Hello all
Here are some stories about the mythological Islamic-Sufi scholar Mullah Nasrudin. Although the stories appear as jokes, some are more profound than initially realized. I got these stories from wiki.
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The dervish Nasrudin entered a formal reception area and seated himself at the foremost elegant chair. The Chief of the Guard approached and said:
"Sir, those places are reserved for guests of honor."
"Oh, I am more than a mere guest," replied Nasrudin confidently.
"Oh, so are you a diplomat?"
"Far more than that!"
"Really? So you are a minister, perhaps?"
"No, bigger than that too."
"Oho! So you must be the King himself, sir," said the Chief sarcastically.
"Higher than that!"
"What?! Are you higher than the King?! Nobody is higher than the King in this village!"
"Now you have it. I am nobody!" said Nasrudin.
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Once a renowned philosopher and moralist was traveling through Nasruddin's village and asked Nasruddin where there was a good place to eat. Nasruddin suggested a place and the scholar, hungry for conversation, invited Mullah Nasruddin to join him. Much obliged, Mullah Nasruddin accompanied the scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter about the special of the day.
"Fish! Fresh Fish!" replied the waiter.
"Bring us two," they requested.
A few minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter with two cooked fish on it, one of which was quite a bit smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Mullah Nasruddin took the larger of the fish and put in on his plate. The scholar, giving Mullah Nasruddin a look of intense disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not only flagrantly selfish, but that it violated the principles of almost every known moral, religious, and ethical system. Mullah Nasruddin listened to the philosopher's extempore lecture patiently, and when he had finally exhausted his resources, Mullah Nasruddin said,
"Well, Sir, what would you have done?"
"I, being a conscientious human, would have taken the smaller fish for myself." said the scholar.
"And here you are," Mullah Nasrudin said, and placed the smaller fish on the gentleman's plate.
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A scholar being ferried by Nasrudin across a body of water chided Nasrudin for his ungrammatical language, and hearing he did not learn in school said: "What? half of your life has been wasted!"
Shortly afterwards, Nasrudin asked him: "Did you learn to swim?"
"No, I did not," replied the scholar.
"Well, in this case it seems all your life has been wasted ... we are sinking," said Nasrudin.
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Nasrudin is with his cronies drinking coffee:
They are discussing death, "When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
The first crony says, "I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time, and a great family man."
The second says, " I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher which made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow."
Nasrudin says, " I would like to hear them say... LOOK!! HE'S MOVING!!!"
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It seems that the Master of Mirth and Chief of the Dervishes, Nasrudin, was once called to pontificate on the 'Nature of Allah' in the local mosque. Present were the many Imams and Doctors of the Islamic Law. Out of courtesy and because Nasrudin could not be counted on saying anything worthwhile, these illustrious guests explained and inspired the audience with their eloquence and wisdom.
Finally it was Nasrudin's turn to explain 'the Nature of Allah'.
"Allah ...", started Nasrudin impressively "is ..."
Nasrudin removed and held up an ovoid mauve vegetable from the folds of his turban, " ... an aubergine."
There was uproar at this blasphemy. When order was finally established, Nasrudin was reluctantly asked to explain his words.
"I conclude that everyone has spoken of what they do not know or have not seen. We can all see this aubergine. Is there anyone who can deny that Allah is manifest in all things?"
Nobody could.
"Very well," said Nasrudin, "Allah is an aubergine."
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Mulla Nasrudin and his son were riding the donkey to the town market. A group of people passed. Mulla heard them whisper: "What times are these? Look at those two, have they no mercy on the poor animal?"
Nasrudin, hearing this, tells his son to get off and continue the journey on foot. Another group of people passing by and seeing this comment: "What times are these? Look at this man. His poor son with his frail body has to walk while he at his best age is riding the donkey!"
Hearing this, Nasrudin tells his son to ride the donkey and he himself gets off to walk the rest of the way. A third group of people seeing this remark: "What times are these? This young man is riding the donkey while his sickly old father has to walk!"
Hearing this, Nasrudin tells his son to get off the animal and they both walk with the donkey trailing behind. Another group passing by point to them, laughing: "Look at these idiots. They have a donkey and they are walking all the way to the market!"
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Mulla preached on Fridays at the village mosque. One day, having nothing to preach about, he asked the congregation:
"Do you know the subject I am going to discuss today?" "No" said the people. "Then I refuse to preach to such an ignorant assembly. How could you not know given the events of the past week?" asked Mulla and left hurriedly. Next Friday he went up the minbar and asked: "Do you know the subject of my sermon today?" People fearing a repetition of what had taken place a week before nodded and said: "Yes yes, indeed we know." "Well, then. There is no point in telling you what you already know", said Mulla and left. On the third Friday he ascended the minbar and asked: "Do you know what I am going to speak about today?" Not knowing what to say, some said yes and some said no.
"Then those who know can tell those who don't", said Mulla and left.
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The king’s three scholars had accused Nazrudin of heresy, and so he was brought into the king’s court for trial.
In his defense, Nazrudin asked the scholars, “Oh wise men, what is bread?”
The first scholar said, “Bread is sustenance; a food.”
The second scholar said, “Bread is a combination of flour and water exposed to the heat of a fire.”
The third scholar said, “Bread is a gift from God.”
Nazrudin spoke to the king, “Your Majesty, how can you trust these men? Is it not strange they cannot agree on the nature of something they eat every day, yet are unanimous that I am a heretic?”
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