When You Hear Hoofbeats Think of a Zebra: Talks on Sufism by Shems Friedlander

by Shems Friedlander

Uses Sufi tales and parables to foster a fresh outlook on the world and an altered perception of the everyday problems of living

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy

Paperback Bunko

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

“New York City’nin kalbinde” doğmuş olan Shems Friedlander ödüllü bir grafik tasarımcısı, usta bir fotoğrafçı, ressam, şair, film yapımcısı ve tasavvuf hakkında kitapları olan bir yazardır.
İkisi Hz. Mevlâna ve semazenler hakkında olmak üzere dokuz kitabı vardır. Tabloları New York ve Kahire’de sergilenmiş; çizim ve fotoğrafları muhtelif özel koleksiyonlarda yer almıştır. Çektiği Türk dervişlerin fotoğrafları, belgesel klasikleri hâline gelmiş; New York, Kahire, İskenderiye ve Dubai’de sergilenmiştir.
En son çektiği Faysal: Bir Kral’ın Mirası isimli belgesel filmin dünyada ilk gösterimi Kasım 2012’de Londra’daki BAFTA Tiyatrosu’nda gerçekleştirilmiş ve eser, Chagrin Falls Belgesel Film Festivali’nde gösterilmiştir.
Shems Friedlander başta Mekke, Medine, Kahire ve İstanbul olmak üzere bütün Ortadoğu’da muhtelif şeyh efendilerden feyz almış, istifade etmiştir.
Kraliyet İslami Araştırmalar Enstitüsü tarafından Sanat ve Kültür alanında 2012’nin “En Etkili 500 Müslümanı”ndan biri seçilmiştir.
Hâlihazırda Kahire’deki Amerikan Üniversitesi’nde görsel iletişim alanında profesör olarak ders veren Friedlander, dönüşümlü olarak Kahire ve İstanbul’da ikamet etmektedir.

Reviews

[Uswa Anjum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat less. Speak less. Sleep less.

And never miss an opportunity to become a better human being.

[Komi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes, my eyes that were closed. It teaches patiences, observation of oneself, dhikr, holding one's tongue, helping those around us and not spending time on useless conversations and entertainment. Getting closer to Allah can be attained through the help of a sheikh. It does not occur over night but through many months, if not years of practice. If you pick this book up and all you do is read a chapter, I would recommend reading the last chapter which is imam Ali's letter to his son. Very informative and helpful especially in our times. There is no God, but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.

[Matt Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of Sufi stories and anecdotes, the teaching value of which as parables goes beyond the walls of Islam.

[Khooshbu Khanderia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tiny book with loads of stories and anecdotes about Sufism. It's like listening to a commentary or session very simple yet touching..some stories are eye openers and thought provoking. It won't change ur life but would remind of simple things in life we take for granted through the tales. A lot of simple ideas presented with fresh perspective. If not love for Sufism read it for the stories and the ideologies it talks about..not great book but definitely will question ur spirituality at some level. A good read

[Raja · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of best books on Sufism, very well written and easy to understand. I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about Sufism. This is a very good introduction.A must read of anyone who is new on the path of Sufism. The author explains some concepts in a very easy way. A good book to start your journey onto this path.

[Abidah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly beautiful and well-written. Will surely be read again and again

[Hikmet Okur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sade. Basit. Samimi. Naif. Mühim. Elzem.

İslâm dininde; Allah'tan başka ilâh olmadığını ve Hz. Muhammed(sav)'in O'nun kulu ve elçisi olduğunu kabul ettikten sonra, "merhametlilerin en merhametlisi" olana ulaşmak için çeşitli veçheler elbette mevcut. Ama şahsi kanaatim (ki nefsimi bu noktada ne aklıyor ne de ona güveniyorum, o yüzden bunu nasipten öte göremiyorum), bu yolların içinde tasavvuf bambaşka bir lezzete sahip. Bu yol, kalplere öyle hitap eden bir yol ve bu yol içinde mevcut yöntemler ile işi bilen ustalar, taliplerin kalplerini öyle döndürüyorlar ki, işte o zaman ortaya etrafta pek az gördüğümüz "insan" çıkıyor.

Shems Friedlander ve Robert Frager, "aynı bahçenin iki gülü", işte bu yolun tozunu toprağını yutmuş, kokusu üzerine sinmiş öyle iki güzel şahsiyet. Ağızlarından öyle ahım şahım cümleler duymuyorsunuz belki ama kalbe bu derece tesir eden sözcükler sarf etmek, çağın tehlikelerine karşı sizi kibarca uyarıp, hakkı tavsiye etmek de her babayiğidin harcı olmasa gerek.

Kendisinin, bu güzel kitabı yazan ellerinden hürmetle öperim.

[Fatih Kutan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir kayıt düşülmemiş olmasına rağmen, anladığım kadarıyla kitap, Şeyh Muzaffer Ozak hazretlerinin vefatını müteakip [Şubat 1985] Shems Friedlander'ın kendi ihvanıyla gerçekleştirdiği sohbetlerin derlenmesinden oluşuyor. Tasavvufun temel kavramlarının açımlanması ve ihvanın idrakine vesile olsun diye detaylandırılması, sohbetlerin kalbî yakınlığını da hissettiğinizde oldukça derin bir iç hesaplaşmaya kapı aralıyor. Bu klasik tasavvuf sohbeti özelliklerinin yanı sıra, Halvetî-Cerrahî tarikatında anlatılan zuhuratlardan bahsetmesi, Şeyh Ozak'ın vefatını detaylı bir hatıra hâlinde aktarması, çeşitli hatıraları muhabbet arasında dillendirmesi ve belge hâline getiriyor olması hasebiyle de bu kitaba ayrıca bir önem atfedilmesi gerekliliğini öne çıkarıyor.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone on a spiritual path.

[Hanaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone with ANY spiritual path. Highly recommended

[Aliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to finish...good concepts but stories were not as moving as I thought they would be

[Misbah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. AMAZING

[Zuhair]

Incredibly uplifting, approachable, and written with maturity and conviction. It is bound to have some glowing impact on readers of all faiths and beliefs.

[Mona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe the shorter stories are good, but he goes into too much detail about my sheikh and my sheikh. It should be more spiritual and less focused on his relationship with his sheikh.

[Mazhar Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a very exciting book

[Nis Kr · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books I have read in my entire life <3 the fact that it was given by a special someone made it even meaningful !

[EsraE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. One should read it once a year to remember what's worth living for

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit too God centric for me.
I tend to like books about a universal spirit or love that flows through everything
(I tend to think in a somewhat Buddhist/Hindu fashion and that might explain it).
Perhaps a universal spirit kind of thing is what Shems means, but I can't but help picturing a single conscious entity when he says Allah.

On the other hand, it is obvious the author is coming from a beautiful place and people without my hangups will probably like this book.

Interspersed with religious background there are pleasant Sufi teaching stories.
Some complained that there were too many Sufi teaching stories but I personally found them the most rewarding part of the book and wished there were more (though I think the balance between commentary and story would've worked quite well if it was written in a style I liked).

[Galibkaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasavvufta meseller elbette büyük önem taşıyor ve her sohbette Friedlander -bir kısmına aşina olduğumuz- pek çok mesel de anlatmış ama iyi bir anlatıcı mı orası tartışılır. Bana tesir eden tarafı yazarın, modern dünyanın içinden bize sesleniyor olması oldu, modern dünya bizi Aşkın olandan, Öte'den öyle ustalıklı bir şekilde uzak tutuyor ki bu tuzakları aşmayı becermiş bir kişinin daveti kıymetli oluyor bizler için. "İki gözü yaşlı "âh teslimiyet"" meselesi -Saadettin Ökten Hoca da söz etmişti bundan- önemli. Toynak sesi duyanda atları değil zebrayı düşünebilmek de önemli.
Çevirmen Ömer Çolakoğlu tasavvufi metinlerin lezzetini biliyor anlaşılan çevirisine bayıldım.
Kitabın önemli bir artısı da Hz.Ali'nin oğlu Hz.Hasan'a yazdığı mektubu ihtiva etmesi. Yazarın diğer kitaplarını da okuyacağım sanırım.

[Lydia Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book bought tears to my eyes,
And made me laugh out loud
In the same hour.
Really a deep and touching book.

A bunch of sobhat in a book, a very compact concise book, it quickly brings the essence and the point of Sufi thought.

Perfect for introduction to Sufism, easy enough to read to a child♡

I only wish there were more Quran and Sunnah or other references, in it.

If you already learn about sufism the anecdotes are familiar, and the Islamic ideas refered to mostly will be popular ones,

(still, a beginner would benifit from some kind of references, thats the ONLY reason why i take a star off.)

[totesintobooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like I’m reading bedtime stories, sufi version. It’s such a satisfying read that it took me only 3 days to complete the book! I can read this book from cover to cover again to internalise the wisdoms behind every story being told. Definitely recommending this book to others!

[Syed Emir Ashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succint book distilling the classical wisdom of Sufism to the modern reader. I really enjoyed this. A book of timeless principles, Shaykh Friedlander has done the reading dervish a world of service.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book. While it is based on Islam, it should be a read for anyone that needs a little inspiration in their lives.

[Emine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anlaşılaması kolay, çok güzel bir tasavvuf kitabi

[Can Kavanoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasavvuf 101. 3,5 yıldız

[Hafidz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging. For those who are into Sufism or wants to know more about it.

[Saff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book attempted to convey the foundational ideology/principles behind Sufism. To an extent, it succeeded. For me though, it fell short on detail. The parables were certainly interesting, albeit a tad far fetched. But I felt that there were too many of them and that the writer jumped from one to the other too quickly. I also had to sift through the book to find concrete information on Sufism. The writing style created a poignant sense of urgency which didn't sit too well with me, although that could have been the intention. Overall, not a bad first introduction to Sufism.

[Nadia Ab Latif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me reflect & realise that nothing is random. Everything connects to none other than Allah.

[Najwa Farhana]

read this at the right time. so many reminders

[Rahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read this a few times. One of my favorite books -- I always come away with a new perspective