Nasruddin's Wisdom

This site provides wisdom from the foolish-yet-wise Nasruddin.

Nasreddin (Turkish “Nasreddin Hoca”, Persian ملا نصرالدین, Arabic: جحا transl.: Joĥa ,نصرالدين meaning “Victory of the Faith”, Kurdish: مه‌لای مه‌شهوور transl.: Malai Mash-hoor, Albanian “Nostradin Hoxha” or just “Nostradini”, Azeri”Molla Nəsrəddin” Bosnian “Nasrudin hodža”, Uzbek “Nasriddin Afandi” or just “Afandi”, Kazakh: Қожанасыр “Khozhanasir”, Uyghur “Afanti”) is a legendary satirical sufi figure who lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century), in Akşehir, and later in Konya, under the Seljuq rule. Many nations of the Near, Middle East and Central Asia claim the Nasreddin as their own (i.e. Afghans, Iranians, Turks, and Uzbeks). His name is spelled differently in various cultures and is often preceded or followed by titles “Hodja”, “Mullah”, or “Effendi” (see section “Name variants”). Nasreddin was a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes.

Much of Nasreddin’s actions can be described as illogical yet logical, rational yet irrational, bizarre yet normal, foolish yet sharp, and simple yet profound. What adds even further to his uniqueness is the way he gets across his messages in unconventional yet very effective methods in a profound simplicity.