In the surah Sād there is a powerful image which has never in the Muslim intellectual tradition received the attention which its many layers deserve. Sulaiman, a prophet and the king, watches horses one evening, of whose beauty and excellence the Qur'an says: “... they stood on three legs, and barely touched the ground with the fourth”. While admiring them, the devout king suddenly concludes that he has naively indulged himself in worldly vanities, since any enjoyment, even aesthetic, is pure vanity.

When someone in Bosnia invites you for a coffee, it does not mean only drinking a hot beverage together; it means a lot more. The well-known phrases “let's go for a coffee” or “shall we have a coffee” mean that the person who is inviting you wants to spend some time with you, chatting and socializing.

A text by Hamdija Kreševljaković

Fojnica resident Rizah Muderizović was born in 1868, and died in 1943. He worked as a curator of the National Museum in Sarajevo. He left behind many academic and translation works.

In Bosnia, like elsewhere, the emergence of tobacco aroused reaction. The most prominent opponent to this evil was dervish Kaimi-baba. He even wrote an entire poem (qasida) about the harmfulness of tobacco.

“Ćeif is something special, something which is probably unknown to any other people in the world except to our Muslims.”

Hammams, public baths, have been constituent part of culture of our population since the 16th century. They emerged as part of the need, in line with Islamic regulations for thorough washing for certain religious rituals, then washing of women during a given period, preparation for wedding and, of course, maintaining personal hygiene.

In our regions, human need for socializing and entertainment was satisfied in different forms since earliest times.