows, warns, declares signs, punishes, shows
mercy, and cleanses whom he pleases.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Party who published the falsehood
description: A group among the believers who spread the falsehood concerning Ayesha.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Faithful men and faithful women
description: Believers addressed as those who should have judged the report to be
a manifest falsehood and refrained from speaking of it.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Devil
description: A figure whose steps believers are warned not to follow, and who is
said to command filthy crimes and unlawful conduct.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Safwn Ebn al Moattel
description: In Sale’s note, the man who found Ayesha asleep, woke her, placed her
on his camel, and led her after the army.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: In Sale’s note, the prophet who had taken Ayesha on an expedition and
was among those concerned in the false report.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Named spreaders of the scandal
description: Sale’s note names Abd'allah Ebn Obba, Zeid Ebn Refa, Hassn Ebn Thabet,
Mestah Ebn Oththa, and Hamna Bint Jahash as persons concerned in spreading the
scandal.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: falsely accused woman
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage names Ayesha as the subject of the falsehood, and the note states
her reputation was publicly called into question until revelation declared the
accusation unjust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: divine judge and merciful cleanser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God is said to punish, show mercy, warn believers, know what people do not
know, and cleanse whom he pleases.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: spreader of calumny
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:8
basis: The passage and note describe persons who published or spread the scandal
and were liable to punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: believing community addressed by warning
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Faithful men and women are addressed about how they should respond to the
accusation and are warned not to repeat the crime.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: tempter to unlawful conduct
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The devil is said to command filthy crimes and that which is unlawful.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: rescuer or escort in the explanatory narrative
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Sale’s note says Safwn found Ayesha, woke her, set her on his camel, and
led her after the army.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: prophet concerned in the accusation narrative
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Sale’s note identifies Mohammed as having taken Ayesha on the expedition
and as perplexed by the accusation until revelation declared it unjust.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: four witnesses
literal_form: The required four witnesses for an accusation.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: tongues and mouths
literal_form: The tongues and mouths by which the calumny was published and spoken.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: steps of the devil
literal_form: The steps of the devil, which believers are told not to follow.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: necklace
literal_form: A dropped necklace of onyxes of Dhafr in Sale’s explanatory note.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: veil
literal_form: Ayesha’s veil, with which she covered herself after being awakened
by Safwn.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: camel
literal_form: The camel on which Ayesha’s pavilion was carried away and Safwn’s
camel on which he set Ayesha.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Condemnation of the falsehood
summary: The passage states that a party published a falsehood concerning Ayesha
and that each participant will be punished according to guilt.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Demand for witnesses and proper response
summary: Faithful men and women are told they should have called the report a manifest
falsehood; the passage demands four witnesses and calls those without witnesses
liars before God.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Warning against calumny and scandal
summary: The passage rebukes the community for spreading words without knowledge
and warns them not to return to such a crime; those who love scandal among believers
are threatened with punishment in this world and the next.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Warning against the devil’s steps
summary: Believers are warned not to follow the steps of the devil, who commands
unlawful acts; God is described as merciful and as cleansing whom he pleases.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Ayesha left behind and escorted back
summary: Sale’s note explains that Ayesha searched for a lost necklace, was left
behind by the army, slept by the road, and was found and escorted back by Safwn.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Public accusation and revelation of innocence
summary: Sale’s note states that the incident led to public suspicion of Ayesha
and Safwn, but the passage was revealed about a month later declaring the accusation
unjust.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine punishment for false accusation
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage repeatedly says that those who spread the falsehood or love the
spread of scandal will receive punishment, including in this world and the next.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is legal and moral admonition rather than a narrative myth
of judgment.
- id: motif:2
label: divine mercy preventing immediate punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage states that without God’s indulgence and mercy, grievous punishment
or vengeance would have occurred.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The emphasis is theological admonition; the motif assignment is limited
to the stated divine withholding of punishment.
- id: motif:3
label: tempting path of the devil
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Believers are warned not to follow the steps of the devil, who commands filthy
crimes and unlawful conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly matches devil-as-tempter; no
broader comparison is inferred.
- id: motif:4
label: vindication of the falsely accused
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Sale’s note states that revelation declared the accusation against Ayesha
unjust and cleared reputations connected to the false report.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The vindication is explained in the translator’s note and linked to revelation;
it is not framed as a separate mythic trial scene.
- id: motif:5
label: divine wisdom and knowledge beyond human knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that God is knowing and wise, that God knows while people
do not, and that God hears and knows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a doctrinal attribute in the passage rather than an enacted wisdom
tale.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 26328-26333
quote_or_summary: A party among the believers published a falsehood concerning Ayesha;
each person involved is assigned punishment according to guilt, and the one who
aggravated it receives grievous punishment.
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 26334-26339
quote_or_summary: Faithful men and women should have called the report a manifest
falsehood; the passage asks for four witnesses and says that without them the
accusers are liars before God.
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 26340-26351
quote_or_summary: The passage says God’s mercy prevented grievous punishment for
the calumny spread with tongues and mouths without knowledge; believers are warned
not to return to such a crime, and God is called knowing and wise.
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 26352-26356
quote_or_summary: Those who love the publication of scandal about believers are
said to receive severe punishment in this world and the next; God knows and people
do not.
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 26357-26365
quote_or_summary: Believers are told not to follow the steps of the devil, who commands
filthy crimes and unlawful things; God’s mercy is said to cleanse whom he pleases,
and God hears and knows.
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 26366-26388
quote_or_summary: Sale’s note recounts that Ayesha accompanied Mohammed on an expedition,
lost a necklace, was left behind when the army departed, slept by the road, and
was found by Safwn, who put her on his camel and led her after the army.
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 26389-26398
quote_or_summary: Sale’s note states that Ayesha’s reputation was publicly questioned
as if she had committed adultery with Safwn, and that about a month later the
passage was revealed declaring the accusation unjust.
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 26399-26405
quote_or_summary: Sale’s notes identify persons concerned in spreading the scandal,
including Abd'allah Ebn Obba and others, and state that most received fourscore
stripes, with further punishments reported for Hassn and Mestah.
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 main legal-theological content and Sale’s explanatory narrative are clear.
Motif labels are cautious because the passage primarily gives moral and legal
admonition, not an extended mythic narrative. No comparison claims were added
because the passage itself does not support cross-textual comparison.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to available motif families where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l26328-l26405
passage_sha256=5a09ca605ba14cb27d24d999d50346b95e8226da52de6bf01899bdc7cfbb1d92