Pretty, pretty girl. Why not chase her?

Pretty, pretty girl. Why not chase her?

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Asalamu 'Alaykuum Wa Rahmat Allah Wa Barakatu,

The following is a short story that Sheikh Feiz was taught while he was studying in Madina:

There was once a young man who fell in love with a pretty, pretty girl whose looks were astonishing. He decided to speak to this girl for marriage, but as they were speaking, they got into a small argument. Their arguing was going nowhere, so the boy decided to take the girl and speak to his father so he can help sort out the problem they were having, and then inshallah, get married. So the boy explained what happened to the father, and then the pretty, pretty girl came in and when the father saw her, he was astonished at her beauty, so much so that he told the boy "she is no good for you, so I will take her off your hands and I will marry her." The boy in disbelief, started arguing with his father about who will marry this pretty, pretty girl. Seeing no end to the argument, they both decided to take the matter to the local Imam so that he can sort out this problem and judge between them to see who is fit to marry her. So the father and son were discussing their problems with the Imam and they then introduced the girl to the Imam. The Imam, once he saw her lost his way of dealing justly and he told the father and son that she is no good for both of them, and that he will marry her to take her off their hands! So now the Imam, the son and the father are arguing about who will marry this pretty, pretty girl, and once again, there was no end in sight to the argument. The Imam then suggested that they take the matter to the Amir (leader) of the province so that he can deal justly in this matter between them.

So the four set out (including the pretty, pretty girl) to meet the Amir, and when they finally reached him they told him what was wrong, and when he saw the pretty, pretty girl, he was also amazed at her beauty, so much so that he told the three men who wanted to marry her that she is no good for them and that he will take her off their hands and get married to her! They then all started to argue about who will marry this pretty, pretty girl.

The girl seeing this was fed up with the arguing so she suggested something to all three of them. She said that she will run and run and run, and whoever can CATCH her will then be able to marry her. So all of them heard this and they deemed it to be an excellent solution to their arguing and problem. So the young man, being young thought to himself that he will be able to win it easily due to his youth and fitness compared to the others.

So the girl started running, and running, and running, and then the three men began to run after her. The first one to fall down was the young man, losing all his energy - the father saw this and started cheering thinking now that he is out of the equation, he will win the race to catch her. The second one to fall was the father, losing all his energy chasing this pretty, pretty girl without gaining anything. There remained the Imam and the Amir, so both were chasing her and then the Imam falls because he has no more energy to chase her. The Amir, being happy that all of them have fallen except him, became excited, however he still faced the dilemma of CATCHING this pretty, pretty girl. As he's running and running, he notices that the girl is far, far away and she is only getting further and he could not believe her speed. At the end of it, he falls, losing his energy and unable to catch this pretty girl, gives up. This pretty, pretty girl, got away and no one married her.

So who was this pretty, pretty girl that drained these men of their energy and left them with nothing? It was indeed the DUNYA. They chased her and fought over her, only to not grasp her essence, and only for her to get away from them while they were left behind like losers.

The moral of this story, as explained by the Sheikh, is that no matter how much you run after this dunya, you will never fully grasp it and never be satisfied by it. Those who fall into it's traps and it's PRETTINESS, end up fighting over it and losing their energy on it, so much so that it can turn father against son, Imam against the haqq, and the Amir against his people. And at the end of it, they have not gained a thing from it except for sins! So why waste your energy?! There is more to the moral but this is the main part of it.

May Allah protect us from this dunya!