batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l28435-l28525
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l28435-l28525
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVIII.
/ IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 28435-28525
start: '28435'
end: '28525'
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: we caused the ground to cleave in sunder, and to swallow up him and his palace
summary: The passage presents the story of Karn, whose wealth and pomp lead to worldly
admiration, but who is admonished to use his wealth for the future mansion of
paradise and not to act corruptly. Karn attributes his riches to his own knowledge.
Those endowed with knowledge warn that God's reward in the next life is better.
God causes the ground to swallow Karn and his palace, after which former admirers
recognize God's control over provision. The passage also promises the recipient
of the Koran a return home to Mecca. Translator notes connect Karn with Korah
and cite a parallel to a New Testament saying about wealth and everlasting habitations.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Karn is instructed to seek the future mansion of paradise by means of the
wealth God has given him, to be bounteous, and not to act corruptly in the earth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:2
text: Karn answers that he received his riches because of the knowledge with him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that God had destroyed earlier generations stronger than
Karn and richer in amassed abundance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Karn goes forth to his people in pomp, and those who love the present life
wish for wealth like his.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
- id: obs:5
text: Those on whom knowledge had been bestowed say that God's reward in the next
life is better for one who believes and does good works.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The ground is caused to cleave and swallow Karn and his palace, and no forces
rescue him from punishment.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The next morning, those who had coveted Karn's condition say that God bestows
abundant provision or withholds it as he pleases, and that the earth might have
swallowed them also.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The future mansion of paradise is promised to those who do not seek to exalt
themselves in the earth or do wrong.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The passage says that the one who gave the Koran will bring the addressed
recipient back home to Mecca.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: obs:10
text: A translator note reports traditions in which Karn is identified with Korah,
rebels against Moses, falsely accuses Moses, and is swallowed by the earth with
his confederates, palace, and riches.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Karn
description: A wealthy figure, identified in a note with Korah, who possesses great
riches, appears in pomp, claims his riches come from his knowledge, and is swallowed
with his palace.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: The giver of wealth and provision, the one whose reward in the next
life is better, and the one who causes Karn and his palace to be swallowed by
the ground.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Moses
description: In the translator note, Moses is opposed by Karn and wrongfully accused;
God directs Moses to command the earth.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Those who loved the present life
description: People who admire Karn's visible wealth, wish for similar wealth, and
later recognize their danger after Karn is swallowed.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Those on whom knowledge had been bestowed
description: People who answer the admirers of Karn by affirming that God's reward
in the next life is better for believers who do good works.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Recipient of the Koran / Mohammed
description: The addressed recipient of the Koran is promised that he will be brought
back home to Mecca; a note says the verse was revealed to Mohammed during his
flight from Mecca to Medina.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The pious
description: Those who do not seek to exalt themselves in the earth or do wrong,
and for whom the happy issue is promised.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wealthy transgressor punished
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Karn displays great wealth, claims it comes from his own knowledge, and is
swallowed with his palace after admonitions against corruption and self-exaltation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: divine giver and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God gives wealth, controls provision, rewards good, and punishes Karn by
causing the ground to swallow him and his palace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: prophet opposed by Karn in commentary tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The note describes Moses as the prophet whom Karn rebels against and falsely
accuses, and as the one directed by God to command the earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: worldly admirers turned witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They first wish for Karn's wealth and later say that God controls provision
and that they too might have been swallowed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: knowledgeable admonishers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They contrast Karn's wealth with the better reward of God in the next life
for believers who do good works.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: exiled or absent recipient promised return
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage promises the Koran's recipient return home to Mecca; the note
associates this with Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:7
label: humble pious recipients
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The future mansion of paradise is assigned to those who avoid self-exaltation
and wrongdoing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Wealth and riches
literal_form: The wealth God has given; Karn's riches, abundance, and great fortune.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: Palace
literal_form: Karn's palace, swallowed with him; the note describes a gold-overlaid
palace with massive gold doors.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Cleaving ground
literal_form: The ground cleaves in sunder and swallows Karn and his palace.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: Future mansion of paradise
literal_form: The future mansion of paradise promised as a reward.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: Koran
literal_form: The Koran given as a rule of faith and practice.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Admonition concerning wealth
summary: Karn is told to use the wealth God has given him to seek the future mansion
of paradise, to remember his portion in this world, to be bounteous, and to avoid
corruption.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Karn's claim and warning by precedent
summary: Karn claims his riches are due to his knowledge, while the passage recalls
that God destroyed previous generations stronger and richer than he.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: scene:3
label: Pomp and divided response
summary: Karn appears in pomp before his people; worldly admirers wish for his fortune,
while those endowed with knowledge direct attention to God's better reward in
the next life.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
- id: scene:4
label: Earth swallows Karn
summary: The ground cleaves and swallows Karn and his palace, leaving him without
forces to defend or rescue him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Reversal of the coveters
summary: Those who had coveted Karn's condition recognize that God gives or withholds
provision and say that without God's grace the earth would have swallowed them
too.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Promise of paradise and return
summary: The passage states that paradise belongs to those who do not seek self-exaltation
or wrongdoing, and promises the Koran's recipient a return home to Mecca.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment on arrogant wealth
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Karn's wealth, pomp, and claim that his riches come from his own knowledge
are followed by God causing the ground to swallow him and his palace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is primarily didactic; the exact cause is expressed through
surrounding admonitions against corruption and self-exaltation rather than a single
explicit charge in the verse excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Wisdom prefers next-life reward over worldly riches
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Those endowed with knowledge counter the desire for Karn's wealth by saying
that God's reward in the next life is better for believers who do good works.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is expressed as moral instruction rather than as a quest or
riddle narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: Return home promised to the sacred text's recipient
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The passage says the giver of the Koran will bring the addressed recipient
back home to Mecca, with a note linking this to Mohammed's flight from Mecca to
Medina.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The return motif appears briefly and is not narratively developed within
this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: Worldly wealth redirected toward paradisal reward
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Karn is instructed to seek the future mansion of paradise by means of the
wealth God has given him and to be bounteous to others.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy match is interpretive; the passage frames the action as ethical
use of wealth rather than a formal exchange ritual.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator note reports that commentators identify Karn with the Korah
of the scriptures and connect the story to Jewish materials about Korah's wealth
and downfall.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Korah in scriptural and Jewish interpretive tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a claim in the translator's note about commentators and borrowing;
the excerpt itself does not provide independent historical evidence for transmission.
- id: claim:2
claim: The translator note states that the instruction to use wealth for the future
mansion of paradise is parallel to a New Testament saying about making friends
with mammon so as to be received into everlasting habitations.
claim_level: same_function
target: Luke xvi. 9, wealth used with reference to everlasting habitations
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is limited to a noted functional parallel in moral teaching;
it does not establish direct dependence.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 28435-28467, note f
quote_or_summary: The note says commentators identify Karn with Korah, describe
his great beauty and wealth, his rebellion against Moses, a false accusation,
and a tradition that the earth swallowed Karn, his confederates, his palace, and
his riches.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 28479-28482
quote_or_summary: Karn is told to seek the future mansion of paradise by means of
the wealth God gave him, to be bounteous, and not to act corruptly in the earth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summarized quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 28483-28487
quote_or_summary: Karn says he received his riches because of his knowledge; the
passage asks whether he did not know God had destroyed earlier stronger and richer
generations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 28488-28493
quote_or_summary: Karn goes out in pomp; those who love the present life desire
wealth like his, while those endowed with knowledge say God's reward in the next
life is better for believers who do good works.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 28494-28496
quote_or_summary: The ground is caused to cleave and swallow Karn and his palace,
and he has no forces to defend or rescue him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation/paraphrase.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 28497-28501
quote_or_summary: Former coveters of Karn's condition say God gives abundant provision
or withholds it as he pleases, and that without God's grace the earth would have
swallowed them too.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 28502-28506
quote_or_summary: The future mansion of paradise is for those who do not seek self-exaltation
or wrongdoing; good receives exceeding reward, while evil is rewarded according
to what was done.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 28507-28509
quote_or_summary: The passage says that the one who gave the Koran as a rule will
bring the addressed recipient back home to Mecca, and that God knows who has true
direction and who is in manifest error.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: citation
locator: lines 28511-28513, note h
quote_or_summary: The note says the wealth-and-paradise passage is parallel to Luke
xvi. 9 about mammon and everlasting habitations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; citation summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 28514-28518, note i
quote_or_summary: 'The note gives explanations of Karn''s knowledge: learning in
Israelite law, chemistry, trade, other arts of gain, or discovery of Joseph''s
treasures in Egypt.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 28519-28521, note k
quote_or_summary: The note says Karn rode a white mule with gold trappings, wore
purple, and was attended by four thousand richly dressed mounted men.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 28522-28524, note l
quote_or_summary: The note says the return-to-Mecca verse was revealed to Mohammed
at Johsa during his flight from Mecca to Medina, to comfort him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Main narrative elements are explicit. Motif taxonomy assignments and comparison
claims rely partly on translator notes and therefore need review.
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 supplied passage text and metadata. Figures and comparisons drawn from the verse excerpt and its accompanying notes.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l28435-l28525
passage_sha256=d70718467f24f406e54bc2f99c8519b632c9775ad628c2fa86cdbaf4be59bda7