batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l6617-l6669
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l6617-l6669
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: SECTION V. / OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE PRECEPTS IN THE KORN. / SECTION VI. / OF
THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE KORAN IN CIVIL AFFAIRS.; lines 6617-6669
start: '6617'
end: '6669'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Sale translation/commentary as represented in
Project Gutenberg text
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage discusses legitimacy of children, rules for private contracts
and debts, evidentiary requirements such as witnesses, writing, pledges, and oaths,
and legal treatment of wilful murder and manslaughter, including fines, freeing
captives, retaliation by next of kin, fasting as penance, and comparisons with
Mosaic/Jewish law and Arab custom.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Children of legal wives are treated as legitimate; children of common women
whose fathers are unknown are described as bastards.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Private contracts are recommended to be conscientiously performed and made
before witnesses.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Unexecuted contracts and future debts are to be put in writing before at least
two witnesses; if two men are unavailable, one man and two women may suffice.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Where no writer is available, pledges are to be taken for debts or contracts.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: If parties rely on trust without writing, witnesses, or pledge, the defendant
is acquitted if he denies the claim under oath unless contrary proof is very strong.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Wilful murder is described as forbidden by the Koran under severe penalties
in the next life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Wilful murder may be compounded for by paying a fine to the deceased's family
and freeing a Moslem from captivity.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The next of kin, called the revenger of blood in the passage's comparison,
may accept satisfaction or require that the murderer be delivered for death.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage says Mosaic law forbids taking satisfaction for a murderer's life,
while Arab custom is described as tending toward severe revenge and tribal warfare.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Unintentional killing must be redeemed by fine and freeing a captive, unless
the next of kin remits the fine; inability to do this requires fasting two consecutive
months as penance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The blood-fine is given as one hundred camels in the Sonna and is distributed
among the deceased's relations according to inheritance laws.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: If the slain person is from an enemy or non-confederate group, the slayer
is not bound to pay a fine, and freeing a captive is sufficient.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: legal wives and their children
description: Wives described as legal and ingenuous, whose children are not counted
as bastards.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: common women and children of unknown fathers
description: Women and children used to define the exception to legitimacy in the
passage.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: contracting parties
description: Men engaged in private contracts or debts with one another.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: witnesses
description: Required observers for contracts and written debt instruments; specified
as two male Moslems, or one man and two women if two men cannot be obtained.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: writer
description: A person who writes down contracts or debts when they are not immediately
executed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: defendant or debtor under oath
description: The party against whom a demand is made and who may be acquitted if
denying the charge on oath without contrary proof.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: murderer or slayer
description: Person responsible for wilful murder or undesigned killing.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: deceased or slain person
description: Victim whose family or relations may receive fine or decide whether
to remit it.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: family, relations, or next of kin of the deceased
description: Recipients of fines and holders of the choice to accept satisfaction,
remit a fine, or require retaliation.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: captive
description: A Moslem or captive whose freeing forms part of the penalty or redemption
for killing.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Named in the passage as having diverged from the Mosaic law in allowing
composition for murder, according to the commentator.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Arabs in Mohammed's time
description: Described as having customs of vindictive revenge that could involve
whole tribes in bloody wars.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: legitimate family members
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Children born of legal wives are not accounted bastards.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: exception to legitimacy rule
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Children of common women whose fathers are unknown are the stated exception.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: obligated contract parties
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Private contracts between persons are to be performed and secured.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: legal witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Contracts and debts are directed to be made or written in the presence of
witnesses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: contract scribe
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: A writer is assumed for reducing contracts into writing; pledges substitute
when no writer is found.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: oath-denying defendant
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The party demanded from is acquitted if he denies the debt on oath absent
convincing contrary proof.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: killer subject to penalty
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Murderers and unintentional slayers are subject to specified penalties or
retaliation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: victim of killing
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The deceased or slain person anchors the fine and kinship claims.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: blood-kin decision maker
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The next of kin may accept satisfaction, require retaliation, or remit a
manslaughter fine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: person liberated as penalty or redemption
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Freeing a captive is repeatedly listed as part or all of the penalty for
killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: legal founder as described by commentator
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The passage attributes to Mohammed a departure from Mosaic law regarding
satisfaction for murder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: customary revenge group
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The passage describes Arab vindictive customs and tribal wars over murder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: written contract
literal_form: contract reduced into writing
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: two witnesses
literal_form: two male Moslem witnesses, or one man and two women
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: pledge
literal_form: pledge taken when no writer is available
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: oath of denial
literal_form: denial on oath that the defendant owes nothing
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: blood-fine
literal_form: fine for a man's blood, specified as one hundred camels in the Sonna
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: freeing a captive
literal_form: release of a Moslem or captive as part of penalty or redemption
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: two-month fast
literal_form: fasting two months together as penance
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: next-life penalty
literal_form: severe penalties in the next life for wilful murder
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Securing contracts and debts
summary: Private contracts and future debts are to be performed, witnessed, written
when not immediately executed, and supported by pledges when no writer is available.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Oath in absence of written proof
summary: When parties trust one another without written evidence, witnesses, or
pledges, a defendant may be acquitted by denying the demand under oath unless
contrary proof is strong.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Wilful murder, compensation, and retaliation
summary: Wilful murder is forbidden with next-life penalties, but may be settled
by fine and freeing a captive unless the next of kin insists on the murderer's
death.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Manslaughter redemption and penance
summary: Unintentional killing is redeemed by fine and freeing a captive, or by
two months of fasting if the slayer cannot perform the required compensation.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Comparison with Mosaic law and Arab custom
summary: The commentator contrasts the homicide rules with Mosaic prohibition of
satisfaction for murder and connects them to Arab customs of blood revenge and
tribal conflict.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: witnessed and written obligation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Contracts and future debts are secured by witnesses, writing, and pledges.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a legal-institutional pattern rather than a mythic narrative motif.
- id: motif:2
label: oath as decisive proof when material evidence is absent
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A demanded party may be acquitted by oath-denial unless strong contrary evidence
is produced.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage treats the oath as legal procedure; it does not elaborate
a ritual or mythic scene.
- id: motif:3
label: blood compensation replacing or competing with retaliation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The murderer may be settled for by fine and freeing a captive, but next of
kin may refuse and seek the murderer's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is extracted as a comparative legal pattern, not as a narrative
episode.
- id: motif:4
label: expiation for killing through payment, liberation, or fasting
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Manslaughter is redeemed by fine and freeing a captive; if unable, the slayer
fasts two months as penance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives prescriptive law; symbolic interpretation of the acts
should be reviewed.
- id: motif:5
label: posthumous divine penalty for murder
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Wilful murder is said to be forbidden under severe penalties in the next
life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: Only a brief doctrinal reference appears; no afterlife scene is narrated.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares Islamic evidentiary practice for contracts
with Jewish legal witness requirements, noting a similar requirement even outside
capital cases.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish legal witness practice cited through Deuteronomy and New Testament
references
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison appears in a footnote/commentarial apparatus, not as
a narrative claim within the Koranic text itself.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage contrasts Islamic composition for murder with Mosaic law, which
it says forbids accepting satisfaction for the life of a murderer.
claim_level: same_function
target: Mosaic law on homicide compensation, cited as Numbers xxxv. 31
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is primarily a contrast within a shared legal problem; it
should not be read as evidence of identical doctrine.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage suggests that the homicide-compensation rule responded to Arab
customs of blood revenge and tribal warfare.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Arab customary blood revenge in Mohammed's time
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is the translator/commentator's historical explanation and requires
external historical review before being treated as established influence.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6617-6618
quote_or_summary: Children of legal wives are legitimate; only children of common
women with unknown fathers are counted as bastards.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6619-6629
quote_or_summary: Contracts are recommended to be performed, witnessed, written
when not immediately executed, and secured by pledges if no writer is available;
witness numbers and gender are specified.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6629-6634
quote_or_summary: If parties trust one another without writing, witnesses, or pledge,
the demanded party is acquitted by denying the claim on oath unless convincing
contrary circumstances prove otherwise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 6635-6637
quote_or_summary: '"Wilful murder" is forbidden "under the severest penalties to
be inflicted in the next life."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6635-6643
quote_or_summary: Wilful murder may be compounded by a fine to the deceased's family
and freeing a Moslem from captivity; the next of kin may accept satisfaction or
demand the murderer's death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6643-6651
quote_or_summary: The commentator says Mohammed diverged from Mosaic law forbidding
satisfaction for murder and connects the rule to Arab customs of revenge that
could involve tribes in bloody wars.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6652-6658
quote_or_summary: Manslaughter is redeemed by fine and freeing a captive unless
remitted by next of kin; inability to perform this requires fasting two consecutive
months as penance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6658-6665
quote_or_summary: The fine for a man's blood is a hundred camels and distributed
among the deceased's relations; if the slain is an enemy or non-confederate, freeing
a captive is sufficient.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6667-6669 and note 3
quote_or_summary: A note says the same witness requirement appears to have been
required by Jewish law, citing Deuteronomy and New Testament passages.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Legal prescriptions are explicit. Motif labels are cautious because the passage
is expository legal commentary rather than mythic narrative. Comparison claims
are limited to comparisons made within the supplied passage and notes.
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: |-
No external sources were used. Taxonomy references are limited to the supplied list; only divine_judgment was applied, and only for the brief next-life penalty reference.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l6617-l6669
passage_sha256=8beaed3d817e62d14eff4509977ac01f3d889f3772477903b69eb491a2a565b0