batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l4531-l4583
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l4531-l4583
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 4531-4583
start: '4531'
end: '4583'
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: those whose balance laden with their good works shall be heavy, will be saved
summary: The passage describes last-day judgment in which records of deeds are weighed,
sentence is given according to the balance of good and evil actions, injuries
are compensated by transfer of merits or sins, and animals are changed into dust
after mutual vengeance. It also reports parallels in Jewish writings and a Persian
Magian account of angels weighing deeds on a bridge to paradise or hell.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Books recording good and evil actions are said to be thrown into scales, and
sentence is given according to which record preponderates.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Those whose balance of good works is heavy are saved, while those whose balances
are light are condemned.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says old Jewish writers mention books produced at the last day
and a balance in which actions are weighed.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: In the reported Persian Magian belief, two angels named Mihr and Sorsh stand
on a bridge to examine each person as he passes.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: In the reported Persian Magian belief, Mihr holds a balance to weigh human
actions and reports to God; Sorsh precipitates those whose good works are light
from the bridge into hell.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: 'After the weighing, mutual retaliation occurs: injured creatures receive
satisfaction by having a proportional part of the injurer''s good works added
to their own.'
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: If a person's remaining good works equal the weight of an ant, God doubles
them so the person may enter paradise.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: If a person's good works are exhausted while unsatisfied victims remain, an
equal weight of those victims' sins is added to the offender, who is sent to hell
with both burdens.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Brutes also take vengeance on one another, after which God commands them to
be changed into dust.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Wicked men cry that they wish they were dust when they hear the sentence passed
on the brutes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Many Mohammedans are reported as holding that true-believing genii will undergo
the same fate as irrational animals.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God
description: The divine judge who gives or receives reports for sentence, doubles
remaining good works, orders sins added, sends offenders to hell, and commands
brutes to become dust.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Human persons / mankind
description: Persons whose recorded actions are weighed and who may be saved, condemned,
admitted to paradise, or sent to hell.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wicked men
description: Human offenders reserved for grievous punishment, who wish they were
dust when the brutes are changed into dust.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Mihr
description: An angel in the reported Persian Magian account, representing divine
mercy and holding a balance to weigh human actions.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sorsh
description: An angel in the reported Persian Magian account, representing God's
justice and casting those with light good works from the bridge into hell.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Angels administering satisfaction
description: Angels by whose ministry good works are transferred to compensate injured
parties.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Brutes / irrational animals
description: Nonhuman creatures who take vengeance on one another and are then changed
into dust.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: True-believing genii
description: Genii whom many Mohammedans are said to believe will share the fate
of irrational animals.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine judge and disposer of final outcomes
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is associated with sentence, mercy, admission to paradise, punishment
in hell, and command over the final state of animals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: weighed moral subject
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Human persons have their actions weighed and receive outcomes based on the
balance and on later compensation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: mercy-associated weighing angel
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Mihr is said to represent divine mercy and hold the balance for weighing
actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: justice-associated punishing angel
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Sorsh is said to represent God's justice and cast the deficient from the
bridge into hell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: minister of compensatory transfer
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Angels perform the satisfaction process by transferring good works among
persons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: nonhuman creature subject to post-judgment fate
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Brutes, and according to one reported opinion some genii, undergo a fate
distinct from wicked human punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: scales or balance of deeds
literal_form: Scales or balance weighing books or actions
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: books of recorded actions
literal_form: Books in which men's actions are registered
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: bridge of examination
literal_form: Bridge on which angels stand as persons pass
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: paradise
literal_form: Paradise as the destination of those admitted after judgment
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: hell
literal_form: Hell as the destination of those cast down or punished after judgment
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: weight of a hair or ant
literal_form: Minimal weights used to describe the decisive measure of good works
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: dust
literal_form: Dust into which brutes are changed and which wicked men wish to become
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Weighing of recorded actions
summary: Books or actions are weighed in a just balance, and salvation or condemnation
follows according to the weight of good and evil works.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Persian bridge examination
summary: In the reported Persian Magian account, Mihr and Sorsh stand on a bridge;
Mihr weighs actions and those whose good works are light are cast into hell by
Sorsh, while the more ponderous pass toward paradise.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Retaliatory compensation after judgment
summary: Creatures receive satisfaction for injuries through transfer of good works;
if good works remain in even a tiny measure God doubles them for paradise, but
if exhausted, others' sins are added and the offender is sent to hell.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Brutes changed into dust
summary: Animals take vengeance on one another and are then commanded to become
dust; wicked men, facing worse punishment, wish for the same fate.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: weighing of deeds in final judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage repeatedly describes final sentence according to a balance weighing
recorded actions or good works.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a translated commentary-style account rather than a direct
Qur'anic verse in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: afterlife bridge passage to paradise or hell
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: The reported Persian Magian comparison places judging angels on a bridge
where persons pass toward paradise or are cast into hell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This bridge scene is presented as Persian Magian belief compared to the
Mohammedan opinion, not necessarily as the main Islamic account in the excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: posthumous transfer of merit and sin as compensation
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage describes good works and sins being transferred by divine or
angelic administration to satisfy injuries after judgment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The 'sacred_exchange' taxonomy fit is interpretive; the passage frames
the action primarily as divine justice and retaliation.
- id: motif:4
label: creatures reduced to dust after judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Brutes are judged through mutual vengeance and then changed into dust, prompting
wicked men to wish for the same fate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a specific eschatological detail; no closer supplied taxonomy
ref than divine judgment is available.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the books and balance of last-day judgment
with old Jewish writings and scriptural passages that mention registered actions
and weighing.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish last-day books and balance traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage reports parallels through Sale's commentary and citations;
it does not establish historical dependence beyond saying scripture seems to have
given the first notion.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage says the Persian Magian belief about a balance held by an angel
on a judgment bridge comes nearest to the Mohammedan opinion.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Persian Magian judgment-bridge and balance belief
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is internal to the passage, but the excerpt does not
provide the Persian source text directly.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4531-4538
quote_or_summary: Books of good and evil actions are thrown into scales; heavy balances
of good works lead to salvation, light balances to condemnation.
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 4539-4544
quote_or_summary: Old Jewish writers are said to mention books produced at the last
day and a balance for weighing actions; scripture is said to suggest both notions.
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 4544-4555
quote_or_summary: Persian Magi are said to believe Mihr and Sorsh stand on a bridge;
Mihr weighs actions and Sorsh casts those with light good works into hell, while
the weightier pass to paradise.
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 4556-4565
quote_or_summary: After the examination and just weighing, creatures retaliate for
injuries; satisfaction is made by transferring proportional good works from injurer
to injured.
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 4565-4575
quote_or_summary: If a person's remaining good works equal an ant's weight, God
doubles them for paradise; if exhausted, others' sins are added and the person
is sent to hell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 4575-4581
quote_or_summary: Brutes take vengeance, are changed into dust, and wicked men cry,
"Would to GOD that we were dust also."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4581-4583
quote_or_summary: Many Mohammedans are said to think true-believing genii will undergo
the same fate as irrational animals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage itself gives explicit eschatological details and explicit comparisons.
Some taxonomy mapping is approximate because the excerpt is commentary-like and
the available taxonomy is broad.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. No external taxonomy IDs beyond the provided motif-family list were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l4531-l4583
passage_sha256=a6a84f37a385fe23548c5c076aa251da5b3603a7768fccd89658f801ab0e5f02