batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l29199-l29249
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l29199-l29249
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXXI. / IN
THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 29199-29249
start: '29199'
end: '29249'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Sale translation / notes
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage contains notes on the interpretation of a word as stable mountains
or foundations; a narrative account of Lokman as a long-lived wise man, slave,
and recipient of divine wisdom; an anecdote about Lokman eating a bitter melon
in obedience to his master and gaining liberty; a comparison between Lokman traditions
and Aesop traditions; and a note that certain verses are a parenthetical warning
against idolatry rather than part of Lokman's advice to his son.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A note reports that the word rendered by commentators as stable mountains
may instead mean bases or foundations, and compares it with a Psalm passage about
the foundations of the earth.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Arab writers are reported to identify Lokman genealogically in relation to
Job and to place him as living for several centuries until the time of David in
Palestine.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Lokman is described in the note as physically black-complexioned, with thick
lips and splay feet.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Lokman is said to have received wisdom and eloquence from God in a high degree,
with some accounts saying this followed a vision in which he chose wisdom over
prophecy.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The note says most Mohammedans held Lokman to be a wise man rather than a
prophet.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Lokman is said to have been a slave who gained liberty after obediently eating
an entire bitter melon given by his master.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: When asked how he could eat the bitter fruit, Lokman replied that he could
accept one bitter fruit from the same hand that had given him many favors.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The commentators are said to preserve quick repartees of Lokman and fables
attributed to him by eastern writers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The note states that Lokman has often been thought to be the same as the Greek
Aesop, because of similarities in slave status and fable attribution.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The note says two verses are a parenthetical insertion rather than part of
Lokman's advice to his son, and that they show the heinousness of idolatry.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Lokman
description: A figure described as related to Job, long-lived, conversant with David
in Palestine, physically distinctive, a slave who obtained liberty, and a recipient
of wisdom and eloquence from God.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: The giver of wisdom and eloquence to Lokman in the reported traditions.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Job
description: Named as a relative of Lokman through a sister or aunt in the reported
Arab genealogical tradition.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: David
description: Named as a figure with whom Lokman was conversant in Palestine.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Lokman's master
description: The master who gave Lokman a bitter melon to eat and later questioned
him about eating it.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Aesop
description: Greek fable figure compared with Lokman because both are described
as slaves and as authors of resembling fables.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Maximus Planudes
description: Writer of a life of Aesop; the note suggests his account may have borrowed
from eastern traditions about Lokman.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Lokman's son
description: Recipient of Lokman's advice in the surrounding context, though the
note says the two discussed verses are not part of that advice.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Saad Ebn Abi Wakkas
description: Named as the occasion for an earlier revelation of the parenthetical
verses according to the note.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wise man
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note says the generality of Mohammedans hold Lokman to have been no prophet
but only a wise man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: recipient of divine wisdom and eloquence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Lokman is said to have received wisdom and eloquence from God in a great
degree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: slave later liberated
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The note says Lokman was a slave who obtained liberty after the bitter-melon
episode.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: giver of wisdom
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God is named as the source of Lokman's wisdom and eloquence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: genealogical relative in tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Arab writers are said to make Lokman the son or grandson of a sister or aunt
of Job.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: contemporary conversation partner in tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The note says Lokman lived to David's time and was conversant with him in
Palestine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: master testing or commanding a slave
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The master gives Lokman a bitter melon and questions how he could eat it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: comparative slave fable-writer
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Aesop is compared with Lokman because both are described as slaves and supposed
writers of similar fables.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: biographer and possible borrower of eastern traditions
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The note states an opinion that Planudes borrowed much of his life of Aesop
from eastern Lokman traditions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: addressee of wisdom advice
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The note distinguishes the parenthetical verses from Lokman's advice to his
son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: occasion for revelation in cited tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The note says the parenthetical verses were originally revealed on account
of Saad Ebn Abi Wakkas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: stable mountains or foundations
literal_form: rawsiya, interpreted as stable mountains, bases, or foundations of
the earth
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: wisdom
literal_form: wisdom received from God and chosen over prophecy in some accounts
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: bitter melon
literal_form: a bitter melon given by Lokman's master and eaten by Lokman
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: fables
literal_form: fables attributed to Lokman by oriental writers and compared with
fables attributed to Aesop
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: idolatry warning
literal_form: parenthetical verses inserted to show the heinousness of idolatry
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Philological note on earth foundations
summary: A learned writer's view is reported that the relevant word may mean bases
or foundations rather than stable mountains, with a comparison to a Psalm about
the earth's foundations.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Lokman's identity and divine wisdom
summary: Arab traditions are summarized about Lokman's ancestry, longevity, physical
description, relation to David, and reception of wisdom and eloquence from God
rather than prophetic office.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Bitter melon and liberation
summary: Lokman, while a slave, obeys his master by eating a whole bitter melon
and explains his obedience as gratitude for many prior favors, after which he
obtains liberty.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Lokman compared with Aesop
summary: The note reports that Lokman's repartees and fables resemble what Planudes
wrote of Aesop, and discusses whether the two traditions were identified or borrowed
from one another.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Parenthetical warning against idolatry
summary: The note explains that two verses are not part of Lokman's advice to his
son but a parenthetical insertion concerning idolatry and earlier revelation connected
with Saad Ebn Abi Wakkas.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wise man receives divine wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Lokman is presented as a wise man who receives wisdom and eloquence from
God, with some accounts saying he chose wisdom over prophecy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is extracted from translator/editorial notes reporting later traditions,
not from a continuous narrative passage in the Qur'anic text itself.
- id: motif:2
label: choice of wisdom over prophetic status
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Some traditions in the note say Lokman was offered prophecy or wisdom in
a vision and chose wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The wording attributes this only to some accounts; the note also says
most Muslims regarded him as a wise man, not a prophet.
- id: motif:3
label: obedient slave gains liberty through grateful endurance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Lokman is said to eat the bitter melon in obedience and explain that he accepts
one bitter thing from the hand that has given many favors, after which he obtains
liberty.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches this anecdotal pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: slave fable-writer with quick repartees
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The note links Lokman's repartees and attributed fables with a broader pattern
also associated with Aesop, emphasizing slave status and witty wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage itself treats the identity of Lokman and Aesop as disputable.
- id: motif:5
label: warning against idolatry inserted into wisdom instruction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The note says two verses interrupt Lokman's advice to his son in order to
show the heinousness of idolatry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is an editorial note about textual placement and does not
provide the full verses.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly reports that Lokman has often been thought to be the
same as the Greek Aesop because both are described as slaves and as writers of
similar fables.
claim_level: same_function
target: Greek Aesop tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
limitations: The note also says the matter can be disputed and does not affirm the
identification as certain.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage presents an opinion that Planudes may have borrowed much of his
Life of Aesop from eastern traditions about Lokman.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Planudes' Life of Aesop and eastern Lokman traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: low
limitations: This is the translator/editor's stated opinion within a note, not independently
demonstrated by the passage.
- id: claim:3
claim: The note compares the interpretation of rawsiya as foundations of the earth
with a Psalm passage about God laying the earth's foundations.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Psalm civ. 5 as cited in the note
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is presented as a learned writer's interpretation and concerns
translation/wording rather than a full narrative motif.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 29199-29205
quote_or_summary: A learned writer says rawsiya, commonly interpreted as stable
mountains, may mean bases or foundations and may translate a Psalm about the earth's
foundations not being moved.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 29206-29218
quote_or_summary: Arab writers describe Lokman as related to Job, long-lived until
David's time, physically distinctive, and endowed by God with wisdom and eloquence;
some say he chose wisdom over prophecy in a vision, and most regard him as a wise
man rather than a prophet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 29218-29226
quote_or_summary: Lokman is said to have been a slave who gained liberty after eating
an entire bitter melon given by his master and explaining that he could accept
one bitter fruit from a hand that had given many favors.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 29226-29237
quote_or_summary: The note says Lokman's repartees and oriental fables resemble
Planudes' Aesop material; it reports the view that Lokman and Aesop have often
been identified, while the editor thinks Planudes borrowed from eastern Lokman
traditions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 29239-29245
quote_or_summary: A note says two verses are not part of Lokman's advice to his
son but a parenthesis about the heinousness of idolatry, earlier connected with
Saad Ebn Abi Wakkas.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is mainly translator/editorial commentary and secondary tradition,
not a self-contained mythic narrative. Motifs are therefore extracted cautiously
from reported traditions within the 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: |-
Only supplied passage text and metadata were used. Taxonomy references were limited to the provided lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l29199-l29249
passage_sha256=a8676293e6151c0523a8efcff0d37b96925e3f36248fc2cfbfe719cbe5b86eed