batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l10514-l10628
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l10514-l10628
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
label: PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE.
/ VIII.; lines 10514-10628
start: '10514'
end: '10628'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage teaches that wealth, food, and life should be spent in God's
service rather than hoarded; invalid sacrifice against the Prophet is condemned;
natural images of trees and sowing illustrate replenishment after giving; a supremely
generous Caliph is introduced; and the tale begins with a poor Arab woman lamenting
to her husband that their destitution prevents hospitality.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker warns not to spend the wealth of God except in God's service and
says recompense may be a hundredfold.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Men offer camels as sacrifice while hoping their swords will serve against
Mustafà, and the Prophet's words call such offerings worthless.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: An unjust steward gives his lord's treasure to a rebel group, and the lord
rejects the steward's excuses.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Every Muslim is described as asking in devotion to be led in the right way.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The passage instructs the listener to give food for God's sake and to lay
down life for love of God in order to save life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Trees shed leaves at God's command and receive other leaves without toil.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Sowing empties storehouses of grain but yields richer heaps, while grain kept
in garners is reduced by animals and accidents.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The world is called a negative and outward forms are called cyphers whose
sense must be searched out.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The listener is told to lay a wretched life before an uplifted sword and purchase
new, never-ending life from the Lord.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: An old Caliph is described as so generous that poverty and want are relieved
at his hand, and people from many nations come to his gate.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: An Arab woman tells her husband that they have no bread or vessels, drink
tears, and experience extreme hardship.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The woman says their poverty is so severe that if a guest came, they would
have no food and might strip him while he slept.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The woman cites a proverb that a guest should not go where he will not be
welcome.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The passage compares an unhappy, needy host to an ophthalmic man acting as
an oculist with granite-dust for eye-salves.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / the Lord
description: The divine source whose service, command, will, and recompense are
invoked.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mustafà / the Prophet / God's apostle
description: The Prophet against whom the chiefs of Mekka act and whose words forewarn
the heedless.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Chiefs of Mekka / sons of heedlessness
description: Opponents who offer sacrifices in war with God's apostle.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Unjust steward
description: A steward who distributes his lord's treasure to rebels and is treated
as a culprit.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Lord of the steward
description: The owner of the treasure, angered by the steward's conduct.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Every Muslim
description: A generalized worshipper who prays for guidance and fears straying.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Caliph
description: An old Caliph famed for liberality, whose court attracts supplicants
and whose generosity is likened to sea, rain-cloud, and Fount of Life.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Hātim Tāyī
description: A named figure used as a standard of generosity whom the Caliph's liberality
would have dismayed.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Suitors and nations at the Caliph's gate
description: Persian, Roman, Turk, Arab, and other indigent people who come to the
Caliph's courts and halls.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Poor Arab woman
description: A woman who complains at length to her husband about poverty, hunger,
and failed hospitality.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Poor Arab husband
description: The husband addressed by the Arab woman and wearied by her complaints.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Guest / visitor
description: A hypothetical visitor whose arrival would expose the household's inability
to provide food or welcome.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Wise proverb-speakers
description: Generalized wise people credited with a proverb about guests and welcome.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine recipient and source of recompense
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Giving is directed to God's service, and God commands natural renewal and
supplies those who give.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: prophetic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Prophet's words warn against worthless offerings made in opposition to
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: misdirected sacrificers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They offer sacrifices while fighting God's apostle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: culpable distributor of another's treasure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: He uses his lord's treasure for rebels and is called a culprit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: angered owner and judge of misuse
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The lord becomes angry and rejects excuses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: devotional petitioner for guidance
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Every Muslim is said to pray for the right way because of fear of straying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: exemplary generous ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Caliph relieves poverty and receives caravans of supplicants because
of his liberality.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: benchmark of liberality
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Caliph's generosity is compared to and said to dismay Hātim Tāyī.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: beneficiaries and petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Many peoples come to the Caliph's gate and profit from his gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: lamenting poor spouse
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: She speaks to her husband and details the couple's hardships.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:11
label: addressed spouse and listener
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: He is the husband to whom the woman speaks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: hypothetical recipient of hospitality
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The woman imagines a guest arriving when they have no food to offer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:13
label: source of practical proverb
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The wise are credited with the saying that a guest should not go where unwelcome.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: camel sacrifice offered in opposition
literal_form: camels offered as sacrifice while hoping for military success against
Mustafà
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: wealth, food, and life as offerings
literal_form: wealth, food, and life spent or laid down for God's sake
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: tree-leaves renewed after shedding
literal_form: trees shedding leaves at God's command and receiving other leaves
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: sown grain versus hoarded grain
literal_form: storehouses emptied for sowing; garners with corn reduced by mules,
horses, mice, and accidents
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: uplifted sword and new life
literal_form: a wretched life laid before an uplifted sword to buy new never-ending
life
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: life-giving water images of generosity
literal_form: sea, fruitful cloud of rain, and Fount of Life applied to the Caliph's
gifts
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: tears as drink and celestial covering
literal_form: the poor household drinks tears; daytime raiment is solar heat and
night bedclothes are moon rays
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: failed hospitality in the empty house
literal_form: a guest arrives where no food can be given, except possibly sandals;
the host might strip the guest
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Instruction on spending for God rather than hoarding
summary: The speaker urges spending wealth, food, and life in God's service, condemns
offerings made against the Prophet, and illustrates misuse through an unjust steward.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Natural and agrarian images of loss and replenishment
summary: Trees, fields, storehouses, and the uplifted sword are used to describe
giving up one form of possession or life and receiving renewed abundance or life.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: The generous Caliph
summary: An old Caliph is introduced as a ruler whose largesse relieves want, attracts
people from many nations, and is described through sea, rain, and Fount of Life
imagery.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: The poor Arab woman's lament
summary: The Arab woman complains to her husband that their poverty leaves them
without food, vessels, clothing, kinship support, or the ability to receive guests.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred exchange through giving to God
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage repeatedly states that wealth, food, and life given for God's
sake are returned, preserved, or recompensed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is didactic and devotional rather than a full narrative enactment
of exchange.
- id: motif:2
label: invalid or misdirected sacrifice
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Camels are offered as sacrifices by those fighting God's apostle, and the
Prophet's words deem the offerings worthless.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage mentions the sacrifice only briefly as a negative example.
- id: motif:3
label: laying down life to receive new life
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The speaker says to lay down life for love of God and to lay a wretched life
before the sword in order to obtain saved or never-ending life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The language may be metaphorical or ascetic; the passage does not narrate
an actual death and return.
- id: motif:4
label: generous ruler as life-giving source
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The Caliph's liberality relieves poverty, draws petitioners, and is imaged
as sea, rain-cloud, and Fount of Life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact 'generous king' motif; sacred exchange
is an approximate fit through giving and benefit.
- id: motif:5
label: poverty preventing hospitality
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Arab woman states that the household lacks bread, vessels, and food for
a guest and cites a proverb warning against visiting an unwelcome house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference directly matches hospitality failure.
- id: motif:6
label: wisdom teaching through proverb and analogy
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage includes direct instruction, a cited proverb from the wise, and
the analogy of an eye-diseased man acting as oculist.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is a broad didactic pattern rather than a narrow narrative motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the Caliph's liberality with Hātim Tāyī as
a recognized standard of generosity.
claim_level: same_function
target: Hātim Tāyī as exemplar of liberality
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage uses Hātim Tāyī as a comparative name only; it does not
narrate any independent Hātim Tāyī episode.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10514-10517
quote_or_summary: The speaker says wealth should be spent only in God's service
and that this may bring hundredfold recompense and escape from punishment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10518-10525; verse 335
quote_or_summary: Men offer camels as sacrifice hoping their swords will serve against
Mustafà; the Prophet warns that such offerings are worthless, and chiefs of Mekka
sacrifice while at war with God's apostle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10526-10531; verse 340
quote_or_summary: An unjust steward gives his lord's treasure to rebels; he thinks
he has acted justly, but his angry lord rejects his excuses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10532-10539
quote_or_summary: Every Muslim prays to be led in the right way; the passage says
to give food for God's sake and lay down life for love of God so life will be
saved.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10540-10549; verse 345
quote_or_summary: Trees shed leaves and receive others; one who gives will not be
forsaken; sowing empties storehouses but brings gain, while hoarded corn is reduced
by animals and accidents.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 10550-10557; verse 350
quote_or_summary: The world is called a negative and forms are called cyphers; the
listener is told to lay life before the uplifted sword to purchase never-ending
life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 10558-10577; verses 355-359
quote_or_summary: An old Caliph is famed for generosity exceeding Hātim Tāyī; he
relieves poverty, attracts caravans and many nations, and is called a Fount of
Life and sea of gift.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 10578-10603; section IX, verses 1-10
quote_or_summary: The poor Arab woman tells her husband they have no bread or vessels,
drink tears, wear sun heat by day and moon rays by night, and are shunned by kin
and neighbors.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 10604-10619; verses 10-18
quote_or_summary: The woman says want has pierced them, they are like beggars, might
strip a sleeping guest, and would have nothing to feed an unexpected visitor except
sandals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 10620-10628; verses 19-23
quote_or_summary: The wise are said to teach that a guest should not go where unwelcome;
an unhappy man cannot make another happy, and an eye-diseased oculist would use
granite-dust for eye-salves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is based on the supplied passage only. Motif labels involving
sacred exchange, death-rebirth, and wisdom are interpretive and require review,
especially where the passage uses metaphorical devotional language.
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: '2026-04-29'
notes: |-
No external sources were used. Taxonomy references were limited to the supplied motif and symbol lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l10514-l10628
passage_sha256=411796324edbd44cd12d0b7915159166fdb6b201f42e7a31cff2db746bbc85ae