batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l2932-l3050
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l2932-l3050
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 2932-3050
start: '2932'
end: '3050'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A series of anecdotes recounts Jelāl’s new-year moon prayer, a cure for
fever by written invocation washed into water, a silent answer about spiritual
poverty followed by a dervish’s death, a lady-saint’s vision of the Cubical House
of Mekka circling Jelāl’s head, Jelāl’s answer about the dog of the Seven Sleepers,
and his seven-day stay seated in cold water inside a cavern.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Jelāl habitually looked for the new moon of the Arabian new year and recited
a prayer asking God for steadfastness, help against Satan and the rebellious spirit,
nearness to God, and avoidance of distance from God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Jelāl cured a disciple’s intermittent fever by writing an invocation on paper,
washing the ink into water, and giving the water to the patient to drink.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The fever invocation addresses the malady as the “Mother of the sleek one”
and commands it not to harm the body and to depart.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Jelāl and a great Sheykh sat together on the same carpet and entered ecstatic
heart-communion with the world of spirits.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A dervish repeatedly asked Jelāl, “What is poverty?” and Jelāl gave no spoken
answer.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The great Sheykh interpreted Jelāl’s silence as the answer, saying the one
who knows God has his tongue tied in the presence of saints.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The great Sheykh warned the dervish that he had been struck by a shaft from
heaven; three days later the dervish was attacked, killed, and robbed.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Fakhru-’n-Nisā, a lady-saint known for sanctity and miracles, consulted Jelāl
before deciding whether to perform the pilgrimage at Mekka.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: After night worship on the roof, Jelāl told Fakhru-’n-Nisā to look upward;
she saw the Cubical House of Mekka in the air circling Jelāl’s head and spinning
like a dervish.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: After the vision, Fakhru-’n-Nisā fainted, recovered, and abandoned the idea
of making the journey to Mekka.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Students tested Jelāl by asking the color of the dog of the Seven Sleepers;
he immediately answered that it was yellow because a lover is yellow and the dog
was a lover.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The students bowed to Jelāl and all became disciples after his answer about
the dog.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The Superior of the monastery of Plato described Jelāl entering a cavern at
the foot of a hill, where a stream of cold water issued.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Jelāl remained seven days and nights seated in the cold water inside the cavern,
then came out singing a hymn with no visible change in his features or eyes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Jelāl
description: Central holy figure in the anecdotes; prays, heals, receives questions,
displays visions, answers students, and performs a cavern-water vigil.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: Addressed in Jelāl’s prayer and invoked in the fever cure as the only
God.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Satan / rebellious spirit
description: Named in the new-year prayer as forces against which Jelāl asks for
steadfastness and assistance.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Disciple with intermittent fever
description: A sick disciple who drinks the water made from washed-off invocation
ink and is relieved of the malady.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mother of the sleek one / tertian ague
description: A nickname for the intermittent fever addressed directly in the healing
invocation.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Great Sheykh
description: A Sheykh who receives Jelāl respectfully, interprets Jelāl’s silence,
reprimands the dervish, and warns of his end.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Dervish who questioned Jelāl
description: A dervish, described as having repeatedly performed pilgrimage at Mekka,
who asks Jelāl about poverty and is later killed by reprobates.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Fakhru-’n-Nisā
description: A lady-saint of Qonya, known to holy men and associated with many miracles,
who consults Jelāl about pilgrimage.
role_refs:
- role:12
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Company of students
description: Students who test Jelāl with a question about the dog of the Seven
Sleepers and then become disciples.
role_refs:
- role:14
- role:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Dog of the Seven Sleepers
description: The dog mentioned in the students’ test question; Jelāl identifies
it as yellow and as a lover.
role_refs:
- role:16
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Superior of the monastery of Plato
description: An esteemed old monk and teacher who narrates Jelāl’s seven-day stay
in the cavern.
role_refs:
- role:17
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Gang of reprobates
description: The attackers who kill and rob the dervish three days after the Sheykh’s
warning.
role_refs:
- role:18
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: saintly adept
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The anecdotes present Jelāl as a holy figure whose actions include prayer,
healing, visionary manifestation, inspired answers, and ascetic endurance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:2
label: healer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He prepares written invocation-water for a feverish disciple who is immediately
relieved.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: silent spiritual teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He does not answer the repeated question about poverty, and the Sheykh says
the silence itself answered it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: ascetic vigil keeper
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He remains seven days and nights seated in cold water inside a cavern and
emerges unchanged.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: divine addressee
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God is directly addressed in Jelāl’s prayer and named in the healing invocation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: spiritual adversary
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The new-year prayer asks for steadfastness against Satan and aid against
the rebellious spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:7
label: healed patient
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The disciple drinks the prepared water and is relieved of the fever.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: personified malady
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The invocation addresses the fever by a nickname and commands it to leave
the afflicted person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:9
label: host and interpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: He hosts Jelāl, then explains the meaning of Jelāl’s silence to the dervish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: warning speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: He warns the dervish to prepare for his end and says he has been struck by
a heavenly shaft.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:11
label: improper questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: He repeatedly questions Jelāl and is reprimanded by the Sheykh for insolent
intrusion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:12
label: lady-saint
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: She is named a lady-saint, known for sanctity, and associated with countless
miracles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:13
label: vision recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: She sees the Cubical House of Mekka circling Jelāl’s head and changes her
pilgrimage decision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: testers
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The students agree to try Jelāl with a question about the dog of the Seven
Sleepers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:15
label: new disciples
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: After Jelāl’s answer, the students bow and become disciples.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:16
label: lover-animal in cited legend
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Jelāl says the dog was yellow because it was a lover.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:17
label: monastic witness-narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Superior relates the anecdote of Jelāl entering and staying in the cavern.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:18
label: killers and robbers
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: They attack, kill, and carry off the dervish’s possessions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: new moon of the Arabian new year
literal_form: new moon
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: written invocation-water
literal_form: paper with invocation washed into water and drunk
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: silence as answer
literal_form: Jelāl’s refusal to speak in response to the question about poverty
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: shaft from heaven
literal_form: heavenly shaft named in the Sheykh’s warning
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Cubical House of Mekka in the air
literal_form: Cubical House of Mekka circling Jelāl’s head and spinning like a dervish
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: yellow dog of the Seven Sleepers
literal_form: dog identified as yellow and as a lover
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: cavern at the foot of a hill
literal_form: cavern
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: cold water stream inside cavern
literal_form: stream of cold water issuing from the cavern; Jelāl seated in it
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: seven days and nights
literal_form: seven whole days and nights
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: New-year moon prayer
summary: Jelāl sees the new moon of the Arabian new year and prays to God for steadfastness,
help against spiritual adversaries, nearness to God, and avoidance of distance
from God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Fever cure by written invocation-water
summary: Jelāl writes an invocation, washes the ink into water, and gives it to
a feverish disciple to drink; the disciple is relieved.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Silent answer to the dervish
summary: A dervish asks Jelāl what poverty is, Jelāl remains silent, and the great
Sheykh later explains that silence is the answer of one who knows God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Warning and death of the dervish
summary: The great Sheykh warns the dervish that a heavenly shaft has struck him;
three days later reprobates kill and rob him.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Lady-saint’s vision of the Cubical House
summary: Fakhru-’n-Nisā consults Jelāl about pilgrimage; after Jelāl’s night worship,
she sees the Cubical House of Mekka circling above him and abandons the journey.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Question about the dog of the Seven Sleepers
summary: Students test Jelāl by asking the dog’s color; Jelāl answers yellow because
the dog was a lover, and the students become disciples.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Seven-day cavern-water vigil
summary: According to the monastery Superior, Jelāl enters a cavern with cold water,
remains seated in it for seven days and nights, and emerges singing with no visible
change.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: new-year lunar prayer for protection and nearness to God
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Jelāl’s regular practice at the new moon combines calendrical renewal with
a prayer for spiritual protection and proximity to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this as a devotional practice rather than a developed
narrative motif.
- id: motif:2
label: healing through written sacred words dissolved in water
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fever cure uses an invocation written on paper, washed into water, and
drunk by the patient, producing immediate relief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy motif directly matches this healing pattern; the
water symbol is explicit.
- id: motif:3
label: personified illness commanded to depart
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The invocation speaks directly to the fever by a nickname, commands it not
to injure the body, and orders it to leave the patient.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a ritual formula but does not elaborate the illness
as an independent character outside the invocation.
- id: motif:4
label: sacred silence as wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Jelāl’s silence is interpreted by the Sheykh as the true answer to the question
about poverty and as the conduct of a real dervish before saints.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is extracted from the Sheykh’s interpretation, not from an explicit
spoken explanation by Jelāl.
- id: motif:5
label: spiritual offense followed by foretold death
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The Sheykh reprimands the dervish’s intrusion, says he is struck by a shaft
from heaven, and the dervish is killed three days later.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The text implies a connection through sequence and warning, but it does
not explicitly state that the death is a divine punishment.
- id: motif:6
label: pilgrimage shrine manifests to the saint
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Instead of undertaking the journey, Fakhru-’n-Nisā sees the Cubical House
of Mekka in the air circling Jelāl’s head, after which she abandons the pilgrimage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports the vision but does not provide doctrinal interpretation
of the Cubical House’s motion around Jelāl.
- id: motif:7
label: testing the saint with esoteric lore
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Students test Jelāl with a question about the dog of the Seven Sleepers;
his immediate answer leads them to become disciples.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The content of the correct answer is not externally verified within the
passage; its authority is shown by the students’ response.
- id: motif:8
label: cave and cold-water ascetic ordeal
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Jelāl spends seven days and nights seated in cold water at the far end of
a cavern and emerges unchanged, singing a hymn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call this an initiation; the motif label
reflects the ordeal-like structure.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The question about the dog explicitly links Jelāl’s wisdom test to the Seven
Sleepers tradition mentioned in the passage.
claim_level: same_function
target: Seven Sleepers lore as a test of esoteric knowledge
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage only names the dog of the Seven Sleepers and does not recount
the Seven Sleepers narrative itself.
- id: claim:2
claim: The quoted Qur’anic injunction to hold peace is used within the passage to
support the motif of sacred silence before saints.
claim_level: same_function
target: Qur’anic citation used as warrant for silence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage provides the citation and its use by the Sheykh, but no
broader comparative discussion.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 2932-2942
quote_or_summary: Jelāl sees the new moon of the Arabian new year and prays to God
as eternal and merciful, asking for steadfastness against Satan, help against
the rebellious spirit, nearness to God, and avoidance of distance from God.
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: 2944-2955
quote_or_summary: Jelāl cures a disciple’s intermittent fever by writing an invocation,
washing the ink into water, and giving it to the patient to drink; the invocation
addresses the ague by nickname, commands it not to harm the head, throat, flesh,
or blood, and tells it to depart, ending with Islamic testimony.
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: 2957-2966
quote_or_summary: Jelāl visits a great Sheykh, is seated with him on the same carpet,
and both enter ecstatic heart-communion; a dervish repeatedly asks Jelāl, “What
is poverty?” and Jelāl gives no answer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with short quoted question.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 2968-2977
quote_or_summary: 'The Sheykh tells the dervish that Jelāl answered the first time
through silence: one who knows God has his tongue tied before saints; he cites
Qur’ān xlvi. 28, “Hold ye your peace,” and warns the dervish to prepare for his
end because he is struck by a shaft from heaven.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with brief quote.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 2979-2981
quote_or_summary: Three days later, reprobates attack and kill the dervish and carry
off his possessions.
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: 2983-2996
quote_or_summary: Fakhru-’n-Nisā, a lady-saint in Qonya known for sanctity and many
miracles, attends Jelāl’s meetings; when friends urge her to make pilgrimage to
Mekka, she goes to consult Jelāl, who greets the idea before she speaks.
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: 2998-3012
quote_or_summary: After midnight conversation and Jelāl’s vigil worship on the roof,
Jelāl invites Fakhru-’n-Nisā upward and tells her to look; she sees the Cubical
House of Mekka in the air circling Jelāl’s head and spinning like a dervish, faints,
recovers, and gives up the journey.
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: 3014-3022
quote_or_summary: Students near the moat of Qonya test Jelāl by asking the color
of the dog of the Seven Sleepers; he answers immediately, “Yellow,” because a
lover is yellow and that dog was a lover; the students bow and become disciples.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with brief quote.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 3024-3050
quote_or_summary: The Superior of the monastery of Plato, an esteemed teacher, says
Jelāl came to a monastery at the foot of a hill with a cavern and cold stream,
entered to the far end, remained seven days and nights seated in the cold water,
then emerged singing a hymn with no change in features or eyes.
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: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif classification
is more tentative where taxonomy labels are broader than the reported anecdotes.
Comparison claims are limited to explicit intra-passage references to Seven Sleepers
lore and a Qur’anic citation.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. No external identifications or taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied lists were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l2932-l3050
passage_sha256=2ac7cd82ac8916db2623e0588c350f5b7c419c965176f7bd5c4d7451643feb1e