The Little Book of Sufi Stories: Ancient Wisdom to Nourish the Heart

by Neil Douglas-Klotz (Editor), Maryam Mafi (Foreword by)

Overview

The stories in this book are drawn from the dozens that Douglas-Klotz has enjoyed telling in his seminars over the past 20 years. Most of them appear in works of the classical Sufis, such as Rumi, Attar, or S'adi. To preserve some of the in-person feeling and bring the language up to date, he has given them his own improvised turns.

"If you want to hear a good story but prefer to read it instead, then read Douglas-Klotz! He writes as if he's sitting in your living room, invited over for afternoon tea to entertain you with some heart-pleasing, often humorous, yet soul-searching Sufi stories. His modernization of these old texts is gentle and mindful, yet unapologetic." —Maryam Mafi from the Foreword

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571748294
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	06/01/2018
Series:	N/A
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Neil Douglas-Klotz, PhD, (Saadi Shakur Chishti) is a world-renowned scholar of religious studies, spirituality, and psychology. Living in Scotland, he directs the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning and for many years was co-chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion. He is also the cofounder of the International Network of the Dances of Universal Peace.

Maryam Mafi was born and raised in Iran. She went to Tufts University in the U.S. in 1977 where she studied Sociology and Literature. While reading for her Master's degree in International Communications at American and Georgetown Universities she began translating Persian literature and has been doing so ever since. Reading Rumi's poetry, she says, has led her to a 're-education' in her own language and a new appreciation of her spiritual heritage.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction xvii

I Stories about Sufis and Dervishes 1

The Shaykh and the Boy Selling Halvah 3

The Hodja's Bargain 13

II Mullah Nasruddin: International

Man of Mysticism 25

Uzbek Stories of Mullah 29

Where Do We Go? 29

Professional Expert 30

Dueling Experts 31

Point of View 31

Balancing Act 32

Donkeys 33

Some Consolation 33

A Bargain Is a Bargain 33

Defective Goods? 34

Mullah in Civil Service 35

Legal Training 35

Standards of Service 36

Quality Control 37

A Question of the Employer 39

The Value of Good Self-Esteem 41

Possible Promotion 41

Mullah and the Camel Seeds 44

Mullah Tries Donkeys Again 50

Not Myself: The Zen Mullah 55

III Stories about Jesus 57

Young Jesus Goes to School 61

Jesus in the Graveyard 64

Wandering Dervish 67

The World Is a Bridge 67

Stone for a Pillow 68

The Teeth of the Dog 70

Jesus and the Fool 71

IV Stories about Iblis 79

Iblis's Refusal 81

Iblis's Refusal, Take 2 84

Iblis's Refusal, Take 3 87

Iblis's Refusal, Take 4 89

V Stories from Sa'adi 91

Advice for People in Business and Positions of Power 93

FallingOff the Camel 93

A Question of Anticipation and Value 95

The Crafty Slave 96

Like for Like 98

Just Passing Through 99

Advice for Lovers 101

Temptation 101

Surprised by the Beloved 101

About Love and Passion 102

Moth and Candle: Two Points of View 104

VI The Man of the Big Fish 107

Young Jonah 109

The Mission 111

The Journey to Nineveh 113

The Big Fish 121

Return to Nineveh 126

VII A Sufi Fairy Tale 129

The Lady and the Golden Lampstand 131

VIII From the Arabian Nights: The Hunchback of Ch'ang-an 141

TheFate of the Hunchback 145

The Jewish Doctor and His Wife 149

The Muslim Cleaner 151

The Christian Broker 153

The Proposed Execution 155

A Saving Story 158

A Haircut Gone Wrong 161

The Actual Barber 168

IX Reversals of Fortune 173

How Difficult Can Astrology Be? 175

Hadji Ahmed's Dream 186

X Wild Nature 195

A Selected Reading List of Books Containing Sufi Stories 201

Editorial Reviews

"Douglas-Klotz, director of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, compiles an entertaining booklet of Sufi stories. These practical, ghostly, and often very funny tales come from a variety of Sufi works, including those by saints like Rumi as well as lay storytellers from Turkey and Persia. Some stories are religious allegories, such as those from the life of Jesus or Jonah as told by Muslim storytellers, and will be of interest to comparative religion aficionados. Other stories are twisted fairy tales such as "The Lady and the Golden Lampstand," in which the prince is unable to save anyone and the Cinderella-like heroine must be her own fairy godmother. In addition to sharing serious lessons, Douglas-Klotz includes a host of popular, humorous characters that many readers will recognize—particularly Mullah Nasruddin, whose capers are well-known throughout the Muslim world. At the end of the volume is a large list of books containing these and other Sufi accounts. This sampler of Sufi wisdom is a must-read for anyone interested in non-Western folktales." —Publishers Weekly (June 2018)

Reviews

"Douglas-Klotz, director of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, compiles an entertaining booklet of Sufi stories. These practical, ghostly, and often very funny tales come from a variety of Sufi works, including those by saints like Rumi as well as lay storytellers from Turkey and Persia. Some stories are religious allegories, such as those from the life of Jesus or Jonah as told by Muslim storytellers, and will be of interest to comparative religion aficionados. Other stories are twisted fairy tales such as "The Lady and the Golden Lampstand," in which the prince is unable to save anyone and the Cinderella-like heroine must be her own fairy godmother. In addition to sharing serious lessons, Douglas-Klotz includes a host of popular, humorous characters that many readers will recognize—particularly Mullah Nasruddin, whose capers are well-known throughout the Muslim world. At the end of the volume is a large list of books containing these and other Sufi accounts. This sampler of Sufi wisdom is a must-read for anyone interested in non-Western folktales." —Publishers Weekly (June 2018)

From the Publisher