Sufi Wisdom: The Camel and the Tent

by T.L. James of MarsBlog. Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. As terrorist Islam does its best to discredit the religion, it's 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.

A bedouin, making a long desert trek, pitched his small black tent and lay down to sleep. As the night grew colder his camel woke him up with a nudge. 'Master, it is cold. May I put my nose inside the tent to warm it?' The traveller agreed, and settled down to sleep again. Scarcely an hour had passed, however, before the camel began to feel colder. 'Master, it is much colder. Can I put my head inside the tent?'

First his head was admitted to the tent, then, on the same argument, his neck. Finally, without asking, the camel heaved his whole bulk under the cloth. When he had, as he thought, settled himself, the bedouin was lying beside the camel, with no covering at all. The camel had uprooted the tent, which hung, totally inadequately, across his hump.

'Where has the tent gone?' asked the confused camel.