Several dogs in the foreground listen to a speech by Rūmī, who, pointing to the dogs, addresses a crowd in a courtyard. While dogs were generally not highly esteemed, Rūmī praises their understanding and attention, calling them "relatives of the dog of the Seven Sleepers" and reciting a distich (two-line verse) about love and paradise. Unlike the Christian story of the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," who were walled up in a cave, the version in the Qur˒an (sura 18: 9–6) includes a faithful dog that kept watch at the entrance while the youths slept.