batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3957-l4008
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3957-l4008
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 3957-4008
start: '3957'
end: '4008'
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 summarizes Islamic beliefs as presented by Sale: numerous
prophets were sent by God, a smaller number were apostles, six brought new dispensations,
all prophets professed Islam, and some were ranked above others. It notes Islamic
identification of biblical and non-biblical figures as prophets, Muhammad''s appeal
to earlier scriptures as supporting his mission, and the article of faith concerning
resurrection and future judgment. It then describes the post-burial interrogation
of the dead by the angels Monker and Nakir, with peace and paradisal air for correct
answers and beating with iron maces for failure.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: 'The passage reports two traditions for the total number of prophets sent
by God: 224,000 or 124,000.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Among the prophets, 313 are described as apostles with special commissions
to reclaim mankind from infidelity and superstition.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: 'Six figures are said to have brought new laws or dispensations that abrogated
preceding ones: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage states that Muslims believe all prophets were generally free from
great sins and serious errors and professed one religion, Islam, despite different
laws and institutions.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage says Muslims rank prophets by degrees, giving first place to revealers
and establishers of new dispensations and next place to apostles.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage lists biblical or scriptural figures counted as prophets and also
mentions figures not appearing by name in scripture, such as Saleh, Khedr, and
Dhu'lkefl.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says Mohammed acknowledged the divine authority of the Pentateuch,
Psalms, and Gospel and appealed to their consonance with the Koran and to alleged
prophecies concerning himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says Mohammed charged Jews and Christians with suppressing passages
that bore witness to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage identifies belief in a general resurrection and future judgment
as the next article of faith required by the Koran.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: After a corpse is laid in the grave, an angel is said to receive the dead
person and announce the coming of two examiners.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The two examiners are described as black livid angels of terrible appearance
named Monker and Nakir.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The examiners order the dead person to sit upright and question him about
faith in the unity of God and the mission of Mohammed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: If the dead person answers rightly, the body is allowed to rest in peace and
is refreshed by the air of paradise.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: If the dead person does not answer rightly, the examiners beat him on the
temples with iron maces, causing a loud cry of anguish.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: Sender of prophets into the world and the deity whose unity is examined
after death.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Prophets
description: A large class of messengers sent by God; believed to be generally free
from grave sins and to profess Islam.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Apostles
description: A subset of 313 prophets sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind
from infidelity and superstition.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed
description: Six figures said to bring new laws or dispensations that abrogated
the preceding.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Named among the six bringers of new dispensations; his mission is a
subject of scriptural appeal and grave interrogation.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Jews and Christians
description: Groups whom Mohammed is said to charge with suppressing passages that
witness to him.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dead person
description: The person laid in the grave and examined about faith after burial.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Receiving angel
description: An angel who receives the corpse in the grave and announces the coming
of the examiners.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Monker and Nakir
description: Two black livid angels of terrible appearance who examine the dead
person in the grave.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine sender and object of faith
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God sends prophets and the dead person is examined concerning God's unity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: prophetic messenger class
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Prophets are sent by God and described as professing one religion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: apostolic reclaimers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Apostles are sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind from infidelity
and superstition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: revealer of new dispensation
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: These figures are listed as bringers of new laws or dispensations that abrogate
earlier ones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: claimed foretold messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage says Mohammed appealed to earlier scriptures and prophecies as
proofs of his mission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: accused suppressors of testimony
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage states that Mohammed charged Jews and Christians with stifling
passages witnessing to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: posthumous examinee
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The dead person is ordered to sit upright and answer questions in the grave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: announcer of grave examination
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: An angel receives the corpse and gives notice of the coming examiners.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: grave examiners and punishers
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Monker and Nakir examine the dead person and punish wrong answers with iron
maces.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: prophet numbers
literal_form: 224,000 or 124,000 prophets; 313 apostles
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: new dispensations
literal_form: successive laws or dispensations brought by six figures
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: earlier scriptures
literal_form: Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: grave
literal_form: grave where the corpse is laid and examined
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: air of paradise
literal_form: air of paradise refreshing the body after correct answers
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: iron maces
literal_form: iron maces used to beat the dead person on the temples after wrong
answers
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Prophetic hierarchy and succession
summary: The passage describes a large number of prophets, a smaller class of apostles,
and six chief figures who bring successive dispensations.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Scriptural appeal for Mohammed's mission
summary: Mohammed is said to recognize earlier scriptures, appeal to their consonance
with the Koran and prophecies about himself, and accuse Jews and Christians of
suppressing relevant passages.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Resurrection and future judgment introduced
summary: The passage introduces belief in general resurrection and future judgment
and then turns to the intermediate state after death.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Interrogation in the grave
summary: A receiving angel announces two examiners, Monker and Nakir, who make the
dead person sit up and answer questions about God's unity and Mohammed's mission.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Consequences of the grave examination
summary: Correct answers bring rest and paradisal air to the body, while wrong answers
bring beating with iron maces and anguish.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: successive prophetic dispensations
taxonomy_refs:
- covenant
basis: The passage describes six figures who bring new laws or dispensations that
successively abrogate preceding ones.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses 'dispensation' rather than explicitly naming covenant;
taxonomy linkage is interpretive and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:2
label: hierarchy of prophets and apostles
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage organizes prophets into ranks, with revealers of new dispensations
first and apostles next, and describes them as religious teachers sent to reclaim
mankind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The wisdom taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is doctrinal rather
than narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: foretold messenger validated by earlier scriptures
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Mohammed is said to appeal to earlier scriptures and prophecies about himself
as proofs of his mission.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: low
cautions: The taxonomy reference is only approximate because the passage concerns
prophetic mission rather than kingship.
- id: motif:4
label: general resurrection and future judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage explicitly identifies belief in a general resurrection and future
judgment as an article of faith.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage introduces the doctrine but does not narrate the resurrection
or final judgment in detail.
- id: motif:5
label: posthumous interrogation in the grave
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- divine_judgment
basis: The dead person is examined in the grave by Monker and Nakir concerning faith,
with peaceful rest for right answers and punishment for wrong answers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes an intermediate state after death, not the final
judgment itself.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself presents the Koran as being claimed to agree with the
Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel and to be supported by prophecies in those earlier
writings.
claim_level: same_function
target: Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel as earlier authoritative scriptures
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a report of Sale's description of Islamic apologetic claims;
it does not independently establish textual agreement or historical dependence.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage relates Islamic prophet lists to biblical and other scriptural
figures by noting that some figures named in scripture are counted as prophets
under the same or different names.
claim_level: same_function
target: biblical and scriptural patriarchs or named figures counted as prophets
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives examples but does not provide detailed narratives
for those figures in this excerpt.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3959-3964
quote_or_summary: God is said to have sent 224,000 or 124,000 prophets; 313 were
apostles with special commissions to reclaim mankind.
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 3964-3967
quote_or_summary: Six figures—Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed—are
named as bringers of new laws or dispensations that abrogated earlier ones.
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 3967-3973
quote_or_summary: Prophets are described as free from major sins and as professors
of Islam; degrees are allowed among them, with revealers of dispensations ranked
first and apostles next.
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 3974-3983
quote_or_summary: The passage says Muslims count various scriptural figures as prophets,
sometimes under different names, and also include figures whose names do not appear
in scripture, such as Saleh, Khedr, and Dhu'lkefl.
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 3985-3994
quote_or_summary: Mohammed is said to acknowledge the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel,
appeal to their consonance with the Koran and their prophecies about him, and
charge Jews and Christians with suppressing such passages.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3995-3999
quote_or_summary: The passage names belief in a general resurrection and future
judgment as an article of faith and introduces the intermediate state of body
and soul after death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4004
quote_or_summary: When a corpse is laid in the grave, an angel receives him and
announces two terrible black livid angels named Monker and Nakir.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 4004-4007
quote_or_summary: Monker and Nakir order the dead person to sit upright and question
him about God's unity and Mohammed's mission; correct answers bring peaceful rest
and air from paradise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 4007-4008
quote_or_summary: Wrong answers lead the examiners to beat the dead person on the
temples with iron maces until he cries out in anguish.
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: The passage is doctrinal and expository rather than a complete mythic narrative.
Motifs concerning resurrection, judgment, and grave interrogation are directly
supported; some taxonomy links for prophetic succession and scriptural validation
are approximate.
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. Long quotations were avoided in favor of concise summaries.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l3957-l4008
passage_sha256=6913967b9e2511b3b4ed544eb3fda62580f430fcf1fd099f02b69d14544676af