Tag archive for ‘nasruddin’

Zawaj.com Humor Files: Goha and the Walnut Tree

Zawaj.com’s Islamic Humor Files

Goha and the Walnut Tree

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.

Black walnut tree

Black walnut tree

One day Goha was relaxing in the shade under a tall, beautiful walnut tree. As he lay on the grass, half dozing, he looked up into the high leafy canopy of the tree, and the small walnuts growing there. Then he gazed into the distance at some large pumpkins growing on the ground nearby.

He had a thought. “God, your ways are so strange,” he mused. “The little walnut gets this majestic tree, while those huge pumpkins must grow on a tiny vine. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the small walnut have a small vine, and the great pumpkin grow on this great tree?”

Suddenly a walnut fell from the tree and smacked him in the forehead. Goha jumped to his feet and raised his hands to the sky. “O God,” he said, “I will never question your wisdom again. Imagine if that had been a pumpkin!”

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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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