Javad Nurbakhsh
The dog is considered to be a model for fidelity in classical Sufi literature. In this collection of stories praising the dog’s sense of patience, gratitude, service and self-sacrifice are the shared virtues of both dog and man. One anecdote begins: “I learned Sufism from a dog sleeping by the door of a house …”. Sufis see the value of humility, loyalty and the importance of taming the unruly aspects (nafs), inviting the reader to share in the wisdom of Jami when he says “I am the dog at the threshold of neediness, my collar is fashioned from fidelity to God.”