batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7749-l7798
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l7749-l7798
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 7749-7798
start: '7749'
end: '7798'
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 summarizes theological positions concerning the interpretation
of divine attributes in the Koran and the Ashari account of predestination, divine
will, the preserved table, and human acquisition of actions.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Some interpreters held that words referring to divine attributes should not
be explained because such explanation was forbidden in the Koran and would rest
on conjecture.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Some were described as requiring words such as hand and face, when occurring
in the Koran, to be read in their original Arabic form rather than translated.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage presents a doctrine that God has one eternal will applied to what
he wills, including his own actions and human actions insofar as they are created
by him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says God commanded the pen to write what he knows and wills concerning
men in the preserved table, and calls this decree an eternal immutable counsel
and purpose.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: 'The passage describes human action under the term Casb or Acquisition: creation
of the action is ascribed to God, while its production, employment, or acquisition
is ascribed to man.'
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Abu'l Hasan al Ashri is reported as asserting that all human actions are subject
to God's power and are created by him, while human power has no influence on what
man is empowered to do.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: GOD
description: The divine being whose attributes, will, decree, power, and creation
of actions are discussed.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: men / man
description: Human beings whose actions, power, choice, ability, and acquisition
of actions are discussed.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: interpreters of divine attributes
description: Unnamed persons who resisted explaining or translating words used of
divine attributes in the Koran.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Abu'l Hasan al Ashri
description: A theologian cited as asserting that all actions of men are subject
to the power of God and created by him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the pen
description: The pen is said to have been commanded by God to write what God knows
and wills concerning men.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine decreer and creator of actions
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God is described as willing, knowing, decreeing, commanding the pen, and
creating actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: human agent acquiring actions
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Human beings are described as having power and choice, and as acquiring actions
whose creation is ascribed to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: guardians of literal divine attribute language
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They reject explanation or translation of terms such as hand and face when
used of God in the Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: theological authority cited for Ashari predestination
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage names Abu'l Hasan al Ashri as asserting a specific doctrine about
God's power over human actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: instrument of written decree
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The pen is commanded to write God's knowledge and will concerning men in
the preserved table.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: preserved table
literal_form: a preserved table on which the divine decree is written
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: pen
literal_form: the pen commanded to write the decree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: divine attribute words
literal_form: words such as hand and face used in the Koran for divine attributes
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Restriction on explaining divine attribute language
summary: Unnamed interpreters refuse to explain certain words for divine attributes,
regarding explanation as forbidden, conjectural, and potentially misleading; some
also reject translating such words from the original language.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Divine decree written in the preserved table
summary: The passage states that God wills and knows what concerns men and commands
the pen to write it in the preserved table as an immutable decree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Human acquisition of actions under divine creation
summary: The passage explains that human actions are created by God but acquired
by humans, and cites Ashari views on the relation between divine power and human
power.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine decree inscribed on a heavenly record
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes God commanding the pen to write what he wills and knows
concerning men in the preserved table, making it an eternal and immutable decree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is doctrinal exposition rather than narrative myth; the motif
label is based on the literal image of a divine written decree.
- id: motif:2
label: human action divided between divine creation and human acquisition
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage repeatedly distinguishes actions as created by God but produced,
employed, or acquired by man under the term Casb or Acquisition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a theological pattern rather than a conventional narrative motif.
- id: motif:3
label: guarded language for divine embodiment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage reports a refusal to explain or translate words such as hand
and face when they occur as divine attribute language in the Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage concerns hermeneutic practice, not a narrative episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 7749-7755
quote_or_summary: Some held that explaining words concerning divine attributes was
forbidden in the Koran and depended on conjecture and opinion, risking misunderstanding
of the author's meaning.
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: 7755-7761
quote_or_summary: Some required terms such as hand and face, when occurring in the
Koran, to be read in their original words rather than rendered into Persian or
another language, calling this the safe way.
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: 7761-7768
quote_or_summary: The passage states that God has one eternal will applied to whatever
he wills, including his own actions and human actions insofar as they are created
by him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 7766-7771
quote_or_summary: God is said to will concerning men what he knows and to have commanded
the pen to write it in the preserved table; this is described as his decree and
eternal immutable counsel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 7773-7791
quote_or_summary: 'The passage explains Casb or Acquisition: action is created by
God, while in respect to production, employment, or acquisition it is from man;
a later explanation connects acquisition with man''s power and will without making
them influence the action''s existence.'
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: 7791-7798
quote_or_summary: Abu'l Hasan al Ashri is reported as teaching that all actions
of men are subject to God's power and created by him, and that man's power has
no influence on what he is empowered to do.
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: uncertain
notes: The literal extraction is supported by the passage. Motif candidates are
cautious because the passage is theological and expository rather than narrative.
No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not support a comparison
to another corpus or tradition.
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 available taxonomy motif family or symbol reference was directly assigned; objects such as the pen and preserved table are retained as passage-level symbols without taxonomy IDs.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l7749-l7798
passage_sha256=3973b68a789ab259cf7a3bd531b66aaebf630375e2b6373112df722816d0d40f