Zawaj.com’s Islamic Humor Files

Joha Gives Thanks for His Lost Donkey

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.

Joha, also known as Goha or Mullah Nasruddin

Once, Joha lost his donkey. That donkey was important to him, as it was his transportation, his means of carrying goods, and his friend. He looked for it wide and far, and everywhere he went he could be heard saying, “Alhamdulillah.” (Thanks be to God). “Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.”

People who heard him were surprised to hear him giving thanks to God when he’d just lost his prized donkey. They said to him, “How is losing your donkey something to give thanks for?”

Joha replied, quite patiently, “I am thanking God that I was not riding the donkey when I lost it – because if I was, I would be lost as well!”