extraction.koran_sale.mary_gabriel_palm_infant_jesus
---
record_id: extraction.koran_sale.mary_gabriel_palm_infant_jesus
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: 19. Entitled, Mary; annunciation, palm-tree birth, and infant speech
start: 23939
end: 24030
translation: George Sale, The Koran
notes: Line numbers refer to the repository markdown source. Sale's interleaved
footnotes at lines 23960-24007 are excluded so the extraction stays with the translated
passage itself.
canonical_text:
summary: Mary withdraws behind a veil, receives Gabriel's announcement of a holy
son, conceives by divine decree, suffers childbirth beside a palm tree, is comforted
with water, dates, and a command to keep silence, then returns to her people and
lets the infant Jesus speak as servant of God, prophet, and son of Mary.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Mary retires from her family toward the east and veils herself from them.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Gabriel appears to Mary in the shape of a perfect man and announces that she
will receive a holy son.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Mary says no man has touched her, and the conception is presented as easy
for God, decreed as a sign and mercy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: After conceiving, Mary withdraws to a distant place, reaches a palm-tree in
labor, and hears a comforting voice from beneath her near a rivulet.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Mary is told to shake the palm-tree for ripe dates, eat, drink, calm her mind,
and refrain from speaking to people that day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: When Mary brings the child to her people, they accuse her and question how
they can speak with an infant in the cradle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The child answers by identifying himself as the servant of God who has received
the gospel and prophetic appointment.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage closes by naming the infant as Jesus, the son of Mary.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / the LORD
description: Divine speaker whose mercy, decree, and command frame the conception,
birth, and the infant's testimony.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mary
description: Woman who withdraws behind a veil, conceives, gives birth near the
palm-tree, and returns carrying the child.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Gabriel / our spirit
description: Messenger sent to Mary in the form of a perfect man to announce the
holy son.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the caller beneath her
description: Voice below Mary in childbirth that tells her not to grieve and points
her to water; the translated lines do not identify the speaker by name.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Jesus, the son of Mary
description: Infant who speaks from the cradle and identifies himself as God's servant,
prophet, and blessed son of Mary.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Mary's people
description: Community that challenges Mary's return with the child and questions
the possibility of infant speech.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine sender and decreer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God sends Gabriel, declares the conception easy, provides aid in childbirth,
and is named by the child as Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: secluded mother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Mary withdraws from her family, conceives, gives birth in seclusion, and
returns carrying the child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: annunciating messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Gabriel appears in human form and announces the gift of a holy son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: childbirth comforter
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The caller beneath Mary tells her not to grieve and directs her attention
to the rivulet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: speaking infant prophet
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The child speaks from the cradle, calls himself God's servant, says he has
the gospel, and identifies himself as Jesus the son of Mary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: skeptical kin-community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Mary's people accuse her and protest that the child is only an infant in
the cradle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: veil of seclusion
literal_form: the veil Mary takes to conceal herself from her family
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: palm-tree
literal_form: the palm-tree trunk beside which Mary labors and from which ripe dates
fall
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: rivulet and dates
literal_form: the rivulet beneath Mary and the ripe dates gathered from the palm-tree
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: cradle speech
literal_form: the infant in the cradle answering Mary's people
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Annunciation in seclusion
summary: Mary withdraws behind a veil, Gabriel appears as a perfect man, and the
holy son is announced as a sign and mercy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Palm-tree birth and silence command
summary: Mary conceives, reaches the palm-tree in labor, receives comfort from below
with water and dates, and is told to keep silence.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Return with the child and infant testimony
summary: Mary returns carrying the child, her people accuse her, and the infant
speaks from the cradle before the passage names him as Jesus the son of Mary.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: annunciation_of_holy_son
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
- miraculous_child
basis: Gabriel appears to Mary in human form and announces that she will receive
a holy son by divine decree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The extraction uses Sale's English phrasing and does not attempt a lexical
study of the announcement formula.
- id: motif:2
label: miraculous_birth_under_palm
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Mary withdraws to a distant place, reaches a palm-tree in labor, and receives
water and fruit there.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is passage-specific and is not mapped here to a narrower canonical
taxonomy key.
- id: motif:3
label: speaking_infant_in_cradle
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- miraculous_child
basis: The infant answers Mary's people from the cradle and declares himself servant
of God, prophet, and bearer of the gospel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The comparison value lies in the narrative function of infant speech,
not in flattening the passage's prophetic content into a generic marvel.
- id: motif:4
label: son_of_mary_as_sign_and_mercy
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
- miraculous_child
basis: The announcement calls the child a sign and mercy, and the passage closes
by naming him Jesus, the son of Mary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif spans both the annunciation and the closing identification rather
than a single verse unit.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: This passage is a strong witness for miraculous conception, solitary palm-tree
birth, and infant prophetic speech centered on Jesus as the son of Mary.
claim_level: same_motif
target: 'pattern atlas: miraculous birth and speaking-child records'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim compares narrative function only and does not adjudicate
the later sectarian dispute mentioned after the requested window.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 23939-23951
quote_or_summary: Mary withdraws eastward behind a veil, Gabriel appears as a perfect
man, and the holy son is announced as a sign and mercy despite her untouched condition.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 23952-23958
quote_or_summary: Mary conceives, retires to a distant place, reaches the palm-tree
in labor, laments, and hears a comforting voice from beneath her about the rivulet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 24010-24015
quote_or_summary: shake the body of the palm-tree, and it shall let fall ripe dates
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 24016-24021
quote_or_summary: Mary brings the child to her people, who accuse her and protest
that the child is only an infant in the cradle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 24022-24029
quote_or_summary: I am the servant of GOD; he hath given me the book of the gospel,
and hath appointed me a prophet
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 24030-24030
quote_or_summary: This was JESUS, the son of Mary
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The requested window is interrupted by translator footnotes, but the annunciation,
birth scene, and infant speech are explicit in the verse lines themselves.
reviewer_status:
status: draft
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Needs review for taxonomy placement of miraculous birth, speaking infant,
and sign-mercy motifs.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Worker Koran extraction focused on annunciation, palm-tree nativity scene,
and infant Jesus speaking in Sale's translation.