Nasreddin

[2] There are frequent statements about his existence in real life and even archaeological evidence in specific places, for example, a tombstone in the city of Akşehir, Turkey.

At the moment, there is no confirmed information or serious grounds to talk about the specific date or place of Nasreddin's birth, so the question of the reality of his existence remains open.

[5] In 2020, an application to include "The tradition of telling comic tales about Nasreddin Khoja" in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list was jointly submitted by the governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Turkmenistan.

[7][8] Many sources give the birthplace of Nasreddin as Hortu Village in Sivrihisar, Eskişehir Province, present-day Turkey, in the 13th century, after which he settled in Akşehir,[8] and later in Konya under the Seljuq rule, where he died in 1275/6 or 1285/6 CE.

According to Al-Dhahabi's book, "ميزان الاعتدال في نقد الرجال" Mizan alaietidal fi naqd alrijal ("The balance of moderation (advisable) in the criticism of men") his full name was Abu al-Ghusn Dujayn al-Fizari, he lived under the Umayyads in Kufa, and his mother was said to be a servant to Anas ibn Malik; thus he was one of the Tabi'un in Sunni tradition.

[13] and of them (juha), and he is nicknamed aba ghusn, and what has been told of him suggests astuteness and intelligence, although he be overwhelmingly made to appear foolish, and it has been said that some who would malign him fabricate deliberately tales intended to discredit him.The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571.

[16] Nasreddin often appears as a whimsical character in an extensive folk tradition of vignettes in the following languages: Turkish, Persian, Adyghe, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Afghan, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Judeo-Spanish, Kurdish, Romanian, Serbian, Russian, Uzbek, Ubykh, and Urdu.

It is sometimes preceded or followed by a title or honorific used in the corresponding cultures: "Hoxha", "Khwaje", "Koja", "Hodja", "Hoja", "Hojja", "Hodscha", "Hodža", "Hoca", "Hocca","Hooka", "Hogea", "Mullah", "Mulla", "Mula", "Molla", "Efendi", "Afandi", "Ependi" (أفندي 'afandī), "Hajji".

In Arabic-speaking countries this character is known as "Juha", "Jiha", "Djoha", "Djuha", "Dschuha", "Chotzas", "Goha" (جحا juḥā).

In the Swahili and Indonesian culture, many of his stories are being told under the name of "Abunuwasi" or "Abunawas", though this confuses Nasreddin with an entirely different man – the poet Abu Nuwas, known for homoerotic verse.

The musical Nasirdin Apandim features the legend of Nasreddin effendi ("sir, lord"), largely sourced from Uyghur folklore.

There are at least two collections of Uzbek stories related to Nasriddin Afandi: Nasreddin was the main character in a magazine, called simply Molla Nasraddin, published in Azerbaijan and "read across the Muslim world from Morocco to Iran".

The eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical was published in Tiflis (from 1906 to 1917), Tabriz (in 1921) and Baku (from 1922 to 1931) in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages.

Founded by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, it depicted inequality, cultural assimilation, and corruption and ridiculed the backward lifestyles and values of clergy and religious fanatics.

This quote highlights Osho's appreciation for Nasruddin's ability to blend humor with spirituality, a rare and cherished combination.

[citation needed] The Graeco-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff often referred to "our own dear Mullah Nasr Eddin", also calling him an "incomparable teacher", particularly in his book Beelzebub's Tales.

[46] Sufi philosopher Idries Shah published several collections of Nasruddin stories in English, and emphasized their teaching value.