“Leave me alone. How do you expect to steal the clothing off a naked man?” reasoned the drunk. “If I'd any strength, I'd walk to my own home and not waste my time arguing with you! If I could reason like the wise, I'd be sitting in my shop doing business, you fool!”

  The drunk squatted, leaning his back against the wall, and closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep. Seeing the hopelessness of this arrest, the night watchmen, exasperated, walked off and left him alone.

  3 Hu is one of the ninety-nine names for Allah.

  A Thief at Hand

  In the middle of the night, a man heard footsteps in his home and quickly got out of bed to investigate. Sure enough, in his sitting room there stood a thief, his hands filled with valuable objects. Taking fright, the burglar dropped everything he had gathered and jumped out the window onto the street, while the owner of the house gave chase. The owner, who was young and a fast runner, scurried after the thief for a few blocks in the darkness until the thief could run no more. The owner grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and was about to drag him to the police station when he heard someone calling out to him.

  “Come quickly, come and see the signs left by the thief who's ravaged your home!” screamed the unknown voice.

  “What a kind and concerned citizen,” thought the owner. “What if there's a second thief in my home who might hurt my wife and children? That damage can never be undone! What good would it do me if I tie up this man but lose the true culprit? If I don't listen to this stranger, I might regret it for a long time to come.”

  The owner quickly let go of the thief he had caught and rushed back home. Outside the house walls, in the dark, there stood the thief's partner waiting for the owner to come back.

  “Thank you,” gasped the owner when he saw the second thief. “You've done me a great service! Tell me, why were you calling me?”

  “Let me show you the footprints of the thief; the bastard has run away in that direction,” he said, pointing to his right. “If you chase him right away you might still be able to catch him.”

  “You idiot! What on earth are you talking about? I already had caught him! You tricked me into letting him go. I had the truth in my grip and you are now suggesting that I look for signs?”

  “I'm well aware of the truth,” said the second thief, feigning innocence. “I'm only trying to show you the signs of the truth!”

  “You're certainly either a burglar yourself or a total ignoramus! No, I'm certain that in fact you are a thief and know exactly what the other chap was up to. My enemy was in my hands and you made me set him free, and now you're blabbering about the truth?”

  Sometimes, the truth is much too obvious; people erroneously search for its signs while the real thing is staring them right in the face.

  Four Indians in Prayer

  The sun was at its zenith, and four devout Indian Moslems entered a mosque to perform the noon prayer. As they stood shoulder to shoulder, each with a different hope in his heart, they began to pray. Halfway through their prayer, the sound of the muezzin rose in the air, casting doubt in their minds whether they had been too hasty in beginning to pray. One of the four men turned to the muezzin caller and asked him: “Dear public crier, are you sure you're not late today calling out the muezzin?”

  One of the Indians was quick to address his friend: “My dear fellow, what have you done? You spoke in the midst of praying, and now your prayer is annulled!”

  The third Indian turned to the second and exclaimed: “Hey, why do you blame him? You did exactly the same and have now broken your own prayer!”

  “Thank God I didn't blurt out needlessly like these three!” declared the fourth Indian. “I'm too clever to commit such stupid mistakes! My prayer is still valid!” he boasted, unaware of his own equally damaging shortfall.

  Such was the manner in which the prayers of all four men, who had tried to outdo each other in their judgments, were annulled that day.

  Setting an Example

  The Oghuz Turkmens were wild and fierce warriors who had invaded Persia and continued to ravage the lands in the northern parts of the country. Their army eventually arrived at a remote village with the full intention of massacring its inhabitants, pillaging their possessions, and then leveling the entire place.

  As they rummaged through the tiny, dilapidated huts, they found two elderly men, one of whom was the head of the village and the other his neighbor. The Turkmens hurriedly bound one of the men, intending to slaughter him.

  “Great warriors of our time, why would you want to kill a poor old man like me?” implored the destitute man. “Why spill my innocent blood? Don't you see that I'm so impoverished that I'm practically naked to the bone? What possible good could my death bring you?” he pleaded as the warriors began to bind his hands and feet.

  “We'll slit your throat and set an example so that the other man tells us where he's buried his gold,” replied a soldier.

  “What gold? He's even poorer than me!”

  “We have informers who have guaranteed that he's hiding his treasure.”

  “We are both in the same situation, so why don't you kill him instead of me, and I promise to show you where I'm hiding my gold!” reasoned the old man, cleverly trying to avoid certain death.

  The Old Man and the Physician

  A man had been suffering for a long time from a variety of ailments, as one does in old age. One day, he finally managed to drag himself to his local doctor to seek help. He did not have much confidence in doctors and their advice, but he was at his wit's end and could no longer tolerate the pain that had spread throughout his frail body.

  “I'm suffering mostly from loss of memory, dear doctor,” he began his complaints feebly.

  “Loss of memory is a result of aging, my dear man,” decreed the young physician.

  “I'm losing my sight rapidly. What can I do?” he continued.

  “Loss of sight is from aging,” replied the doctor.

  “My backache is debilitating,” moaned the old man.

  “Back pain is also the result of old age, my good man,” said the doctor coldly.

  “Nothing I eat seems to taste pleasant anymore,” complained the old patient.

  “Weakness of the stomach also comes with old age.”

  “When I breathe, I don't seem to get enough oxygen in my lungs,” he carried on.

  “Shortness of breath is also from aging,” declared the young doctor as a matter of fact. “Old age brings with it a host of pains, my ancient friend.”

  The old man, who had kept his anger at bay until then, finally lost his temper and snapped: “You idiot! Is this all you've learned from years of studying medicine? Haven't you learned that for every aliment, God has created a cure? You're an imbecile who has learned nothing!”

  The cool doctor was annoyed but firmly responded to the old man's insults: “You're sixty years old, and this anger and fury is also the result of aging! With the passage of time, the body's organs begin to deteriorate and leave one with little tolerance for controlling one's patience or fury. Therefore, I will pretend that I have heard nothing of your insults,” retorted the doctor, brushing aside the old man's angry remarks.

  Having lost the opportunity to tap into a little compassion in his heart, the young doctor never saw the old man in his surgery again.

  Juhi at the Funeral

  The young Juhi was accompanying his father to a colleague's funeral. The dead man's son led the procession, walking in front of the casket while shedding tears and crying out in delirious grief after his cherished father:

  “My darling father, where are they taking you? Are they going to bury your adored body in a grave and cover it with heaps of earth? Are they taking you to a dark and narrow house, with no carpets to cover the floors, not even a straw mat? Will they lay you down in a house where no light ever shines, where no bread gets baked? Will they leave you behind in a place where no aroma of cooking ever rises in the air, a house with no proper door at its entrance, no staircase to its rooftop? Will they lay you down somewhere where there is no neighbor to knock on your door to ask about you? How could you, who were so widely revered and respected, ever tolerate such a dark and harsh home?”

  When Juhi heard the young man utter these words as he mourned his father's demise, he turned to his own father and asked sheepishly: “Father, are they taking the corpse to our house?”

  “Don't be an idiot! What a stupid question!”

  “But father, all the details that the young man is describing point to our house. Listen to him carefully and you'll see what I mean. He says that the house has no light and that no food ever gets cooked there; its door is broken, and it has no garden or even a rooftop! That's what our house is like!” insisted the young Juhi, but his words went unheeded by his unmindful father.

  A Sackful of Pebbles

  In the Arabian deserts, merchants used to travel on camels, carrying goods from one town to another, usually in large caravans. One day, a merchant was traveling with one such caravan when he came across a learned man, who approached him.

  “Greetings, my good man, where are you coming from and where are you headed?” the learned man asked.

  The merchant responded to the stranger candidly, whereupon he was asked about the load he was carrying.

  “I've got one sack filled with wheat and the other with pebbles,” he said proudly.

  “Why pebbles?”

  “For balance, of course. Why else?”

  “Why don't you fill the other sack with half of the wheat rather than burden your camel with pebbles? This way, the poor beast's load will be half as heavy.”

  “Well done, my good man,” exclaimed the merchant with surprise. “What a brilliant idea! Now tell me, being as clever as you are, instead of riding on a horse or a camel, why are you walking this rough route, torturing yourself?

  The merchant dismounted from his camel to offer the wise man a ride, as he felt sorry for him, but first he thought to ask him a few personal questions.

  “So, tell me, being so wise, would you happen to be a governor or a minister?”

  “Oh no, I'm neither a governor nor a minister. Just take a look at my clothes! I'm no one, just one of the common folk.”

  “But you must own a few camels and cows at least, being as clever as you are.”

  “No cows nor any camels.”

  “You must own a shop then. What do you sell?”

  “I own no shop nor have any goods to sell.”

  “But you're an insightful and intelligent man; in fact, you're probably an alchemist who can turn base metals into gold. Your knowledge is invaluable. Be honest, tell me the truth, how much money have you got on you?”

  “My dear fellow, I haven't got a bean in the world. I walk barefoot and suffer constantly from hunger, hoping to come across people who might take pity on me and offer me a slice of dry bread,” confessed the wise man. “My intelligence and insight have only brought me trouble and suffering.”

  “Go away!” screamed the merchant suddenly. “Get out of my sight before your cursed intelligence rubs off on me, too. Your knowledge will only bear disaster for anyone you encounter, so get going before I kick you unconscious! I'll keep my sacks as they are, thank you very much. I'd much rather carry a sackful of pebbles than listen to your miserable, useless advice. If you could benefit from your own knowledge, you already would have done so. So, go on and get lost, you miserable creature.”

  The merchant quickly mounted his camel, whipped and kicked her mightily, and urged her to speed away as quickly as possible from the supposedly wise man.

  God Will Not Punish Me

  One day as Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, was busy with his daily chores, a friend he had not seen for a long time stopped by to have a cup of tea. As they spoke about this and that, the man began to boast about his luck.

  “I've committed countless sins in my life, but God never punishes me, because He's benevolent!” he said proudly.

  Jethro was baffled and wondered why his friend had told him what he had. Not long after, he had a revelation in which God spoke to him:

  “Tell this unknowing man to stop claiming that I have not punished him for his sins. It's indeed the opposite! I have grabbed him and held him in my hands many times, but he was completely incognizant of it. Tell him that he's become so tainted inside and out, like a blackened pot, that darkness no longer has any effect on him. Patches of dirt are immediately apparent on a clean surface; it's the same with sin and the marks it leaves on the soul. Darkness first strikes at the inside and then reveals itself slowly on the outside.

  “When someone's whole being has been tainted through and through, he's unable to understand or even see that he's only adding to his impurity every day. One could of course repent and ask for forgiveness, and relief may be forthcoming, but when one's heart has been so irreparably tarnished, then one has lost all predisposition for repentance.”

  After hearing God's words, Jethro repeated them to the man the next time they met, hoping to convince him of his errant ways, but he was surprised when the man replied good-naturedly: “So tell me, Jethro, if God has caught me in his snare, then where are His signs?”

  Jethro was exasperated and later confided in God that the poor soul did not believe his words. God spoke kindly to Jethro, relieving him of his duty as a messenger in this case.

  “I'm the Master Concealer,” decreed God. “But I will not share my wisdom with this unconscious creature. I'll tell you one thing, though, Jethro: it's true that this man is adamant about performing his prayers and fasting, and he even willingly pays his religious taxes. However, his deeds are not honest and don't come from his heart! His faith has no essence. What appears on the outside is pleasing, but in reality he's a fraud. To have enthusiasm in one's heart for spirit is the essential seed for growth, which this man lacks entirely.”

  Jethro did not question what had been revealed to him, and the next time he met his old friend, he smiled knowingly and kept his silence.

  Camel and Mouse

  A merchant had been traveling all day long, and it was late afternoon when he arrived at the caravansary, completely exhausted. He dismounted his camel and vigilantly unloaded the burden it was carrying but was careless when he tied the bridle to a post before walking inside the adjacent building to rest for the night.

  Soon afterward, the bridle loosened, and the camel began to walk away. A little desert mouse spotted the bridle twisting like a snake on the ground and quickly took it in her mouth and ran in front of the large beast. The camel, who was bored, thought that the little mouse was entertaining and decided not to whip his bridle out of her grip, allowing her to lead him on. The mouse was chuffed, believing that she was in charge of guiding the mighty camel, and began to feel proud of her unrivaled abilities.

  “What a great hero I am!” she thought contentedly. “Just look at me pulling such a huge animal behind me!”

  The camel noticed that pride was rising in the mouse's heart but feigned ignorance and allowed her to arrogantly continue pulling his bridle.

  “I'll let her enjoy her moment of splendor; who knows what the future holds,” he said to himself philosophically.

  The pair continued their journey for some time until they arrived at a wide stream, which seemed like an endless river to the mouse. She climbed upon a mound of dirt to see if she could spot the opposite bank, but it was too far away to be visible. The camel was well aware of why the mouse was stalling but pretended not to have noticed.

  “Hey, little mouse, why have you stopped?” he asked her smugly. “Don't be a halfway friend, let's get going,” he urged her on.

  “My friend, the water is too deep and too fast! I'm afraid of drowning,” she exclaimed helplessly.

  “Let me check it out,” said the camel gallantly as he stepped into the water. “You're such a twat; this water isn't deep at all! Look, it only comes up to my knees!”

  “This water may seem as insignificant as a small gathering of ants to you, but to me it's as impassable as a row of ferocious dragons! Your knee and mine are quite different in height, can't you see?” she pleaded.

  “Perhaps you shouldn't have been so audacious and had found another mouse your own size to lead instead of hoping to master the mighty camel!” he exclaimed emphatically.

  “I repent, I repent,” repeated the mouse sincerely. “Help me cross this water, and I'll never let myself be ruled by my pride again.”

  The camel felt pity for the little mouse.

  “Hurry up and climb onto my hump,” he exclaimed sympathetically. “Crossing this stream is simple for me; in fact, I could carry hundreds like you in one crossing!”

  And so the camel and the mouse continued their symbiotic companionship for the rest of their days together.

  Shaykh on the Boat

  There was once a shaykh who looked nothing like a high Sufi; his clothes were in tatters and he appeared gaunt and undernourished. One year, he was obliged to go to a city that lay beyond the sea, and therefore he had no choice but to travel by boat. As he was generally destitute, he boarded a luxury boat but took refuge among the cargo. As the boat pulled away from the harbor, the gentle rocking soon lulled the shaykh into a deep slumber.

  Not long after the boat began to sail, a man on board began to holler and curse, for his pouch of gold coins had disappeared. The captain ordered every passenger to be searched and searched again. Soon it was the turn of the shaykh, who was still sound asleep resting among the passengers' luggage. The sailors reluctantly woke up the poor man and informed him of the situation, ordering him to remove all his clothes so they could make sure he was not the culprit.

  The shaykh was embarrassed and deeply hurt.

  “My Lord,” he turned to the heavens and begged his Master. “These mischievous infidels are accusing Your humble servant of robbery. I beg of You to order them to release me and take back their baseless allegations.”