batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3375-l3422
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3375-l3422
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III; lines 3375-3422
start: '3375'
end: '3422'
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 comments on the style and rhetorical power of the Koran. It
recounts Labd's admiration and conversion after reading early verses, describes
the Koran's beauty, rhyme, obscurity, and sublimity, and argues that its verbal
harmony and oratory helped persuade hearers. It also notes that some opponents
attributed Mohammed's captivating effect on audiences to witchcraft or enchantment.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Labd, described as then an idolater, read only the first verses, was struck
with admiration, and immediately professed the religion taught by them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Labd declared that the words could proceed only from an inspired person.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Labd later helped Mohammed by writing answers to satires and invectives against
Mohammed and his religion.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Koran is described as generally beautiful and fluent, concise and often
obscure, adorned with bold figures, and sublime where God's majesty and attributes
are described.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The sentences of the Koran are said generally to conclude in a long continued
rhyme, with interruptions and repetitions made for the sake of rhyme.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Arabian compositions are said to use passages from and allusions to the Koran,
making knowledge of the book necessary for understanding them.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says harmony of expression may have helped Arabians relish the
doctrine and made arguments more effective.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Well-chosen and artfully placed words are compared in effect to music, being
able to ravish or amaze.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Mohammed is said to have used rhetorical skill in his revelations to preserve
dignity and sublimity of style and imitate the prophetic manner of the Old Testament.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Several opponents thought Mohammed's captivating effect on audiences was due
to witchcraft and enchantment.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Labd
description: A person described as an idolater who admired the first verses, professed
the religion, and later helped Mohammed answer attacks.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: The religious figure whose revelations and rhetoric are discussed,
and who is said to have captivated audiences.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Amri al Kais
description: Prince of the tribe of Asad and author of one of the seven famous poems
called al Moallakat; named among those making satires and invectives.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Arabians
description: A collective audience described as delighted with rhyme and as possibly
influenced by the harmony of expression in the Koran.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mohammed's opponents
description: Opponents who attributed the captivating effect on audiences to witchcraft
and enchantment.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: converted admirer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Labd reads the first verses, admires them, and immediately professes the
religion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: defender in writing
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Labd later writes answers to attacks made against Mohammed and his religion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: rhetorical religious teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Mohammed is described as using rhetorical skill in revelations and captivating
audiences.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: poetic opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Amri al Kais is named in connection with satires and invectives against Mohammed
and his religion, and is identified as a prince and poet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: receptive poetic audience
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Arabians are described as delighted by rhyme and influenced by harmonious
expression.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: accusers of enchantment
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Some opponents thought the captivating effect was caused by witchcraft and
enchantment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: powerful words
literal_form: well-chosen and artfully placed words
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: rhyme and cadence
literal_form: long continued rhyme and cadence of well-turned sentences
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: scriptural sublimity
literal_form: style describing the majesty and attributes of God and imitating prophetic
manner
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: witchcraft and enchantment accusation
literal_form: opponents' attribution of rhetorical captivation to witchcraft and
enchantment
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Labd's conversion through first verses
summary: Labd reads the first verses, is moved to admiration, and professes the
religion, saying the words must come from an inspired person.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Koranic style and rhyme described
summary: The passage describes the Koran as beautiful, fluent, concise, obscure,
figurative, sublime, and rhymed, with repetition for sound.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Rhetorical persuasion and enchantment accusation
summary: The passage says harmony of expression helped make doctrine persuasive,
compares verbal power to music, and reports that opponents saw Mohammed's audience-captivation
as witchcraft or enchantment.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: transformative sacred or inspired speech
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A listener is converted after reading first verses and declares the words
to come from an inspired person; the passage also presents rhetorical style as
helping doctrine prevail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is a translator's preliminary commentary rather than a narrative
from the Koran itself; the taxonomy reference is broad and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:2
label: enchanting power of words
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Words are said to ravish or amaze like music, and opponents attribute Mohammed's
captivating effect to witchcraft and enchantment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The enchantment is reported as opponents' interpretation, not as an affirmed
supernatural event in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: rhyme as persuasive sacred style
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage emphasizes long continued rhyme, cadence, and harmony of expression
as factors that may make doctrine appealing and arguments effective.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a literary-rhetorical pattern rather than a mythic plot motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the effect of well-chosen words to music
in their power to ravish or amaze.
claim_level: same_function
target: music as affective verbal or sonic persuasion
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an analogy within the passage, not evidence of a shared mythological
tradition.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage says Mohammed's style imitated the prophetic manner of the Old
Testament.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: Old Testament prophetic manner
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim concerns literary style, not a direct shared narrative motif;
'visual_similarity' is only an approximate claim level for stylistic resemblance.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 3375-3378
quote_or_summary: Labd, then an idolater, read the first verses, was struck with
admiration, immediately professed the religion, and said such words could proceed
only from an inspired person.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 3378-3384
quote_or_summary: Labd later served Mohammed by writing answers to satires and invectives
against him and his religion, including those associated with Amri al Kais, prince
of Asad and poet of the Moallakat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 3385-3394
quote_or_summary: The Koran's style is described as beautiful, fluent, concise,
often obscure, figurative, and sublime especially in descriptions of God's majesty
and attributes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 3395-3401
quote_or_summary: Although prose, its sentences generally end in long continued
rhyme, causing interruptions of sense and repetitions for the sake of sound.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 3401-3407
quote_or_summary: The Arabians are described as delighted with this rhyming and
as using frequent passages of and allusions to the Koran in elaborate compositions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 3408-3413
quote_or_summary: The passage says the Koran's harmony of expression probably helped
Arabians relish its doctrine and gave efficacy to arguments that might otherwise
not have prevailed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 3413-3418
quote_or_summary: Words well chosen and artfully placed are described as powerful
'to ravish or amaze' like music, and cadence can move the hearer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 3418-3421
quote_or_summary: Mohammed is said to have used rhetorical skill in his revelations
to preserve dignity and sublimity of style and to imitate the prophetic manner
of the Old Testament.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 3421-3422
quote_or_summary: Mohammed is said to have captivated audiences so strongly that
several opponents thought it the effect of witchcraft and enchantment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is literary and polemical commentary in a public-domain translation
preface, not a mythic narrative. Motif candidates are therefore rhetorical and
symbolic rather than plot-based.
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: |-
No available concrete symbol refs such as cave, fire, milk, mountain, serpent, tree, or water are present in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l3375-l3422
passage_sha256=01d2195f029e762ab487b041d334811e9064ee90d974745df9be3d88c085d80b