A traveler crossed paths with Mullah Nasruddin at a desert oasis, and asked him, “How long will it take to get to the city?”
Nasruddin looked at him from his donkey and said, “Walk.”
The traveler, assuming Nasruddin had misheard him, replied, “I don’t know if you heard me, but I’m asking how long it will take to get to the city?”
But again, Nasruddin said to him, “Walk.”
The traveler, growing more annoyed, decided to ask Nasruddin one last time, but again Nasruddin replied, “Walk.”
After hearing Nasruddin the third time, the now angry traveler decided the Mullah would be of no help, and he began walking away. As the traveler reached twenty or thirty paces away from Nasruddin, he then shouted out to him, “It will take you two and a half hours to reach the city!” The traveler baffled by Nasruddin’s sudden cooperation shouted back, “Why couldn’t you have told me this the first time I asked you?!” Nasruddin replied, “Well, I had to first see how fast you walked.”
Mullah Nasruddin has a comedic way of reminding us of life’s essential truths. Nasruddin is using this story as a symbol of the spiritual path. He is reminding us that you can’t determine when you will reach based on an average, the spiritual path is determined and customized specifically to the person. Like they say, flowers grow at different speeds, so depending on what we are going through our speeds will vary. The key here is that we continue to strive on the path of Allah, even as the poet Rumi says, “If all you can do is crawl, then start crawling.”
“And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways.”
—Qur’an 29:69
The guidance of Allah meets us on the path, unveiling itself one step at a time. As Allah says, “If My servant comes near to Me by a handspan, I come near to him by an arm’s length. If he comes near to Me by an arm’s length, I come near to him by the length of a fathom. If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.” (al-Mu’jam al-Kabir lil-Tabarani 6141) It is through our striving that we become receptive to Divine Guidance. As Rumi says, “As you walk, the path appears.” Nasruddin is comically reminding us that the length of our journey is directly related to the commitment of our effort. He doesn’t tell the traveller how long it will take for him to arrive just as a teacher rarely answers the same questions for a seeker on the spiritual path. Our arrival is an outcome of a mysterious blend of grace and effort. The Qur’an reminds us of this when it says, “Man will have nothing except that for which he strives.” (Qur’an 53:39) While the child in us is always concerned with “When will I get there?” the spirit is more concerned with “Where in my heart am I walking from? In what state will I arrive?” It’s important we don’t get too occupied with the ego’s inclination toward haste or competition, but to remind ourselves that the journey itself determines the shape of the destination.
Share Divine Love in Everyday Life | A. Helwa
Oh Allah, I pray that You make our walking on the spiritual path swift and sincere. My beloved Lord, give us the wisdom to not just focus on the length of our travel, but the being of our hearts as we walk. Oh Allah, remind us to not just be focused on where we are going, but where we are coming from, and for Whom we are taking each step. Oh Allah, return our hearts to You, and guide us on the path of Your overflowing Love and Mercy. In Your beautiful names I pray, Ameen.
In prayers of light upon light,
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