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Mulla Nasrudin
Las Ocurrencias del Increíble Mula Nasrudin
Today we find him in a high-level physics report, illustrating phenomena that can't be described in ordinary technical terms. He appears in psychology textbooks, illuminating the workings of the mind in a way no straightforward explanation can.
In three definitive volumes (The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin, The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin and The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin) Idries Shah takes us to the very heart of this mysterious mentor, the Mulla Nasrudin. Skillful contemporary retellings of hundreds of collected stories and sayings bring the unmistakable--often backhanded--wisdom, wit and charm of the timeless jokester to life.
The Mulla and his stories appear in literature and oral traditions from the Middle East to Greece, Russia, France--even China. Many nations claim Nasrudin as a native son, but nobody really knows who he was or where he came from.
According to a legend dating from at least the 13th century, Nasrudin was snatched as a schoolboy from the clutches of the "Old Villain"--the crude system of thought that ensnares man--to carry through the ages the message of how to escape. He was chosen because he could make people laugh, and humor has a way of slipping through the cracks of the most rigid thinking habits.
Acclaimed as humorous masterpieces, as collections of the finest jokes, as priceless gift books, and for hundreds "enchanted tales," this folklore figure's antics have also been divined as "mirroring the antics of the mind." The jokes are, as Idries Shah notes, "perfectly designed models for isolating and holding distortions of the mind which so often pass for reasonable behavior." Therefore they have a double use: when the jokes have been enjoyed, their psychological significance starts to sink in.
In fact, for many centuries they have been studied in Sufi circles for their hidden wisdom. They are used as teaching exercises, in part to momentarily "freeze" situations in which states of mind can be recognized. The key to the philosophic significance of the Nasrudin jokes is given in Idries Shah's book The Sufis and a complete system of mystical training based upon them was described in the Hibbert Journal.
In these delightful volumes, Shah not only gives the Mulla a proper vehicle for our times, he proves that the centuries-old stories and quips of Nasrudin are still some of the funniest jokes in the world.
Paperback
First published November 1, 1968
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About the author
Idries Shah
268 books426 followersIdries Shah (Persian: ادریس شاه), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي), was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 16, 2015
If one of your main objections to the Bible is that it kind of lacks humour, then check this out. A religion where one of the holy texts is a huge collection of jokes! And most of them are actually pretty funny. My favourite is the following. Nasrudin (the Sufi holy fool, who is the hero of most of the stories), is walking past the lake, when he sees a wild-looking guy sitting by the bank with a big jar and a spoon. When he gets closer, Nasrudin sees that he's spooning yoghurt into the water.
"Whatever are you doing?" asks Nasrudin.
"Oh," says the guy, "I'm putting yoghurt into the lake. After a while the whole lake will turn into yoghurt, I'll be able to sell it to everyone in town, and I'll be rich!"
Nasrudin shakes his head - there's obviously no point in reasoning with him. That evening at the tea-house, he tells a friend that poor Abdul has clearly gone mad.
The next day, the friend is out walking past another lake, and he can't believe his eyes. There's Nasrudin, and he's spooning yoghurt into the water!
"But Nasrudin," he says, "You just told me this was crazy. You know you can't make yoghurt that way!"
"Well, yes," admits Nasrudin. "But... supposing it worked!"
___________________________________________
In Shane Malloney's Stiff, which I'm currently in the middle of, the hero reads a Mullah Nasrudin episode to his six year old son as a bednight story. This later turns out to be relevant to the plot. Here's the episode in question, which I hadn't seen before:
Nasrudin is scheduled to preach in the mosque. He stands up in front of the congregation, and asks "So, do you know what I'm going to say?"
No one knows.
"Well," says Nasrudin, "If you don't believe you already know, you won't understand it. I'd just be wasting my time." And he sits down.
The next week, he stands up and asks them the same question. This time, the congregation all claim they do know what he's going to say.
"If you already know," says Nasrudin, "there's no point in me telling you again." And he sits down.
The third week, he's still sticking to his script, but this time people have been thinking about it. When he asks the question, they tell him that some people know what he's going to say, and others don't.
"Ah," says Nasrudin. "In that case, the people who know should tell the people who don't!"
___________________________________________
There's a Nasrudin story in the Ken Loach movie The Angel's Share, which we saw earlier this evening:
Every day, Nasrudin crosses the border with a donkey and a couple of panniers. After a while, the customs official is certain he's smuggling something. He stops Nasrudin time after time, searches him thoroughly, but never finds a single item.
One day, many years later, he's changed jobs and happens to meet Nasrudin by chance. "Come on!" he begs. "You can tell me now. It's been driving me crazy. What were you smuggling?"
Nasrudin looks at him with great dignity.
"Donkeys," he replies.
"Whatever are you doing?" asks Nasrudin.
"Oh," says the guy, "I'm putting yoghurt into the lake. After a while the whole lake will turn into yoghurt, I'll be able to sell it to everyone in town, and I'll be rich!"
Nasrudin shakes his head - there's obviously no point in reasoning with him. That evening at the tea-house, he tells a friend that poor Abdul has clearly gone mad.
The next day, the friend is out walking past another lake, and he can't believe his eyes. There's Nasrudin, and he's spooning yoghurt into the water!
"But Nasrudin," he says, "You just told me this was crazy. You know you can't make yoghurt that way!"
"Well, yes," admits Nasrudin. "But... supposing it worked!"
___________________________________________
In Shane Malloney's Stiff, which I'm currently in the middle of, the hero reads a Mullah Nasrudin episode to his six year old son as a bednight story. This later turns out to be relevant to the plot. Here's the episode in question, which I hadn't seen before:
Nasrudin is scheduled to preach in the mosque. He stands up in front of the congregation, and asks "So, do you know what I'm going to say?"
No one knows.
"Well," says Nasrudin, "If you don't believe you already know, you won't understand it. I'd just be wasting my time." And he sits down.
The next week, he stands up and asks them the same question. This time, the congregation all claim they do know what he's going to say.
"If you already know," says Nasrudin, "there's no point in me telling you again." And he sits down.
The third week, he's still sticking to his script, but this time people have been thinking about it. When he asks the question, they tell him that some people know what he's going to say, and others don't.
"Ah," says Nasrudin. "In that case, the people who know should tell the people who don't!"
___________________________________________
There's a Nasrudin story in the Ken Loach movie The Angel's Share, which we saw earlier this evening:
Every day, Nasrudin crosses the border with a donkey and a couple of panniers. After a while, the customs official is certain he's smuggling something. He stops Nasrudin time after time, searches him thoroughly, but never finds a single item.
One day, many years later, he's changed jobs and happens to meet Nasrudin by chance. "Come on!" he begs. "You can tell me now. It's been driving me crazy. What were you smuggling?"
Nasrudin looks at him with great dignity.
"Donkeys," he replies.
June 9, 2016
Nasrudin went to a shop of a man who stocked all kinds of bit and pieces.
“Have you got nails?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And leather, good leather?”
“Yes.”
“And dye?”
“Yes.”
“Then why, for Heaven’s sake, don’t you make a pair of boots?”
Occasionally I manage to take Nasrudin’s advice and make myself something useful from the jokes collected by Idries Shah in his Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin.
Here’s an example, entitled “Fixed Ideas”.
‘How old are you, Mulla?’
‘Forty.’
‘But you said the same last time I asked you, two years ago!’
‘Yes, I always stand by what I have said.’
This joke helped me take a second look at a highly principled politician with whom I agreed. But he prided himself on his “good ideas” and stood by them for decades. “How would he respond if changing circumstances necessitated a fresh approach?” I wondered. It was worrisome.
Here’s another, entitled ‘The Burglar’
A thief went into Nasrudin's house and carried away almost all the possessions of the Mulla to his own home. Nasrudin had been watching from the street. After a few minutes Nasrudin took up a blanket, followed him, went into his house, lay down, and pretended to go to sleep. 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?' asked the thief. 'Well,' said the Mulla, 'we were moving house, were we not'?
Shah’s intriguing little book provokes laughter & fresh insights into our selves and our world. Mulla Nasrudin’s antics parallel the workings of the mind. The tales of this ancient wise fool from the East are bottomless and bracing. I’ve reread this book and others in the Nasrudin corpus many times, and always discover something new. Over time I’ve “stolen” all kinds of “bits and pieces” to make something useful. But I've gotten much more than I bargained for. Nasrudin and his ways of seeing are now very present in my life. I think he’s moved in!
“Have you got nails?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And leather, good leather?”
“Yes.”
“And dye?”
“Yes.”
“Then why, for Heaven’s sake, don’t you make a pair of boots?”
Occasionally I manage to take Nasrudin’s advice and make myself something useful from the jokes collected by Idries Shah in his Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin.
Here’s an example, entitled “Fixed Ideas”.
‘How old are you, Mulla?’
‘Forty.’
‘But you said the same last time I asked you, two years ago!’
‘Yes, I always stand by what I have said.’
This joke helped me take a second look at a highly principled politician with whom I agreed. But he prided himself on his “good ideas” and stood by them for decades. “How would he respond if changing circumstances necessitated a fresh approach?” I wondered. It was worrisome.
Here’s another, entitled ‘The Burglar’
A thief went into Nasrudin's house and carried away almost all the possessions of the Mulla to his own home. Nasrudin had been watching from the street. After a few minutes Nasrudin took up a blanket, followed him, went into his house, lay down, and pretended to go to sleep. 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?' asked the thief. 'Well,' said the Mulla, 'we were moving house, were we not'?
Shah’s intriguing little book provokes laughter & fresh insights into our selves and our world. Mulla Nasrudin’s antics parallel the workings of the mind. The tales of this ancient wise fool from the East are bottomless and bracing. I’ve reread this book and others in the Nasrudin corpus many times, and always discover something new. Over time I’ve “stolen” all kinds of “bits and pieces” to make something useful. But I've gotten much more than I bargained for. Nasrudin and his ways of seeing are now very present in my life. I think he’s moved in!
June 2, 2021
2,5
He leído en wikipedia que Nasrudín es considerado un Don Quijote islámico porque acostumbra a ser cuerdo en su locura y creo que define muy bien este personaje y de que va el libro.
Son un compendio de pequeñas anécdotas, chistes, bromas, enseñanzas de este personaje.
Aunque esperaba otra cosa, por otro lado me ha parecido curioso. Corto y fácil de leer.
He leído en wikipedia que Nasrudín es considerado un Don Quijote islámico porque acostumbra a ser cuerdo en su locura y creo que define muy bien este personaje y de que va el libro.
Son un compendio de pequeñas anécdotas, chistes, bromas, enseñanzas de este personaje.
Aunque esperaba otra cosa, por otro lado me ha parecido curioso. Corto y fácil de leer.
February 7, 2017
This book is a collection of very short tales, jokes & annecdotes, all featuring Mulla Nasrudin.
Mulla Nasrudin is at the same time a fool and a clever Sufi holy man. His stories are told in this collection, some amusing, some profound, but most an exercise in common sense, or what-is-said-exactly.
A couple of the shorter examples:
P126 - The Speculator
Nasrudin bought a large number of eggs and at once sold them at a price lower than the cost. When asked why he did it, he said ' Surely you don't want me to be called a profiteer?'
P150 - The Burglar
A thief went into Nasrudin's house and carried away almost all the possessions of the Mulla to his own home. Nasrudin had been watching from the street. After a few minutes Nasrudin took up a blanket, followed him, went into his house, lay down, and pretended to go to sleep. 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?' asked the thief. 'Well,' said the Mulla, 'we were moving house, were we not?'
P174 - Why Ask Me?
Nasrudin was riding along one day when his donkey took fright at something in its path and started to bolt.
As he sped past them at an unaccustomed pace some country-men called out:
'Where are you going, O Nasrudin, so fast?'
'Don't ask me,' shouted the Mulla, ;ask my donkey!'
P214 - Just In Case
Nasrudin was walking down the street enveloped in a dark blue mourning robe. Someone stopped him and asked: 'Why are you dressed like that Mulla - has someone died?'
'Almost certainly' replied Mulla Nasrudin. 'It could have happened, you know, without my having been informed about it.'
The longer ones (which I can't be bother typing, sorry) are more involved and set things up more, as you can imagine. None are longer than a page and a half.
Many of them are very simple, and probably won't appeal to everyone. Maybe suited to a book to pick up for two minutes at a time.
3 stars.
Mulla Nasrudin is at the same time a fool and a clever Sufi holy man. His stories are told in this collection, some amusing, some profound, but most an exercise in common sense, or what-is-said-exactly.
A couple of the shorter examples:
P126 - The Speculator
Nasrudin bought a large number of eggs and at once sold them at a price lower than the cost. When asked why he did it, he said ' Surely you don't want me to be called a profiteer?'
P150 - The Burglar
A thief went into Nasrudin's house and carried away almost all the possessions of the Mulla to his own home. Nasrudin had been watching from the street. After a few minutes Nasrudin took up a blanket, followed him, went into his house, lay down, and pretended to go to sleep. 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?' asked the thief. 'Well,' said the Mulla, 'we were moving house, were we not?'
P174 - Why Ask Me?
Nasrudin was riding along one day when his donkey took fright at something in its path and started to bolt.
As he sped past them at an unaccustomed pace some country-men called out:
'Where are you going, O Nasrudin, so fast?'
'Don't ask me,' shouted the Mulla, ;ask my donkey!'
P214 - Just In Case
Nasrudin was walking down the street enveloped in a dark blue mourning robe. Someone stopped him and asked: 'Why are you dressed like that Mulla - has someone died?'
'Almost certainly' replied Mulla Nasrudin. 'It could have happened, you know, without my having been informed about it.'
The longer ones (which I can't be bother typing, sorry) are more involved and set things up more, as you can imagine. None are longer than a page and a half.
Many of them are very simple, and probably won't appeal to everyone. Maybe suited to a book to pick up for two minutes at a time.
3 stars.
September 4, 2022
The Pleasantries of the Mulla.
Mirror mirror on the wall, whose the cleverest of us all?
MULLA NASRUDIN. Nasrudin, packed in wit and humour, shows us how we fool ourselves and how upside down are our thoughts. Page 58 Octagon Press, hardback. 'The philosophers consulted together, realized that their theoretical speculations were incapable of logical or quantitative proof. With one accord, they enrolled themselves as disciples of Nasrudin.'
Mirror mirror on the wall, whose the cleverest of us all?
MULLA NASRUDIN. Nasrudin, packed in wit and humour, shows us how we fool ourselves and how upside down are our thoughts. Page 58 Octagon Press, hardback. 'The philosophers consulted together, realized that their theoretical speculations were incapable of logical or quantitative proof. With one accord, they enrolled themselves as disciples of Nasrudin.'
June 4, 2017
Mulla Nasruddin was famously odd, but one of the wisest men. Beneath his apparent foolishness, there was a keen perception that cut straight to the truth.
December 23, 2025
had me chuckling
December 29, 2018
De vez en cuando me gusta variar y descubrir nuevas lecturas que me llevan a conocer culturas, personajes y mundos diferentes. Esta vez conocía al Mulà Nasrudín y es realmente genial, viéndolo desde el punto de vista de su tiempo y religión tiene mucha gracia. Ahora no esperes un libro de chistes o humor, sino más bien situaciones simpáticas, algunas con un dejo de crítica, otros de cinismo, otros para mí totalmente incomprensibles, aunque me parece qué en algunos se pueda perder el sentido por un tema de traducción. Se lee rápidito, en una sentada y en esta edición viene con unas lindas ilustraciones del creador de La Pantera Rosa Richard Williams.
March 9, 2019
Putting your finger on what Nasrudin is really up to is like attempting to crush mercury with your hand. Much food for thought presented pleasantly within these pages.
September 30, 2021
Este libro es un repertorio de escritos derviches para introducirse en el pensamiento sufí de la mano del Mulá Nasrudín. Este personaje, de origen medieval, es popular en Rusia, Turquía, Egipto, Siria, toda Asía Central, India y Pakistán.
Son pequeños cuentos, historias y anécdotas con enseñanzas donde la sabiduría se combina, en muchos casos, con la ironía.
Es un libro interesante, curioso, y que se lee con una sonrisa. Sus enseñanzas me han gustado mucho.
Gracias Esther por regalármelo 😊… Para mí ha sido como encontrar un tesoro en forma de libro.
Son pequeños cuentos, historias y anécdotas con enseñanzas donde la sabiduría se combina, en muchos casos, con la ironía.
Es un libro interesante, curioso, y que se lee con una sonrisa. Sus enseñanzas me han gustado mucho.
Gracias Esther por regalármelo 😊… Para mí ha sido como encontrar un tesoro en forma de libro.
April 8, 2016
‘I want to buy … an elephant,’ Mulla Nasrudin explains to the rich man to whom he has gone for money.
‘If you have no money, you can’t afford to keep an elephant.’
‘I came here,’ said Nasrudin, ‘to get money, not advice.’
The Mulla's reply comes in the form of stories – a hundred-and-eighty of them. They don’t seem like advice; but, story by story, they guide Nasrudin's –our– relationship to the Elephant of the great Sufi masters. They focus a gentle light on facets of the human psyche, revealing all our absurdities and craziness. Our human weaknesses are laid bare but, because humour is the instrument, we don’t feel antagonised. Rather, we can’t help smiling, as we recognise the less admirable aspects of our character.
The mental images are vivid. We see Nasrudin, armed with a mallet, packing an ancient and valuable Chinese vase with fine sand to measure its exact capacity. Inevitably the vase breaks. Elsewhere he tries to rescue what he believes to be the Moon, from the well in which it has been trapped. When his efforts result in him being thrown on his back, and he sees the Moon riding in the sky, he still does not realise that it was its reflection he saw in the water.
‘Glad to be of service,’ he says to the heavenly body. ‘Just as well I came along, wasn’t it?’
'Nasrudin was sitting meditating in a mosque, at the end of a row of the faithful. Suddenly one, involuntarily, said: "I wonder whether I have left the fire burning at home?"
'His neighbour said: "You have broken your silence and spoiled the prayer. Now you will have to say it again."
' "So have you," said the next man.
' "Praise be to Allah," said Nasrudin aloud, "that I have not broken silence." '
Many of the impediments to seeing and thinking clearly, arise from our upbringing. When Nasrudin’s little boy is asked, ‘What is a Kar-kor-ajami?’ he replies without hesitation, ‘It is a blind-deaf-and-dumb-walking thing.’ to which his father adds, ‘and I taught it to be those things.’
However, we needn’t remain Kar-kor-ajamis. By the end of the book Nasrudin has achieved completeness. At this stage, in the eyes of the world, he still looks ridiculous.
The Mullas’s last joke centres around his tomb. The date inscribed on the tombstone was 386. The numbers translate to the Arabic word SHWF. ‘This is a form of the word for “seeing”,’ Shah tells us, ‘especially for “making a person see”.’
‘Perhaps it is for this reason,’ he concludes, ‘that for many years the dust from the tomb was considered to be effective in curing eye troubles …
The stories fade from consciousness, but an intangible legacy remains.
‘If you have no money, you can’t afford to keep an elephant.’
‘I came here,’ said Nasrudin, ‘to get money, not advice.’
The Mulla's reply comes in the form of stories – a hundred-and-eighty of them. They don’t seem like advice; but, story by story, they guide Nasrudin's –our– relationship to the Elephant of the great Sufi masters. They focus a gentle light on facets of the human psyche, revealing all our absurdities and craziness. Our human weaknesses are laid bare but, because humour is the instrument, we don’t feel antagonised. Rather, we can’t help smiling, as we recognise the less admirable aspects of our character.
The mental images are vivid. We see Nasrudin, armed with a mallet, packing an ancient and valuable Chinese vase with fine sand to measure its exact capacity. Inevitably the vase breaks. Elsewhere he tries to rescue what he believes to be the Moon, from the well in which it has been trapped. When his efforts result in him being thrown on his back, and he sees the Moon riding in the sky, he still does not realise that it was its reflection he saw in the water.
‘Glad to be of service,’ he says to the heavenly body. ‘Just as well I came along, wasn’t it?’
'Nasrudin was sitting meditating in a mosque, at the end of a row of the faithful. Suddenly one, involuntarily, said: "I wonder whether I have left the fire burning at home?"
'His neighbour said: "You have broken your silence and spoiled the prayer. Now you will have to say it again."
' "So have you," said the next man.
' "Praise be to Allah," said Nasrudin aloud, "that I have not broken silence." '
Many of the impediments to seeing and thinking clearly, arise from our upbringing. When Nasrudin’s little boy is asked, ‘What is a Kar-kor-ajami?’ he replies without hesitation, ‘It is a blind-deaf-and-dumb-walking thing.’ to which his father adds, ‘and I taught it to be those things.’
However, we needn’t remain Kar-kor-ajamis. By the end of the book Nasrudin has achieved completeness. At this stage, in the eyes of the world, he still looks ridiculous.
The Mullas’s last joke centres around his tomb. The date inscribed on the tombstone was 386. The numbers translate to the Arabic word SHWF. ‘This is a form of the word for “seeing”,’ Shah tells us, ‘especially for “making a person see”.’
‘Perhaps it is for this reason,’ he concludes, ‘that for many years the dust from the tomb was considered to be effective in curing eye troubles …
The stories fade from consciousness, but an intangible legacy remains.
May 1, 2019
This book of short, humorous jokes and stories was designed to appeal to many audiences: those seeking a good laugh; those curious about what people many hundreds of years ago or living in very different cultures than theirs considered a good laugh; those seeking more than a good laugh (and this latter category can be divided into several subcategories); and possibly, although this isn't something I know much about, those reading this book because they were told to read it. So, even though I don't fit into all of these categories, I'm going to say a little bit to each potential audience, based on my recent reading of this book.
For those seeking a good laugh: There are quite a few gems in here but the material, I must admit, is uneven. I know I don't have the most evolved sense of humor but still, some of them had me scratching my head, going "Huh? This is a joke?" If that is your experience, too, don't worry about it: the ones that _are_ funny are well worth waiting for. :-) Plus, some of these jokes come from strange places and times, so maybe it's a cultural/context thing. Oh, speaking of which, every culture has its do's and don'ts, its obsessions with good/bad and right/wrong. Our modern age is no exception, especially these days (nuff said, I think). Don't be too shocked if some of these tales strike you as extremely "incorrect." Just remember, these were different people and different times, and they had their own "do's and don'ts," "rights and wrongs" that you'd probably think were absurdly and irresponsibly ridiculous...as people in future times will likely consider this particular "oh so very correct" age that we are living through. (At least, I hope they will. :-/) If you don't go into this book expecting every single joke to have you rolling on the floor (plus be politically correct and perfectly non-offensive to modern ears), you'll really appreciate the ones that do, and you may also find they lend themselves to a more updated, relevant retelling. A few of them have already had contemporary elements added to them by the collector, so you don't have to dress them up too much in modern clothing.
For those wanting to know what people long ago and far away considered hilarious: You are going to get your money's worth. I don't know which was more fascinating: those stories that struck me as hilariously relevant today or those stories that made me think in absolute bafflement, "Well, I guess I had to be there..." I sometimes tried to figure out what sort of mind would find a certain joke a howler... but I was largely unsuccessful in that endeavor. :-/ But my native suspicious was that I would not enjoy being in that person's company for longer than five minutes...
For those seeking more than a good laugh: You are the group I belong to and, thus,can relate to the most. I'll just spit out what little I've been able to grasp and hope that some of you can help fill in the gaps. For years, these stories made no sense, no matter how I battered my intellect against them (no comments about said intellect, please--I already know. :-/). Over and over, trying to puzzle it through, trying to worm out secret, special meanings. Nada, except for the occasional reference to something else I had read. Then I realized I wasn't battering much at all. I demanded from myself an instant explanation (I'd read the joke, after all, so why wasn't I getting any meaning out of it other than "its punchline is so great/its punchline is so lame"? So I continued to read the other books that the author of this collection has written, slowly, as time and life (and my flagging willpower) allowed. I actually think slow, gradual, infrequent reading is the best way, as it prevents intellectual obsession which tends to make one dash about very very fast, but always in circles. But this could simply be my justifying my own laziness, lol.
So, after many years of fruitlessly dashing myself against the Mulla Nasrudin rocks, I then decided that I would try, if I could bear it (meaning my mind really is rather lazy), to think a little about the short story or joke right after I read it. I just asked myself "What does this mean?" and then tried to think of an answer..for longer than five seconds. Occasionally this mental fishing expedition landed me something tiny: a piece of seaweed or driftwood, a crab carapace, a little slug, a bottlecap that said "Moxie," or things like that to tell me there was life (or something) in that ocean... but that's about it. Still that latter point was something of a revelation to me. If there's life in those waters, there's likely a few fat fish! While my skills at puzzling out these joke stories have not really improved much (perhaps because I'm just not letting a certain ego-driven imagination off its tight leash), I have noticed small changes in my life that have absolutely nothing to do with stories or reading them. I guess I perceive things a little differently these days. I think I see more detail. Not all the time and nothing particularly profound. I guess that's it. It's enough for me. Was it really caused by reading funny stories like this? I don't know enough at this point to have an informed opinion on it. It's just an intuition, a sense of a connection, and you may know deceptive those can be, sigh.
For those told to read it: Like I said above, I've never been in your position and expect I never will be but I have a lot of experience with being told what to do, so I can offer this, in the hopes it will help. Follow the instructions, however brief (or verbose), to the letter (and to the spirit, too, if you're certain that you actually understand the spirit and aren't just flattering yourself). Middle of the road stuff here: no more and no less. Don't embellish, don't try to show off, don't overdo it, don't pull that "cool" underdoing shtick, don't assume any attitude that appeals to you as placing yourself in an admirable light. Just follow the instructions and don't think or care too much about it, other than doing your job and then moving on to the next thing. Don't let an ego-driven imagination rampage through this particular garden, flattening everything in its wake. Enjoy the tales. Some are quite hilarious, some are marvelously opaque, some may appear, well... lame, I am afraid. (Although that can be funny in its own way.) But through the reading, follow your directions, if there are any besides "read this," as carefully as if you were negotiating an arms truce with two hostile nuclear powers. And if you weren't told anything other than "read this," for god's sake, don't go inventing mysterious, subtle, hidden instructions that only you can perceive! Just do what you're usually expected to do with any instruction, whatever that may be. The ego is legion and works in all ways. So watch your back...
For what it's worth, the author/compiler of these tales is the late Idries Shah, a man's whose writings I deeply respect and can relate to. He writes on a wide range of subjects and levels. If you are intrigued by this book, I recommend you read more of what he's written.
For those seeking a good laugh: There are quite a few gems in here but the material, I must admit, is uneven. I know I don't have the most evolved sense of humor but still, some of them had me scratching my head, going "Huh? This is a joke?" If that is your experience, too, don't worry about it: the ones that _are_ funny are well worth waiting for. :-) Plus, some of these jokes come from strange places and times, so maybe it's a cultural/context thing. Oh, speaking of which, every culture has its do's and don'ts, its obsessions with good/bad and right/wrong. Our modern age is no exception, especially these days (nuff said, I think). Don't be too shocked if some of these tales strike you as extremely "incorrect." Just remember, these were different people and different times, and they had their own "do's and don'ts," "rights and wrongs" that you'd probably think were absurdly and irresponsibly ridiculous...as people in future times will likely consider this particular "oh so very correct" age that we are living through. (At least, I hope they will. :-/) If you don't go into this book expecting every single joke to have you rolling on the floor (plus be politically correct and perfectly non-offensive to modern ears), you'll really appreciate the ones that do, and you may also find they lend themselves to a more updated, relevant retelling. A few of them have already had contemporary elements added to them by the collector, so you don't have to dress them up too much in modern clothing.
For those wanting to know what people long ago and far away considered hilarious: You are going to get your money's worth. I don't know which was more fascinating: those stories that struck me as hilariously relevant today or those stories that made me think in absolute bafflement, "Well, I guess I had to be there..." I sometimes tried to figure out what sort of mind would find a certain joke a howler... but I was largely unsuccessful in that endeavor. :-/ But my native suspicious was that I would not enjoy being in that person's company for longer than five minutes...
For those seeking more than a good laugh: You are the group I belong to and, thus,can relate to the most. I'll just spit out what little I've been able to grasp and hope that some of you can help fill in the gaps. For years, these stories made no sense, no matter how I battered my intellect against them (no comments about said intellect, please--I already know. :-/). Over and over, trying to puzzle it through, trying to worm out secret, special meanings. Nada, except for the occasional reference to something else I had read. Then I realized I wasn't battering much at all. I demanded from myself an instant explanation (I'd read the joke, after all, so why wasn't I getting any meaning out of it other than "its punchline is so great/its punchline is so lame"? So I continued to read the other books that the author of this collection has written, slowly, as time and life (and my flagging willpower) allowed. I actually think slow, gradual, infrequent reading is the best way, as it prevents intellectual obsession which tends to make one dash about very very fast, but always in circles. But this could simply be my justifying my own laziness, lol.
So, after many years of fruitlessly dashing myself against the Mulla Nasrudin rocks, I then decided that I would try, if I could bear it (meaning my mind really is rather lazy), to think a little about the short story or joke right after I read it. I just asked myself "What does this mean?" and then tried to think of an answer..for longer than five seconds. Occasionally this mental fishing expedition landed me something tiny: a piece of seaweed or driftwood, a crab carapace, a little slug, a bottlecap that said "Moxie," or things like that to tell me there was life (or something) in that ocean... but that's about it. Still that latter point was something of a revelation to me. If there's life in those waters, there's likely a few fat fish! While my skills at puzzling out these joke stories have not really improved much (perhaps because I'm just not letting a certain ego-driven imagination off its tight leash), I have noticed small changes in my life that have absolutely nothing to do with stories or reading them. I guess I perceive things a little differently these days. I think I see more detail. Not all the time and nothing particularly profound. I guess that's it. It's enough for me. Was it really caused by reading funny stories like this? I don't know enough at this point to have an informed opinion on it. It's just an intuition, a sense of a connection, and you may know deceptive those can be, sigh.
For those told to read it: Like I said above, I've never been in your position and expect I never will be but I have a lot of experience with being told what to do, so I can offer this, in the hopes it will help. Follow the instructions, however brief (or verbose), to the letter (and to the spirit, too, if you're certain that you actually understand the spirit and aren't just flattering yourself). Middle of the road stuff here: no more and no less. Don't embellish, don't try to show off, don't overdo it, don't pull that "cool" underdoing shtick, don't assume any attitude that appeals to you as placing yourself in an admirable light. Just follow the instructions and don't think or care too much about it, other than doing your job and then moving on to the next thing. Don't let an ego-driven imagination rampage through this particular garden, flattening everything in its wake. Enjoy the tales. Some are quite hilarious, some are marvelously opaque, some may appear, well... lame, I am afraid. (Although that can be funny in its own way.) But through the reading, follow your directions, if there are any besides "read this," as carefully as if you were negotiating an arms truce with two hostile nuclear powers. And if you weren't told anything other than "read this," for god's sake, don't go inventing mysterious, subtle, hidden instructions that only you can perceive! Just do what you're usually expected to do with any instruction, whatever that may be. The ego is legion and works in all ways. So watch your back...
For what it's worth, the author/compiler of these tales is the late Idries Shah, a man's whose writings I deeply respect and can relate to. He writes on a wide range of subjects and levels. If you are intrigued by this book, I recommend you read more of what he's written.
Read
January 25, 2014The foolish-wisdom of Nasrudin, legendary Sufi Mulla of the 13th century:
‘What is the meaning of fate, Mulla?’
‘Assumptions.’
‘In what way?’
‘You assume things are going to go well and they don’t - that you call bad luck. You assume things are going to go badly and they don’t - that you call good luck. You assume that certain things are going to happen or not happen - and you so lack intuition that you don’t know what is going to happen. You assume that the future is unknown.
‘When you are caught out - you call that Fate.’ pg. 20
'Where do we come from and where do we go to, and what is it like?' thundered a wandering dervish.
'I don’t know,' said Nasrudin, 'but it must be pretty terrible.'
A bystander asked him why.
'Observation shows me that when we arrive as babies we are crying. And many of us leave crying and reluctantly, too.' pg. 146
The Holy-Fool demonstrates synchronicity:
Nasrudin was penniless, and sat huddled in a blanket while the wind howled outside. ‘At least,’ he thought, ‘the people next door will not smell cooking from my kitchen - so they can’t send round to cadge some food.’
At that the thought of hot, aromatic soup came into his mind, and he savored it mentally for several minutes.
There came a knocking on the door. ‘Mother sent me,’ said the little daughter of his neighbour, ‘to ask whether you had any soup to spare, hot, seasoned soup.’
‘Heaven help us,’ said Nasrudin, ‘the neighbors even smell my thoughts.’ pg. 149
‘What is the meaning of fate, Mulla?’
‘Assumptions.’
‘In what way?’
‘You assume things are going to go well and they don’t - that you call bad luck. You assume things are going to go badly and they don’t - that you call good luck. You assume that certain things are going to happen or not happen - and you so lack intuition that you don’t know what is going to happen. You assume that the future is unknown.
‘When you are caught out - you call that Fate.’ pg. 20
'Where do we come from and where do we go to, and what is it like?' thundered a wandering dervish.
'I don’t know,' said Nasrudin, 'but it must be pretty terrible.'
A bystander asked him why.
'Observation shows me that when we arrive as babies we are crying. And many of us leave crying and reluctantly, too.' pg. 146
The Holy-Fool demonstrates synchronicity:
Nasrudin was penniless, and sat huddled in a blanket while the wind howled outside. ‘At least,’ he thought, ‘the people next door will not smell cooking from my kitchen - so they can’t send round to cadge some food.’
At that the thought of hot, aromatic soup came into his mind, and he savored it mentally for several minutes.
There came a knocking on the door. ‘Mother sent me,’ said the little daughter of his neighbour, ‘to ask whether you had any soup to spare, hot, seasoned soup.’
‘Heaven help us,’ said Nasrudin, ‘the neighbors even smell my thoughts.’ pg. 149
April 4, 2019
Mulla Nasrudin is a joke figure of the Middle East found largely in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey – and whose spinoffs, known by other names, can be found across the Islamic World and even beyond. He is a “wise fool” whose thinking and behaviour, meant to reflect our own, runs the gamut between sublime wisdom and utter stupidity.
The late Nobel Prize winning writer, late Doris Lessing, once wrote that Nasrudin jokes were “deliberately created to inculcate Sufic thinking, to outwit The Old Villain, which is a name for the patterns of conditioned thinking which form the prison in which we all live.”
The late Nobel Prize winning writer, late Doris Lessing, once wrote that Nasrudin jokes were “deliberately created to inculcate Sufic thinking, to outwit The Old Villain, which is a name for the patterns of conditioned thinking which form the prison in which we all live.”
April 16, 2019
These stories collected by Idries Shah have the power over time to change our perception of everyday matters, while they continue to make us laugh at Nasruddin's absurdity, as they have through the ages. Must read.
May 30, 2012
Wisdom wrapped in humor covered in humanity.
February 14, 2017
Mostly humorous.
There are some deep philosophical thoughts but they seem to be few and far between.
There are some deep philosophical thoughts but they seem to be few and far between.
April 16, 2016
I loved this :)
July 11, 2016
Philosophy and life lessons served with a sense of humour.
October 30, 2018
Overall a very enjoyable collection - some stories are better than others but all-in-all great fun!
October 17, 2025
On the back cover and the front one and even in the introduction inside, it has been emphasized that physicists and psychologists see in these tales the workings of mind and even complex processes. As much as it sounds fascinating, I don't think perceiving it in that fashion would help us in any way in utilizing the full potential of these tales. Whatever those physicists discover is their on unconscious revealation. I doubt that in a time when people were far more simple, someone would attempt to hide such elaborate and complex phenomena in these tales. That is how every intellectual see things like these. Unless it is complex, full of metaphors and god knows what, it cannot be meaning. So I would urge you to ignore all of that and SEE for yourself what it does to you.
And that's exactly what I did. These tales provoke a reaction from you. They either make you laugh or they would make you go like, "Wait, wh-" and in either of these cases it makes you a little less serious and even makes you wonder that characters like Mulla Nasruddin were so free internally. Free from everything that is considered good in the society for example morals. It doesn't teach me but it plants the seed of unseriouness and playfulness within you.
These tales are not the study of some complex phenomena but rather the study of a being like Nasruddin. Whether he existed or not is not an important question. What is he able to offer within us? Thats, I think is the important question. You almost have to go with a no-mind approach with this book. Things like this is designed in such a fashion that if you use only one faculty of yours, that is, in many cases our intellect, we wouldn't find Nasruddin, we will find our own unconscious expressions.
If you have consumed Osho's discourses, you will realize these two are very similar. You will find Nasruddin In osho and Osho in Nasruddin. The arguments he makes, the way he lives, the way he snatches victory from situations which would otherwise traumatize a normal human being, all of this can done only if one is a fool. A fool is free and not bounded by morals or rationality. A rational man will not be able to argument with Nasruddin. And as you face Mulla Nasruddin, he will disrupt everything that is inside of you in a weird fashion. And while doing this, it remains to be absolutely unserious.
Whenever religion gets too serious, tricksters like Nasruddin Or Osho are born, to add humor. To add laughter for in laughter lies a great freedom. Imagine being so free that you can be a fool in front of everyone.
If Buddha had nothingness then Nasruddin had Humour.
And that's exactly what I did. These tales provoke a reaction from you. They either make you laugh or they would make you go like, "Wait, wh-" and in either of these cases it makes you a little less serious and even makes you wonder that characters like Mulla Nasruddin were so free internally. Free from everything that is considered good in the society for example morals. It doesn't teach me but it plants the seed of unseriouness and playfulness within you.
These tales are not the study of some complex phenomena but rather the study of a being like Nasruddin. Whether he existed or not is not an important question. What is he able to offer within us? Thats, I think is the important question. You almost have to go with a no-mind approach with this book. Things like this is designed in such a fashion that if you use only one faculty of yours, that is, in many cases our intellect, we wouldn't find Nasruddin, we will find our own unconscious expressions.
If you have consumed Osho's discourses, you will realize these two are very similar. You will find Nasruddin In osho and Osho in Nasruddin. The arguments he makes, the way he lives, the way he snatches victory from situations which would otherwise traumatize a normal human being, all of this can done only if one is a fool. A fool is free and not bounded by morals or rationality. A rational man will not be able to argument with Nasruddin. And as you face Mulla Nasruddin, he will disrupt everything that is inside of you in a weird fashion. And while doing this, it remains to be absolutely unserious.
Whenever religion gets too serious, tricksters like Nasruddin Or Osho are born, to add humor. To add laughter for in laughter lies a great freedom. Imagine being so free that you can be a fool in front of everyone.
If Buddha had nothingness then Nasruddin had Humour.
June 11, 2025
LAS OCURRENCIAS DEL INCREÍBLE MULÁ NASRUDÍN
AUTOR: IDRIES SHAH
EDITORIAL: @edicionespaidos @planetalibrosmx
COLECCION' PAIDOS ORIENTALIA
TRADUCCION: A H.D. HALKA
PAGINAS: 229
Mulá Nasrudín, es un personaje del folclore del medio Oriente que con sus historias es considerado patrimonio cultural, muchos países de esa región, entre estos Turquía lo consideran como originario de la zona. Lo interesante es que en este libro podemos tener varios relatos de uno de los personajes más icónicos de la literatura medieval y del medio Oriente.
Este para mí es un descubrimiento narrativo fascinante, el autor Idries Shah, recopila todos estos relatos populares y de tradición oral maravillosamente. El personaje en si es un Maestro peculiar, algunos lo consideran antihéroe, o villano, en mi caso yo diría que depende de cada relato y la función que cumple, pero eso sí no paras de reír con las ocurrencias que el personaje tiene a lo largo de todos los breves relatos.
He disfrutado y reído a más no poder con cada ocurrencia, con cada cuestionamiento, el personaje es hilarante, que junto con su esposa y un burro viaja por diferentes espacios de medio Oriente. Es desde amigo del sultán o rey hasta desde los religiosos y la misma sociedad. El personaje se cuestiona muchas cosas, hasta la palabra verdad (que el mismo dice que es una mentira) y hasta la misma muerte. A pesar de ser pobre, ser un revendedor de materias primas , con sus sarcásticos comentarios cautiva. Es curioso decir que este personaje y sus historias eran usadas para resolver o cuestionarse sobre física y matemáticas.
El autor convive con turcos, con kurdos con sufies y otras personas que caen ante sus encantos. Cada una de las pequeñas historias aquí presentadas , muestra una enseñanza o un cuestionamiento, que el mismo personaje se hace así mismo o a la sociedad. De verdad es una maravilla leer este libro, lo recomiendo mucho y creo será una buena lectura introductoria para conocer más sobre el Medio Oriente.
AUTOR: IDRIES SHAH
EDITORIAL: @edicionespaidos @planetalibrosmx
COLECCION' PAIDOS ORIENTALIA
TRADUCCION: A H.D. HALKA
PAGINAS: 229
Mulá Nasrudín, es un personaje del folclore del medio Oriente que con sus historias es considerado patrimonio cultural, muchos países de esa región, entre estos Turquía lo consideran como originario de la zona. Lo interesante es que en este libro podemos tener varios relatos de uno de los personajes más icónicos de la literatura medieval y del medio Oriente.
Este para mí es un descubrimiento narrativo fascinante, el autor Idries Shah, recopila todos estos relatos populares y de tradición oral maravillosamente. El personaje en si es un Maestro peculiar, algunos lo consideran antihéroe, o villano, en mi caso yo diría que depende de cada relato y la función que cumple, pero eso sí no paras de reír con las ocurrencias que el personaje tiene a lo largo de todos los breves relatos.
He disfrutado y reído a más no poder con cada ocurrencia, con cada cuestionamiento, el personaje es hilarante, que junto con su esposa y un burro viaja por diferentes espacios de medio Oriente. Es desde amigo del sultán o rey hasta desde los religiosos y la misma sociedad. El personaje se cuestiona muchas cosas, hasta la palabra verdad (que el mismo dice que es una mentira) y hasta la misma muerte. A pesar de ser pobre, ser un revendedor de materias primas , con sus sarcásticos comentarios cautiva. Es curioso decir que este personaje y sus historias eran usadas para resolver o cuestionarse sobre física y matemáticas.
El autor convive con turcos, con kurdos con sufies y otras personas que caen ante sus encantos. Cada una de las pequeñas historias aquí presentadas , muestra una enseñanza o un cuestionamiento, que el mismo personaje se hace así mismo o a la sociedad. De verdad es una maravilla leer este libro, lo recomiendo mucho y creo será una buena lectura introductoria para conocer más sobre el Medio Oriente.
February 8, 2025
Each one of Idries Shah's delightful Nasrudin books - The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin, the Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin, the Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin and the World of Nasrudin - is not only the perfect gift for any thinking person with a sense of humor, but also a fitting antidote to the stress, pressure and confusion of modern life. For beyond the laughter lie deeper levels of meaning that reveal themselves at their own pace and can help broaden our perception and increase our understanding. The bite-sized jokes center around Mulla Nasrudin, an age-old Middle Eastern teaching figure whose antics mirror those of the human mind as he juggles the roles of wise man, fool and our own self. Calling these jokes "perfectly designed models for isolating and holding distortions of the mind which so often pass for reasonable behavior," author Idries Shah noted that they have been used for centuries by the Sufis as teaching exercises. Other specialists - from physicists to psychologists - have employed them to illustrate concepts that defy more straightforward explanations. I've not seen anything like them anywhere else.
November 8, 2021
Only a few pages in and I can tell it's going to be a delight. The 'stories' are often only a few lines long, so certainly they can easily be used in all sorts of situations & contexts, as the preface of 1968, partially quoted in the blurb, claims.
I'm particularly charmed by this particular yellowing hardcover that the local university called for me from "Cardas C. Burnett Library/ The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary." There is no indication that it has ever been read, no stamps on the slip, no wear... just cheap paper glued in a plain lightweight hc. It was apparently picked up by someone once, though, as there's a sticker in the last papers, "For further information on this subject please write to The Society for Sufi Studies (p.o.,,, box Los Altos...)."
---
Ok done. Front-loaded. Most of these make no sense... maybe they're something like koans? Maybe it helps to grow up in the culture, or to have a mentor or professor share them with one? I dunno. But hey, I got a diversity point for reading something from a tradition not my own, right? ;)
I'm particularly charmed by this particular yellowing hardcover that the local university called for me from "Cardas C. Burnett Library/ The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary." There is no indication that it has ever been read, no stamps on the slip, no wear... just cheap paper glued in a plain lightweight hc. It was apparently picked up by someone once, though, as there's a sticker in the last papers, "For further information on this subject please write to The Society for Sufi Studies (p.o.,,, box Los Altos...)."
---
Ok done. Front-loaded. Most of these make no sense... maybe they're something like koans? Maybe it helps to grow up in the culture, or to have a mentor or professor share them with one? I dunno. But hey, I got a diversity point for reading something from a tradition not my own, right? ;)
November 12, 2019
Another book in the Nasrudin series compiled by Idries Shah. Like the others, this is a compilation of "jokes" featuring the enigmatic figure of Mulla Nasrudin. Some of the stories make quite amusing jokes in the familiar sense, others are bemusing anecdotes that take your mind in unexpected directions and have no obvious punch line - but don't bother trying to "puzzle out" the meaning of the enigmatic ones! Like the other Nasrudin books, you'll want to dip into this one again and again over the years. The more you read Nasrudin, the more you will grow to appreciate him - there is always something more to learn from him!
February 3, 2025
This book about Mulla Nasruddin stories is full of unique humour, so sticky that one can laugh for hours on end; they are so funny that at home we read them during breakfast time as a way of starting the day cheerful and ready for the world; the stories are woven one after another from teasing heavily Timur the Lame to other dictators, to the daily occurrences when he may take on absurd imams, thiefs emptying his house, giving advice to others that try to take the micky out of him but he always ends the story making us laugh for hours on end.
For us his unique humour is our daily vitamin as a reinforcement that lasts in our minds.
For us his unique humour is our daily vitamin as a reinforcement that lasts in our minds.
December 10, 2015
This second installment of the Mulla Nasrudin Corpus contains over 160 miniature tales -- jokes, anecdotes -- which are teaching-stories in the Sufi tradition. The volume demonstrates something of the use of humour in Sufi learning situations. These stories of the 'wise fool' Nasrudin sometimes help us see our own behaviour in startling relief, and sometimes help us in overcoming assumptions that impede learning (eg. the tale 'The Reason'). They are also very amusing and well-written, delightful as entertainment.
DETAILS:
Author: Idries Shah, a noted traveller and writer about the Sufis. Illustrated by: Richard Williams and Errol LeCain.
London: Penguin Compass, no-date; first published 1968.
221 pgs.
The Idries Shah Foundation has just released a new edition of this book: see https://idriesshahfoundation.org/book...
This book is a wonderful collection of 165 Mulla tales, many of them accompanied by delightful cartoon illustrations. (These pictures are absent from some editions.)
Here are some samples:
The Announcement
Nasrudin stood up in the market-place and started to address the throng.
'O people! Do you want knowledge without difficulties, truth without falsehood, attainment without effort, progress without sacrifice?'
Very soon a large crowd gathered, everyone shouting: 'Yes, yes!'
'Excellent!' said the Mulla. 'I only wanted to know. You may rely upon me to tell you all about it if I ever discover any such thing.'
The School
One of the boys at the Mulla's school asked:
'Which was the greatest achievement, that of the man who conquered an empire, the man who could have but did not, or the man who prevented another from doing so?'
'I don't know about any of that,' said the Mulla, 'but I do know a more difficult task than any of those.'
'What is that?'
'Trying to teach you to see things as they really are.'
Let it be wheat
A neighbour asked Mulla Nasrudin to stand by him in a case of disputed possession of some grain.
'Did you see the transaction?' the judge asked Nasrudin.
'Yes, I distinctly saw the sacks of barley change hands.'
'But this case is concerned with sacks of wheat [italics], not barley!'
'That is irrelevant. I am here to say that my friend is right. As a false witness surely I can say anything without its being held against me?'
The Nasrudin stories can work almost like a photo or blueprint of what the mind is doing in different situations -- a photo of ourselves caught in action. The stories can show us to ourselves, which can help us change unproductive behaviours, assumptions, or thinking-patterns. We may like them as jokes, but by reflecting on them one can begin to see different levels of meaning in the same story. Here are some further samples:
Tie up below!
The Mulla was aboard ship when a terrible storm blew up. All hands were ordered aloft to furl the sails and lash them to the masts.
Nasrudin ran to the captain, yelling:
'Fools! Anyone can see that the ship moves from below -- and your men are trying to bind it up from above!'
Ask me another
'According to the general opinion of the uninitiated,' mused Nasrudin, as he walked along the road, 'dervishes are mad. According to the sages, however, they are the true masters of the world. I would like to test one, and myself, to make sure.'
Then he saw a tall figure, robed like an Akldan dervish -- reputed to be exceptionally enlightened men -- coming towards him.
'Friend,' said the Mulla, 'I want to perform an experiment, to test your powers of psychic penetration, and also my sanity.'
'Proceed,' said the Akldan.
Nasrudin made a sudden sweeping motion with his arm, then clenched his fist. 'What have I in my hand?'
'A horse, chariot and driver,' said the Akldan immediately.
'That's no real test,' -- Nasrudin was petulant -- 'because you saw me pick them up.'
I believe you are right!
The Mulla was made a magistrate. During his first case the plaintiff argued so persuasively that he exclaimed:
'I believe that you are right!'
The clerk of the Court begged him to restrain himself, for the defendant had not been heard yet.
Nasrudin was so carried away by the eloquence of the defendant that he cried out as soon as the man had finished his evidence:
'I believe you are right!'
The clerk of the court could not allow this.
'Your honour, they cannot both be right.'
'I believe you are right!' said Nasrudin.
'I believe you are right!' struck me as, on one level, relevant to the different claims of proselytizing religions, each of which appears "right" from within its assumptions; and to the possibility that a person can be convinced of the "truth" of different, contradictory beliefs by rhetorical persuasion (a tool of brainwashing).
Head and heels
'When you die, Mulla,' asked a friend, 'how would you like to be buried?'
'Head downwards. If, as people believe, we are right way up in this world, I want to try being upside-down in the next.'
For more information about Mulla Nasrudin, you can visit https://ninedonkeys.wordpress.com/about/ and http://www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html.
DETAILS:
Author: Idries Shah, a noted traveller and writer about the Sufis. Illustrated by: Richard Williams and Errol LeCain.
London: Penguin Compass, no-date; first published 1968.
221 pgs.
The Idries Shah Foundation has just released a new edition of this book: see https://idriesshahfoundation.org/book...
This book is a wonderful collection of 165 Mulla tales, many of them accompanied by delightful cartoon illustrations. (These pictures are absent from some editions.)
Here are some samples:
The Announcement
Nasrudin stood up in the market-place and started to address the throng.
'O people! Do you want knowledge without difficulties, truth without falsehood, attainment without effort, progress without sacrifice?'
Very soon a large crowd gathered, everyone shouting: 'Yes, yes!'
'Excellent!' said the Mulla. 'I only wanted to know. You may rely upon me to tell you all about it if I ever discover any such thing.'
The School
One of the boys at the Mulla's school asked:
'Which was the greatest achievement, that of the man who conquered an empire, the man who could have but did not, or the man who prevented another from doing so?'
'I don't know about any of that,' said the Mulla, 'but I do know a more difficult task than any of those.'
'What is that?'
'Trying to teach you to see things as they really are.'
Let it be wheat
A neighbour asked Mulla Nasrudin to stand by him in a case of disputed possession of some grain.
'Did you see the transaction?' the judge asked Nasrudin.
'Yes, I distinctly saw the sacks of barley change hands.'
'But this case is concerned with sacks of wheat [italics], not barley!'
'That is irrelevant. I am here to say that my friend is right. As a false witness surely I can say anything without its being held against me?'
The Nasrudin stories can work almost like a photo or blueprint of what the mind is doing in different situations -- a photo of ourselves caught in action. The stories can show us to ourselves, which can help us change unproductive behaviours, assumptions, or thinking-patterns. We may like them as jokes, but by reflecting on them one can begin to see different levels of meaning in the same story. Here are some further samples:
Tie up below!
The Mulla was aboard ship when a terrible storm blew up. All hands were ordered aloft to furl the sails and lash them to the masts.
Nasrudin ran to the captain, yelling:
'Fools! Anyone can see that the ship moves from below -- and your men are trying to bind it up from above!'
Ask me another
'According to the general opinion of the uninitiated,' mused Nasrudin, as he walked along the road, 'dervishes are mad. According to the sages, however, they are the true masters of the world. I would like to test one, and myself, to make sure.'
Then he saw a tall figure, robed like an Akldan dervish -- reputed to be exceptionally enlightened men -- coming towards him.
'Friend,' said the Mulla, 'I want to perform an experiment, to test your powers of psychic penetration, and also my sanity.'
'Proceed,' said the Akldan.
Nasrudin made a sudden sweeping motion with his arm, then clenched his fist. 'What have I in my hand?'
'A horse, chariot and driver,' said the Akldan immediately.
'That's no real test,' -- Nasrudin was petulant -- 'because you saw me pick them up.'
I believe you are right!
The Mulla was made a magistrate. During his first case the plaintiff argued so persuasively that he exclaimed:
'I believe that you are right!'
The clerk of the Court begged him to restrain himself, for the defendant had not been heard yet.
Nasrudin was so carried away by the eloquence of the defendant that he cried out as soon as the man had finished his evidence:
'I believe you are right!'
The clerk of the court could not allow this.
'Your honour, they cannot both be right.'
'I believe you are right!' said Nasrudin.
'I believe you are right!' struck me as, on one level, relevant to the different claims of proselytizing religions, each of which appears "right" from within its assumptions; and to the possibility that a person can be convinced of the "truth" of different, contradictory beliefs by rhetorical persuasion (a tool of brainwashing).
Head and heels
'When you die, Mulla,' asked a friend, 'how would you like to be buried?'
'Head downwards. If, as people believe, we are right way up in this world, I want to try being upside-down in the next.'
For more information about Mulla Nasrudin, you can visit https://ninedonkeys.wordpress.com/about/ and http://www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html.
April 11, 2022
Es muy divertido y lleno de sabiduría este libro, tienes que trabajar la ardilla para comprender cada cuento y aunque es cansado por momentos e incomprensible en otros (como el cuento del conejo que acaba con "si juntan siete rocas verán que pesan 350 gramos" ese si alguien lo entendió agradezco explicación), es muy divertido.
November 6, 2025
Grew up listening to tales of Mulla Nasruddin and never thought I'd run into a translated book on the affable Mulla in Austin TX but here we are. As far as translations go this does a pretty good job. Ofcourse listening to these stories in Hindi was way more fun but for a non Hindi speaker this is as good as it gets to get introduced to the tales of the Mulla
April 13, 2020
Entertaining and wIde ranging array of short anecdotes, jokes, and stories illustrating the antics of human thought. Nasrudin is an ancient story figure popular in oral tradition throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Dunny and stimulating.
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