batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l4000-l4141
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l4000-l4141
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER I. / CHAPTER II. / CHAPTER III. / CHAPTER IV.; lines 4000-4141
start: '4000'
end: '4141'
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 presents Shemsu-’d-Dīn of Tabriz as a wandering spiritual seeker
and teacher who searched for God and for a saintly companion. An unseen answer
directs him to Jelālu-’d-Dīn of Rome. Shems tests Jelāl through requests involving
Jelāl’s wife, son, and wine; Jelāl complies, and Shems acknowledges Jelāl’s spiritual
greatness and becomes his disciple. Further anecdotes describe Shems commanding
Jelāl’s study, silence, and later abandonment of his father’s writings, including
a dream interpreted as continued mental attachment. The passage ends by saying
Shems renounced worldly sciences and alchemy for contemplation of divine love.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Shemsu-’d-Dīn of Tabriz is introduced with titles including Sultan of Mendicants,
Mystery of God upon earth, and Perfect in word and deed.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Shems traveled in search of human and spiritual instruction, visited many
major spiritual teachers, and found none equal to himself.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Shems is described as seeking the beloved object of the soul, identified parenthetically
as God, while wearing coarse felt that concealed his greatness.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Shems first saw Jelāl in a crowded Damascus market-place; Jelāl avoided him,
and Shems later followed Jelāl’s traces to Qonya.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: After three months of seclusion with Jelāl in religious, scientific, and spiritual
inquiry, Shems judged that he had never met Jelāl’s equal.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: When overcome by divine manifestations and ecstasies, Shems would hide and
work as a day-labourer at the water-wheels of the Damascus gardens until restored.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Shems asked God whether any saint in the corporeal or spiritual world could
bear him company, and an answer from the unseen world named Jelāl.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Shems set out from Damascus to the land of Rome in quest of the named companion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: As a trial, Shems asked Jelāl for a slave, then for a youth to wait on him,
and then for wine; Jelāl responded by offering his wife, offering his son Sultan
Veled, and bringing a pitcher of wine.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: After Jelāl’s compliance, Shems cried out, rent his garment, bowed at Jelāl’s
feet, praised him, and declared himself Jelāl’s disciple.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: Shems commanded Jelāl to study his father’s writings and keep silent, and
later commanded him not to study those writings; Jelāl laid down the book and
did not open it again.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Jelāl dreamed he was studying and discussing his father’s writings; Shems
said dreams were shadows of waking thoughts and treated the dream as continued
contemplation of the prohibited writings.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Jelāl reported that Shems was learned in every science and in alchemy, but
renounced them to study and contemplate the mysteries of divine love.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Shemsu-’d-Dīn of Tabriz
description: A wandering spiritual figure titled Sultan of Mendicants, Mystery of
God upon earth, and Perfect in word and deed; seeker of God and of a saintly companion;
later declared himself Jelāl’s disciple.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jelālu-’d-Dīn of Rome
description: A professor at Qonya and the saint named by the unseen answer as Shems’s
companion; tested by Shems and praised by him as an unsurpassed lord and master.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: God
description: Identified as the beloved object of the soul and addressed by Shems
in supplication.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Kirā Khātūn
description: Jelāl’s wife, described as beautiful, virtuous, and saintlike; Jelāl
offers her when Shems asks for a slave, and Shems calls her his esteemed sister.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sultan Veled
description: Jelāl’s son, offered by Jelāl as a youth to serve Shems; also the narrator
of the testing episode as reported by Chelebī Emīr ‘Ārif.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Disciples and pupils of Jelāl
description: Jelāl says his words fed his disciples and his thoughts were nectar
for his pupils; they hungered and thirsted when Shems required his silence.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wandering spiritual teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Shems is said to have traveled widely seeking instruction, while teachers
of all lands became pupils and disciples to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: seeker of divine beloved and companion
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says Shems was always in quest of God as the beloved object of
the soul and later sought one saint who could bear him company.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: saintly companion named by unseen answer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: An answer from the unseen world identifies Jelāl as the one holy man in the
universe who could bear Shems company.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: tested master of unlimited compliance
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Jelāl complies with Shems’s requests for wife, son, and wine, after which
Shems praises his unlimited greatness of heart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: divine beloved and addressee of supplication
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: God is named as the beloved object of the soul and as the one to whom Shems
makes supplication.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: disciple after testing
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After testing Jelāl, Shems bows and declares himself Jelāl’s disciple.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: wife offered in renunciation, then called sister
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Jelāl brings Kirā Khātūn in response to Shems’s request for a slave, and
Shems says she is his esteemed sister.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: son offered as attendant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Jelāl offers Sultan Veled as a youth to carry Shems’s shoes, and Shems calls
him as his son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: deprived disciples
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Jelāl says his silence deprived his disciples and pupils of his words and
thoughts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: coarse felt garment
literal_form: coarsest felt worn by Shems
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: water-wheels of Damascus gardens
literal_form: water-wheels where Shems works as a day-labourer
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: pitcher of wine
literal_form: pitcher filled with wine brought from the Jews’ ward
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: shoes for service
literal_form: shoes of Shems to be carried and placed for use by Sultan Veled
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: rent garment
literal_form: garment rent by Shems after Jelāl’s compliance
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: book of the father’s writings
literal_form: writings of Bahā Veled studied, prohibited, and laid down
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: dream of study
literal_form: dream in which Jelāl studies and discusses Bahā Veled’s writings with
friends
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: spark of love
literal_form: mighty spark of love lighted in Jelāl’s heart when Shems first came
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Shems as wandering seeker and meeting with Jelāl
summary: Shems is introduced as a spiritually eminent wanderer seeking God and instruction;
he encounters Jelāl in Damascus, follows him to Qonya, and after seclusion finds
him unequaled.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Ecstasy, retreat, and divine answer
summary: Shems withdraws when overcome by manifestations, works at Damascus water-wheels
until restored, asks God for a companion, receives an unseen answer naming Jelāl,
and travels in quest of him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Trial of Jelāl through requests
summary: Shems tests Jelāl with requests for a slave, an attendant youth, and wine;
Jelāl offers his wife, offers his son, and brings wine. Shems responds by bowing,
praising Jelāl, and becoming his disciple.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Commands about study and silence
summary: Shems commands Jelāl first to study his father’s writings and keep silence,
then to stop studying them; Jelāl obeys and abandons the book.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Dream as evidence of mental study
summary: Jelāl dreams of studying his father’s writings; Shems interprets the dream
as showing that Jelāl’s thoughts remained occupied with them, and Jelāl thereafter
avoids them while Shems lives.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Renunciation of sciences for divine love
summary: Jelāl describes Shems as learned in all sciences and alchemy, but as having
renounced them for contemplation of divine love.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Mystical quest for the divine and for a spiritual companion
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Shems is repeatedly described as seeking God, instruction, and the one saint
who can bear him company, then traveling in quest of Jelāl after an unseen answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the quest hagiographically, not as a formal journey
map.
- id: motif:2
label: Divine beloved as object of the soul
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: The passage explicitly identifies God as the beloved object of the soul and
concludes with Shems’s devotion to the mysteries of divine love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The language is devotional and biographical rather than a narrated divine
romance.
- id: motif:3
label: Initiatory testing and obedience to a spiritual master
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Shems tests Jelāl with difficult requests, commands his silence and study
practices, and interprets even a dream as disobedient contemplation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: No explicit initiation rite is named; the motif is inferred from testing,
discipline, and obedience.
- id: motif:4
label: Renunciation of attachments and worldly learning
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Jelāl offers wife, son, and wine in obedience to Shems, while Shems is said
to renounce sciences and alchemy for divine love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames these acts as hagiographic exempla; the exact ritual
or doctrinal status is not specified.
- id: motif:5
label: Wisdom beyond book learning
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: 'Shems’s spiritual wisdom is contrasted with ordinary study: he forbids Jelāl’s
attachment to his father’s writings and renounces sciences for divine love.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not reject all knowledge; it emphasizes a specific discipline
under Shems and contemplation of divine love.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.1
quote_or_summary: Shemsu-’d-Dīn of Tabriz is given exalted titles, travels seeking
human and spiritual instruction, finds no teacher equal to himself, seeks God
as the beloved object of the soul, and wears coarse felt that hides his spiritual
greatness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.1
quote_or_summary: Shems first sees Jelāl in a crowded Damascus market-place, later
follows him to Qonya, and after three months of seclusion in religious, scientific,
and spiritual inquiry concludes that he has never met Jelāl’s equal.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.2
quote_or_summary: When worn out by divine manifestations and ecstasies, Shems hides
and works at the Damascus garden water-wheels; he asks God for a saintly companion,
receives an unseen answer naming Jelāl, and sets out from Damascus to Rome in
quest of him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.3
quote_or_summary: Shems tests Jelāl by asking for a slave, a youth, and wine; Jelāl
offers Kirā Khātūn, offers Sultan Veled to carry Shems’s shoes, and brings a pitcher
of wine. Shems cries out, tears his garment, bows to Jelāl’s feet, praises him,
and declares himself a disciple.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.4
quote_or_summary: Jelāl says Shems’s arrival kindled a spark of love in his heart;
Shems commanded him to study his father’s writings and keep silent, then later
ordered him not to study them, after which Jelāl laid down the book.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.5
quote_or_summary: After Shems forbids study of Bahā Veled’s writings, Jelāl dreams
that he is studying them with friends; Shems says dreams are shadows of waking
thoughts, and Jelāl says he did not busy himself with those writings again while
Shems lived.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4000-4141, CHAPTER IV.6
quote_or_summary: Jelāl reports that Shems was learned in every human science and
was a great alchemist, but renounced them all to study and contemplate the mysteries
of divine love.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; full text and training use allowed by supplied
metadata.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is clear for figures, actions, and symbolic objects. Motif assignments
are limited to motifs directly supported by the hagiographic narrative and supplied
taxonomy; no external comparisons are made.
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: |-
No comparison claims were added because the supplied passage itself does not compare these episodes with other traditions or motif families beyond supporting internal candidate motif identification.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l4000-l4141
passage_sha256=25cd6eb29079b71d81c1d2f6f246ea44cbc8ed02d065d47e81edec559c586cc7