batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l8257-l8307
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l8257-l8307
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 8257-8307
start: '8257'
end: '8307'
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: '"learning to be a veil, and logic the work of the mind"'
summary: The passage criticizes ecstatic or antinomian religious speech that encourages
common people to abandon work under the pretense of purifying the soul. It then
summarizes early Muslim sects and describes the continuing schism between Sunnites
and Shiites, listing disputes over the first caliphs, Ali and Mohammed, accusations
about corrupting the Koran, and the authority of the Sonna.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Certain religious utterances are described as causing mischief among common
people and giving husbandmen an excuse to neglect tillage.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The criticized speakers claim that denial of their statements comes from learning
and logic, and describe learning as a veil and logic as mental work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says the author has treated chief sects among early Mohammedans
and omits more modern sects as less useful to the present design.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A major schism is described between the Sonnites and the Shiites, or partisans
of Ali, maintained with hatred and zeal.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Shiites are said to reject Abu Becr, Omar, and Othmn as usurpers, while
the Sonnites acknowledge them as rightful Imams.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The Shiites are said to prefer Ali to Mohammed, or treat them as equal, while
the Sonnites deny equality between Mohammed and Ali or any prophet.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Each side is said to accuse the other of corrupting the Koran; the Sonnites
receive the Sonna as canonical, while the Shiites reject it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage connects the disputes with antipathy between Turks, identified
as Sunnites, and Persians, identified as followers of Ali.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: ecstatic or heterodox speakers
description: Persons who utter self-exalting or inner-truth claims criticized as
mischievous.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: common people and husbandmen
description: Common people, including husbandmen, described as susceptible to such
discourses and as neglecting their occupations.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sonnites
description: One side of the schism, said to recognize the first three caliphs,
deny Ali's equality with Mohammed, receive the Sonna, and oppose Shiite claims.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Shiites or partisans of Ali
description: One side of the schism, said to reject the first three caliphs, honor
Ali above or equal to Mohammed, and reject the Sonna.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ali
description: Named figure whose partisans are identified as Shiites and whose rank
relative to Mohammed is disputed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Abu Becr, Omar, and Othmn
description: The first three Khalfs, rejected by Shiites as usurpers and acknowledged
by Sonnites as rightful Imams.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Named prophet whose rank is compared with Ali in the described Sunni-Shiite
dispute.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Turks and Persians
description: Peoples identified respectively with Sunnites and the sect of Ali,
between whom antipathy is said to have long reigned.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Spinosa
description: A later writer mentioned as apparently unaware of the Sunni-Shiite
schism.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: criticized claimants to inner truth
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They are described as uttering self-exalting speech and appealing to inward
light when challenged.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: susceptible audience
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They are described as being misled into neglecting labor under religious
pretexts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: sectarian party defending first caliphs and Sonna
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage states that Sonnites acknowledge the first three caliphs, reject
equality of Ali and Mohammed, and receive the Sonna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: sectarian party of Ali
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage identifies Shiites as partisans of Ali and attributes to them
rejection of the first three caliphs and the Sonna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: disputed sacred-political figure
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Ali is central to the party identity and to the dispute over rank with Mohammed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: contested early rulers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage says Shiites reject them as usurpers while Sonnites respect them
as rightful Imams.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: supreme prophetic comparator
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage reports disagreement over whether Ali can be equal or superior
to Mohammed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: communities identified with rival sects
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Turks are identified as Sunnites and Persians as followers of Ali in the
context of antipathy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: external commentator on schism
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Spinosa is cited as having preferred the Mohammedan church order because
he supposedly did not know of such schisms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: veil of learning
literal_form: veil
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: light of truth
literal_form: light
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: sparks of truth
literal_form: sparks
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: Koran as contested scripture
literal_form: Koran
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: Sonna as contested tradition book
literal_form: Sonna, or book of traditions
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Critique of inner-truth pretensions
summary: The passage describes self-exalting religious speech as socially harmful,
saying it leads ordinary workers to neglect their labor and allows speakers to
dismiss learning and logic as barriers to inward truth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Description of the Sunni-Shiite schism
summary: The passage identifies a major schism between Sonnites and Shiites, then
lists disagreements over early caliphs, Ali's status relative to Mohammed, accusations
of corrupting the Koran, and the authority of the Sonna.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:3
label: Schism applied to Turks, Persians, and Spinosa
summary: The passage connects the sectarian disputes with hostility between Turks
and Persians and criticizes Spinosa for apparently ignoring this public schism.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: inner illumination set against formal learning
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mystical_quest
basis: The passage reports claims that learning is a veil, logic is merely mental
work, and truth is discovered inwardly by a light of truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is polemical commentary, not a mythic narrative; taxonomy
references are thematic rather than exact.
- id: motif:2
label: religious schism over legitimate succession
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The passage presents a dispute over whether the first three Khalfs are usurpers
or rightful Imams and relates this to the broader Sunni-Shiite division.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes historical-sectarian controversy rather than a mythic
kingship narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: contested sacred canon and tradition
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Each party is said to accuse the other of corrupting the Koran, while Sonnites
accept the Sonna as canonical and Shiites reject it as apocryphal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches canon dispute.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 8257-8264
quote_or_summary: Religious speech is said to cause mischief among common people,
with husbandmen neglecting tillage under pretense of purifying their souls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 8265-8274
quote_or_summary: The criticized speakers reply that unbelief comes from learning
and logic, call learning a veil, and say truth is discovered within by the light
of truth; its sparks are said to have spread mischief.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary with brief quoted phrase in canonical_text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 8276-8280
quote_or_summary: The author says he has treated the chief sects among Mohammedans
of the first ages and will omit most modern sects.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 8280-8287
quote_or_summary: The passage introduces the schism between Sonnites and Shiites,
or partisans of Ali, as maintained with hatred and zeal, with each party condemning
the other as heretical.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 8287-8290
quote_or_summary: Shiites reject Abu Becr, Omar, and Othmn as usurpers, while Sonnites
acknowledge and respect them as rightful Imams.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 8290-8294
quote_or_summary: Shiites prefer Ali to Mohammed or treat them as equal; Sonnites
deny that Ali or any prophet is equal to Mohammed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 8294-8298
quote_or_summary: Sonnites and Shiites accuse each other of corrupting the Koran;
Sonnites receive the Sonna as canonical, while Shiites reject it as apocryphal.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 8298-8302
quote_or_summary: The disputes are said to underlie long antipathy between Turks,
identified as Sunnites, and Persians, identified with the sect of Ali.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 8302-8307
quote_or_summary: Spinosa is criticized for apparently not knowing of the notorious
schism between Turks and Persians when speaking of Mohammedan church order.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is cautious because
the passage is historical and polemical commentary rather than a mythic narrative.
No comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself support cross-tradition
comparison.
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: |-
The passage belongs to Sale's prefatory or explanatory material rather than to a Qur'anic sura. Names and sect labels follow the provided passage spelling.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l8257-l8307
passage_sha256=f60b642ea6a455253df6b9ab5d14b8feac3c0dea6814369bea5b130275ffc676