batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7374-l7423
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7374-l7423
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: SECTION VI. / OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE KORAN IN CIVIL AFFAIRS. / SECTION
VII. / SECTION VIII.; lines 7374-7423
start: '7374'
end: '7423'
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 historical account of Ahmed Ebn Hanbal: disputed birth
traditions, reputation for virtue and knowledge of Mohammedan traditions, relationship
with al Shafei, punishment for refusing to affirm that the Koran was created,
death at Baghdad, large funeral attendance, reported mass conversions on the day
of his death, later Hanbalite unrest, and the emergence and numbering of Islamic
sects and heresies.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ahmed Ebn Hanbal is described as founder of the fourth sect and is assigned
a birth year of Hejra 164, with two traditions about his birthplace.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: One birth tradition says Ebn Hanbal was born at Mer in Khorasan and brought
by his mother to Baghdad at her breast; another says his mother came to Baghdad
pregnant and he was born there.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Ebn Hanbal is said to have gained reputation for virtue and knowledge, especially
knowledge of the traditions of Mohammed.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Ebn Hanbal was intimate with al Shafei and received most of his traditionary
knowledge from him.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Ebn Hanbal refused to acknowledge the Koran to be created and was severely
scourged and imprisoned by order of the Khalif al Motasem.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Ebn Hanbal died at Baghdad in the year 241 and was followed to his grave by
eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage reports as extraordinary or possibly miraculous that twenty thousand
Christians, Jews, and Magians embraced the Mohammedan faith on the day of Ebn
Hanbal's death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Hanbalite sect is described as increasing rapidly and later raising a
commotion in Baghdad, entering houses, spilling wine, beating singing-women, and
breaking instruments.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Heretical sects among the Mohammedans are defined as those holding heterodox
opinions in matters of faith.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says controversies about fundamentals began after most companions
of Mohammed had died and after conquest had abated, when closer examination of
the Koran produced differences of opinion.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The number of Mohammedan sects is reported as seventy-three, with one considered
orthodox and entitled to salvation.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The Kharejites are identified as the first heresy and are said to have revolted
from Ali in the thirty-seventh year of the Hejra.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ahmed Ebn Hanbal
description: Founder of the fourth sect; reputed for virtue and knowledge; punished
for a doctrinal refusal; died at Baghdad.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ebn Hanbal's mother
description: Named in alternative birth traditions as bringing him from Khorasan
to Baghdad or being pregnant with him when she came to Baghdad.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: al Shafei
description: Teacher or source from whom Ebn Hanbal received most of his traditionary
knowledge.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: al Motasem
description: Khalif by whose order Ebn Hanbal was scourged and imprisoned.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Funeral followers
description: Eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women said to have followed
Ebn Hanbal to his grave.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Christian, Jewish, and Magian converts
description: Twenty thousand Christians, Jews, and Magians reported to have embraced
the Mohammedan faith on the day of Ebn Hanbal's death.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hanbalites
description: Sect described as growing powerful, causing commotion in Baghdad, and
later being few outside Arabia.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Prophet whose traditions Ebn Hanbal knew and who is said to have foretold
the seventy-three Moslem sects.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Kharejites
description: Identified as the first heresy and as revolting from Ali.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Ali
description: Figure from whom the Kharejites revolted in the thirty-seventh year
of the Hejra.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: sect founder
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage calls Ahmed Ebn Hanbal the founder of the fourth sect.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: renowned tradition scholar
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He is described as virtuous and knowledgeable, especially in the traditions
of Mohammed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: punished doctrinal dissenter
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He refused to acknowledge the Koran to be created and was scourged and imprisoned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: mother in disputed birth traditions
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The two traditions about Ebn Hanbal's birth both involve his mother coming
to Baghdad with him or before his birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: teacher or transmitter of knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ebn Hanbal received most of his traditionary knowledge from al Shafei.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: ordering ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Khalif al Motasem ordered Ebn Hanbal's scourging and imprisonment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: funeral mourners
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They followed Ebn Hanbal to his grave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: mass converts
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: They embraced the Mohammedan faith on the day of Ebn Hanbal's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: zealous sectarian group
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: They raised commotion, entered houses, spilled wine, beat singing-women,
and broke instruments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: prophetic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: His traditions are a field of knowledge, and he is said to have foretold
the number of Moslem sects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: first heretical rebels
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: They are called the first heresy and said to have revolted from Ali.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: revolt target
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The Kharejites revolted from Ali.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: the Koran as doctrinal object
literal_form: the Koran
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: grave and funeral procession
literal_form: grave attended by a very large crowd
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: numbered sects
literal_form: seventy-three Moslem sects, with one orthodox sect
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: wine and musical instruments
literal_form: wine spilled and instruments broken
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Disputed birth traditions of Ebn Hanbal
summary: The passage presents two traditions about whether Ebn Hanbal was born in
Khorasan and carried to Baghdad or was born after his mother reached Baghdad.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Transmission of traditionary knowledge
summary: Ebn Hanbal gains reputation for knowledge of Mohammed's traditions and
receives much of his traditionary knowledge from al Shafei.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Punishment for refusing createdness of the Koran
summary: Ebn Hanbal refuses to acknowledge the Koran as created and is scourged
and imprisoned by order of al Motasem.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Death, funeral, and reported conversions
summary: Ebn Hanbal dies at Baghdad, is followed to his grave by a large crowd,
and a reported twenty thousand Christians, Jews, and Magians convert that day.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Hanbalite commotion in Baghdad
summary: The Hanbalites become powerful enough to cause public disorder in Baghdad
by entering houses, spilling wine, beating singing-women, and breaking instruments.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Multiplication of sects and salvation claim
summary: After early companions of Mohammed are dead and conquest abates, differences
in interpreting the Koran multiply into a reported seventy-three sects, with one
considered orthodox and entitled to salvation.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: First heresy of the Kharejites
summary: The Kharejites are named as the first heresy and described as revolting
from Ali.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: punishment for doctrinal refusal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ebn Hanbal refuses a doctrinal claim about the Koran and is scourged and
imprisoned by order of the caliph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This is presented as historical sectarian narrative rather than mythic
narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: holy scholar's death accompanied by mass conversion
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage reports as extraordinary or possibly miraculous that twenty thousand
non-Muslims converted on the day of Ebn Hanbal's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage qualifies the report as related and extraordinary, if not
miraculous; no mechanism for the conversions is supplied.
- id: motif:3
label: multiplication of sects with one salvific orthodox path
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage states that Moslems are divided into seventy-three sects and
reckon one to be orthodox and entitled to salvation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is only partial: the passage mentions salvation
but does not narrate an explicit judgment scene.'
- id: motif:4
label: zealous purification of forbidden social practices
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Hanbalites enter houses, spill wine, beat singing-women, and break instruments
during a Baghdad commotion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames this as sectarian unrest and public discipline, not
as a ritual purification episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7374-7379
quote_or_summary: Ahmed Ebn Hanbal is introduced as founder of the fourth sect,
born in Hejra 164, with two traditions about whether he was born in Khorasan or
Baghdad.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7379-7384
quote_or_summary: Ebn Hanbal gains a reputation for virtue and knowledge of Mohammed's
traditions and is closely associated with al Shafei as a recipient of traditionary
knowledge.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7384-7386
quote_or_summary: After refusing to acknowledge the Koran to be created, Ebn Hanbal
is severely scourged and imprisoned by order of Khalif al Motasem.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7386-7390
quote_or_summary: Ebn Hanbal dies at Baghdad in 241; a very large number of men
and women follow him to his grave, and twenty thousand Christians, Jews, and Magians
are reported to embrace the Mohammedan faith that day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7390-7396
quote_or_summary: The Hanbalites grow rapidly and in 323 raise a commotion in Baghdad
by entering houses, spilling wine, beating singing-women, and breaking instruments,
before an edict is issued against them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 7397-7398
quote_or_summary: Heretical Mohammedan sects are defined as those holding heterodox
opinions in fundamentals or matters of faith.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7399-7414
quote_or_summary: Controversies over fundamentals are said to begin after most companions
of Mohammed had died and after conquest abated, when closer examination of the
Koran led to unavoidable differences of opinion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 7411-7418
quote_or_summary: The passage compares reported numbers of sects among Magians,
Jews, Christians, and Moslems, saying Moslems number seventy-three as Mohammed
foretold, with one orthodox sect entitled to salvation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 7419-7420
quote_or_summary: The Kharejites are identified as the first heresy and are said
to have revolted from Ali in the thirty-seventh year of the Hejra.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is historical-expository rather than mythic; motifs are candidate
narrative patterns and should be reviewed for relevance.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself support a comparative claim beyond internal numbering of sects across communities.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l7374-l7423
passage_sha256=207cad5706abf058700b74f9e26d1467a9f9f2c5927b8e68952249dfe5e93c1b