According to some authors, Sufi is traceable to the Arabic word, pronounced ‘soof’,which literally means, ‘wool’ referring to the material from which the simple rooes of the early Muslim mystics were made.
Mysticism in the Islamic context has traditionally been intertwined with the notion of Ḥikmah, which is at once both wisdom and philosophy (Nasr 1996). The source of mysticism and the mystical elements in Islam are to be traced to the Qur’an and the Islamic doctrine itself. Some of the Qur’anic verses have been viewed by the mystics and philosopher-mystics of Islam as allegorical and esoteric hints for those who can see them. “God is the Outward and the Inward” (Qu’ran 57:3), “he for whom wisdom is given, he truly has received abundant good” (Qu’ran 2:269),
There was once a man who became tired of his life in his village. The more he heard, from travelers passing through the nearby market town, of the ’greater world’, the more he longed to enter it, and to escape from the limitations which he felt surrounded him at every turn.Finally he made his decision, […]
A haughty aristocrat fell into a well, and hung suspended just above the water, praying and shouting for help.After some time another man came along and said:‘Take my hand, and I will pull you out.’‘One moment,’ said the trapped man, reverting to habit, I must first know your name.’‘My name, if it is of any
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A Sufi teacher on his death-bed gave a bundle of papers to his disciple and said:‘Take these. Some are written upon and others not. Those which are blank are as valuable as those which are not.’ The disciple took the papers, and studied those on which there was writing. The others he kept just as
There was once a king who had been trying to treat his subjects with enlightened kindness and the minimum of control. The people showed signs of disaffection and instead of showing co-operation and respect for the administration, became complaining and turbulent. The king was standing on the ramparts of one of his castles one day
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One day, the Shah was praising the head cook for the appetizing pulao he had prepared. ‘There is nothing more fit for a king than pulao!’ ‘Indeed,’ agreed Nasrudin, who was a guest at the royal table.The King continued to eat greedily. After his fourth serving he started to feel a heaviness in his stomach.
Invited to a grandee’s court, Nasrudin was offered a horse to ride. As soon as it was brought to him, he placed his right foot in the left stirrup, sprang up, and landed on its back, facing the animal’s tail.‘Perhaps you are not accustomed to the mount of gentlemen sniffed the aristocrat.‘Perhaps not,’ said Nasrudin.
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Once upon a moonlit night, a congregation of moths gathered, their hearts aflame with desire—to be united with the candle. Their whispered deliberations echoed through the darkness: “We must send an emissary to unravel the secrets of our amorous longing.” And so, one moth embarked on a mission. He ventured to a distant castle, where
‘Saadi Sherazi’ has a tale about a man, whose head was full of imagined knowledge and arrogance as a result, who went to visit ‘Koshyar‘, from a great distance. ‘Koshyar’ taught him nothing, saying: ‘You may think yourself wise, but nothing can be put into a full pot.’If you are full of pretense, ‘Saadi‘ continues,
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‘Mulla Nasrudin Effendi, was asked by his neighbor, ‘which is more intelligent, a camel or a man?’‘A camel,’ replied the Mulla, ‘because it carries heavy loads without complaint, but never asks for an additional load. Man, on the other hand, burdened by responsibility, is always choosing to add to his loads.’
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Once, a shipwrecked man found himself washed ashore on an unfamiliar coast. Exhausted from battling the tempestuous sea, he lay down to rest. As he awoke, his gaze fell upon the vast expanse of water that had both saved and threatened him. In that moment, he couldn’t help but reproach the sea. Its serene surface
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