batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l1494-l1601
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l1494-l1601
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS / CHAPTER I. / CHAPTER II. / CHAPTER III.; lines 1494-1601
start: '1494'
end: '1601'
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 recounts Jelāl repeatedly taking horses and returning them
exhausted before announcing that an enemy has returned to a fiery pit. Later reports
from Syria say Damascus was besieged by Mongol forces and that Jelāl appeared
there to aid the forces of Islam and defeat them. A second episode tells of a
rich Tebrīz merchant seeking religious counsel: after an unsatisfying visit to
a wealthy legal dignitary, he visits Jelāl, who knows the amount of the merchant''s
hidden offering and explains that his prior losses have averted a heavier divinely
decreed trial.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Jelāl came on successive days, asked for horses, rode away, and returned at
sunset with the horses in pitiable condition.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: On the third day Jelāl announced glad tidings and said the 'dog of hell' had
returned to a 'pit of fire.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A caravan from Syria later reported that a Mongol army had besieged Damascus
and reduced it to straits.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says inhabitants witnessed Jelāl joining the forces of Islam at
Damascus and defeating the Mongol forces, who retreated.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Jelāl identified himself as the horseman who obtained victory over the enemy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Jelāl's disciples and the townspeople of Qonya celebrated the reported victory,
and the city was illuminated.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: A rich merchant of Tebrīz came to Qonya seeking eminent men of learning and
piety, not only profit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The merchant first visited a highly reputed legal dignitary in a palace-like
setting with guards, servants, and attendants.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The merchant disliked what he saw at the legal dignitary's residence and received
no solution to his difficulty.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The merchant then asked for a poor mendicant of exemplary piety and was directed
to Jelāl.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: Jelāl was described as having forsaken pleasures except love toward God and
as spending nights and days in worship.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The merchant prepared fifty gold sequins as an offering to Jelāl.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: Before the merchant could speak, Jelāl said the fifty sequins were accepted
and that the merchant's lost two hundred sequins were better for him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Jelāl said God had determined a severe judgment and trial for the merchant,
but that through the visit the merchant was pardoned and the trial averted.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Jelāl / Jelālu-’d-Dīn
description: A saintly teacher who rides away on horses, is reported to appear at
Damascus against the Mongol forces, and later receives the Tebrīz merchant at
his college.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the butcher
description: The person from whom Jelāl asks for horses and who later brings news
to Jelāl.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mogul army
description: The army reported to have besieged Damascus and later to have retreated
after defeat.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Helaw Khan / Holagu / Helagu
description: A Mongol ruler said to have taken Baghdad and advanced against Aleppo
and Syria.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ketbuga
description: A general sent against Damascus with a numerous army.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: inhabitants of Damascus
description: Witnesses said to have seen Jelāl join the forces of Islam at Damascus.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: disciples of Jelāl
description: Followers who shout with joy and triumph after Jelāl's explanation
of the victory.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: townspeople of Qonya
description: Residents who decorate and illuminate the city and hold public rejoicings.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: rich merchant of Tebrīz
description: A merchant who comes to Qonya, seeks learned and pious men, suffers
financial losses, and visits Jelāl with an offering.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: agents / correspondents / friends of the merchant
description: People in Qonya who direct the merchant first to the legal dignitary
and then to Jelāl.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Sheykhu-’l-Islām / great lawyer
description: A celebrated legal scholar living in a palace-like residence, visited
by the merchant but not answering his difficulty.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: God
description: Named by Jelāl as the one who had determined judgment and trial for
the merchant and then pardoned him.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: miracle-working saintly figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage calls the Damascus victory a 'miracle of power' associated with
Jelāl.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: victorious horseman
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Jelāl says he was the horseman who obtained victory over the enemy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: holy teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The merchant is led to Jelāl at his college, where Jelāl is sitting in the
lecture-hall studying books.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: role:4
label: knower of hidden circumstances
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Jelāl names the concealed fifty-sequin offering and interprets the merchant's
losses before the merchant speaks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:5
label: provider and witness
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The butcher supplies horses and later hears Jelāl's explanation of the victory.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: besieging enemy force
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Mogul army besieges Damascus and is later defeated and forced to retreat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: military commander
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Helaw Khan advances against Syria and sends Ketbuga with an army against
Damascus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: eyewitnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage says the inhabitants witnessed Jelāl at Damascus with their own
eyes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: celebrants
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Disciples shout with joy, and townspeople decorate and illuminate Qonya.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: seeker of pious counsel
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The merchant seeks eminent men and later asks for a poor mendicant of exemplary
piety to learn what he longs to know.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: donor
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The merchant prepares a rouleau of fifty gold sequins as an offering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:12
label: guides to religious figures
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The agents and friends direct the merchant to the great lawyer and then to
Jelāl.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:13
label: wealthy legal dignitary
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Sheykhu-’l-Islām is reputed for learning and piety but is lodged amid
palace-like wealth and does not solve the merchant's problem.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:14
label: divine judge and pardoner
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Jelāl says God had determined judgment and trial for the merchant but pardoned
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: exhausted horses
literal_form: horses taken by Jelāl and returned in pitiable condition at sunset
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: pit of fire
literal_form: the phrase 'pit of fire' in Jelāl's announcement about the enemy
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: illuminated city
literal_form: Qonya decorated and illuminated for public rejoicing
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: palace-like residence
literal_form: a great palace with guards, servants, attendants, eunuchs, pages,
grooms, ushers, and chamberlains
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: gold sequins as offering
literal_form: fifty sequins in gold prepared by the merchant as an offering to Jelāl
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: sym:6
label: lost two hundred sequins
literal_form: two hundred sequins lost by the merchant, described by Jelāl as better
for him than the offering
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: sym:7
label: college lecture-hall
literal_form: Jelāl's college and lecture-hall where he sits alone studying books
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Jelāl's repeated rides and announcement
summary: Jelāl borrows horses on successive days, returns them exhausted at sunset,
and on the third day announces glad tidings concerning the enemy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Report of Damascus and victory
summary: A caravan reports the siege of Damascus, and the passage says Jelāl appeared
there, joined the forces of Islam, and defeated the Mongol forces.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Celebration in Qonya
summary: After Jelāl identifies himself as the victorious horseman, his disciples
and the townspeople celebrate and illuminate the city.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Merchant visits the legal dignitary
summary: The Tebrīz merchant seeks a learned and pious man, visits the reputed legal
scholar in a palace-like setting, presents gifts, asks about his losses, and leaves
without an answer.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Merchant visits Jelāl
summary: The merchant is directed to Jelāl as a poor and pious holy man, goes to
his college with fifty sequins, is overwhelmed, and hears Jelāl disclose the offering,
explain his losses, and announce that a trial has been averted.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: saintly miraculous intervention in distant battle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Jelāl's exhausted rides are followed by news that he was seen at Damascus
aiding the forces of Islam and defeating the besieging army; the passage explicitly
calls this a miracle of power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the event hagiographically; no wider comparison is
asserted here.
- id: motif:2
label: enemy consigned to infernal fire
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Jelāl announces that the 'dog of hell' has returned to a 'pit of fire' before
reports identify the defeated enemy force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses hostile religious language; the exact relation between
the spoken image and the later military report is narrative rather than analytically
explained.
- id: motif:3
label: quest for the true holy guide
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- wisdom
basis: The merchant seeks men of piety and learning, rejects the wealthy dignitary's
surroundings, and is directed to Jelāl, who gives hidden knowledge and assurance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the movement as a search for counsel rather than a
formal initiation.
- id: motif:4
label: hidden offering known by the saint
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The merchant privately prepares fifty sequins, and Jelāl states that the
fifty sequins are accepted before the merchant can speak.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not describe the mechanism of Jelāl's knowledge.
- id: motif:5
label: loss transformed into protection from greater trial
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- sacred_exchange
basis: Jelāl says the merchant's lost two hundred sequins were better for him because
God had determined a severe judgment and trial, now pardoned and averted through
the visit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The offering and pardon are associated in the speech, but the passage
does not define a transactional doctrine.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1494-1504
quote_or_summary: Jelāl returns on successive days to ask the butcher for horses;
each horse is returned at sunset in pitiable condition.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1504-1507
quote_or_summary: "“Good news! Glad tidings, O ye of the Faith! That dog of hell
has gone back to his pit of fire!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1508-1521
quote_or_summary: A caravan from Syria reports that the Mogul army besieged Damascus;
Helaw Khan had taken Baghdad and advanced against Syria, sending Ketbuga against
Damascus with a large army.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1521-1527
quote_or_summary: The inhabitants are said to have witnessed Jelāl joining the forces
of Islam at Damascus, defeating the Mogul forces and forcing their retreat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 1528-1533
quote_or_summary: "“Jelālu-’d-Dīn was the horseman who obtained a victory over the
enemy, and showed himself a Sultan in the eyes of the people of Islām.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1533-1539
quote_or_summary: Jelāl's disciples shout with joy, Qonya is decorated and illuminated,
and the miracle of power becomes widely known among his adherents.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1541-1551
quote_or_summary: A rich merchant of Tebrīz arrives in Qonya and says he travels
not only for money but to meet eminent men in each city.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1552-1564
quote_or_summary: The merchant is taken to the reputed Sheykhu-’l-Islām, whose residence
has guards, servants, attendants, and palace-like features.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1565-1581
quote_or_summary: The merchant dislikes the dignitary's setting, offers presents,
asks why he suffers losses despite almsgiving, and leaves without a solution.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 1582-1592
quote_or_summary: The merchant asks for a poor mendicant of exemplary piety and
is told of Jelāl, who has forsaken pleasures except love toward God and spends
nights and days in worship.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 1593-1598
quote_or_summary: The merchant is taken to Jelāl's college after privately preparing
a rouleau of fifty gold sequins as an offering.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 1598-1604
quote_or_summary: Jelāl sits alone in the lecture-hall studying; the merchant is
overwhelmed and silent; Jelāl says the fifty sequins are accepted and that the
lost two hundred sequins are better for him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 1604-1601
quote_or_summary: Jelāl says God had determined a sore judgment and heavy trial
for the merchant, but through the visit pardoned him, averted the trial, and would
make up his losses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is internally clear, but the supplied line range appears to end
at 1601 while the passage text continues beyond that point; evidence locators
are approximate within the supplied excerpt. No comparison claims were added because
the passage does not itself make an explicit cross-traditional 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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references were limited to available motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l1494-l1601
passage_sha256=28948e9829ecf174f9c9f43c215666ee36255cdfeef91111e04231b098ed031c