Mishkat al-Masabih

Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The example of the one who is lax in enforcing the limits set by Allah and the one who falls into them is like a people who drew lots for places in a boat. Some of them were in its lower deck and some in its upper deck. Those who were in the lower deck, when they needed water, would have to pass by those above them, which caused discomfort to the upper deck people. So the people in the lower deck took an axe and began to make a hole in the bottom of the boat. The people above came to them and asked: ‘What are you doing?’ They replied: ‘You are troubled when we pass above you, and we need water as well.’ If the people above stop their hands, they will save both themselves and the others; but if they leave them to what they want, they will destroy both themselves and the others.” Narrated by al-Bukhari.