by T.L. James of MarsBlog. Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. As Islam does its best to discredit the religion, it is important to remember that there are other voices within the faith. One such is the Sufis, a branch of Islamic mystics with roots in many religious traditions. The lessons of Sufism are often communicated through humorous stories and mystical or romantic poetry.
Nasrudin's oldest son was looking for a wife.'Which qualities are you seeking?' Nasrudin asked the youth.
'Intelligence rather than beauty,' replied the young man.
'If that is the case,' said the Mulla, 'I have an excellent way of finding you the perfect bride.'
He told the youth to follow and went into town. When they reached the main square, Nasrudin started to cuff his son and shout:'How dare you do exactly as I say? This is the punishment fit for one who obeys!'
'Leave him alone!' hissed one young woman. 'How can you beat him for being a model son?'
'This is surely the woman for me, father,' said Nasrudin's son.
'Best to have a choice,' replied the Mulla and led the way to the neighbouring town. Here, he acted out exactly the same scene. But this time, a young girl began to cheer him on:
'That's right! Hit him! Only a fool obeys blindly!'
'Son,' said Nasrudin, with a smile, 'I think we have found you an intelligent bride.'
Nasrudin's oldest son was a fool, and too much under the influence of his father. He should have wanted to marry for looks, a gain for him and as good a guarantee as you'll get of a long marriage. (The appeal of, say, a quick and cutting wit can fade quickly, but if a man is, say, a fool for redheads, that's generally for life.) Instead, he went for intelligence, which is the sort of thing that would rather benefit Nasrudin.
The first young woman showed sympathy for the obedient fool, who Nasrudin easily talked into letting himself be beaten up without resistance. That was the one that would have been kind to Nasrudin's oldest son (who truly was an obedient fool) and that was the one the son instinctively wanted - but that wasn't the daughter-in-law Nasrudin wanted!
The second young woman showed no sympathy for the obedient young fool, and cheered for the father, adding her own remarks. That was the daughter-in-law Nasrudin wanted!
It looks like the obedient young fool would have followed his father's wishes and married the second young woman, with a less pleasant life for him, but a more amusing one for Nasrudin, to follow.
And haven't we all seen things like this? Andy is a rich moron. Fortunately for him, Betty is an upright woman who loves and pities him in his folly. Unfortunately for him, Andy is a moron, and so he readily lets himself be persuaded to go with Cathy instead, who's simply a bitch who saw a sucker and took her chance. Over and over, good people take pity on fools, and over and over fools reject that and find their way into the company of users who trick them like the morons they are.
I wouldn't attach much importance to this funny but sad story. Why? Because those who attach importance to the blather of the flim-flam man are tempted to play along till they get the "meaning," and that's one of the prime ways they get tricked. It's better, if you are lucky enough not to be related to one, to have a laugh when you see one of these tricksters coming, but send them on their way with as little interaction as convenient.
Good response, David.
I was just going to be brief this week and say "be careful what you wish for." But while I'm here, I'll also note that intelligence is highly overrated as a virtue.