extraction.sufi.mystics_of_islam.path_stages_gnosis_union

extraction.sufi.mystics_of_islam.path_stages_gnosis_union

---
record_id: extraction.sufi.mystics_of_islam.path_stages_gnosis_union
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
passage_locator:
  label: The Mystics of Islam, The Path
  start: lines 796
  end: lines 837
  translation: Reynold A. Nicholson, Project Gutenberg eBook
  notes: Stable line locator from canonical Markdown; public-domain English scholarly
    source.
canonical_text:
  quote: |
    The Sufi who sets out to seek God calls himself a traveller.

    The Sufi's path is not finished until he has traversed all the stages.
  language: English
  quote_policy: short_public_domain_excerpt
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: Nicholson describes Sufi spiritual life as a journey or pilgrimage.
  category: interpretation
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The seeker is called a traveller who advances by stages along a path toward
    union with Reality.
  category: doctrine
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The passage distinguishes stages from spiritual states and culminates in gnosis
    and truth.
  category: doctrine
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: Sufi traveller
  description: Seeker who advances through stages and states toward gnosis and truth.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: Reality
  description: Ultimate goal of the path, described through union, gnosis, and truth.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: traveller on the path
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The passage says the seeker calls himself a traveller and advances along
    a path.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: role:2
  label: goal of union and knowledge
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The path is directed toward union with Reality, gnosis, and truth.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: path
  literal_form: tariqat, path traversed by stages
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  taxonomy_refs:
  - mystical_quest
  - initiation
  - ascent
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:2
  label: stages and states
  literal_form: maqamat and ahwal
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  taxonomy_refs:
  - initiation
  - wisdom
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:3
  label: gnosis and truth
  literal_form: marifat and haqiqat
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  - annihilation_union
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: The Sufi path mapped as journey
  summary: The passage frames Sufi practice as a journey through stages and states
    toward gnosis, truth, and union with Reality.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  - sym:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: mapped interior pilgrimage
  taxonomy_refs:
  - mystical_quest
  - initiation
  - ascent
  basis: Sufi spiritual life is described as a journey, pilgrimage, path, and ascent
    with stages.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  confidence: high
  cautions: Nicholson is a secondary scholarly source, so use it to frame primary
    passages rather than replace them.
- id: motif:2
  label: seeker becomes knower
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  - annihilation_union
  basis: The passage says the seeker becomes the knower and realizes knowledge, knower,
    and known as one.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  confidence: high
  cautions: Later review should preserve the technical meanings of gnosis and truth
    in Sufi vocabulary.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
  claim: This passage makes the Sufi mystical quest directly comparable to other journey
    and initiation patterns while retaining its interior, contemplative goal.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: pattern.hero_journey / pattern.mystical_quest
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: high
  limitations: The comparison is structural; the Sufi path is not a heroic conquest
    narrative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: quote_and_summary
  locator: The Mystics of Islam, The Path, lines 796-837
  quote_or_summary: Nicholson presents Sufi spiritual life as a journey or pilgrimage
    through stages and states toward gnosis, truth, and union with Reality.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
  rights_note: Public-domain Project Gutenberg source text.
confidence:
  extraction: high
  motif_candidates: high
  comparison_claims: medium
  notes: Useful as a framework extraction; supplement with primary Sufi passages.
reviewer_status:
  status: draft
  notes: Draft extraction; use as a secondary interpretive source with caution.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Seed extraction for Sufi path, stages, gnosis, and union motifs.