batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l39109-l39187
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l39109-l39187
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER CV. / ENTITLED, THE ELEPHANT;
REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 39109-39187
start: '39109'
end: '39187'
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 consists chiefly of Sale's explanatory note on the story behind
Chapter CV, recounting Abraha's threatened destruction of the Caaba, the refusal
of his elephant to advance, the destruction of his army by birds carrying stones,
a subsequent flood and plague, and later European commentary comparing or disputing
the story as a miracle or judgment against sacrilege. It also includes a preceding
note on a name or apartment of hell that breaks what is thrown into it and is
not extinguished.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A preceding note says a named place is either one of the names of hell or
one of hell's apartments, called so because it breaks in pieces what is thrown
into it and is not extinguished.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Abraha, an Ethiopian Christian king or viceroy of Yaman, built a church at
Sanaa to draw Arab pilgrimage away from the temple of Mecca.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Nofail is said to have entered the church by night and defiled its altar and
walls.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Abraha, angered by the profanation, vowed to destroy the Caaba and set out
against Mecca with an army including elephants.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Meccans withdrew to nearby mountains because they were unable to defend
the city or temple.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The note states that God undertook the protection of both Mecca and its temple.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Abraha's large elephant, named Mahmd, refused to advance toward Mecca, kneeling
when forced that way while moving readily in other directions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: A large flock of birds came from the sea coast, each carrying three stones,
one in each foot and one in its bill.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The birds dropped stones on Abraha's men, killing everyone struck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: God sent a flood that swept away dead bodies and some who had not been struck
by stones into the sea.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The remaining soldiers fled toward Yaman but perished on the way, except Abraha,
who reached Sanaa and soon died from a plague-like putrefaction.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Abu Yacsm is said to have escaped to Ethiopia, reported the destruction to
the king, and was killed when a pursuing bird dropped a stone on him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Sale states that the defeat of Abraha occurred in the year Mohammed was born
and comments that something extraordinary may have been worked up into a miracle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The passage reports Marracci's judgment that the story was either a fable
or a feat of evil spirits, with a proposed parallel in the defeat of Brennus near
Delphi.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: The passage reports Prideaux's charge that Mohammed coined the miracle and
contrasts this with Prideaux's favorable reception of stories about Brennus and
Cambyses as divine punishment for profaning religion.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Abraha Ebn al Sabh, surnamed al Ashram
description: An Ethiopian Christian king or viceroy of Yaman who built a church
at Sanaa and later marched against Mecca to destroy the Caaba.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Nofail
description: A man named by some as of the tribe of Kennah who entered Abraha's
church by night and defiled it.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Koreish / Meccans
description: The people associated with Mecca and the Caaba; they observed diminished
pilgrimage, later withdrew to nearby mountains before Abraha's host.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: God
description: The passage says God undertook the protection of Mecca and its temple
and sent the flood after the birds' attack.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mahmd
description: Abraha's very large elephant, which refused to advance toward Mecca
but moved in other directions.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Flock of birds
description: Birds like swallows that came from the sea coast, each carrying three
stones and dropping them on Abraha's men.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Abraha's army / men
description: The host accompanying Abraha against Mecca, including men killed by
stones, swept away by flood, or perishing during flight.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Abu Yacsm
description: A member of Abraha's army said to have escaped to Ethiopia and then
been killed by a bird's stone before the king.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: King of Ethiopia
description: The ruler to whom Abu Yacsm reported the destruction of Abraha's army.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Mentioned in commentary as having been born in the year of Abraha's
defeat and as the person whom Prideaux accused of coining the miracle.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Marracci
description: A commentator reported as judging the story to be fable or the work
of evil spirits and comparing it to the defeat of Brennus.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Prideaux
description: A commentator reported as accusing Mohammed of coining the miracle
while also treating other profanation-punishment stories favorably.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: builder of rival pilgrimage church
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Abraha built a magnificent church at Sanaa to redirect Arab pilgrimage from
Mecca.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: would-be destroyer of the Caaba
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After the church was defiled, Abraha vowed the destruction of the Caaba and
marched against Mecca.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: profaner of sanctuary
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nofail is said to have defiled the altar and walls of Abraha's church.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: threatened sanctuary community
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Meccans could not defend the city or temple and withdrew to nearby mountains.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: divine protector and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage says God protected Mecca and the temple and sent a flood against
Abraha's forces.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: resistant war elephant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Mahmd refused to advance toward Mecca despite force, while moving in other
directions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: avian agents of destruction
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The birds carried stones and killed the men they struck.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: invading army destroyed
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Abraha's army was killed by stones, swept by flood, or perished while fleeing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: survivor witness killed after report
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Abu Yacsm reported the event in Ethiopia and was then struck dead by a bird's
stone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: recipient of survivor report
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The king asked Abu Yacsm what kind of birds had caused the destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: figure in later authenticity debate
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The commentary discusses Mohammed's birth year and Prideaux's accusation
that he coined the miracle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: commentarial evaluator
assigned_to:
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: Marracci and Prideaux are cited for judgments about the story and its parallels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: hell as breaking place
literal_form: A name or apartment of hell that breaks in pieces what is thrown into
it and is not extinguished.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: church at Sanaa
literal_form: A magnificent church built by Abraha to attract pilgrimage away from
Mecca.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Caaba / temple of Mecca
literal_form: The temple at Mecca that Abraha vowed to destroy and that God is said
to protect.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: neighboring mountains
literal_form: Mountains near Mecca to which the Meccans withdrew.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: war elephant refusing the sanctuary
literal_form: The elephant Mahmd kneeling and refusing to advance toward Mecca.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: birds bearing stones
literal_form: A flock of swallow-like birds, each carrying three stones in feet
and bill.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: death-dealing stones
literal_form: Stones dropped by birds onto Abraha's men, killing those struck.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: flood sweeping bodies to the sea
literal_form: A flood sent by God that swept dead bodies and some survivors into
the sea.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: plague-like bodily dissolution
literal_form: Abraha's body opened and his limbs rotted off after he reached Sanaa.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hell note
summary: A note explains a name or apartment of hell as a place that breaks what
is thrown into it and is not extinguished.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Rival sanctuary and profanation
summary: Abraha builds a church at Sanaa to divert pilgrimage from Mecca; Nofail
profanes the church, provoking Abraha's anger.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: March on Mecca and retreat of the Meccans
summary: Abraha marches against Mecca with an army and elephants; the Meccans withdraw
to the mountains, and the passage says God undertakes protection of the city and
temple.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Elephant refuses to advance
summary: Abraha's elephant Mahmd kneels and will not go toward Mecca, though it
moves in other directions.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Birds destroy the army with stones
summary: Birds arrive from the sea coast carrying stones and drop them on Abraha's
men, killing those they strike.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Flood, flight, and death of Abraha
summary: God sends a flood that sweeps bodies and some survivors into the sea; the
rest flee and perish, while Abraha reaches Sanaa and dies of a plague-like decay.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Escaped witness killed in Ethiopia
summary: Abu Yacsm reports the disaster to the Ethiopian king, but a bird that followed
him drops a stone and kills him at the king's feet.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Commentarial debate and comparisons
summary: Sale, Marracci, and Prideaux are reported as debating the event's miraculous
character and comparing it with stories of Brennus at Delphi and Cambyses with
the Apis bull.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine judgment against an attack on a sacred sanctuary
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Abraha vows to destroy the Caaba, but the passage says God protects Mecca
and the temple, while the invading army is destroyed by birds, flood, flight,
and plague.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The account is given through Sale's explanatory note and includes later
debate about whether the event was miraculous.
- id: motif:2
label: Animal refuses to violate sacred space
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The war elephant Mahmd refuses to advance toward Mecca and kneels whenever
forced in that direction, though it moves freely elsewhere.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the elephant's behavior as part of the larger miracle
narrative, but does not explicitly state the elephant's motive.
- id: motif:3
label: Birds as agents of supernatural punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: A flock of birds arrives carrying stones and kills Abraha's men; a bird also
follows and kills the escaped witness Abu Yacsm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage says the birds caused the destruction but only explicitly
names God as sending the flood, not as sending the birds in this commentary wording.
- id: motif:4
label: Flood completing destruction of defeated enemies
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After the stone attack, God sends a flood that sweeps away dead bodies and
some who had not been struck into the sea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage contains flood imagery but not a renewal component; therefore
the available 'flood_and_renewal' taxonomy is not applied.
- id: motif:5
label: Survivor witness overtaken by pursuing divine punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Abu Yacsm escapes and reports the event, but a bird that followed him drops
a stone and kills him before the Ethiopian king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames the story with the formula 'It is said,' so the specific
survivor episode is presented as reported tradition.
- id: motif:6
label: Punishment for profaning religion or sacred things
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The commentary discusses Abraha's attack, Brennus's attack on Delphi, and
Cambyses's wounding of the Apis as examples debated or interpreted as punishment
for sacrilege or profanation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: This motif is drawn from the passage's commentarial comparisons, not only
from the core Elephant narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage reports a proposed parallel between Abraha's defeat while attacking
the Caaba and Brennus's defeat while marching to attack Apollo's temple at Delphi,
both functioning as narratives of punishment for sacrilegious assault on a temple.
claim_level: same_function
target: Brennus marching to attack the temple of Apollo at Delphi
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is attributed to Marracci and discussed polemically
by Sale; the passage also reports Marracci's skepticism that the Abraha story
is a genuine miracle.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares interpretations of Abraha's defeat with Prideaux's acceptance
of Brennus's overthrow as divine vengeance for sacrilege, highlighting a shared
judgment-against-profanation pattern.
claim_level: same_function
target: Prideaux's account of the miraculous overthrow of Brennus and his army
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is made in a polemical argument about Prideaux's partiality,
not as a systematic typology.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage places the Cambyses-Apis story in the same broad pattern of punishment
following an affront to a mode of worship.
claim_level: same_function
target: Cambyses wounded in the body part corresponding to his prior wound of the
Apis bull
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage mentions the Cambyses story as an argumentative analogy;
it does not provide a full narrative context.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 39109-39112
quote_or_summary: A note explains a name or apartment of hell as breaking in pieces
whatever is thrown into it and not being extinguished.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 39113-39126
quote_or_summary: Abraha, Ethiopian Christian ruler in Yaman, builds a church at
Sanaa to redirect pilgrimage from Mecca; Nofail defiles it; Abraha vows to destroy
the Caaba.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 39126-39133
quote_or_summary: Abraha advances on Mecca with an army and elephants; the Meccans
withdraw to nearby mountains; the note says God undertakes protection of the city
and temple.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 39133-39140
quote_or_summary: The large elephant Mahmd refuses to advance toward Mecca, kneeling
when forced in that direction but moving briskly when turned elsewhere.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 39140-39146
quote_or_summary: A flock of swallow-like birds comes from the sea coast, each carrying
three stones, and drops them on Abraha's men, killing those struck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 39146-39153
quote_or_summary: God sends a flood sweeping bodies and some survivors into the
sea; others flee and perish; Abraha reaches Sanaa but dies from plague-like bodily
decay.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 39153-39160
quote_or_summary: Abu Yacsm escapes to Ethiopia and reports to the king, but a bird
that followed him drops a stone and kills him at the king's feet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 39161-39169
quote_or_summary: Sale says Abraha's defeat occurred in the year Mohammed was born
and suggests something extraordinary may have been elaborated into a miracle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 39169-39175
quote_or_summary: The passage reports Marracci's view that the story is fable or
evil spirits, comparing Brennus's defeat at Delphi, and reports Prideaux's charge
that Mohammed coined the miracle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 39175-39183
quote_or_summary: Sale contrasts Prideaux's skepticism about the Abraha story with
his favorable interpretation of Brennus's overthrow as God's vengeance on sacrilegious
attackers of Delphi.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 39183-39187
quote_or_summary: The passage compares this with Cambyses being wounded in the same
body part where he had wounded the Apis bull, interpreted by Egyptians and Prideaux
as possible judgment for profaning worship.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The main Elephant narrative is clear, but the passage is a translator's explanatory
and polemical note rather than only the Qur'anic verses. Line locators are based
on the supplied line range and internal passage order.
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 and metadata. Available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supported; flood_and_renewal was avoided because the passage contains flood destruction without renewal.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l39109-l39187
passage_sha256=f2f75af1f94ae61bc1d65eab24ef60b2b3e9be8bcaa2f0a620f9088d5c8815c3