the ship; but if they seize their hands and stop them from doing that, they will be saved, and everyone will be saved—that is, both groups alike.

This parable cited by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is one of the most profound and elevated examples. People, with respect to Allah’s religion, are like passengers on a vessel in the middle of a river: the waves toss them about, and when they are numerous some must occupy the lower hold while others remain on the upper deck so that the ship’s weight is balanced and no one crowds another. Because the vessel is a shared possession, if anyone among them tries to wreck it, the rest must restrain him and take hold of his hands so that all may survive. If they do not, they will all perish. Such, too, is the religion of Allah: when the intelligent, the learned, and the devout restrain the ignorant and the reckless, everyone is rescued; but if they leave them to their own designs, all are destroyed. Allah the Exalted has said, “And beware of a trial that will not afflict only those of you who have wronged, and know that Allah is severe in punishment” (al-Anfāl 8:25).

The parable also shows that a teacher should employ illustrative examples, bringing abstract meanings close to people’s minds through tangible images. Allah Most High says, “Such parables We set forth for mankind, but none understand them except those possessing knowledge” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:43). How often you may explain a point at length, repeating it again and again, and still a person does not grasp it—yet once you cast it for him in a concrete, sensory image, he immediately understands and recognizes it.

Consider, then, the remarkable example the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave to a Bedouin man