Ayberk Efendi opens this sohbet with “Bismillahir‑rahmanir‑rahim” and reminds us that all existence bears the stamp of Allah’s mercy. From the highest heavens to the smallest grain of sand, everything carries a purpose and a worth that no human eye can take away.
The Parable of the Shining Stone
He illustrates this with a story. A young seeker is given a bright stone and told to find out its price by asking the merchants. A greengrocer offers five kuruş, an electrician ten, a shopkeeper fifty. Finally the seeker reaches a jeweller, who looks beyond the surface, holds the stone up and declares it priceless: its value lies in a hidden brilliance that only a master’s eye can see.
The lesson: value is a matter of perspective. Even when we call someone “worthless” or something “not worth a penny,” we are assigning a value, if a low one. Looking deeper opens the possibility of a worth beyond measure.
Spiritual Jeweller: The Role of the Sheikh
In Sufi terms, the one who sees this hidden brilliance is the spiritual jeweller: the sheikh whose insight pierces illusion and reveals the divine spark in each soul. Ayberk Efendi points out that Sheikh Mehmed Efendi and Sheikh Bahauddin Efendi are such a treasure; their teachings light the way for every seeker who comes with humility and reverence.
Recognising Divine Treasure in Our Lives
All creation was brought into being with a purpose. A simple cup, an ordinary stone or a fellow human being each carries its own God‑given value. When we honour the worth of others, we follow Allah’s decree; when we judge hastily, we lose touch with the harmony the prophets and the Companions lived. A person’s true measure is not the praise of the world but how brightly their inner light shines before the master’s eye.
May this teaching help us look beyond the surface, seek what is priceless in every heart, and cherish the guidance of those, like Sheikh Mehmed Efendi and Sheikh Bahauddin Efendi, who embody this treasure.
More talks and writings on this theme are in our Royal Ottoman Society Library.
