Hatem al-Haj – Metaphoric story of Ibn Qudamah

			Amina Chateauneuf *
		

			Bismillah, he laughs
		

			He
		

			is it was
		

			the final advice. The final advice by Morocco. So he mentioned a metaphorical story, a very
beautiful metaphorical story. And I may have mentioned that before to some of you,
		

			because I like that story in particular. And he said that, you know, one day a group of people who
live by the shore by you know, seaside, they received an invitation from
		

			a king across the sea,
		

			who has his kingdom across the sea,
		

			that can send them a shift. And a captain, you know, the captain of the ship ship, like its own
captain and support staff and so on, and invited the people of that village to the kingdom
		

			of that sovereign or that saltwater King.
		

			On their way, they were told that they will have a brief stop at an island on the way little island
on the way, you know, on the way sailing to the kingdom of the Great King, they, they were told that
they will have a brief stop at this island. So they
		

			arrived at this island, they came off the ship. And then the the guide, the guide told them
		

			that what we will be doing here on this island is basically collecting gems and jewels. Because this
island is full of gems and jewels, we will be collecting gems
		

			to present them to the king. When we arrived in his great city, we will present those gems and
jewels to the king. The guy told them, I will tell you which gems and jewels and which types that
are most precious and most appreciated by the game.
		

			So they were so many different, there were so many different groups of them. Some of them, some of
them once they heard us from the from the captain, the urine and the started ticket like the gems
and jewels and everything to be found in front of them. Everything we found that looks shiny, they
start to collect this everybody has a backpack. So everybody puts you know as gems and jewels and
not back pack. So they are collecting everything that shines.
		

			Because those are the think gems and jewels shine. So everything that shines, they collected the put
it in the backpack and they start to work and be kept on working hard.
		

			Very good. Some of them, some of them stayed with the guide
		

			the captain and they listen to what he said about the characteristics of the most precious gems and
jewels. You know, how do they look like and know what which ones you should select which ones the
king appreciates the most. Some of them some of them started to play with sand on the side of the
island, they started to build castles of sand and so on.
		

			And, you know, play and so on. Some of them
		

			started to work a little bit and when it when it was for noon, and the sun started to rise and it
started to get a little bit hot. They said we should take a nap, you know, stressed it's a long day,
they were told that by sunset, everybody will have to leave the ship and no one would have you know,
no one will have the option to stay around. Everybody will have to be taken back onboard.
		

			Some of them some of them started actually to trade the Jews amongst themselves. And they engage you
know, in building you know a little bit of like little homes, you know, made out of whatever
materials there were their wood and stuff they started to build the homes for houses for themselves
because the sound
		

			You know, buy a new one, it's gonna get too hot. And we have to make sure that we have enough shade
and so on. And they started to get themselves comfortable. And you know, make those sheds and so on.
		

			The captain told them, all of this island is yours, except for one place. It is the secret precent
of the king. It has the hair and how do you measure it? It has the women of the king.
		

			The secret, you know, precent of the king is this one, Patterson the island, no one should go to it,
no one should come close to it.
		

			So they started, you know, to get curious, because it you know, it looks so magnificent the huge
stem thing. So they started to get curious. And they start to come a little bit closer and closer,
they say themselves will just peek in from from far away. You see what is happening there. And every
you know, every, like step on the way they get closer to that product they get more than than the
past looks, you know, marvelous. And it looks so tempting and beautiful. So they get a little bit
closer, a little bit closer. And so once they get to the fence, they jump over the fence, they can't
control themselves. What's inside is so tempting and so beautiful. So they jump over the fence and
		

			they get inside and they get caught. Because that is that has the hair, hollywood medic, Florida
from the women of the king gets his secret
		

			prisons
		

			Who are those people?
		

			Pass?
		

			Well, who's the captain of the ship.
		

			And allies the king came to be known as the greatest parable. This is just an example to
		

			highlight things.
		

			But Allah, Allah, so Allah sent to the prophets of Salaam to invite us to his kingdom, you know, in
the hereafter.
		

			The life of this world is not Island, that is our life or wherever the life is that island.
		

			Now the people that went closer to the palace or the centers, they were told, You have everything.
You could get married, you know, make money, make hella money, eat and drink. Lots of things you
don't eat pork is forbidden. niter is forbidden, you know, has to be Hillel mean, there has to be.
		

			You can drink juice, he could drink milk, he could drink so many things.
		

			But don't drink wine. And so it's a fast Island, go wherever you want. Do whatever he wants, this is
just this one palace stay away from
		

			and they insisted to get closer and closer to the palace to begin to look at it to take you know
curious in the closer you get to it. You look one time, you know you say you know I'll just I'll
just check her out, see, see what what she looks like. And then you look another time and you look a
third time and then every time is an arrow of the same time. You know being thrown at you into your
heart. And then you'll get more and more tempted until you fall into sin. Big or small that sin is
but it's a sin. The very fact that you look to us with desire with lust is sinful because the
prophets was on him said that the first is yours The second is against you will be will be counted
		

			against you the first look is yours. The second would count against you.
		

			So those are the centers
		

			that the people who ran to collect the gems antique started to pick up all the gems that they find
in front of them are the Abed the worshipers that not really spend time on learning on education. So
they collecting everything the times, but not everything that science is doing. They'll do okay.
They'll do okay because some of the things that they will collect also will be gems. But they will
miss out on much because they will be collecting things everybody has limited time. Everybody has a
limited time and your backpack is limited capacity, your power, your strength, your energy, all of
this is limited.
		

			So if you are so indiscriminate and undiscerning you will be collecting everything and you'll be
collecting a little bit some rocks
		

			Also the chain a little bit, and so on. The people who spent a little bit more time was the
messenger was the captain learning, you know, the puranam isn't learning what is it that the king
loves the most, learning how to do it and how to perform it in the best and most beautiful way most
excellent way, are the people who
		

			were the students of knowledge scholars and students of knowledge, animal mortality.
		

			Because I'll even have a thought about the alarm said those two types of people are safe. The
scholar and the student of knowledge, one that has attained the knowledge, and one that seeks it and
light and loves it and, you know, wants to have more of it.
		

			And the people, you know, the people who started to build houses are the people who are consumed in
this dunya, the people who were consumed in the pleasures of this many of the businessmen who wanted
to make a lot of money and build houses and buy cars and so on, not realizing that this is just an
island, this is not your final destination, you're just here temporarily, and you will be taken at
the end of the day back to the ship. And at the end of the day, no one will be given a choice to
stay behind, you will be seized by force, you will be taken by force back to the ship. So if you
were napping, those who is napping, the lazy people who spend their time in for valatie in
		

			nothingness is just laziness. You know, the couch potatoes though those people that don't do
anything, they don't do anything bad, but they don't do anything good either. Are the people that
were napping? You know, and the people who spent their time in La Jolla, la who live in play and
amusement are the people who started to build castles, you know of sand, that get
		

			destroyed by the waves and so on. So it is it is a very nice parable
		

			that really teaches us where we should be, where we should be. The best place to be is to learn to
spend a little bit more time with the messenger, spend a little bit more time with the captain of
the ship, learn what is it that is most appreciated by the king, and what is not. So that when
you're in your limited time, and with your limited capacity as a human being, you pick out the
jewels that are most precious, and will be most appreciated by the king. Don't ever go near that
palace. Don't ever even go near the Hara, the hermit of Allah subhanaw taala the sacred bounds of
Allah subhanaw taala Don't come close because you would come once you come close. You will trespass.
		

			Allah inadequately American him Allah in him allow him or her mo the prophets all upset for every
game. He has His sanctuary. And Allah sanctuary is his prohibitions. Don't go near them. If you
trespass you will be caught and you will be punished.
		

			And that's it. It's a nice story.