Witness

An acquaintance asked Nasreddin Hodja to act as a witness in his case and lie on his behalf in front of the kadi. The man insisted so much that, at the end, the Hodja agreed to back him up in court. When the suit came before the kadi, Hodja's acquaintance presented his case.

`Kadi Effendi, the defendant owes me two sacks of wheat.' The kadi asked Nasreddin Hodja what he had to say.

`Yes Kadi Effendi,' the Hodja started to give his false account, `The defendant owes two sacks of oat to the plaintiff.' The plaintiff was panicked and immediately attempted to correct.

`Kadi Effendi, the Hodja had a slip of the tongue, he meant to say wheat.'

`What difference does it make if it's oat or wheat, so long as it's a lie!' the Hodja quipped.

Young Muezzin

One day a young muezzin with a particularly bad voice was trying to chant the prayers' call from the tiny balcony located at the very top of the minaret. He was wailing and shrieking so badly that it didn't sound like the invitation to the prayer at all. Nasreddin Hodja heard the novice muezzin's shrills and shouted to him from the bottom of the mosque.

`Son, we hear your cries for help and we do want to save you from there, but you have climbed up such a branchless tree that I don't know how we can rescue you!'

The Path

A human being is not a human being while his tendencies include self-indulgence, covetousness, temper and attacking other people.

A student must reduce to the minimum the fixing of his attention upon customary things like his people and his environment, for attention-capacity is limited.

The pupil must regard his teacher like a doctor who knows the cure of the patient. 

He will serve his teacher. 

Sufis teach in unexpected ways. 

An experienced physician prescribes certain treatments correctly. 

Yet the outside observer might be quite amazed at what he is saying and doing; he will fail to see the necessity or the relevance of the procedure being followed.

This is why it is unlikely that the pupil will be able to ask the right questions at the right time. 

 

But the teacher knows what and when a person can understand.