DESCRIPTION & REVIEWS

CONTENTS

EXCERPT

AUTHOR

EDITIONS

Many countries claim Nasrudin as a native, although few have gone so far as Turkey in exhibiting a ‘grave’ of the wisest fool who ever lived, and holding an annual Nasrudin Festival.

The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin is a collection of 109 wacky tales of folly and wisdom from the most famous jokester who ever lived.

Idries Shah’s skilful retelling of these collected stories and sayings brings the unmistakable – and often backhanded – wisdom, wit and charm of this wise fool to life. Acclaimed as humorous and entertaining masterpieces, Mulla Nasrudin stories have also been described as ‘mirroring the antics of the mind’.

Collected with the help of amateurs and scholars worldwide, The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin is sure to delight.

Acknowledgements
Saying of Mulla Nasrudin
Saying of Mulla Nasrudin
Radio
Where There’s a Will...
I Might Do You a Favour
Needs
The End of the World
A Bite
Gossip
Satisfied
Costly
Problems of Loneliness
Arabic Scholar
The Problems of Delay
The Forester
It Takes One to Know One
Get the Facts Straight
Cow with Calf
Let’s Have It Every Day
The Value of the Man
Clearing the Matter Up
Hold That Wolf
Miracles Have Details
The Water Shortage
Wife and Secretary
How to Keep It Going
Cooking
Must Be One of Them
Mistaken Identity
What’s Left
The True and the False
First Time
Tried to Fool Him
Diversion
The Marsh
How to Get out of Trouble
What Could Become What
Large and Small
Watch Out!
They Don’t Work
Stop-Go
Temperatures
Time
Feedback
Psychology
When to Do What
The Speed-Traveller
It Depends How You Look at It
Warning
Don’t Jump to Conclusions
Smooth Trees
Two for One
Myself
One Man’s Meat
Salute
The Clock
Not a Good Pupil
Ethological Reflection
Quality and Quantity
Social Conscience
Bath Song
Wife, Thief and Donkey
How Much?
The Election Meeting
That’s Why They Appreciate It
A Reason for Everything
What You Hadn’t Thought Of...
Motive Power
The Right Requirements
Camel Fodder
Tyranny of the Majority
A Matter of Language
Too Late
Memory
A Hundred Years
Nine Donkeys
I Only Hope I’m Ill
The Illness of My Wife
Donkey Lost
Freakish
The Company’s Time
Grey and White
Esoteric
Automation
Names
The Chalk
Lost Property
So Hot
Is It Me?
Ambition
Copyist
No Relative
Service
Shoes
Two Halves
Problem of Communication
The Trip
The Same Strength
Second Thoughts
How to Catch Nasrudin
The Will of Allah

Idries Shah sketch 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.

Shah devoted his life to collecting, translating and adapting key works of Sufi classical literature for the needs of the West. Called by some 'practical philosophy' - these works represent centuries of Sufi and Islamic thought aimed at developing human potential. His best-known works include the seminal book The Sufis, several collections of teaching stories featuring the ‘wise fool’ Nasrudin, Reflections and Knowing How to Know.

Shah's corpus - over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and cultural studies - have been translated into two dozen languages and have sold millions of copies around the world. They are regarded as an important bridge between the cultures of East and West.

The Idries Shah Foundation

The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin by Idries Shah

Selected Stories from The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin

First Time from The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin

When to Do What from The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin

Cooking from The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin

They Don’t Work from The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin