--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The poor Sufi dressed in rags walked into…" description: "\"“The poor Sufi dressed in rags walked into a jewelry store owned by a rich merchant and asked him, \"Do you know how you’re going to die.\" And the Sufi ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/john-green-12_astonishing_the-poor-sufi-dressed-in-rags-walked-int_1428837.jpg" --- # The poor Sufi dressed in rags walked into a jewelry store… ![“The poor Sufi dressed in rags walked into a jewelry store owned by a rich merchant and asked him, "Do you know how you’re going to die." And the Sufi said, "I do.""How?" asked the merchant. And the Sufi lay down, crossed his arms, said, "Like this," and died, whereupon the merchant promptly gave…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/john-green-12_astonishing_the-poor-sufi-dressed-in-rags-walked-int_1428837.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/john-green-12_astonishing_the-poor-sufi-dressed-in-rags-walked-int_1428837.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64c/john-green-12_astonishing_the-poor-sufi-dressed-in-rags-walked-int_1428837.jpg) > ““The poor Sufi dressed in rags walked into a jewelry store owned by a rich merchant and asked him, "Do you know how you’re going to die." And the Sufi said, "I do.""How?" asked the merchant. And the Sufi lay down, crossed his arms, said, "Like this," and died, whereupon the merchant promptly gave up his store to live a life of poverty in pursuit of the kind of spiritual wealth the dead Sufi had acquired.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Sufi predicts his death, prompting the merchant to abandon wealth for spiritual pursuit. **In simple terms:** Facing mortality can shift values toward spiritual wealth. Key Takeaway Reflect on mortality to prioritize inner growth. Themes mortality spirituality wealth transformation detachment Mood contemplative poignant inspirational Type narrative allegorical philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual awakening - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts Sufi teachings existential reflection materialism critique Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting death change priorities? - What spiritual wealth can one cultivate now? A Different Perspective Assumes immediate transformation after a single event, which may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Spiritual wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“At the peak of human gnosis, man’s knowledge of God may appear associated with the love of God. 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Love floods our nervous system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/love-makes-us-wake-up-in-the-morning-with-a-sense-of-purpose-and-a/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Possessing material comforts in no way guarantees happiness. Only spiritual wealth can bring true true happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konosuke-matsushita/possessing-material-comforts-in-no-way-guarantees-happiness-only/) [Konosuke Matsushita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konosuke-matsushita/) > [Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth... Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-templeton/happiness-comes-from-spiritual-wealth-not-material-wealth-happiness/) [John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-templeton/) > [“As you will soon see, dear Mother, being charitable has not always been so pleasant for me, and to prove it I am going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-beevers/as-you-will-soon-see-dear-mother-being-charitable-has-not-always-been/) [John Beevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-beevers/) > [It is true that the trees are for human use. But these are aesthetic uses as well as commercial uses-uses for the spiritual wealth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-leconte/it-is-true-that-the-trees-are-for-human-use-but-these-are-aesthetic/) Joseph LeConte > [Love floods our nervous system with positive energy, making us far more attractive to prospective employers, clients, and creative partners... Love leads us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/love-floods-our-nervous-system-with-positive-energy-making-us-far/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [If money is your hope for independence you will never have it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/if-money-is-your-hope-for-independence-you-will-never-have-it/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [If we have not developed a reservoir of spiritual wealth, no amount of money is likely to make us happy. Spiritual wealth provides faith.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-templeton/if-we-have-not-developed-a-reservoir-of-spiritual-wealth-no-amount-of/) [John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-templeton/) > [... people don't know what they are striving for. They waste themselves in senseless thrashing around for the sake of a handful of goods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/people-don-t-know-what-they-are-striving-for-they-waste-themselves-in/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The marvelous thing about spiritual wealth is that when we take our part in that, everyone else is blessed; whereas if we refused to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-marvelous-thing-about-spiritual-wealth-is-that-when-we-take-our/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [By being receptive, we can avail ourselves of the spiritual wealth available to us. By being open, we can receive things beyond what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/by-being-receptive-we-can-avail-ourselves-of-the-spiritual-wealth/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) Janice Y. K. Lee > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. 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