batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l39468-l39512
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l39468-l39512
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: ENTITLED, THE DAYBREAK; WHERE IT WAS REVEALED IS DISPUTED. / IN THE NAME
OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER CXIV. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.;
lines 39468-39512
start: '39468'
end: '39512'
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 gives a short prayer commanding the speaker to seek refuge
with the Lord, King, and God of men from the hidden whisperer who suggests evil
in human breasts, and from genii and men. The accompanying notes identify the
whisperer as the devil and relate a commentary tradition in which Mohammed is
bewitched by knots on a hidden cord and freed when the two chapters are recited
over it.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker is instructed to seek refuge with the Lord, king, and God of men.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The requested deliverance is from the mischief of a whisperer who withdraws
slyly.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The whisperer is described as placing evil suggestions into the breasts of
men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The sources named at the end of the prayer are genii and men.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: A note identifies the withdrawing whisperer as the devil, who withdraws when
a man mentions God or seeks divine protection.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: A note describes witches tying knots in a cord and blowing on them while uttering
magical words to harm or debilitate a chosen person.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A commentary tradition says Lobeid and his daughters bewitched Mohammed by
tying eleven knots on a cord and hiding it in a well.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: In the same tradition, Gabriel tells Mohammed how to use the two chapters
and where the cord is hidden; Ali fetches it; the chapters are repeated over the
cord; one knot is loosed at each verse until Mohammed is freed from the charm.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Speaker seeking refuge
description: The first-person voice commanded to say that refuge is sought with
God.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lord, king, and God of men
description: The divine figure invoked as Lord, king, and God of men.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Whisperer who withdraws
description: A being who slyly withdraws and whispers evil suggestions into human
breasts; a note identifies this figure as the devil.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Men
description: Humans are named as those over whom God is Lord, king, and God, as
recipients of whispered suggestions, and as one class from which mischief may
come.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Genii
description: Genii are named alongside men as a source from which the speaker seeks
protection.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Witches
description: The note describes witches who tie knots in a cord, blow on them, and
speak magical words to injure someone.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Lobeid
description: A Jewish figure in the commentary tradition who, with his daughters,
bewitched Mohammed by means of knots on a hidden cord.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Lobeid's daughters
description: Assistants of Lobeid in the commentary tradition of bewitching Mohammed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: The prophet who is said in the commentary tradition to fall ill from
the charm and later be freed when the chapters are recited over the cord.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Gabriel
description: The angelic figure who tells Mohammed how to use the chapters and where
the cord is hidden.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Ali
description: The figure sent by Mohammed to fetch the hidden cord.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: supplicant or reciting voice
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The voice is commanded to say that it seeks refuge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: divine protector
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The prayer asks this divine figure for refuge and deliverance from mischief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: evil suggester
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The figure whispers evil suggestions and is identified in the note as the
devil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: possible source of mischief
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The prayer ends by naming genii and men in connection with the mischief from
which refuge is sought.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: magical aggressor
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The notes describe witches, and then Lobeid with his daughters, using knots
and words to harm or bewitch.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: bewitched victim freed by recitation
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The commentary says Mohammed was bewitched, fell ill, and was freed as the
chapters were recited over the cord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: revealing guide
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Gabriel acquaints Mohammed with the use of the chapters and the location
of the cord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: retriever of hidden object
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Ali is sent to fetch the hidden cord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: whispering into the breast
literal_form: Evil suggestions whispered into the breasts of men.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: refuge with God
literal_form: The speaker's flight for refuge unto the Lord, king, and God of men.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: knotted cord charm
literal_form: A cord with eleven knots used in the commentary tradition to bewitch
Mohammed.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: hidden well
literal_form: The well where the bewitched cord is said to have been hidden.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: loosening knots by recitation
literal_form: One knot loosens at each verse as the chapters are repeated over the
cord.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Prayer for protection from the whisperer
summary: The speaker is told to seek refuge with the Lord, king, and God of men
from the withdrawing whisperer who places evil suggestions in human breasts, and
from genii and men.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Commentary on knot magic
summary: A note explains a magical practice in which witches tie knots in a cord,
blow on them, and pronounce magical words to injure a person.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Mohammed freed from a charm
summary: A commentary tradition says Lobeid and his daughters bewitch Mohammed with
eleven knots on a cord hidden in a well; Gabriel reveals the remedy and location;
Ali fetches the cord; recitation of the two chapters loosens the knots and frees
Mohammed.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine protection against hidden evil influence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The prayer seeks refuge with God from a concealed whisperer who suggests
evil and from genii and men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No exact supplied taxonomy family directly names this protective-prayer
motif.
- id: motif:2
label: Harmful magic by knotted cord
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The notes describe knot-tying, blowing, and magical words as a means to injure
or debilitate a person, and apply this to a story about Mohammed being bewitched.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This motif is in the translator/commentary notes rather than the short
chapter text itself.
- id: motif:3
label: Liberation from enchantment through revealed recitation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: In the commentary tradition, Gabriel reveals how the chapters should be used;
recitation over the cord loosens the knots one by one until Mohammed is freed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The motif depends on the cited commentary tradition embedded in the note.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 39468-39512, Chapter CXIV prayer
quote_or_summary: 'The passage commands: seek refuge with the Lord, king, and God
of men from the withdrawing whisperer who whispers evil suggestions into human
breasts, and from genii and men.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: line range 39468-39512, note t
quote_or_summary: The note explains that the withdrawing whisperer is the devil,
who withdraws when a man mentions God or has recourse to divine protection.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: line range 39468-39512, note r, first paragraph
quote_or_summary: The note describes witches tying knots in a cord, blowing on them,
and uttering magical words in order to affect or debilitate someone they intend
to injure.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: line range 39468-39512, note r, commentary tradition
quote_or_summary: The commentators relate that Lobeid, with his daughters, bewitched
Mohammed by eleven knots on a cord hidden in a well; Gabriel revealed the remedy
and location; Ali fetched the cord; recitation of the two chapters loosened each
knot until Mohammed was freed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main chapter is short and clear. Additional motif material comes from
translator/commentary notes within the supplied passage, so those motifs are separated
and cautioned. No comparison claims are made because the passage itself does not
support a specific cross-text comparison.
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 provided passage and metadata. Supplied taxonomy did not include a direct protective-prayer or knot-magic category, so taxonomy_refs are left empty.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l39468-l39512
passage_sha256=61732a8c4780cd78621536aade7986cc689ef43da73b546b0e70197803ae5d21