Zawaj.com Humor Files: Mullah Nasruddin makes a beggar climb

Templo V Mayan pyramid in Mexico,

Okay, so these stairs really go up the Templo V Mayan pyramid in Mexico, but they illustrate this story well!

Zawaj.com’s Islamic Humor Files

Mullah Nasruddin Makes a Beggar Climb

Editor’s Note: Some call him Goha or Joha, the Turks call him Hodja, while the Persians and Afghanis call him Mollah, Nasrullah or Mullah Nasruddin. Regardless of what you call him, this wise, mysterious and sarcastic figure has been a fixture of Middle Eastern stories for centuries.

One day Nasruddin was up on the roof of his house, repairing some broken tiles that were letting the rain leak through. He was not happy about being on the roof, as he was afraid of heights, and he worried about climbing on his rickety ladder.

As he was working, a stranger knocked on the door. Nasruddin heard the knock and shouted out, “What do you want?”

“Come down please” replied the stranger. “I wish to talk to you in person.”

“Just tell me!” said Nasruddin.

“Please won’t you come down,” the man said. “I only need a moment.”

Nasruddin slowly and fearfully climbed down the ladder, grumbling to himself.

“Well,” Nasruddin said when he got to the bottom. “What’s so important?”

“Could you give a little money to this poor old man?” said the stranger. “You can see that I am hungry and poor.”

Exasperated, Nasruddin started to climb up the ladder and said, “Follow me up to the roof. But be careful, as the ladder is old and rickety.”

With some hesitation, and looking quite worried, the beggar climbed the ladder. When both Nasruddin and beggar were upside, on the roof, Nasruddin said, “No.”

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