In this sohbet, Ayberk Efendi tells a story about how well‑meant plans collapse when they rest on false assumptions. In a desert setting, a traveller arrives at a neighbour’s house and finds that the resident is deaf. Wanting to offer comfort, the visitor rehearses every reply in advance – the greeting “Peace be upon you,” a question about the neighbour’s health, an offer of soup, even the name of a doctor – convinced that his script will guarantee harmony.
At first the exchange goes as he imagined: greetings are returned and polite words exchanged. Then it turns dark. To simple questions come startling answers – that he is drinking poison instead of soup, that Azrail, the Angel of Death, is on his way – until the sick man rebukes his guest: “Are you here only to turn my suffering into your own triumph?”
Ayberk Efendi uses the story to show that plans rooted in ego or presumption miss the deeper reality. Even with good intentions, a lack of true listening can turn kindness into harm. On the Sufi path we learn that “the sheikh may speak correctly while the disciple misinterprets.” May Allah grant us hearts capable of real understanding, so that we respond with presence rather than rehearsed words.
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