batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3473-l3523
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3473-l3523
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III; lines 3473-3523
start: '3473'
end: '3523'
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 contrasts Sale's polemical explanation of Muhammad's use of
sequential revelations with the described orthodox Muslim belief that the Qur'an
is divine, eternal, and uncreated; that its archetypal transcript is on a preserved
heavenly tablet by God's throne; that Gabriel conveyed a copy to the lowest heaven
in Ramadan on the night of power; and that Gabriel revealed it to Muhammad in
parcels over twenty-three years, with scribes writing it down under angelic direction.
A note adds that Jews also say the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The narrator says Muhammad had recourse to new revelation in difficult cases
and that receiving the text in parcels let him answer emergencies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The narrator states that Muhammad is beyond dispute the author and chief contriver
of the Qur'an, while also noting alleged assistance from others.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage reports that Muslims deny Muhammad or anyone else composed the
Qur'an and hold it to be divine in origin, eternal, and uncreated.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The first transcript is described as everlasting by God's throne, written
on a large preserved table that also records divine decrees past and future.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A copy of the heavenly tablet is said to have been sent by Gabriel to the
lowest heaven in Ramadan on the night of power.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Gabriel is said to have revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad in parcels at Mecca
and Medina over twenty-three years as circumstances required.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Muhammad is said to have been shown the whole volume once a year and twice
in the last year of his life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The volume is described as bound in silk and adorned with gold and precious
stones of paradise.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Most chapters are described as revealed piecemeal and written down by Muhammad's
amanuenses according to the angel's directions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: A note states that Jews also say the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Muhammad
description: Presented by the narrator as the alleged author or contriver of the
Qur'an, and in the reported Muslim belief as the recipient of Gabriel's parcelled
revelations.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: Named as the one by whose throne the preserved table stands and whose
decrees are recorded there; also named as determining when passages should be
published.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Gabriel
description: The angel who is said to have sent down the copy to the lowest heaven
and revealed it by parcels to Muhammad according to circumstances.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mohammedans
description: Collective group described as denying human composition of the Qur'an
and holding it to be divine, eternal, and uncreated.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Muhammad's amanuenses
description: Scribes said to have written down revealed portions in chapters under
the angel's direction.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Jews
description: Mentioned in a note as also saying that the Law was given to Moses
by parcels.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Moses
description: Mentioned in a note as the recipient to whom Jews say the Law was given
by parcels.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: recipient of parcelled revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The reported Muslim account says Gabriel revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad
by parcels over twenty-three years.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: divine source and predeterminer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage says publication was as God saw proper and that the preserved
table records divine decrees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: angelic mediator of revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Gabriel is described as conveying the copy to the lowest heaven and revealing
it to Muhammad by parcels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: community holding orthodox belief
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage reports their denial of human composition and their belief in
the Qur'an's divine, eternal, uncreated status.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: scribes of revealed portions
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage says the revealed portions were written down by the prophet's
amanuenses according to angelic directions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: comparative tradition reporters
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The note says Jews also say the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: recipient of parcelled Law in note
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The note names Moses as receiving the Law by parcels according to Jews.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: preserved table
literal_form: A vast heavenly tablet by God's throne, bearing the first transcript
and divine decrees past and future.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: lowest heaven
literal_form: The heaven to which the copy of the Qur'an is said to have been sent
before Gabriel revealed it to Muhammad.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: one-volume copy on paper
literal_form: A copy from the preserved table in one paper volume, said to be conveyed
to the lowest heaven.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: night of power
literal_form: The night in Ramadan when the copy is said to have been sent down
to the lowest heaven.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: adorned heavenly volume
literal_form: The whole volume shown to Muhammad, described as bound in silk and
adorned with gold and precious stones of paradise.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Polemical explanation of occasional revelation
summary: The narrator argues that Muhammad's receiving revelation in parcels allowed
responses to objections and emergencies, while Muslim predestination is described
as an answer to objections about the Qur'an's eternity.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Heavenly archetype of the Qur'an
summary: The passage reports the orthodox Muslim belief that the Qur'an is divine,
eternal, and uncreated, with a first transcript on the preserved table by God's
throne along with divine decrees.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Descent to the lowest heaven and parcelled revelation
summary: A copy from the preserved table is said to be sent by Gabriel to the lowest
heaven on the night of power, after which Gabriel reveals it to Muhammad in parcels
at Mecca and Medina over twenty-three years.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Writing and arrangement of revealed portions
summary: Most chapters are said to be delivered piecemeal and written by Muhammad's
amanuenses into specified chapter locations according to the angel's directions.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Note on Moses and parcelled Law
summary: A note states that Jews also say the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: heavenly archetype of a sacred scripture
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Qur'an is described in the reported belief as divine, eternal, uncreated,
and first transcribed on a preserved heavenly table by God's throne.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact 'heavenly book' category; 'wisdom'
is a broad fit only.
- id: motif:2
label: angel-mediated descent of revelation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Gabriel conveys the copy to the lowest heaven and reveals it to Muhammad
in portions over time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level motif description without a precise supplied taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:3
label: parcelled revelation over time
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Qur'an is described as delivered mostly piecemeal, arranged by amanuenses
under angelic direction, and compared in a note with the Law given to Moses by
parcels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is procedural rather than a narrative episode in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: cosmic record of divine decrees
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The preserved table is said to record divine decrees past and future as well
as the first transcript.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief doctrinal description.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself notes a similarity between the Qur'an's parcelled revelation
to Muhammad and the Jewish claim that the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish tradition of the Law being given to Moses by parcels
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison appears only in a brief footnote and does not establish
historical contact, common inheritance, or detailed narrative equivalence.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3473-3489
quote_or_summary: The narrator says Muhammad used new revelations to address difficulties;
the text being received in parcels is described as a way to respond to emergencies
and objections, with predestination used to answer concerns about eternity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3490-3501
quote_or_summary: The narrator asserts that Muhammad was the author and chief contriver
of the Qur'an, possibly with assistance, though the alleged assistants were disputed
and not proven.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3502-3510
quote_or_summary: The passage reports Muslim belief that the Qur'an is divine, eternal,
and uncreated, and that its first transcript was from everlasting by God's throne
on a preserved table recording divine decrees past and future.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3510-3518
quote_or_summary: A copy from the preserved table is said to have been sent by Gabriel
to the lowest heaven in Ramadan on the night of power; Gabriel then revealed it
to Muhammad by parcels over twenty-three years at Mecca and Medina, and showed
him the whole volume annually, twice in his last year.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3518-3523
quote_or_summary: Most chapters are described as revealed piecemeal and written
by Muhammad's amanuenses in assigned chapter places according to the angel's directions;
a note adds that Jews also say the Law was given to Moses by parcels.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy alignment
is limited because the available list does not include an exact category for heavenly
scripture or divine tablet.
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: |-
The passage contains both Sale's polemical claims and reported Muslim doctrinal beliefs; these are kept distinct where possible.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l3473-l3523
passage_sha256=45661af72fa312ef84d786d6cb7a9f40a1abbe689ef51b578de4156a7cc10ee3