batch.motif.sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg-l3570-l3593
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg-l3570-l3593
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER IV / DIVINE LOVE / CHAPTER V / SAINTS AND MIRACLES; lines 3570-3593
start: '3570'
end: '3593'
translation: The Mystics of Islam
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“How long will you worship at the tombs of holy men? / Busy yourself with
the works of holy men, and you are saved!”"
summary: Nicholson reflects critically on the doctrine of saintship in Sufism, describing
submission to saints, pilgrimage to shrines, and relic veneration. He warns against
seeking God through another person’s inner light and quotes a saying and verse
attributed to ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār that prefer dwelling beside God and imitating
holy men’s works over worship at their tombs.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage says the doctrine of saintship holds a fundamental position in
Sufism and has had practical influence.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Practical results named include submission to an ecstatic class of men, dependence
on their favour, pilgrimage to shrines, adoration of relics, and devotion of faculties
to their service.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The narrator states that seeking God by another person’s inner light is more
deadly than worshipping God by one’s own inner light.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage identifies ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār as a saint and says he had earlier
tried unsuccessfully to hypnotise his pupil after a disrespectful trick.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār is reported to have said it is more right to dwell beside
God than beside God’s creatures.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A verse attributed to ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār asks how long one will worship at
holy men’s tombs and advises attending to holy men’s works.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Narrator / historian of Sufism
description: Authorial voice assessing the doctrine of saintship and its effects.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ecstatic class of men / holy men
description: Saintly figures whose authority, favour, shrines, relics, tombs, and
works are discussed.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: God
description: The divine being whom one may seek or beside whom one may dwell.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār
description: A saint whose saying and frequently repeated verse are quoted.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Pupil of ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār
description: A pupil who had played a disrespectful trick on ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār and
was the target of an unsuccessful hypnotic attempt.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Biographer of ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār
description: The person who relates ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār’s saying.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Critical commentator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator evaluates saintship and warns against vicarious holiness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: Saintly authorities / objects of devotion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage describes submission to their authority, dependence on their
favour, pilgrimage to their shrines, relic adoration, and worship at their tombs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: Divine goal of seeking or dwelling
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage speaks of seeking God and dwelling beside God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: Quoted saint and teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage identifies him as a saint and quotes sayings attributed to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: Disrespectful pupil
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The pupil is described as having played a disrespectful trick on ʿAlāʾuddīn
ʿAttār.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: Reporter of saint’s saying
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The biographer is said to relate ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār’s saying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Inner light
literal_form: One’s own inner light or another person’s inner light as a means of
seeking God.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: Shrines of saints
literal_form: Shrines visited in pilgrimage as part of saintly devotion.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Relics of saints
literal_form: Relics adored by devotees of saints.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: Tombs of holy men
literal_form: Tombs where holy men are worshipped in the quoted verse.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: Works of holy men
literal_form: The works of holy men, presented as the proper focus instead of tomb
worship.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Critique of saintship and mediated holiness
summary: The narrator describes the influence of saintship as producing submission
to saints, dependence on them, pilgrimage to shrines, relic adoration, and devotion
to their service, then warns against seeking God through another’s inner light.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār’s saying and verse
summary: A biographer is said to report ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār’s preference for dwelling
beside God rather than creatures, and a verse advises turning from worship at
holy men’s tombs to attention to their works.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Back-reference to saint and pupil
summary: The narrator identifies ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār as the saint who had earlier
tried and failed to hypnotise a pupil in revenge for a disrespectful trick.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Critique of vicarious holiness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explicitly rejects reliance on another’s holiness or inner light
as a way of seeking God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a doctrinal and polemical pattern rather than a narrative mythic
episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Saintly shrine and relic devotion
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage lists pilgrimage to saints’ shrines, adoration of relics, and
worship at tombs of holy men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents these practices critically and does not narrate a
specific pilgrimage.
- id: motif:3
label: Direct seeking of God over mediated dependence
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: The narrator contrasts seeking God by one’s own inner light with seeking
Him by another’s inner light, and ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār’s saying prefers dwelling
beside God to dwelling beside creatures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy link to mystical_quest is functional and thematic; the passage
is expository, not a quest narrative.
- id: motif:4
label: Imitation of holy works instead of tomb worship
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The quoted verse instructs the listener to stop worshipping at tombs and
attend to the works of holy men, promising salvation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The wisdom classification is based on the verse’s didactic form and may
require reviewer confirmation.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage supports a cautious comparison to a mystical quest pattern because
it frames the proper religious aim as seeking or dwelling beside God directly
rather than relying on saintly intermediaries.
claim_level: same_function
target: mystical_quest
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage is a theological critique and quotation, not a narrative
account of a journey or initiation.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3570-3577
quote_or_summary: The narrator states that saintship occupies a fundamental position
and has practical effects including submission to ecstatic men, dependence on
their favour, pilgrimage to shrines, adoration of relics, and devotion to their
service.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 3577-3581
quote_or_summary: "“It may be dangerous to worship God by one’s own inner light,
but it is far more deadly to seek Him by the inner light of another. Vicarious
holiness has no compensations.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 3582-3586
quote_or_summary: The narrator introduces ʿAlāʾuddīn ʿAttār as the saint who had
vainly tried to hypnotise his pupil in revenge for a disrespectful trick.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 3586-3589
quote_or_summary: "“It is more right and worthy to dwell beside God than to dwell
beside God’s creatures.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 3589-3593
quote_or_summary: "“How long will you worship at the tombs of holy men? / Busy yourself
with the works of holy men, and you are saved!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif and taxonomy assignments are
cautious because the passage is expository and polemical rather than a mythic
narrative.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. No external comparisons added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg__l3570-l3593
passage_sha256=1244a28947f43917a2b2637092d059cb532d7af36a47ef5908b2ec698795989b