batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l6979-l7050
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l6979-l7050
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE PRECEPTS IN THE KORN. / SECTION VI. / OF THE INSTITUTIONS
OF THE KORAN IN CIVIL AFFAIRS. / SECTION VII.; lines 6979-7050
start: '6979'
end: '7050'
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 describes the pre-Islamic Arabian custom of four sacred months
during which warfare and violence were suspended, explains their association with
pilgrimage and security, notes exceptions and rare violations, and states that
Mohammed approved the institution and that the Koran confirms it with conditions
regarding those who do or do not acknowledge the months as sacred.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ancient Arabs observed four months as sacred, during which war was unlawful
and hostilities ceased.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: During the sacred months, a person feared by an enemy could live securely,
even when meeting the murderer of a father or brother.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The sacred-month institution was said to be observed by Arabian tribes generally,
with named exceptions.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Violations of the sacred-month prohibition were rare and wars fought without
regard to it were termed impious.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The sacred months are named as al Moharram, Rajeb, Dhu'lkaada, and Dhu'lhajja,
corresponding to the first, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth months of the year.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Dhu'lhajja is connected with pilgrimage to Mecca, and the surrounding months
were kept inviolable so that people could travel safely to and from the festival.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Rajeb is described as more strictly observed than the other sacred months
and is linked with fasting among pagan Arabs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Mohammed approved the sacred-month observance, and Koranic passages are said
to confirm and enforce it while permitting attack on those who do not recognize
the distinction.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: ancient Arabs
description: People described as observing four sacred months and suspending war
and hostilities during them.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Arabian tribes
description: Tribal groups among whom the sacred-month institution generally obtained.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tay, Khatham, and some descendants of Al Hareth Ebn Caab
description: Named exceptions said not to distinguish sacred time or place.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: tribes of Koreish and Kais Ailan
description: Tribes named in an instance of war carried on without regard to the
sacred months.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Described as approving the sacred-month institution; also mentioned
as having served under his uncles in the war between Koreish and Kais Ailan.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: pilgrims and travelers to Mecca
description: People for whose safe passage to and from the festival the pilgrimage
month and adjacent months were kept inviolable.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: observers of sacred truce time
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage says the Arabs and their tribes observed four sacred months in
which warfare and hostilities ceased.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: exceptions to sacred-time observance
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The named groups are said to distinguish no time or place as sacred.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: violators in an impious war
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The war between Koreish and Kais Ailan is given as an instance of warfare
carried on without regard to the sacred months.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: approver of the institution
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage says the observance seemed reasonable to Mohammed, met with his
approbation, and was confirmed and enforced by the Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: protected festival travelers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage states that the pilgrimage month and adjacent months were kept
inviolable so that everyone might safely pass and repass to and from the festival.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: four sacred months
literal_form: A set of four months in the year treated as sacred time.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: removed spearheads
literal_form: The heads taken off spears during the sacred months.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: pilgrimage to Mecca
literal_form: Travel to Mecca for the festival during Dhu'lhajja.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: inviolable passage
literal_form: Safe passage to and from the pilgrimage festival during protected
months.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: suspension of violence in sacred months
summary: Ancient Arabs set aside four months as sacred, during which warfare, incursions,
and violence were suspended and even enemies were secure.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: tribal observance and violation
summary: The institution is described as widespread among Arabian tribes, with exceptions;
rare violations were remembered as impious wars, including one involving Koreish
and Kais Ailan.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: pilgrimage protected by sacred time
summary: Dhu'lhajja and adjacent months are kept inviolable so that people may travel
safely to and from the pilgrimage festival at Mecca.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Koranic confirmation of sacred months
summary: Mohammed approves the sacred-month institution, and the Koran is said to
confirm it while limiting the prohibition of war to those who acknowledge the
months as sacred.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred time as truce from violence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage centers on sacred months during which war and violence are suspended
and enemies are protected.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This motif label is descriptive and not drawn from the supplied taxonomy
list.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual disarmament marking peace
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that Arabs took the heads from their spears during the
sacred months while ceasing hostilities.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives the act literally; its symbolic function as a marker
of peace is inferred from its placement in the truce description.
- id: motif:3
label: protected pilgrimage journey
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The pilgrimage month and adjacent months are kept inviolable so that people
may safely go to and return from the festival at Mecca.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches this motif.
- id: motif:4
label: religious adoption of earlier customary law
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage says Mohammed approved the pre-existing sacred-month custom and
that the Koran confirms and enforces it with stated conditions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an institutional pattern more than a mythic narrative motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage presents the Koranic sacred-month rule as continuing the function
of an earlier Arabian sacred-month custom: both regulate warfare by setting apart
protected times, though the Koranic rule is described as conditional regarding
opponents who do not acknowledge those months.'
claim_level: same_function
target: pre-Islamic Arabian sacred-month observance
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is internal to the passage and concerns legal-religious
function, not evidence of a broader cross-cultural motif family.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6984-6995
quote_or_summary: Ancient Arabs observed four sacred months, during which war was
unlawful, spearheads were removed, incursions and hostilities ceased, and even
a person meeting a father's or brother's murderer could not offer violence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6996-7010
quote_or_summary: The institution is said to have obtained among Arabian tribes
except Tay, Khatham, and some descendants of Al Hareth Ebn Caab; transgressions
were rare and wars disregarding the months were termed impious, including a war
between Koreish and Kais Ailan in which Mohammed served under his uncles.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7011-7024
quote_or_summary: The sacred months are named as al Moharram, Rajeb, Dhu'lkaada,
and Dhu'lhajja; Dhu'lhajja is the pilgrimage month at Mecca, and it with the preceding
and following months was kept inviolable for safe travel to and from the festival.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7025-7033
quote_or_summary: Rajeb is described as more strictly observed than the other sacred
months, probably because pagan Arabs fasted then; Ramadan is contrasted as later
set apart by Mohammed for fasting.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7038-7050
quote_or_summary: The sacred-month observance seemed reasonable to Mohammed and
met with his approval; passages of the Koran are said to confirm and enforce it,
forbidding war in those months against those who acknowledge them as sacred while
permitting attacks on those who do not.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is expository and institutional rather than mythic; literal extraction
is strong, while motif labels are descriptive and require human review for taxonomy
alignment.
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 supplied passage text and metadata. No supplied taxonomy motif family was directly assigned.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l6979-l7050
passage_sha256=71c02e5f7124de787e029c179e23dd4a7b4e91ebe9cb4cebcdd83cb27b1d80b2