The Pleasures of the World Distract Its Inhabitants from the Hereafter
Excerpt from "The Dunya and Its Reality" By Ibn al-Qayyim
The world has pleasures and delights which distract its inhabitants from the Afterlife, and they are followed by regret according to their heedlessness. This is similar to a people who boarded a ship that carried them to an island. The navigator of the ship told them to dismount the ship to take care of their needs, while warning them to not linger; and he cautioned them that the ship would move on. Thus, they all went to various parts of the island.
Some of them took care of their needs and hurried back to the ship, where they found empty space. Therefore, they took the most spacious, comfortable areas they desired.
Some of them remained on the island looking at its flowers and amazing lights; and listening to the chirping of its birds, while being impressed by its rocks and stones. Then their soul reminded them that the ship was leaving quickly. They rushed back to the ship, but only found a tight place to sit, so they sat therein.
Some of them remained, enjoying those beautiful rocks and amazing flowers; then they took some things from the island back with them. But when they reached the ship they only found a small tight space. The items they took back with them made it even tighter. Thus, these belongings became heavy and troublesome upon them, but they were not able to discard them. They did not find anyone to take them for them, nor any place on the ship to put them. They put them on their necks and regretted taking them back to the ship, but their regret did not benefit them at all. Then the flowers they took on the ship withered and shriveled; their fragrance changed, and the odor harmed them.
Some of them entered the forest and forgot about the ship. They went far off on their excursion, such that when the captain of the ship called out that the ship was departing, his voice did not reach them due to them being preoccupied with its amusement. They spent some time picking fruits, some time smelling the flowers, and some time enjoying the beautiful trees. In the midst of this, they are fearful a beast of prey will attack them. They are not safe from thorns pricking their clothes and feet. They are not safe from branches poking them in the stomach or box-thorns ripping their clothes or uncovering their private area. They are not safe from frightening sounds terrifying them.
Some of them reached the ship but did not find anywhere to sit, thus they died on the shore. Some of them were distracted with their desires until a wild beast slaughtered them or a viper bit them. Some of them got lost and wandered about until they died.
These are examples of the people and their distraction, their fleeting portion of the worldly life and their forgetting the return and end result of their affair. How evil is the intellect that is distracted by material items which will wither away! So, this has distracted his mind and disabled him from obtaining safety.