Editing Nasreddin (section)

== Origin and legacy ==
{{Sufism}}
Claims about his origin are made by many ethnic groups.<ref>İlhan Başgöz, ''Studies in Turkish folklore, in honor of Pertev N. Boratav'', Indiana University, 1978, p. 215. ("[https://books.google.com/books?id=40faAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Quelle+est+la+nationalite+de+Nasreddin+Hodja+-+est-il+turc,+avar,+tatar,+tadjik,+persan+ou+ousbek Quelle est la nationalité de Nasreddin Hodja – est-il turc, avar, tatar, tadjik, persan ou ousbek? Plusieurs peuples d'Orient se disputent sa nationalité, parce qu'ils considerent qu'il leur appartient.]") {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="Perry">John R. Perry, "Cultural currents in the Turco-Persian world", in ''New Perspectives on Safavid Iran: Majmu`ah-i Safaviyyah in Honour of Roger Savory'', Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|978-1-136-99194-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1uCaELAsv3MC&q=%22Legend+says%22&pg=PA92 p. 92.]</ref> 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]],<ref name="Perry" /> and later in [[Konya]] under the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuq]] rule, where he died in 1275/6 or 1285/6 CE.<ref name="Nasreddin Hoca" /><ref name="psiche" /> It is claimed that the tomb of Nasreddin is in [[Akşehir]], and the International Nasreddin Hodja Festival is held annually in Akşehir, 5–10 July.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aksehir's International Nasreddin Hodja Festival and Aviation Festival – Turkish Daily News 27 Jun 2005 |url=https://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=16409 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165158/https://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=16409 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date=31 August 2007}}</ref>

There are also opposing views to the effect that Nasreddin's origin lies in [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Attardo |editor1-first=Salvatore |title=Encyclopedia of Humor Studies |date=2014 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-483-34617-5 |page=108}}</ref>

The Arabic version of the character, known as ''Juha'' ({{langx|ar|جحا}}), is the oldest attested version of the character. The most divergent is mentioned in [[al-Jahiz]]'s book "Concerning mules" ({{lang|ar|القول في البغال}}" ''Alqawl fi albighal''). According to [[al-Dhahabi]]'s book, "The balance of moderation (advisable) in the criticism of men" ("{{lang|ar|ميزان الاعتدال في نقد الرجال}}" ''Mīzān al-iʕtidāl fī naqd al-rijāl''), his full name was Abu al-Ghusn Dujayn al-Fizari, he lived under the [[Umayyad dynasty|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.<ref>الذهبي ميزان الاعتدال (المجلد 1)، ص 326</ref>

{{Blockquote| 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.|sign=[[Ibn al-Jawzi]]<ref>"ابن شاكر الكتبي "عيون التواريخ" ص 373 وما بعدها</ref>}}

The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571. Some of the stories, however, are in the ''[[Philogelos]]''{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} and Aesop's fables.<ref>''[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54690/54690-h/54690-h.htm Der Hodscha Nasreddin]'', Albert Wesselski, sidenote to story 201</ref>

Today, Nasreddin stories are told in many countries - especially those of the [[Muslim world]] - and have been translated into many languages. Certain regions independently developed a '[[wise fool]]' character similar to Nasreddin, and the stories have become part of a larger whole. In many regions, Nasreddin is a major part of the culture and is quoted or alluded to frequently in daily life. Since there are thousands of different Nasreddin stories, one can be found to fit almost any occasion.<ref>Ohebsion, Rodney (2004) ''A Collection of Wisdom'', Immediex Publishing, {{ISBN|1-932968-19-9}}.</ref> Nasreddin often appears as a whimsical character in an extensive [[Folklore|folk]] tradition of [[Vignette (literature)|vignette]]s in the following languages: [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], Afghan, [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], Chinese, [[Greek people|Greek]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hebrew]], [[Hindi]], [[Judeo-Spanish]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]], Russian, Uzbek, [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]], and [[Urdu language|Urdu]].

{{blockquote| Some people say that, whilst uttering what seemed madness, he was, in reality, divinely inspired, and that it was not madness but wisdom that he uttered.|sign=''The Turkish Jester or The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16244 |title=The Turkish Jester or The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi |others=Translated from the Turkish by [[George Borrow]] |year=1884 |first=Nasreddin |last=Hoca }}</ref>
}} Azerbaijani scholars {{Interlanguage link|Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib|lt=Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib|az|Məmmədhüseyn Təhmasib}} and {{Interlanguage link|Mammadagha Sultanov|lt=Mammadagha Sultanov|az|Məmmədağa Sultanov}} claimed that the folklore hero Molla Nasraddin was the minister of the [[Ilkhanate]] period, [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]]. The reasons for this are that they lived in the same period, Tusi included anecdotes in one of his works, ridiculed astrologers as a scientist, Molla Nasraddin went to [[Timur|Emir Timur]] as a representative of the country, the parallel between Nasir al-Din al-Tusi being sent to [[Hulagu Khan]] by the ruler of [[Alamut]] and both having the same name—Hasan. However, Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib stated that this information is not conclusive evidence.{{Snf|Boratav|2014|p=77}}{{Snf|Boratav|2014|p=39}}