batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l36679-l36751
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l36679-l36751
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER LXVIII. / ENTITLED, THE PEN;
REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 36679-36751
start: '36679'
end: '36751'
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: Editorial notes identify possible historical targets of invective, explain
a mark of ignominy and a famine, and recount a story of a charitable palm-garden
destroyed after the owner’s sons planned to withhold fruit from the poor. The
passage then challenges opponents’ claims about future reward, describes a day
of judgment when they cannot worship, warns of gradual divine destruction, denies
that opponents possess hidden decrees, counsels patience, recalls the figure swallowed
by the fish and saved by divine grace, and concludes that the revelation is an
admonition to all creatures.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An editorial note says the passage was thought by some to target al Walid
Ebn al Mogheira and by others al Akhnas Ebn Shoraik.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: An editorial note says a mark on the nose was considered especially ignominious
and connects this with al Walid’s wounded nose at the battle of Bedr.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: An editorial note describes a palm-tree garden near Sanaa formerly owned by
a charitable man who left date fruit for the poor.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: After the charitable owner’s death, his sons planned to gather the fruit early
so the poor would not know.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The sons found that the plantation had been destroyed during the night.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker challenges the opponents’ judgment and asks whether they have
a heavenly book or binding oaths promising what they choose.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The opponents are asked to produce companions who can vouch for them if they
speak truth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: On a certain day the opponents are called to worship but are unable; their
looks are cast down and ignominy attends them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The speaker says those who accuse the revelation of imposture will be led
gradually to destruction by ways they do not know.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The passage asks whether the secrets of futurity are with the opponents and
whether they transcribe them from the table of God’s decrees.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: The addressee is told to wait patiently for the LORD’s judgment and not to
be like the one swallowed by the fish.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: The figure swallowed by the fish cried to God while inwardly vexed, received
grace, and was chosen as one of the righteous.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Unbelievers nearly strike the addressee down with malicious looks when hearing
the admonition of the Koran and call him distracted.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The passage states that the revelation is an admonition to all creatures.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: An editorial note says the expression for the destroyed garden may be rendered
as being like a dark night, burnt up and black, and notes that the same expression
appears in chapter 56.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: al Walid Ebn al Mogheira
description: A possible target of the passage according to an editorial note; described
as Mohammed’s inveterate enemy and associated with an ignominious nose wound.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: al Akhnas Ebn Shoraik
description: Another possible target of the passage according to an editorial note.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: charitable garden owner
description: A man near Sanaa who owned a palm-tree plantation and left date fruit
for the poor.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: sons of the garden owner
description: The heirs of the palm-tree plantation who planned to gather fruit early
before the poor were notified.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the poor
description: Recipients of fruit left by the charitable garden owner; they were
to be excluded by the sons’ plan.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: opponents or unbelievers
description: People challenged about their judgment, heavenly authority, companions,
future claims, and reaction to the Koran.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: God / LORD
description: The divine speaker or authority whose judgment, decrees, grace, and
stratagem are invoked.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: one swallowed by the fish
description: A figure who cried to God while inwardly vexed, was reached by grace,
and was made righteous.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: the addressee of the exhortation
description: The person instructed to wait patiently for the LORD’s judgment and
not to be like the one swallowed by the fish.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: possible target of invective
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The editorial note identifies these men as possible persons at whom the passage
was particularly levelled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: charitable owner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He publicly notified the poor and left portions of date fruit for them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: withholders of charity
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They planned to gather the fruit early so the poor would have no notice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: intended beneficiaries
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They were given notice and left fruit by the former owner.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: challenged claimants and unbelievers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: They are questioned about authority, future reward, companions, hidden decrees,
and their hostile response to the Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: divine judge and disposer
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage refers to God’s decrees, the LORD’s judgment, divine grace, and
a strategy leading deniers to destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: rescued afflicted figure
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: He was swallowed by the fish, cried to God, and was reached by grace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: exhorted messenger or addressee
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: He is told to wait patiently and is said to be targeted by unbelievers’ malicious
looks when they hear the Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: palm-tree plantation
literal_form: garden or plantation of palm-trees near Sanaa
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: date fruit harvest
literal_form: dates gathered by cutting clusters with a knife
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: darkened destroyed garden
literal_form: plantation destroyed in the night, explained as burnt up and black
like a dark night
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: book from heaven
literal_form: a heavenly book in which the opponents might read a promise
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: binding oaths to resurrection day
literal_form: oaths binding upon God to the day of resurrection
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: table of God’s decrees
literal_form: table from which secrets of futurity might be transcribed
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: fish swallowing a person
literal_form: a fish that swallowed a man who cried to God
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: naked shore
literal_form: shore onto which the swallowed figure would have been cast in shame
without grace
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: malicious looks
literal_form: hostile looks by which unbelievers nearly strike the addressee down
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Editorial identification of hostile figures
summary: Notes identify possible historical persons against whom the passage was
directed and explain a mark of ignominy on the nose.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Destroyed palm-garden after withheld charity
summary: A charitable owner’s sons plan to harvest secretly so the poor cannot receive
fruit, but the plantation is destroyed during the night.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:11
- id: scene:3
label: Challenge to claims of guaranteed future reward
summary: Opponents are asked whether they possess a heavenly book, binding oaths,
or companions who can vouch for their claims.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Judgment day humiliation
summary: On a certain day the opponents are called to worship but cannot, and their
downcast looks and ignominy are described.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Warning of hidden destruction and divine decree
summary: The passage says deniers of the revelation will be led gradually to destruction
and questions whether opponents possess the secrets of futurity from God’s decrees.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Admonition through the figure swallowed by the fish
summary: The addressee is told to await the LORD’s judgment and not to resemble
the fish-swallowed figure, who cried to God and was saved by grace.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Unbelievers’ hostile reaction to the Koran
summary: Unbelievers nearly strike the addressee down with malicious looks, call
him distracted, and the text states that the revelation is an admonition to all
creatures.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine judgment against false confidence
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage challenges opponents’ claims to guaranteed future reward, depicts
their humiliation when called to worship, and refers to the LORD’s judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction is based on Sale’s English rendering and notes.
- id: motif:2
label: punitive destruction after refusal of charity
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The garden owner’s sons plan to withhold fruit from the poor, and the plantation
is destroyed during the night before their plan can be carried out.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The note reports the destruction but does not explicitly name the destroyer
within the quoted note.
- id: motif:3
label: hidden divine decree versus human claims of knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage asks whether opponents possess secrets of futurity and transcribe
from the table of God’s decrees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif label interprets a rhetorical challenge; no detailed wisdom
narrative is developed in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: afflicted figure swallowed by a fish and restored by grace
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The addressee is warned not to be like the figure swallowed by the fish,
who cried to God and was made righteous after grace reached him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a brief allusion and does not narrate the full
episode.
- id: motif:5
label: revelation rejected as madness yet addressed to all creatures
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Unbelievers call the addressee distracted when they hear the Koran, while
the passage says it is an admonition to all creatures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact category for rejected prophecy or
revelation, so the wisdom classification is approximate.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: An editorial note links the expression describing the darkened destroyed
garden with the same expression in chapter 56.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Koran, chapter 56
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note reports a repeated expression only; it does not establish
a shared narrative motif or historical relationship.
- id: claim:2
claim: An editorial note refers the famine explanation to chapter 23, suggesting
a nearby intra-textual comparison for divine affliction by famine.
claim_level: same_function
target: Koran, chapter 23
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The passage provides only a brief cross-reference and does not quote
the chapter 23 material.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 36679-36686
quote_or_summary: 'Editorial note: the person targeted is generally supposed to
be Mohammed’s enemy al Walid Ebn al Mogheira, though some think it was al Akhnas
Ebn Shoraik.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 36687-36693
quote_or_summary: 'Editorial note: a mark on the nose is especially ignominious;
al Walid is said to have had his nose slit by a sword at Bedr and carried the
scar to his grave.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 36695-36708
quote_or_summary: 'Editorial note: a palm-tree plantation near Sanaa belonged to
a charitable man who left fruit for the poor; after his death, his sons planned
to harvest early without notifying the poor, but found the plantation destroyed
in the night.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 36724-36730
quote_or_summary: The passage asks why the opponents judge as they do, whether they
have a heavenly book promising what they choose, or binding oaths lasting to the
day of resurrection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 36731-36733
quote_or_summary: The passage asks which opponent will vouch for this and tells
them to produce their companions if they speak truth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 36734-36737
quote_or_summary: On a certain day the leg is made bare; the opponents are called
to worship but cannot, and their looks are cast down with ignominy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 36738-36741
quote_or_summary: The speaker says to leave the denier of the revelation to him;
they will be led gradually to destruction in unknown ways, and the speaker’s stratagem
is effectual.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 36744-36745
quote_or_summary: The passage asks whether the secrets of futurity are with the
opponents and whether they transcribe from the table of God’s decrees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 36746-36750
quote_or_summary: The addressee is told to wait for the LORD’s judgment and not
to be like the one swallowed by the fish, who cried to God; divine grace reached
him, and the LORD chose him as righteous.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 36751-end of passage
quote_or_summary: Unbelievers nearly strike the addressee down with malicious looks
when they hear the Koran, say he is distracted, and the passage says it is an
admonition to all creatures.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 36713-36716
quote_or_summary: 'Editorial note: the original may be rendered like a dark night,
being burnt up and black; another note says the same expression is used in chapter
56.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 36694-36695
quote_or_summary: 'Editorial note: the affliction is explained as a grievous famine,
with a cross-reference to chapter 23.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The passage includes both Qur'anic text and Sale’s explanatory notes. Motifs
are clear where judgment, destruction, and the fish-swallowed figure appear, but
several details are brief allusions or editorial identifications and require human
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; taxonomy references limited to provided motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l36679-l36751
passage_sha256=4fb65703e43e8a13baf45cd6a3074eedcb364a63330fa2e90d48ac0f74e1f961