Parable of a ship with two decks: How individual bad decisions impact the community at large

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The example of the one who observes the limits (prohibitions) set by Allah and the one who falls into them (does not observe them) is like that of a people who drew lots for places on a ship: some of them got the upper part and some the lower. Those who were in the lower part, whenever they went to get water, had to pass by those above them. So they said, ‘If we were to make a hole in our ˹section˺, we would not harm those above us.’ If they let them do what they intend, they will all perish; but if they restrain them, they will be saved and all will be saved.”

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: «مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللَّهِ وَالْوَاقِعِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ، فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلاَهَا وَبَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا، فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا إِذَا اسْتَقَوْا مِنَ الْمَاءِ مَرُّوا عَلَى مَنْ فَوْقَهُمْ، فَقَالُوا لَوْ أَنَّا خَرَقْنَا فِي نَصِيبِنَا خَرْقًا وَلَمْ نُؤْذِ مَنْ فَوْقَنَا، فَإِنْ يَتْرُكُوهُمْ وَمَا أَرَادُوا هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا وَنَجَوْا جَمِيعًا».

The Prophet ﷺ said, "The example of the person abiding by Allah's orders and limits (or the one who abides by the limits and regulations prescribed by Allah) in comparison to the one who do wrong and violate Allah's limits and orders is like the example of people drawing lots for seats in a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part while the others in the lower part ; those in the, lower part have to pass by those in the upper one to get water, and that troubled the latter. One of them (i.e. the people in the lower part) took an ax and started making a hole in the bottom of the boat. The people of the upper part came and asked him, (saying), 'What is wrong with you?' He replied, "You have been troubled much by my (coming up to you), and I have to get water.' Now if they prevent him from doing that they will save him and themselves, but if they leave him (to do what he wants), they will destroy him and themselves."

قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَثَلُ الْمُدْهِنِ فِي حُدُودِ اللَّهِ وَالْوَاقِعِ فِيهَا مَثَلُ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا سَفِينَةً فَصَارَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا وَصَارَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي أَعْلاَهَا فَكَانَ الَّذِي فِي أَسْفَلِهَا يَمُرُّونَ بِالْمَاءِ عَلَى الَّذِينَ فِي أَعْلاَهَا فَتَأَذَّوْا بِهِ فَأَخَذَ فَأْسًا فَجَعَلَ يَنْقُرُ أَسْفَلَ السَّفِينَةِ فَأَتَوْهُ فَقَالُوا مَا لَكَ قَالَ تَأَذَّيْتُمْ بِي وَلاَ بُدَّ لِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ فَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى يَدَيْهِ أَنْجَوْهُ وَنَجَّوْا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُ أَهْلَكُوهُ وَأَهْلَكُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ

"The parable of the one who upholds Allah's laws and the one who breaches them, is that of a people who drew lots on a ship at sea. Some of them got the upper part, and some of them the lower part. Those on the lower part ascended to get water, spilling it upon those upper part. So those in the upper part say: 'We will not leave you to come up here and bother us.' Then those on the lower part say: 'We should make a hole in the lower part, so we can get water.' If they take them by the hand and stop them, then they will save all of them, and if they leave them, they will all drown."'

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُدْهِنِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلاَهَا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا يَصْعَدُونَ فَيَسْتَقُونَ الْمَاءَ فَيَصُبُّونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ فِي أَعْلاَهَا فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَعْلاَهَا لاَ نَدَعُكُمْ تَصْعَدُونَ فَتُؤْذُونَنَا فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا فَإِنَّا نَنْقُبُهَا مِنْ أَسْفَلِهَا فَنَسْتَقِي فَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَنَعُوهُمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُمْ غَرِقُوا جَمِيعًا

"The parable of the one who upholds Allah's laws and the one who breaches them, is that of a people who drew lots on a ship at sea. Some of them got the upper part, and some of them the lower part. Those on the lower part ascended to get water, spilling it upon those upper part. So those in the upper part say: 'We will not leave you to come up here and bother us.' Then those on the lower part say: 'We should make a hole in the lower part, so we can get water.' If they take them by the hand and stop them, then they will save all of them, and if they leave them, they will all drown."' (Using translation from Tirmidhī 2173)

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللهِ وَالْمُدَّهِنِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَاهَا فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا يَصْعَدُونَ فَيَسْتَقُونَ الْمَاءَ فَيَصُبُّونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ فِي أَعْلَاهَا فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَعْلَاهَا لَا نَدَعُكُمْ تَصْعَدُونَ فَتُؤْذُونَنَا فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا فَإِنَّنَا نَنْقُبُهَا مِنْ أَسْفَلِهَا فَنَسْتَقِي قَالَ فَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَنَعُوهُمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُمْ غَرِقُوا جَمِيعًا

[Machine] I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, "The example of the one who upholds the limits of Allah and the one who transgresses them is like a people who boarded a ship. Some of them settled in the lower deck, and some settled in the upper deck. Whenever those in the lower deck needed water, they had to pass by those in the upper deck, so they troubled them by saying, 'If we drill a hole in our portion, we can have our water without troubling those on the upper deck.' If they left those on the upper deck and let them do as they pleased, all of them would drown. However, if they took hold of their hands, they would all be saved."

سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللهِ وَالْوَاقِعِ فِيهَا الْمُدَّهِنِ فِيهَا مَثَلُ قَوْمٍ رَكِبُوا سَفِينَةً فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا وَأَوْعَرَهَا وَشَرَّهَا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَاهَا فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا إِذَا اسْتَقَوْا الْمَاءَ مَرُّوا عَلَى مَنْ فَوْقَهُمْ فَآذَوْهُمْ فَقَالُوا لَوْ خَرَقْنَا فِي نَصِيبِنَا خَرْقًا فَاسْتَقَيْنَا مِنْهُ وَلَمْ نُؤْذِ مَنْ فَوْقَنَا فَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُمْ وَأَمْرَهُمْ هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا

[Machine] Narrated by the Prophet ﷺ , the parable of the person who observes the limits set by Allah, the one who transgresses those limits, and the one who denigrates them is like a group of people who boarded a ship. Some of them occupied the upper deck, while others occupied the lower deck. When those in the lower deck needed water, they had to go up to get it, thus inconveniencing the people in the upper deck. They suggested to the people in the upper deck to allow them to make a hole in their own area so that they could have access to water without disturbing the people in the upper deck. If the people in the upper deck let them do so, then everyone on the ship would be harmed and eventually perish. However, if they prevented them from making the hole, then everyone would be saved.

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللهِ وَالرَّاتِعِ فِيهَا وَالْمُدَّهِنِ فِيهَا مَثَلُ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَاهَا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا وَأَوْعَرَهَا وَإِذَا الَّذِينَ أَسْفَلَهَا إِذَا اسْتَقَوْا مِنَ الْمَاءِ مَرُّوا عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِمْ فَآذَوْهُمْ فَقَالُوا لَوْ أَنَّا خَرَقْنَا فِي نَصِيبِنَا خَرْقًا فَاسْتَقَيْنَا مِنْهُ وَلَمْ نَمُرَّ عَلَى أَصْحَابِنَا فَنُؤْذِيَهُمْ فَإِنْتَرَكُوهُمْ وَمَا أَرَادُوا هَلَكُوا وَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The example of those who abide by the limits set by Allah and those who transgress them is like the people who boarded a ship. Some of them settled in the upper deck, while others settled in the lower deck. When the people in the lower deck needed water, they had to pass by the people in the upper deck, and they would bother them. So the people in the upper deck told them: "You have bothered us by passing by and causing us harm." Then the people in the lower deck took an axe and started to make a hole in the ship. The people in the upper deck asked them: "What are you doing?" If you leave them and let them do as they please, they will cause the destruction of all of us. But if you hold them back, we will all be saved.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مَثَلُ الْوَاقِعِ فِي حُدُودِ اللهِ وَالْمُدَاهِنِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ سُفْلًا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ عُلْوًا فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي السُّفْلِ يَسْتَقُونَ مِنَ الْعُلُوِّ فَيَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَيُؤْذُونَهُمْ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي الْعُلُوِّ قَدْ آذَيتُمُونَا تَصُبُّونَ عَلَيْنَا الْمَاءَ قَالَ فَأَخَذُوا فَأْسًا يَعْنِي الَّذِينَ فِي السُّفْلِ فَجَعَلُوا يَحْفِرُونَ فِي السَّفِينَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُمُ الَّذِينَ فِي الْعُلُوِّ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ؟ فَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُمْ وَمَا يُرِيدُونَ هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا

The Prophet ﷺ said, "The example of the person abiding by Allah's order and restrictions in comparison to those who violate them is like the example of those persons who drew lots for their seats in a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part, and the others in the lower. When the latter needed water, they had to go up to bring water (and that troubled the others), so they said, 'Let us make a hole in our share of the ship (and get water) saving those who are above us from troubling them. So, if the people in the upper part left the others do what they had suggested, all the people of the ship would be destroyed, but if they prevented them, both parties would be safe." (Using translation from Bukhārī 2493)

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مَثَلُ الْقَائِمِ عَلَى حُدُودِ اللهِ وَالْوَاقِعِ فِيهَا كَمَثَلِ قَوْمٍ اسْتَهَمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَةٍ فَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَاهَا وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَسْفَلَهَا فَكَانَ الَّذِينَ فِي أَسْفَلِهَا إِذَا اسْتَقَوْا مِنَ الْمَاءِ فَمَرُّوا عَلَى مَنْ فَوْقَهُمْ آذَوْهُمْ فَقَالُوا لَوْ أَنَّا خَرَقْنَا فِي نَصِيبِنَا خَرْقًا فَاسْتَقَيْنَا مِنْهُ وَلَمْ نُؤْذِ مَنْ فَوْقَنَا فَإِنْ تَرَكُوهُمْ وَمَا أَرَادُوا هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا وَإِنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا جَمِيعًا

"مَثَلُ الْقَائِم عَلَى حُدُودِ اللهِ، والْمُدهِنِ فيهَا، كَمثَلِ قَوْم اسْتَهمُوا عَلَى سَفِينَة فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأصَابَ بَعْضُهُم أَعْلاهَا، وَأَصَابَ بَعْضُهُم أَسْفَلَهَا، فَكَانَ الَّذِين فِي أَسْفلِهَا إِذَا اسْتَقَوْا مِنَ الْماءِ مَرُّوا عَلَى مَنْ فوْقَهُمْ. فقَال الَّذِين فِي أَعْلاهَا لَا نَدعكُمْ تَصْعدُونَ (*) فَتُؤْذُونَا! ! فَقَالُوا: لَوْ أنّا خَرَقْنَا فِي نَصِيبِنَا خَرْقًا وَلَمْ نُؤْذِ مَنْ فَوْقَنَا؟ فَإِنْ يَتْرُكُوهُمْ وَما أَرَادُوا هَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا، وإنْ أَخَذُوا عَلَى أَيدِيهِمْ نَجَوْا وَنجَوْا جَمِيعًا".