Are you fasting? During the Month of Ramadan, in a place near or far from here, a few young men saw an old woman sitting down eating a peach under a tree in a secluded place. They were disturbed by her open flouting of the fast, so they went to […]
Sufi stories
44 posts
Once upon a time here was a happy couple. In their union reigned love, real one. In the morning when they used to get up, they kissed each other’s hand. They were having breakfast together, they used to pour the tea to each other and they were asking each other how they had slept, if they had some nice dreams. […]
In a Dergah like this, there was a Sheikh with his murids (disciples). One day, one murid went to the Sheikh and asked, “Oh Sheikh I have three questions: who is the murid (disciple), who is the ashiq (lover) and who is the sincere one (siddiq)?” The Sheikh looked at […]
There was once a woman who had heard of the Fruit of Heaven. She coveted it. She asked a certain dervish, whom we shall call Sabar: ‘How can I find this fruit, so that I may attain to immediate knowledge?’ ‘You would best be advised to study with me’, said […]
A merchant in Baghdad had some bad luck. A thief robbed his house of all his gold. The authorities caught the thief but he would not reveal where he had hidden the merchant gold. One night in a dream he was told by a Genie to go to Cairo to seek […]
A Sufi master traveling alone through a desolate mountain region was suddenly faced by an ogre–a giant ghoul, who told him that he was going to destroy him. The master said, “Very well, try if you like, but I can overcome you, for I am immensely powerful in more ways […]
TRUST IN ALLAH BUT TETHER YOUR CAMEL FIRST This saying comes from a small story. A Master was traveling with one of his disciples. The disciple was in charge of taking care of the camel. They came in the night, tired, to a caravanserai. It was the disciple’s duty to tether […]
When a great Sufi mystic, Hassan, was dying, somebody asked, ‘Hassan, who was your Master?’ He said, ‘Now it is too late to ask. Time is short, I am dying.’ But the inquirer asked, ‘You can simply say the name. You are still alive, you are still breathing and talking, […]
Two travelling dervishes reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the dervish hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up on to his shoulders and carried her across the water to the other bank. […]
A dhow was caught in a violent storm while crossing the Indian Ocean. Its mast broken by the fury of the elements, the rudder broken, the dhow drifted in distress. The crew implored Allah. “For our lives, my friends, let each one wish, said the captain. If Allah gives us alive, we will […]
A man used to call every night to God and he would pray the same prayer. Again and again he would ask, “Do one favor for me, at least one favor — and I have been asking my whole life. As far as I can see, I am the […]
Throughout their nomadic life, Harith the Bedouin and his wife Nafisa used to plant their worn tent where they could find some date palms, some withered twigs for their camel, or a pool of brackish water. They had lived this life for years and every day Harith completed the […]
A certain famous, well-liked and influential merchant came to Bahaudin Naqshband. He said, in open assembly: ‘I have come to offer my submission to you and to your teaching, and beg you to accept me as a disciple.’ Bahaudin asked him: ‘Why do you feel that you are able to […]
Gurdjieff used to tell a parable…. There was a magician who was also a shepherd. He had thousands of sheep to look after and he was a very miserly man so he didn’t want many servants and he didn’t want many watchmen. He did not want to pay anybody […]
It is reported in the life of a great Sufi mystic, Farid, that a king came to see him. He had brought a present for him: a beautiful pair of scissors, golden, studded with diamonds — very valuable, very rare, something unique. He brought those scissors to present to Farid. […]
One day Rabia is sitting inside her hut. It is early morning, and Hasan comes to see her. And the sun is rising and the birds are singing and the trees are dancing. It is a really beautiful morning. And he calls forth from the outside, ‘Rabia, what are you […]
There was a man in Turkey who was travelling with his favourite donkey, a faithful companion for years and an animal very close to his heart. At the end of a hard day on the road he came to an inn and decided to rest there for the night. No […]
A merchant was keeping a bird in a cage. Having to travel to India, the original country of the bird, he asked the bird if he wanted him to bring something back from that country. The bird asked him to get his freedom, but the merchant denied it to him. […]
Nuri Bey was a reflective and respected man, who had married a wife much younger than himself. One evening when he had returned home earlier than usual, a faithful servant came to him and said: “Your wife, our mistress, is acting suspiciously. She is in her apartment with a huge […]
This is a story of the lake and the three big fish that were in it, one of them intelligent, another half-intelligent, and the third, stupid. Some fisherman came to the edge of the lake with their nets. The three fish saw them. The intelligent fish decided at once to […]