A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A starving thorn-cutter, repeatedly shut out of his house, meets a rider after losing his gathered fuel. The stranger tells him to pray, close his eyes and mount behind him. In the desert he directs the man to collect pebbles, then returns him home and instructs him to remember Mushkil Gusha, the Remover of Difficulties, through recurring storytelling, fasting and charitable gifts. The rider vanishes. That night the stones emit brilliant light, and by morning the family recognizes them as precious gems. The text does not explicitly name the rider as Khizr, Ali or any other individual.

After becoming wealthy, the thorn-cutter forgets the injunction and is imprisoned following a false accusation against his daughter. Remembering the tale, he shares food and its telling with a poor father whose sick child subsequently recovers. The lost necklace is discovered and his property is restored. These events belong to the story’s devotional structure. The opening note attributes this version to an unnamed pious woman, recorded verbatim by the compiler’s informant, and describes a practice of telling it before Friday; this historical mediated report is not a claim about all Iranian households or a guarantee that an observance produces material rewards.

Prayer-framed journeyLuminous pebbles become precious stonesVanishing rider
01

Origins & earliest records

Kermani storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete IX, pp. 48–57, and opening provenance/practice footnote directly read in original-edition OCR.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Kermani tales; IX, The Story of Mushkil Gusha, pp. 48–57 and opening footnote

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)

Kermani tales; IX. Kermani tales; IX, The Story of Mushkil Gusha, pp. 48–57 and opening footnote

Entire IX and opening note read. Unnamed rider’s disappearance, gem gift and remembrance injunction retained. Woman-to-informant-to-edition mediation explicit; no unsupported Khizr/Ali identification. Original paraphrase.

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Kermani tales; IX, The Story of Mushkil Gusha, pp. 48–57 and opening footnoteResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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