Page 186 - The Book of Rumi

The Muezzin Caller

here was a town in the Levant where most of the inhabitants had not
Tyet converted to Islam. In this town lived a muezzin caller who was
cursed with the most exceptionally discordant voice. When he began the call
to prayer, everyone in the vicinity fled so as not to be within earshot. The

elders in the town were constantly pleading with the man to quit, believing
that, instead of calling people to prayer, he might actually be scaring them
away. Regardless, the man paid no heed to people’s opinions. Every day, he
climbed up the minaret and transmitted his ear-piercing call, sending people
scurrying to shield themselves from the unbearable noise.
One early dawn, a well-dressed man holding a tray full of sweets and
lit candles came to the center of the town and asked people how to fi nd the
muezzin. When people asked why, he said it was because the muezzin had
brought much comfort and calm to his household.
“How could his awful voice bring comfort to anyone ?” one townsperson
asked.
“I have a beautiful, delicate daughter who’s been wanting to convert to
Islam for some time now,” the well-dressed man replied. “We’ve been trying to
dissuade her, but to no avail. It’s as if love for Islam had penetrated her soul
and sunk its roots fi rm and deep.”
He took a long breath and gathered his composure, as he noticed that
everyone was eager to hear his story and wanted him to continue. “I was dev-
astated, knowing that if she changed her faith, we would lose her. I didn’t want
to lose my child but couldn’t fi gure out what to do!”
“So, what made you look for the muezzin caller?” one onlooker asked
impatiently.
“It wasn’t until she heard the muezzin that everything changed!” he said
with a grin on his face. “When she heard him for the fi rst time, she was sur-
prised, because she’d never heard such a horrible sound before. She couldn’t
believe that this noise was actually the Moslem call to prayer, so she asked
her sister, who confi rmed her worst doubts. But she still wasn’t convinced and

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