A Rumi Tale of Sufi Hospitality

A Sufi traveler broke a long journey at a monastery; he took his ass to the stable, fed and watered it, and joined the Sufis and other travelers in the house.

The Sufis in the monastery were poor and hungry, but felt obliged by the laws of hospitality to entertain the traveler. Without a word to him, they sold his ass to buy all kinds of food and drink, and in the evening threw a big party to honor him, feed themselves, and drown their sorrows.

The traveler, all unknowing, was delighted with the banquet and with the riotous dancing and clapping that followed. He soon joined the ring of the sama—a Sufi dance—stamping his feet and clapping with the best of them. When the singing began, he shouted happily along with the rhythmic refrain: “The ass is gone, the ass is gone, the ass is gone.”