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A collection of anecdotes and jokes drawn from Middle Eastern folklore and the Sufi mystical tradition, which feature the wise fool, Mulla Nasrudin.
The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin is a compendium of tales in which Nasrudin, the village bumpkin and wiseacre, reveals the antics characteristic of the human mind. In each story, the Mulla can manifest great wisdom, or supreme folly. Often enough he reveals layers of both.
Nasrudin and his stories appear in literature and oral traditions from the Arab world to China. Many nations claim Nasrudin as a native son, but nobody knows his real origins or who he was. The Sufis, who believe that deep intuition is the only real guide to knowledge, use the humorous stories of Nasrudin’s adventures to trigger breakthroughs into higher wisdom.
Since Idries Shah made Nasrudin’s genius available to mainstream Western readers, people from every walk of life have laughed at and learned from this wise fool’s memorable escapades.
Idries Shah was born in India in 1924 into an aristocratic Afghan family. He was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition and is considered one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century.
