In the dust, the camel of a steppe Arab carried two huge bags.
The stalwart owner himself sat on his camel on top of everything.
A certain pedestrian asked the Arab where he was from, where he was going and what he was carrying.
He answered: “I have wheat in one bag and steppe sand in the other.”
‘Forbid, Allah, why do you need sand?’ ‘For balance,’ said the rider.
And the pedestrian: ‘Get rid of the sand. Scatter your wheat into two bags.
Then you’ll lighten the camel’s load, and you’ll cut the road in half.”
The Arab said: ‘You are a true sage, but I am a slow-witted fool...
Why are you - gifted with a great mind - Are you trudging along, on foot, and exhausted?
But my camel is not old and hefty yet. I'll give you a ride, worthy husband!
With conversation we will shorten the long journey. Tell me something about yourself.
According to your great mind - Are you a king or a friend of the caliph himself?’
And he: ‘Kings don’t walk around in rags. Look at my rags.’
Arab: ‘And how many bare mines, sheep, camels and cows do you have?’
‘There is nothing.’ - ‘You can’t fool me. You, I see, are conducting overseas bargaining.
O friend, tell me, loving the truth, Where is your shop in the market?’
“I don’t have a shop,” he replied. ‘Well, then you are one of the rich gentlemen.
You sow the seed of wisdom for nothing. The greatness of knowledge has been given to you.
I heard: He who manages to master the elixir turns copper into gold.
He answered: ‘I swear to Allah - no! I am a wanderer, exhausted in the abyss of troubles.
Wanderers like me wander to where they will be given a crust of bread.
And my wisdom is rewarded only with bitterness and torment of existence.
The Arab replied: ‘Get away quickly, Away with your ill-fated Wisdom,
So that the shadow of the evil that befell you through Leprosy does not pass on to me.
You will go to the sunrise, I will go to the sunset, If you go forward, I will turn back.
Let the wheat lie in one bag, the sand will remain in another bag.
Your knowledge is worthless, false sage. Let me be, in your opinion, a fool, -
Blessed is stupidity, since it is given to me for the benefit of Allah!’
Get rid of empty wisdom, like sand, to get rid of trouble.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru