batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7699-l7746
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7699-l7746
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 7699-7746
start: '7699'
end: '7746'
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 discusses theological positions on divine attributes and the
rejection of any likeness between God and created beings. It recounts a debate
between Abu'l Hasan al Ashri and Abu Ali al Jobb about three brothers with different
moral and life outcomes, involving reward in paradise, punishment in hell, and
an infant who is neither rewarded nor punished. It then summarizes Ashrian views
on divine attributes and cautions against bodily comparison when reading expressions
about God's hand or fingers.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Some interpreters are described as rejecting any likeness or similitude between
God and created beings.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Malec Ebn Ans is said to affirm God's sitting on his throne while holding
that the manner is unknown and questioning it is heresy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Al Ashri left his former master Abu Ali al Jobb after disagreeing about whether
God is bound to do what is best or most expedient.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: 'A debated case concerns three brothers: one obedient to God, one rebellious
against God, and one who died as an infant.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Al Jobb says the obedient brother would be rewarded in paradise, the rebellious
brother punished in hell, and the infant neither rewarded nor punished.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Al Ashri raises hypothetical objections from the infant and the punished brother
about why their lives were not lengthened or shortened.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Ashrians are described as allowing God's attributes to be distinct from
his essence while forbidding comparison between God and creatures.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Some theologians are described as warning against physical gestures when reading
phrases about God's hand or fingers.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: GOD
description: The divine being whose attributes, throne-sitting, hand, and judgment
of human outcomes are discussed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Created beings / creatures
description: Beings contrasted with God in discussions denying likeness or comparison.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Malec Ebn Ans
description: A theologian cited as saying that the meaning of God's sitting on the
throne is known, while the manner is unknown.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Abu'l Hasan al Ashri
description: Founder of the Ashrians, formerly a Mtazalite and scholar of Abu Ali
al Jobb, who challenges al Jobb's answer about the three brothers.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Abu Ali al Jobb
description: Al Ashri's former master, who answers the case of the three brothers
and is unable to resolve Al Ashri's final objection.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: The obedient brother
description: One of three brothers in the theological case; he lived in obedience
to God and is said to be rewarded in paradise.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The rebellious brother
description: One of three brothers in the theological case; he lived in rebellion
against God and is said to be punished in hell.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: The infant brother
description: One of three brothers in the theological case; he died as an infant
and is said to be neither rewarded nor punished.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: incomparable divine being
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage states that no creature is like God and that God has no companion
or similitude.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: afterlife judge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The debate attributes answers to God about why a person's life was or was
not prolonged before paradise or hell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: created beings contrasted with God
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Created beings are explicitly contrasted with God in the discussion of likeness
and comparison.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: theological authority
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The passage cites Malec Ebn Ans, Al Ashri, and Al Jobb as authorities or
participants in doctrinal argument.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: debater
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Al Ashri and Al Jobb exchange objections and answers in the case of the three
brothers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: rewarded obedient person
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Al Jobb says the obedient brother would be rewarded in paradise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: punished rebellious person
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Al Jobb says the rebellious brother would be punished in hell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: infant outside reward or punishment
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Al Jobb says the brother who died as an infant would be neither rewarded
nor punished.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: divine throne
literal_form: throne
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: divine hand and fingers language
literal_form: hand; fingers
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: bridge metaphor
literal_form: bridge
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: paradise and hell
literal_form: paradise; hell
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Dispute over divine likeness and attributes
summary: The passage describes positions on whether expressions about God should
be read literally and emphasizes that God has no likeness among creatures.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Al Ashri and Al Jobb debate the three brothers
summary: Al Jobb assigns paradise, hell, and neither reward nor punishment to three
brothers, while Al Ashri raises objections about divine choice in the timing of
death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Ashrian caution against bodily comparison
summary: The Ashrians affirm distinct divine attributes while forbidding comparison
between God and creatures, including gestural enactment of phrases about God's
hand or fingers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine judgment of souls after death
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: 'The debated case assigns different postmortem outcomes: reward in paradise,
punishment in hell, or neither reward nor punishment.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a theological argument rather than a narrative mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: divine incomparability and anti-anthropomorphic caution
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Multiple statements deny likeness between God and creatures and warn against
treating divine hand or finger language as bodily comparison.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches anti-anthropomorphic theology.
- id: motif:3
label: limits of human inquiry into divine manner
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Malec Ebn Ans says the meaning of God's throne-sitting is known but its manner
is unknown, and questioning it is heresy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The link to the supplied wisdom taxonomy is broad and should be reviewed.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly reports that some literalist views about divine language
were said to have been influenced by the Karaites among the Jews, who favored
literal interpretation of Moses's law.
claim_level: same_function
target: Karaite Jewish literal interpretation of Moses's law
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The statement concerns interpretive method rather than a shared mythic
narrative or symbol.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7699-7706
quote_or_summary: The passage says some interpreters fell into a notion of likeness
between God and created beings, with a reported parallel to Karaites among the
Jews; others held that no creature is like God and that God has no companion or
similitude.
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 7706-7711
quote_or_summary: 'Malec Ebn Ans is cited regarding God''s sitting on his throne:
the meaning is known, the manner unknown, belief necessary, and questioning heretical.'
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 7712-7724
quote_or_summary: Al Ashri, formerly a Mtazalite and student of Abu Ali al Jobb,
disagrees with his master over whether God must do what is best; the example concerns
three brothers, obedient, rebellious, and infant, assigned paradise, hell, and
neither reward nor punishment.
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 7724-7738
quote_or_summary: Al Ashri poses objections from the infant and the punished brother
about why God did not grant longer life or infant death; Al Jobb is unable to
satisfy the challenge, prompting the bridge saying.
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 7739-7746
quote_or_summary: The Ashrians are said to distinguish God's attributes from his
essence while forbidding comparison with creatures; related authorities warned
against gestures when reading language about God's hand or fingers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The literal theological content is clear, but motif classification is limited
because the passage is doctrinal exposition rather than narrative mythology.
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 provided passage and metadata were used; taxonomy references are limited to the supplied available taxonomy list.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l7699-l7746
passage_sha256=6dd738863e402433dac05c5010836cfc177aeffaf6e81075f958a638c224904a