Morocco: Sex for a European husband

Via nieuwsblad (Dutch):

Poor Moroccan girls are willing to do everything in order to get a European husband.

Said, a 21 year old tourist in Tangier says there’s no talk of love, he says of the flirting in the streets of Tangier between locals and European-born youth. “In Morocco marriage has become big business. Singles no longer look for a beloved, but for somebody who will inject capital into their lives. Poverty is consuming this country, it makes its residents unemotional materialists. There is no future here for the Arab Romeo and Juliet.”

Many dream of a life in another country, preferably overseas. Some adventurers flee at nights by boat to Spain. Whoever fears the water, tries hooking somebody from Europe. Tangier in particular is flooded in the summer by Moroccans from abroad, to the delight of many poor Moroccan girls. Without any diversions they offer money or sex for European residence permits.

Naima from Antwerp: “In the nightclub I met a Moroccan girl from Casablanca. Very quickly she asked me how much my brothers would cost. I answered her that my brothers weren’t for sale, but she kept on pressing. She wanted to get out of Morocco. She was tired of the country and was looking for a boy from Europe. I joked that one of my brothers is asking for 10,000 euro. She couldn’t pay that, she said seriously. After that she asked if we couldn’t get to an agreement some other way.”

Ahmed, a twenty-something from Brussels, is passing through Tangier. He’s constantly confronted with desperate bartering: a night out for papers, sex for the right documents.. these are proposals boys from Europe often get.

“Ad nauseum,” says Ahmed. “And every year it gets worse. They see as as walking residence permits.” He says the girls aren’t ashamed of what they do at nights. “It’s downright disgusting and shocking. For some money or a false promise you get everything by Moroccan chicks. They’re whores!”

The older generation of Moro0ccans thinks the youth living in Europe are no good. “They’re westernized, also in their sexual behavior,” says Fatima (70) from Tangier. “The foreigners imported their uninhibited sexual mores to Morocco and turn our youth onto the wrong path.”

Of course there are differences in sexual mores between Morocco and Europe. 86% of the women in Morocco feel sexually intimated on the streets. The journalist says she herself got lewd comments multiple times while she was out. Even pregnant women aren’t exempt, and her pregnant niece was accosted by a disturbed man. [Ed: this article is summarized and I did not feel like translating all the comments]

Everything in Morocco is done secretively, and Moroccan society shuts their eyes, for fear of family or sex scandals. “And yet the Moroccans insist that their country is not sexually depraved. I’m irritated to no end by the hypocrisy,” says a Brussels woman. “In the hotel my friend and I can’t sleep in the same room because we aren’t married, but the Saudi sex-tourists can get Moroccan whores sent up to their room. The petro-dollars are suddenly above any modesty law. Sex tourism is flourishing like never before in Morocco. I see it with my own eyes, Morocco is a second Thailand.

Russia: 110 year old makes pilgrimage to the Hajj

Via RT:

A 110-year-old woman from Russia’s North Caucasus has fulfilled a lifelong ambition by traveling 3,000 kilometers as a pilgrim to join the Hajj.

The Hajj is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world and also considered a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in every Muslim’s lifetime.

It is the only pillar of Islam that happens strictly at a certain time and place, from the 8th to the 12th day of the last month of the Islamic Calendar.

For Madinat Dzadzieva, taking part in the Hajj has been a lifelong dream. She is high-spirited and fearless, despite being more than a century old.

(source)

1. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar (rahmatullah alayh) was a contemporary of Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh). Once he got into a ferry boat. When the boat was in the middle of the river, the pilot asked for the fee which Maalik Bin Dinaar was unable to tender. The pilot mercilessly beat him until he became unconscious. When he revived, the pilot threatened to throw him overboard if he failed to make payment. By the command of Allah Ta’ala a shoal of fishes surfaced. Each one had a dinaar (gold coin) in its mouth. Hadhrat Maalik took one dinaar and handed it to the pilot who fell at his feet ashamed, profusely apologizing. Hadhrat Maalik stepped off the boat and walked away on the surface on the water until he was out of sight.

2. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar was very handsome and extremely wealthy. He lived in Damascus. The following is the episode which led to his reformation. He used to spend time in I’tikaaf in the beautiful Jaami Musjid built by Hadhrat Muaawiyah (رضئ الله عنه ). Once he developed the desire to become the mutawalli (trustee) of the Musjid. He, therefore, decided to remain in the Musjid and engaged in ibaadat to impress the musallis. He spent the whole year in I’tikaaf in the Musjid. Whenever people entered the Musjid they would find him performing Salaat. After one year he came out of the Musjid and heard a voice saying: “O Maalik! Alas! Why don’t you repent. Shame on your year’s of deceptive worship.”

Cleansing his heart from riyaa (show) he passed the entire night in ibaadat. In the morning he saw a group of musallis at the entrance of the Musjid. They were discussing the poor state of the Musjid’s administration. They unanimously decided to appoint Maalik Bin Dinaar as the mutawalli. They said that there was no one better qualified for this post than Maalik Bin Dinaar.

When the group approached Maalik Bin Dinaar, he was engaged in Salaat. After he completed his Salaat, they informed him of their decision to appoint him the mutawalli. When he heard this he said to himself: “O Allah! For a whole year I worshipped you with riyaa, but no one paid any heed to me. Now after a single night’s ibaadat with sincerity, so many people have turned to me by Your command. I take oath by You that I shall not accept this offer.” So saying, he came out of the Musjid and engrossed in ibaadat life-long.

3. In the city of Basrah an extremely wealthy man had died leaving his only daughter. This girl who inherited her father’s entire estate was very beautiful. She went to Hadhrat Thaabit Bunaani (rahmatullah alayh), the renowned saint, and said: “I wish to be married to Maalik Binaar so that I derive aid in ibaadat and the Deen.” Hadhrat Thaabit put this proposal to Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar, but he declined, commenting:”I have abandoned the world. Woman is also part of the world. I have no desire of violating my pledge.”

4. Once while Maalik Bin Dinaar was resting in the shade of a tree, a snake was fanning him with a Narcissus branch.

5. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar frequently resolved to participate in Jihaad. When finally he acquired the opportunity, he was overtaken by a severe fever which rendered him helpless. Lamenting his fate, he said to himself: “Maalik, if you had any status by Allah, you would not have become ill at such an opportune time.” Full of grief he fell asleep. In a dream he heard a caller saying: “If you had today gone in Jihaad, you would have been captured. The kuffaar would have ruined your Imaan by forcibly feeding you pork. This fever is a beautiful gift for you.” Waking up from his dream, Maalik Bin Dinaar abundantly expressed his gratitude to Allah Ta’ala.

6. Once, after a long spell of illness he went into the bazaar. Due to excessive weakness he was hobbling along. The Sultan with his retinue happened to pass through the bazaar. The soldiers were clearing the street, harshly ordering people to step aside to make way for the royal procession. On account of his weakness, Maalik Bin Dinaar was unable to move quickly. A soldier struck him with a whip. Feeling the sharp pain, Maalik spontaneously exclaimed: “May Allah cut off your hand.” The next day, he saw the soldier laying in the street with his hand cut off. Hadhrat Maalik grieved much for having blurted out the curse.

7. The neighbour of Maalik Bin Dinaar was a physically strong evil young man who caused much distress to people. Once the people complained to Maalik Bin Dinaar about the oppressive conduct of the young man. Maalik Bin Dinaar went to counsel him. The young man responded: “I am a royal servant. No one can tell me anything.” He displayed an evil temper. Maalik said: “I shall complain to the king.” The young man said: “He is most gracious and kind and will not apprehend me.” Maalik Bin Dinaar returned crestfallen.
After some time, the people again complained about the evil and oppressive conduct of the young man. Maalik Bin Dinaar again set off to counsel the young man. Along the way he heard a voice saying: “Do not pursue My friend.” Maalik Bin Dinaar, greatly surprised went to the young man who exclaimed: “You have come again!” Maalik Bin Dinaar said: “I have come to give you glad tidings. Allah Ta’ala says that you are His friend.” The young man said: “If this is so, I give all my wealth in the path of Allah.”
After having contributed his entire estate in the path of Allah, he left, never to be seen again. Maalik Bin Dinaar saw him in Makkah. He had become extremely lean and weak. He was supplicating:

“Allah has called me His friend. I have sacrificed myself for Him with all my heart. I know that His pleasure is in ibaadat. Never shall I displease Him. I repent.”

As he supplicated, his soul departed from his earthly body.

8. Once Maalik Bin Dinaar rent a room next to the home of a Jew. His room was adjacent to the entrance of the Jew’s home. The Jew spitefully always deposited garbage and filth in Maalik’s entrance. Even his musalla would at times be soiled. This treatment continued for a long period, but Maalik Bin Dinaar never complained.

One day the Jew came and said: “Does the garbage I deposit in front of your room not distress you?”

Maalik: “It does distress me, but I wash and clean the place.”

Jew: “Why do you tolerate so much distress?”

Maalik: Allah has promised substantial reward for those who contain their anger and forgive people.”

Jew: “Truly, your Deen is beautiful. It commands toleration of even the hardships presented by enemies.”

The Jew was so affected by the beautiful conduct of Maalik Bin Dinaar that he embraced Islam.

9. Maalik Bin Dinaar visited a man in his death throes. He endeavoured to induce the dying man to recite Kalimah Shahaadat. The only response was: “Ten, eleven–ten, eleven.” The man said: “In front of me is a mountain of fire. When I wish to recite Kalimah Shahaadat, the mountain of fire rushes towards me. Maalik Bin Dinaar enquired about the man’s deeds and he was told that this man dealt in interest and would give less when weighing.

10. Once Maalik Bin Dinaar and Ja’far Bin Sulaimaan were together in Makkah Muazzamah. When Maalik Bin Dinaar commenced the Talbiyah, saying he fainted. When he revived, Ja’far bin Sulaimaan asked the reason for his unconsciousness. Maalik Bin Dinaar said:

“I feared to hear a voice which would respond

(There is no presence for you).”

11. When reciting the aayat

Maalik Bin Dinaar would restless, weep much and say:”If this was not a Qur’aanic aayat, I would not have recited it because it means: Only You do we worship and only You we seek aid, but we worship our nafs and seek aid from other.”

12. Once a woman said to Maalik Bin Dinaar: “You are a man of riyaa.” (Riyaa means to worship in order to impress others.)
Maalik Bin Dinaar: “For the past 20 years no one called me by my name. Finally, you have recognized me.”

13. Maalik Bin Dinaar said:
“A companionship which will be of no benefit on the day of Qiyaamah is futile.”
“A man who indulges in idle conversation and remembers Allah little, lacks knowledge. His heart is blind. His life is ruined.”

14. Maalik Bin Dinaar said that in one of the Divine Scriptures, Allah Ta’ala said:
“The least punishment I give to an Aalim who loves the world is the elimination from his heart of the pleasure of thikr.”

15. After Maalik Bin Dinaar’s demise, a buzrug saw in a dream a scene on Qiyaamah. The angels were leading Maalik Bin Dinaar and Muhammad Waasi’ to Jannat. The buzrug (in his dream) wondered: “Who will be allowed to enter first into Jannat?” Soon he observed that Maalik Bin Dinaar was permitted to enter first. The buzrug commented: “Muhammad Waasi’ was a greater Aalim and enjoyed greater spiritual perfection.” The Angel responded: “True, but Muhammad Waasi’ owned two sets of garments while Maalik Bin Dinaar had only one set. He has therefore been granted prior entry into Jannat.”

No related posts.

1. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar (rahmatullah alayh) was a contemporary of Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh). Once he got into a ferry boat. When the boat was in the middle of the river, the pilot asked for the fee which Maalik Bin Dinaar was unable to tender. The pilot mercilessly beat him until he became unconscious. When he revived, the pilot threatened to throw him overboard if he failed to make payment. By the command of Allah Ta’ala a shoal of fishes surfaced. Each one had a dinaar (gold coin) in its mouth. Hadhrat Maalik took one dinaar and handed it to the pilot who fell at his feet ashamed, profusely apologizing. Hadhrat Maalik stepped off the boat and walked away on the surface on the water until he was out of sight.

2. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar was very handsome and extremely wealthy. He lived in Damascus. The following is the episode which led to his reformation. He used to spend time in I’tikaaf in the beautiful Jaami Musjid built by Hadhrat Muaawiyah (رضئ الله عنه ). Once he developed the desire to become the mutawalli (trustee) of the Musjid. He, therefore, decided to remain in the Musjid and engaged in ibaadat to impress the musallis. He spent the whole year in I’tikaaf in the Musjid. Whenever people entered the Musjid they would find him performing Salaat. After one year he came out of the Musjid and heard a voice saying: “O Maalik! Alas! Why don’t you repent. Shame on your year’s of deceptive worship.”

Cleansing his heart from riyaa (show) he passed the entire night in ibaadat. In the morning he saw a group of musallis at the entrance of the Musjid. They were discussing the poor state of the Musjid’s administration. They unanimously decided to appoint Maalik Bin Dinaar as the mutawalli. They said that there was no one better qualified for this post than Maalik Bin Dinaar.

When the group approached Maalik Bin Dinaar, he was engaged in Salaat. After he completed his Salaat, they informed him of their decision to appoint him the mutawalli. When he heard this he said to himself: “O Allah! For a whole year I worshipped you with riyaa, but no one paid any heed to me. Now after a single night’s ibaadat with sincerity, so many people have turned to me by Your command. I take oath by You that I shall not accept this offer.” So saying, he came out of the Musjid and engrossed in ibaadat life-long.

3. In the city of Basrah an extremely wealthy man had died leaving his only daughter. This girl who inherited her father’s entire estate was very beautiful. She went to Hadhrat Thaabit Bunaani (rahmatullah alayh), the renowned saint, and said: “I wish to be married to Maalik Binaar so that I derive aid in ibaadat and the Deen.” Hadhrat Thaabit put this proposal to Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar, but he declined, commenting:”I have abandoned the world. Woman is also part of the world. I have no desire of violating my pledge.”

4. Once while Maalik Bin Dinaar was resting in the shade of a tree, a snake was fanning him with a Narcissus branch.

5. Hadhrat Maalik Bin Dinaar frequently resolved to participate in Jihaad. When finally he acquired the opportunity, he was overtaken by a severe fever which rendered him helpless. Lamenting his fate, he said to himself: “Maalik, if you had any status by Allah, you would not have become ill at such an opportune time.” Full of grief he fell asleep. In a dream he heard a caller saying: “If you had today gone in Jihaad, you would have been captured. The kuffaar would have ruined your Imaan by forcibly feeding you pork. This fever is a beautiful gift for you.” Waking up from his dream, Maalik Bin Dinaar abundantly expressed his gratitude to Allah Ta’ala.

6. Once, after a long spell of illness he went into the bazaar. Due to excessive weakness he was hobbling along. The Sultan with his retinue happened to pass through the bazaar. The soldiers were clearing the street, harshly ordering people to step aside to make way for the royal procession. On account of his weakness, Maalik Bin Dinaar was unable to move quickly. A soldier struck him with a whip. Feeling the sharp pain, Maalik spontaneously exclaimed: “May Allah cut off your hand.” The next day, he saw the soldier laying in the street with his hand cut off. Hadhrat Maalik grieved much for having blurted out the curse.

7. The neighbour of Maalik Bin Dinaar was a physically strong evil young man who caused much distress to people. Once the people complained to Maalik Bin Dinaar about the oppressive conduct of the young man. Maalik Bin Dinaar went to counsel him. The young man responded: “I am a royal servant. No one can tell me anything.” He displayed an evil temper. Maalik said: “I shall complain to the king.” The young man said: “He is most gracious and kind and will not apprehend me.” Maalik Bin Dinaar returned crestfallen.
After some time, the people again complained about the evil and oppressive conduct of the young man. Maalik Bin Dinaar again set off to counsel the young man. Along the way he heard a voice saying: “Do not pursue My friend.” Maalik Bin Dinaar, greatly surprised went to the young man who exclaimed: “You have come again!” Maalik Bin Dinaar said: “I have come to give you glad tidings. Allah Ta’ala says that you are His friend.” The young man said: “If this is so, I give all my wealth in the path of Allah.”
After having contributed his entire estate in the path of Allah, he left, never to be seen again. Maalik Bin Dinaar saw him in Makkah. He had become extremely lean and weak. He was supplicating:

“Allah has called me His friend. I have sacrificed myself for Him with all my heart. I know that His pleasure is in ibaadat. Never shall I displease Him. I repent.”

As he supplicated, his soul departed from his earthly body.

8. Once Maalik Bin Dinaar rent a room next to the home of a Jew. His room was adjacent to the entrance of the Jew’s home. The Jew spitefully always deposited garbage and filth in Maalik’s entrance. Even his musalla would at times be soiled. This treatment continued for a long period, but Maalik Bin Dinaar never complained.

One day the Jew came and said: “Does the garbage I deposit in front of your room not distress you?”

Maalik: “It does distress me, but I wash and clean the place.”

Jew: “Why do you tolerate so much distress?”

Maalik: Allah has promised substantial reward for those who contain their anger and forgive people.”

Jew: “Truly, your Deen is beautiful. It commands toleration of even the hardships presented by enemies.”

The Jew was so affected by the beautiful conduct of Maalik Bin Dinaar that he embraced Islam.

9. Maalik Bin Dinaar visited a man in his death throes. He endeavoured to induce the dying man to recite Kalimah Shahaadat. The only response was: “Ten, eleven–ten, eleven.” The man said: “In front of me is a mountain of fire. When I wish to recite Kalimah Shahaadat, the mountain of fire rushes towards me. Maalik Bin Dinaar enquired about the man’s deeds and he was told that this man dealt in interest and would give less when weighing.

10. Once Maalik Bin Dinaar and Ja’far Bin Sulaimaan were together in Makkah Muazzamah. When Maalik Bin Dinaar commenced the Talbiyah, saying he fainted. When he revived, Ja’far bin Sulaimaan asked the reason for his unconsciousness. Maalik Bin Dinaar said:

“I feared to hear a voice which would respond

(There is no presence for you).”

11. When reciting the aayat

Maalik Bin Dinaar would restless, weep much and say:”If this was not a Qur’aanic aayat, I would not have recited it because it means: Only You do we worship and only You we seek aid, but we worship our nafs and seek aid from other.”

12. Once a woman said to Maalik Bin Dinaar: “You are a man of riyaa.” (Riyaa means to worship in order to impress others.)
Maalik Bin Dinaar: “For the past 20 years no one called me by my name. Finally, you have recognized me.”

13. Maalik Bin Dinaar said:
“A companionship which will be of no benefit on the day of Qiyaamah is futile.”
“A man who indulges in idle conversation and remembers Allah little, lacks knowledge. His heart is blind. His life is ruined.”

14. Maalik Bin Dinaar said that in one of the Divine Scriptures, Allah Ta’ala said:
“The least punishment I give to an Aalim who loves the world is the elimination from his heart of the pleasure of thikr.”

15. After Maalik Bin Dinaar’s demise, a buzrug saw in a dream a scene on Qiyaamah. The angels were leading Maalik Bin Dinaar and Muhammad Waasi’ to Jannat. The buzrug (in his dream) wondered: “Who will be allowed to enter first into Jannat?” Soon he observed that Maalik Bin Dinaar was permitted to enter first. The buzrug commented: “Muhammad Waasi’ was a greater Aalim and enjoyed greater spiritual perfection.” The Angel responded: “True, but Muhammad Waasi’ owned two sets of garments while Maalik Bin Dinaar had only one set. He has therefore been granted prior entry into Jannat.”

No related posts.

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 15 (the conclusion) of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 
Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

Alḥamdulillāh, we thank Allāh ‘azza wa jall who has allowed us the opportunity to study this entire sūrah beginning to end in 15 sessions.  As I promised you in our last lesson, in one of the last verses of the sūrah, it is as if Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is saying, “Now you have read it once and benefitted from it at a basic level.”  I just recited for you “āyātu li’l-sā’ilīn.”  You have lessons for those who are curious and want to ask.  In the end, Allāh says, “In this sūrah, there is ‘ibrah li’uli’l-bāb.”  There are profound wisdoms to learn for those of intellect and contemplation.  It is as if at the beginning Allāh is saying, “Read this sūrah at a cursory level.  Understand it at a basic level.”  Once we get to the end, Allāh is saying, “Now think about it.  Ponder over it and you will find much wisdom to learn and benefit from.”  We will obey the commandment of Allāh ‘azza wa jall and take a swift relook at the entire sūrah in a holistic manner.  We will try to derive some of the overall benefits.

I am not going to quote you verse by verse.  We have already done that.  We are just going to quickly go over, and I have compiled around 50 to 60 of such benefits from the beginning of the sūrah until the end.  We are going to go over them one by one.

Of the benefits of the sūrah is that the believer is concerned for his or her family and his or her children.  The believer looks out for the welfare of one’s children and offspring and tries one’s best to protect them at a physical and at a spiritual level.  When Yūsuf told his dream to his father Ya‘qūb, immediately Ya‘qūb wants to protect Yūsuf.  Instead of jumping for joy, and instead of saying, “what a proud father you have made me,” he is protecting him.  He wants the best for his dīn and his dunya.  A sign of īmān (faith) is to want the best and to want a nurturing environment for your family.

Of the blessings and wisdoms of this sūrah is that dreams are a constant motif of this entire sūrah.  The sūrah begins with a dream and that is the dream of Yūsuf.  The sūrah has a dream in the middle and that is the dream of the two prisoners who saw themselves being killed and saw the birds eating from his head and the dream of the king.  Dreams are a constant theme in this sūrah.  Of the blessings we derive is that true dreams are from Allāh.  True dreams are a blessing that Allāh gives.  The interpretation of dreams is a science that only Allāh can teach you.  We learned this from this sūrah and went over it many, many times.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that the wise and intelligent person does not flaunt his or her blessings.  The wise and intelligent person does not show off worldly or spiritual blessings because showing off is not only egotistical and a lack of humility, but also it causes dangers and harms and problems.  That is why when Yūsuf had the dream, his father said, “Don’t tell your brothers.  Don’t show off.  They might get jealous of you.”  The wise person does not boast of his blessings, rather he hides them to the greatest extent possible.  These blessings are both religious and worldly blessings.  You don’t flaunt the good that Allāh has given you, or else you will suffer the consequences in this world and perhaps even in the next.

Of the wisdoms we derive from this sūrah is that Shayṭān is every eager to cause problems between believers, especially between family members.  This was a successful plot of Shayṭān that he caused the brothers of Yūsuf to hate Yūsuf so much that they even intended at one point in time to kill him.  Of the benefits we learn is that Shayṭān is ever eager to cause problems.  He always wants to cause disunity amongst the ummah, especially amongst family members.  SubḥānAllāh, it is so true that every single family has its own issues and problems even though they are blood and even though they are family.  Every single family has problems either with the siblings, uncles, or aunts.  It is human nature, but Shayṭān makes it worse.  This story shows us this.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that a good household produces good offspring.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) mentions at the beginning of the sūrah: “This is how He will perfect His favors upon you as He perfected it upon your forefathers before you, Ibrāhīm and Isḥāq.”  I.e. because there was Ibrāhīm there was Ishaq and because there was Isḥāq there was Ya‘qūb and because of Ya‘qūb there was Yūsuf.  A house of piety will produce children of piety.  When one parent and one generation strives to be righteous, then the general rule is that the piety is transferred down to the next generation.  This is shown by the verse in the Qurʾān where Allāh says, “This is how We will perfect your favors as We perfected the favors upon your forefathers before you.”

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah that we learn is the importance of being fair, equitable, and just to all people.  In this particular case, Ya‘qūb with his children.  We are told in our religion that we are not allowed to prefer one child over another and we cannot give a gift to a child and leave another.  We cannot show any outward favoritism.  Ya‘qūb tried his best to be fair, but he couldn’t control one thing and that is his emotions.  His children sensed his emotions, but his children could not complain that he spends more time with Yūsuf or that he gave Yūsuf a present that he hasn’t given to them.  All they could say was that he loves Yūsuf, and love is an emotion of the heart, and you are not held accountable for emotions of the heart.  We learn to be equitable and just to people from this issue here.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that jealousy drives a person insane.  Jealousy is one of the most destructive emotions known to man.  Jealousy makes a person who is otherwise rational become irrational.  People will do things out of jealousy that you will not believe they could have done.  Here we have young adults plotting and planning to murder their brother who is only 7-8 years old.  Jealousy has caused such enragement and such anger.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) warned us, “I warn you from jealousy.  I caution you from being jealous because jealousy destroys your good deeds like a fire eats up wood.”  Jealousy is destructive in any form.  That is why we should seek refuge in Allāh from jealousy and try to solve jealousy as soon as it exists.  We also seek Allāh’s refuge from the effects of jealousy:  min sharri ḥāsidin idha ḥasad.  This is of the blessings we learn from this sūrah.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is repentance before committing the sin is not a true repentance.  If you commit a sin and say, “Oh, I know I’m guilty.  May Allāh forgive me,” that is not a true repentance.  Before they committed a crime, the brothers of Yūsuf said, “We’ll do the crime and then God will forgive.  We are going to make up for it.  We are going to be righteous after it.”  Their repentance was not accepted at that point in time.  It was accepted at the end of the sūrah when they genuinely come and say, “Oh our father, forgive us.  We were sinners.”  Inna kunna khāṭi’īn.  In the beginning of the sūrah, Allāh glosses over it.  This is not repentance; this is a joke.  You are going to murder your brother and then say, “May God forgive us, we are going to be good after that.”  A true repentance has to have the intention not to return to the sin.  If you have the intention that you are going to commit the sin, then this is not a true repentance.  A true repentance has to have the niyyah (intention) that this is the last time you are committing the sin.  As we mentioned before, if it so happens that you do return to the sin, it doesn’t nullify your repentance.  The point is that you should have a sincere attempt to not return to the sin.  If you do return, you do another repentance.  And if you return again, then you repent again.  The point is that Allāh does not look at the quantity of sins.  Allāh looks at the quality of repentance.  It is not the number of times you have committed the sin but the quality of the repentance every single time you commit the sin.

Of the benefits we learn from the sūrah is that giving an excuse to someone whom you don’t trust may backfire on you.  In other words, handing over excuses to somebody who has some evil or some disposition to harm you might actually come back to haunt you.  Ya‘qūb was the one who gave them the excuse they needed to cover up their capture of Yūsuf and abduction of Yūsuf.  Ya‘qūb was the one who said, “I am worried that wolf will eat him.”  He said this to try to get away from the real issue, which is: “I don’t want to send my son with you.”  He used a secondary tactic, and what happened?  It backfired because they used that very tactic.  When they came back in the evening, they said, “A wolf ate your son.”  These are kids, and they wouldn’t have been able to think of an excuse.  They are young men, maybe 18 or 19, and they would not have been able to think of a legitimate excuse of what happened to their brother.  Ya‘qūb unknowingly and unwittingly gave it to them.  This shows us that one needs to think a little bit more before speaking in this regard.  We learn from this mistake that Ya‘qūb fell into.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that the believer’s firāsa is true.  Firāsa means intuition and a gut instinct.  We believe that a gut instinct is something Allāh sometimes blesses you with.  It is not something you can use in a court of law.  You cannot consider someone guilty in a court of law because you feel that way.  The more righteous you are, the more your moral compass and gut instinct will be rightly guided.  This instinct in Arabic is called firāsa.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Beware of the firāsa of the believer because the firāsa of the believer is always true.”  Where is the benefit here?  When the children came back to Ya‘qūb and said, “Oh, sorry, your son has been eaten by the wolf,” Ya‘qūb knew something was wrong.  There was no solid evidence, but his heart is telling him, “My kids are up to no good, and something is wrong.  Yūsuf is alive, and they’ve done something wrong.”  He doesn’t have any evidence, but he still charges them with a crime.  “I don’t know what you’ve done, but you have done something wrong.”  The firāsa or inner instinct of the believer is true.  When can you use this?  You cannot use this to charge anybody with a crime and cannot use it in a court of law.  If somebody comes and wants to have a business transaction with you and outwardly he looks like a trustworthy person, but inside you feel that something doesn’t feel right, you are not obligated to engage in a business transaction or in a marriage proposal.  If somebody comes and proposes for your son or daughter and you don’t feel about it, it is not a court of law that you have to explain why.  If something doesn’t feel right and if this is from Allāh ‘azza wa jall, then there is a reality to it.  As we said, the closer you are to Allāh, the more true your intuition is going to be.  This is a blessing of being close to Allāh that your intuition will then be rightly guided.

Of the wisdoms and blessings of this sūrah is the permissibility of using secondary evidence.  We mentioned this on more than one occasion.  The first time this comes up is when Ya‘qūb is being told that his son has been killed by a wolf, but he sees the shirt untorn.  He sees the shirt that has been bloodied but with no tear in it.  This is a secondary evidence.  In our Sharī‘ah, you are allowed to use secondary evidence and are allowed to take into account external factors even if there are no two witnesses and no direct evidence.  We use our common sense and compile the facts and look at the evidences and then place a verdict.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that no matter how evil the crime, you should always advise the criminal to fear Allāh first.  Before you get to your own concerns with him, the first thing you should do is advise him to fear Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and to remind him of the gravity of the sin.  The first thing that Ya‘qūb does is say, “You have committed an offense.  Your souls have misguided you.  Qāla bal sawwalat lakum anfusukum amra.  Your souls have led you to destruction.  Before we get to what you have done to me, let me remind you that you have a God who is watching you.  Let me remind you that there is something between you and Allāh ‘azza wa jall.”  Unfortunately a lot of times we jump this step and if somebody does you wrong, you immediately defend your rights and say, “How could you have done that to me?”  The reality is that you begin with the rights of Allāh.  Don’t you realize that you have done a sin and are accountable to Allāh?  And then you are also accountable to having taken my money or backbitten or whatever the crime is that has been done.  Begin by reminding them of Allāh ‘azza wa jall.

Of the benefits that we learn from this sūrah is that patience is of different types.  In the lecture that we gave, we clarified that Islamically patience can be of three types.  The first type is patience during a calamity.  This means that we don’t say things that should not be said.  We don’t say, “O Allāh, why are you doing this to me?  O Allāh, I don’t deserve this; I haven’t done anything wrong.”  We don’t accuse Allāh of being unjust.  We withhold and restrain our tongues and say only that which is right.  We are patient in times of a calamity.

The second type of patience is patience in restraining yourself from committing sins.  We don’t commit sins.  We have the capacity to commit sins but withhold ourselves from committing sins.  The third type is to persevere in the worship of Allāh.  To pray regularly.  To remember Allāh regularly.  When it comes to the lowest category of patience in an adversity or patience in a calamity, even this is of levels and types.  The best type of patience is ṣabrun jamīl because Allāh praises Ya‘qūb for having ṣabrun jamīl.  What is ṣabrun jamīl?  Ṣabrun jamīl is the beautiful patience.  What is the beautiful patience?  What is the pinnacle of patience when you are suffering?  What can you do?  We learn it from Ya‘qūb.  You don’t seek the pity and the sympathy from the rest of humanity.  You seek Allāh’s blessings only.  You don’t go and want people’s shoulders to cry on.  There is nothing wrong with that and there is nothing wrong with feeling human, but the perfection of faith and the perfection of trust in Allāh means that you turn only to Allāh and you don’t complain to the people.  You don’t say, “Woe is me!  Why is this happening to me?”  You expect your reward from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and you don’t try to get the sympathy from other people because at the end of the day, their sympathy is not going to lift your calamity.  Their pity will only bring about a type of humiliation in your own personal life.  Do you really want people to pity you?  Does that make you feel like a better person?  No!  It should not make you feel like a better person.  You do not want the people to pity you.  You want Allāh’s Mercy to shower upon you.

Again, I clarify, there is nothing wrong with getting the pity of people, but there is no question that this is not the pinnacle of faith in Allāh.  The pinnacle of faith is bearing every calamity with a type of fortitude and a type of patience – ṣabrun jamīl.  This is the height of patience that you don’t complain to other people.  You only address your grievances directly to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

Of the blessings that we learn from this sūrah and of the morals that we learn from this sūrah is that we learn that if you protect your faith and chastity in your youth and young life, Allāh will protect you in your old life.  This means that the young man or woman who has a strong relationship with Allāh rarely does such a person lose that faith later on in life.  When you protect Allāh in your youth, Allāh will protect you in your elder age.  When you protect the commandments of Allāh as a young man, Allāh will protect you as an older person.  We see this in the story of Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) always having that connection with Allāh.  We learn it in the ḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he says that one of the seven people whom Allāh will shelter on the Day of Judgment is a young person (man or woman) who grew up immersed in the worship of Allāh.  If you can worship Allāh in your childhood, and by childhood we mean teens and twenties.  Shāb means young – child is not the correct word.  In your teens and your twenties, and some scholars have said even up until your early thirties you are still a shāb.  When you are religious in this phase of your life, and we know from personal experience that if you are religious when you are in your twenties, you hardly ever come across a person who leaves religion when they are 50 or 60.  We come across this in the story of Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) as well.

Of the lessons and morals that we learn from this sūrah is the dangers of interacting with the opposite gender when there is temptation.  The owner of Yūsuf was attracted to Yūsuf, and they are alone for long periods of time, and this is fueling her desire more.  That is why our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that a man and a woman should not be alone when nobody else can see them unless they are relatives or married.  They should not be alone and should not be in an area where these things can happen because it is human nature.  Men and women are naturally attracted to this feeling, and our religion teaches us to channel it to that which is permissible.

Of the lessons that we learn is that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) saves the righteous when they most need him.  No matter how difficult the situation will be, if you turn to Allāh,  Allāh ‘azza wa jall will help you.  We learn this from the situation of Yūsuf being the young man and being the slave and being tempted by a woman of beauty and being tempted by his own owner, not just a stranger.  She has power over him and no one can see them.  We told you all of the stories of how she locked the door and prepared herself and did everything.  Typically, it would be almost impossible – dare I say without faith in Allāh it would be impossible – for any other man to have said no, but Yūsuf turned to Allāh.  Yūsuf invoked Allāh and said, “O Allāh, I need You to divert their plot away from me.  Wa illa taṣrif ‘anni kaydahunn.  Unless You help me, I will be of those who commit a sin.”  This blessing here is that Allāh saves the righteous when they most need Him.  No matter how difficult the situation is, Allāh ‘azza wa jall will save you.

Of the blessings here is that without Allāh saving you, you are not going to be saved.  These are two blessings that go hand in hand.  In other words, the only factor that can possibly help you overcome many of the passions of the soul, many of the passions of the body, many of the diseases of the heart and soul is to turn to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) because Allāh says in the Qurʾān: “kadhālika linaṣrif ‘anhu’l-sū’ wa’l-faḥshā’.  This is how We averted evil and lewdness from him.”  How?  Yūsuf turned to Allāh.  Yūsuf turns to Allāh, and Allāh says, “Because he turned to Me, I turned to him.”  What this shows, brothers and sisters, is that there is no disease that you have and no passion that you might have and no lust or desire that might plague your heart except that if you are sincere in leaving that lust and desire for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will give you protection against it.  The problem is not in Allāh giving you the protection.  The problem is in your sincerity and my sincerity.  Are you really sincere in your desire to give up this sin?  If you are, you will turn to Allāh sincerely.  If you turn to Allāh sincerely, Allāh says, “I will turn to you and I will protect you.”  This is what Yūsuf did.  In a situation the likes of which, as I said, it is humanly impossible to imagine otherwise, yet Allāh saved him in the middle of this fortress and in the middle of these locked doors.  Allāh ‘azza wa jall answered his plea and call and saved him.  Why?  Because he made du‘ā’ to Allāh:  “O Allāh, I need You now.  Unless You protect me, no one will protect me.”  When he begged and pleaded with Allāh from the heart, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) responded back and said, “This is how We averted evil from him.”  Any time you are afflicted with a habitual sin, realize that if you truly want to give that sin up, nothing can stop you because Allāh is going to be on your side.  The question is, do you really want to give it up?  That is where the problem comes and we talked about that when we discussed those verses.

Of the morals and benefits that we learn from this sūrah are the evils of gossip, slander, and backbiting.  We mentioned that the believer does not talk about issues that are of no concern to him.  People are gossiping about so-and-so and this is human society, but the believer rises above this, and the believer does not allow his tongue to mention that which is of no concern to them.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Of the perfection of one’s faith is that he leaves that which does not concern him.”  We see what happens when the women of the town begin gossiping about Yūsuf.  We see how the situation becomes complicated when the wife of ‘Aziz feels so much pain because of her ego.  Of the wisdoms is that we learn the dangers of the ego and the dangers of the self and the dangers of caring so much about what other people know and view you to be.  The true believer is only concerned about how Allāh views him.  If Allāh ‘azza wa jall views him in a positive manner, then who cares how the rest of the world views you.  Conversely, if the whole world views you in a positive light but you have not established your credentials in front of Allāh, of what use will their positive attitude be towards you?  That is why the true believer understands that praise and criticism from people will not affect him.  It is the pleasure of Allāh that will affect him unlike the wife of ‘Aziz whose whole concern was her reputation and ego.  Because of that, she did an even more dastardly deed and a deed that really showed she lacked complete hayā’ and modesty.  She lacks it because he is openly boasting about what she has done and is enticing Yūsuf in front of the other ladies.  This shows us the evils of gossip and the evils of being concerned with one’s ego and one’s prestige.

Of the wisdoms we learn from Sūrah Yūsuf is that we should appreciate the blessings that have been deprived from us just as we appreciate the blessings that we have been given.  What do I mean by this?  Realize that for many of us, certain blessings will become curses because we don’t know how to handle them.  Certain blessings will become trials and tribulations because we are too weak.  If we truly believe that Allāh loves us, then we will have faith that Allāh will give us that which is beneficial for us.  Imagine if one of us had even a fraction of the beauty of Yūsuf.  Could we have withstood even a fraction of what he withstood?  Imagine if one of us was blessed with a fraction of the wealth of Qārūn or of the ‘izzah of Abu Lahab in his town of Makkah and the Quraysh.  Imagine if we had that which many of us are jealous of others when they have it, and we are greedy about it and we are salivating and want that power and money.  Calm down and think.  If Allāh had given it to you, perhaps it would lead you to your destruction.  That is exactly what the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said.  He said, “Sometimes I give money to people even though I see others are needy of it because I am worried that if I give him that money, it will lead him to the fire of hell.  It will be too much for him, and he will do things that he should not do.”  The believer puts his trust and faith in Allāh.  O Allāh, you know me best, and You know what I should have deserved and gotten and what I shouldn’t have.  I know that whatever I don’t have, there is a wisdom that You know why I don’t have it, and I put my trust in You.  We learn this from the story of Yūsuf.  Imagine if you had this beauty.  Who amongst us could have withstood those temptations.

Of the simple theological wisdoms we learn, and this is a wisdom that all of humanity knows, is that angels are beautiful creatures.  That is why when the women saw Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām), they thought he is an angel.  That is why every society considers angels to be beautiful.  In the Western society, they consider them to be innocent babies.  We of course don’t imagine angels and cannot imagine them, but angels are created in the most beautiful fashion.  Any religion that believes in angels ascribes beauty to the angels.

Of the blessings and wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that inner beauty also plays a role along with outer beauty.  Inner beauty is good virtues, good manners, chastity, living a good and wholesome life.  When Yūsuf refused the seduction of the wife of ‘Aziz and then she invited the other ladies and said that he is not doing it and he is still refusing, they became even more eager for him.  Why?  Because his inner beauty of piety appealed to them despite the fact that they lacked piety.  Allāh created human nature to admire perfection and beauty.  Deep down inside no matter how people live their lifestyles, they know certain things are wrong and immoral.  It is engrained inside of us.  Living a chaste and virtuous life is something that everybody knows is a good life.  These women want to commit a crime, but when they see that Yūsuf does not want to commit the crime, it makes Yūsuf even more attractive.  Why?  Because it is inner beauty of holiness, of chastity.  This shows us that even in a society that doesn’t believe in God – remember that the people of Egypt were pagans and not worshippers of the true God – but they know what is right and wrong.  They know that casual intimacy and sex is not something that is encouraged and permissible, so when Yūsuf says, “No, I don’t want to do that,” automatically it adds more beauty to his outer beauty.  This shows us Allāh has created humanity.  They didn’t have a book and they didn’t have a Sharī‘ah, but they still knew what is right and wrong.  How and why?  Morality is engrained in human beings.  Certain things are engrained in us, and this is one of them.

Of the benefits that we learn from this sūrah is that a believer must call out to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) to help and overcome any sin.  Once again, Yūsuf is saying, “Unless You help me overcome it and fortify me against the seduction, I will never be able to withstand this temptation.”  When you are in a state of temptation and attracted to a sin, we learn from the story of Yūsuf that when you are thinking of the sin, you should start thinking of Allāh.  A lot of people have this concept that if they are thinking of evil, then they will do the evil and not think of Allāh because they think it is not the right time to think of Allāh.  Allāh says, “She desired him and he desired her.”  We explained that there is nothing strange about this.  He is a normal man and a young man and has come of age.  Just like every man, he has the same thing on his mind.  He desired her, and during this state of desire, what did he do?  He made du‘ā’ to Allāh.  There is a clash going on inside Yūsuf between the forces of good and the forces of evil.  It is an excellent clash to happen because you don’t want to ignore the forces of good and let the forces of evil win over and not think of Allāh right now.  No – he is battling his desire for this temptation, and during this battle, he turns to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).  You must turn to Allāh when thoughts of evil come to you.  It is the only way to protect yourself.  You must turn to Allāh when you are flirting with evil.  There is no other way to protect you.

Of the benefits we learn from this sūrah is that actions precede words when it comes to calling people to Islam.  This is one of the fundamental mistakes we make here in America.  We think that all we have to do is preach to the people and tell them about our religion.  The fact of the matter is that we have not established our social credentials and have not shown them who we are.  We haven’t explained to them about charity and taking care of the poor and the status of the orphan.  We haven’t demonstrated that we are morally responsible for the weak and the elderly and for the dispossessed.  This is our religion.  Look at Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) and what he does in jail and throughout the entire story.  He always establishes his moral character, mercy, tenderness, iḥsān.  What did the criminals say in the prison?  Inna narāka min al-muḥsinīn.  He hasn’t even opened his mouth to preach, but within a few days, the prison is abuzz that this is a good guy.  Once that is established, then the opportunity presents itself and then Yūsuf starts preaching the message.  A lot of times we do the exact opposite and begin preaching when we haven’t shown the mercy and tenderness of our religion.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that you need to speak to people at a time and place they are comfortable with.  When the two prisoners come to Yūsuf for the question, what does Yūsuf say?  The first thing he says is, “Okay, I have heard your question, and I will respond before food is delivered.”  They must have had a time when the food comes and they know that time. Yūsuf is saying, “Before the food comes, I will answer your question.  Listen to me for a bit.”  He prepares them mentally for listening to the da‘wah.  This is another issue where I think a lot of us fall into errors.  Personally, I don’t believe in knocking door to door to preach about Islam.  I’m not saying that should never be done.  Perhaps in some scenarios it is good, but would you like people to come to your door?  Prepare the environment properly.  This is what Yūsuf did.  They come to him with the question of interpreting the dream, and Yūsuf understands, “Now I have your attention for a few minutes, so let me use this opportunity.  Give me five minutes.”  He then preaches Islam to them.  This shows us that if you do want to tell people about your religion, make sure that the time and the place is appropriate.  Don’t try to shove the religion down their throats.  Don’t try to be in your face.  This is a very beautiful point that we learn from Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām).

Of the wisdoms that we learn from the story is that when we do call to Islam, we should call to tawḥīd and monotheism.  This is the gist of our religion:  la ilāha illa Allāh.  The entire two paragraphs that Yūsuf is talking about with the prisoners is all about: who is my Lord?  What do I do?  We spent a whole lecture on the one paragraph where he explained Islam and how beautiful that paragraph was.  It combined the three types of tawḥīd and combined the three pillars of our religion.  I say over and over again, brothers and sisters, what sets our religion apart from other religions is our simplistic creed in our Lord.  It is so simple:  there is one perfect God; worship Him alone.  This is our religion, and we need to keep on hammering this point instead of going on to different tangents.  What really makes our religion so precious to us?  The shahādah.  la ilāha illa Allāh Muḥammadan rasūlullāh.  This is what Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) preached to the people, and that is what you continue to tell to the people who do not know your faith.  It is a very simple religion.  There is One, All-Perfect God and you continue to worship Him as long as you live.

Of the benefits that we get from this sūrah is the necessity to use the means to get to the goals.  What does this mean?  Yūsuf wanted to be free.  Yūsuf wanted to get out of jail.  He didn’t just sit down and say, “Allāh will free me when He desires.”  He did what he could.  What could he do?  A person was going to be freed and next to the king, so Yūsuf tells him, “Mention my case to your lord.”  There is nothing wrong with that at all.  He wants to be freed, and he realized that in order to be free, there has to be a court case and hearing and judge looking into it.  He goes through the process.  Why do I say this?  Because, once again, a lot of Muslims have this weird concept of trusting Allāh which for them means that you sit back and do nothing.  That is not trusting Allāh but that is acting foolishly.  Trusting Allāh means he realizes that Allāh can free him, but he has to walk through the path and get to the means.  In our case, it would be fighting in the courts and hiring a lawyer.  In our case, it would be if you are sick then go to the doctor and go to the hospital and get your treatment done.  Tawakkul doesn’t just mean that you sit at home and expect Allāh to take care of you.  It means that your heart is attached to Allāh, but you walk the path to get to the goal.  The point is that Allāh created the goal, and let’s that it is to be freed.  Allāh also created the path to get to the goal, and that is fighting in the court and going to the lawyers, etc.  You realize that both the path and the goal will come from Allāh, and you need to walk the path to reach the goal while your heart is attached to Allāh.

Of the benefits of the sūrah is that hastiness does not bring about good.  Patience brings about that which is best.  The fruits of patience are always going to be sweet.  The messenger comes to Yūsuf, and he has been in jail at least seven years in conditions that only Allāh knows.  At least in our times the jails are much more humane and clean and there are no rats running around.  Can you imagine the jails of those time?  How filthy and how despicable.  This is a prophet of Allāh, a noble man.  He has been put in a place where we would not even want our worst enemy to be put in.  No doubt that back then these are inhumane conditions.  This is a prophet of Allāh subjugated to such filth and lack of ‘izzah.  Now somebody comes knocking on the door and says, “The king wants you.”  What did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say?  “May Allāh have mercy on Yūsuf.  Had I been in that jail as long as he had been, I would have rushed to the door.  I would have demanded that the king release me before I interpret the dream.”  Even our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is saying, “Wow, māshā’Allāh.”  Yūsuf acted patiently and resisted hastiness.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Hastiness is from the devil.  Patience and to act with contemplation is from Allāh.”  By doing things in a long-term manner patiently, he sends the messenger back.  Realize that it is going to take a few days now.  “Go back to your lord and tell him to find out the story of those women.  I didn’t do anything, and I want my name cleared.”  What happens?  Had he not done this, the king would have given him money and let him go, but by proving his innocence, the king says, “I trust you, O Yūsuf, what can I do for you?”  He makes him a minister instantaneously.  He takes him from the filth of the jail and makes him the most powerful person in the entire country, which is the minister of finance.  Why?  Because he acted long-term and without haste and putting his trust in Allāh and acting patiently.

Of the wisdoms of the sūrah is that you will not succeed until you have failed, and you will not rise until you have been debased and humiliated.  You don’t expect life to be a bed of roses.  We talked about the sine wave.  This is a prophet of Allāh born in the household of a prophet – what a high point – and then thrown in the well to die, a low point.  He was sold into slavery.  SubḥānAllāh.   He gets to a palace and they treat him nicely – a high point.  Thrown into jail – what a low point.  Then what happens?  He becomes the minister.  Up, down, up, down.  The whole story is like that.  Why?  You are not going to succeed until you have shown Allāh that you can deal with failure.  You have to continue moving.  Allāh is not going to bless you when you haven’t deserved or earned that blessing or at least shown Allāh that you are worthy of that blessing.  You need to go through the well and the prison in order to get to the palace and the ministry.  You need to go through the well and the prison in order to be blessed with the blessings of this world.  Realize the next time you are in a struggle and the next time you are in a down point in your life, that is your well and that is your prison.  If you turn to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), inshā’Allāh the metaphorical palace is right around the corner.  You have to go through this to get to the heights in life.  If you put your trust in Allāh ‘azza wa jall, you will see the fruits just like Yūsuf did.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is the perfection of being generous with one’s guests.  This is something that our religion prides itself on.   Honestly, I have to say, no matter what the problems are of the ummah and no matter how much fitnah, fasād, fāḥishah and corruption exist in the ummah, the one thing alḥamdulillāh we can be proud of throughout the Muslim world is that we are known for our generosity, and anybody who has traveled Muslim lands and gone and visited any country will testify and witness that Muslims are hospitable and generous to their guests.  They give their own food to their guests before they will eat.  This is something alḥamdulillāh we have learned from the prophet Ibrāhīm.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The prophet Ibrāhīm was the first person to begin the tradition of honoring guests.”  Before the prophet Ibrāhīm, guests were not honored.  When the three angels came, the prophet Ibrāhīm (‘alayhi’l-salām) bought a fat, juicy calf and cooked it for them and gave it to them.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us the first person to begin the tradition of being hospitable was our father the prophet Ibrāhīm (‘alayhi’l-salām).  It remained in our religion, and we see when the brothers came to Yūsuf, he sends them back to their own father and said, “Wasn’t I the best of all hosts?”  He opens their heart by being a good host.  SubḥānAllāh, brothers and sisters, alḥamdulillāh as I said this is alive in the ummah, and we should make sure it never goes away.  When somebody comes visiting you and when somebody comes from out of town, it is a part of religion and our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, – and wallāhi, think about it and why a prophet would say this ḥadīth unless it was so important – “Whoever truly believes in Allāh and the hereafter, let him honor his guest.”  What a beautiful religion this is.  If you believe in Allāh, honor your guests.  Give him your food, and show him the dignity and respect that you would want to be shown.  Alḥamdulillāh, as I said, this is one thing we can say is still alive in the ummah – Arab, Pakistani, Bengali, wherever you are, alḥamdulillāh we treat our guests well.  We learn this from the story of Yūsuf as well when Yūsuf says, “Wasn’t I the best host to you?  When you go back, tell your father what a great host I was.”

Of the wisdoms that we learn from the story of Yūsuf is the permissibility of using ḥalāl tricks to get to ḥalāl goals.  In our religion, we don’t believe that the ends justify the means.  However, we do believe in ḥalāl tricks if the goal is ḥalāl.  What is a ḥalāl trick?  A ḥalāl trick is something where you are not taking the rights of anybody else and are not lying and not stealing, but you do something that might not be the standard in order to get to a ḥalāl or permissible conclusion. What was the standard or conclusion?  Yūsuf wanted to keep Binyamin in the country, but there was no law of the land that would allow him to keep Binyamin, so what did he do?  Allāh told him of a ḥalāl trick.  The goal was ḥalāl:  he wants to protect his brother, and there is nothing ḥarām in that.  If the goal is ḥarām, it doesn’t matter how you get there, it is ḥarām.  If the means is ḥarām, then even if the goal is ḥalāl you will be sinful.  In our religion we do not ever believe that the ends justify the means.  That is a Machiavellian concept.  We don’t believe that in our religion.  In our religion, if it is ḥarām to do it, even if the net result is good it is ḥarām.  That is why we don’t believe, for example, that you can give ḥarām money to build a masjid.  If you have ḥarām money from interest or any type of activity that is ḥarām, you are not allowed to give it to the masjid, and it is ḥarām to give it.  Allāh will not accept it.  Do you think that the people will accept it from you?  Some people ask if they do have that money, what should they do.  Give it to building other facilities around the masjid but not the actual masjid itself.  The musallah has a special fiqh and ruling.  The buildings around the musallah and parking lots have other rulings.  If you have surplus money from interest, we know interest is not allowed, and you want to get rid of it, you can give it to secondary causes but don’t expect reward from Allāh.  Overall, from this we learn that it is permissible to have a ḥalāl trick to get to a ḥalāl goal.

Of the benefits and wisdoms, in America we have certain groups who say that it is not allowed for us to participate in the American electoral process and it is ḥarām to vote.  We have all heard of such groups saying we should not vote and should not participate in the system around us.  Yet Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) participates in the system of the king in order to get to the conclusion of keeping his brother.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān:  “He could not have kept his brother according to the laws of the king” unless Allāh worked this trick out for him.  He worked with the system in the system to keep his brother.  Therefore, in this land we are in the middle of the two extremes and say that alḥamdulillāh we have full legal (Sharri‘) permissibility to fight for our rights in the court system and take advantage as long as what we are asking for is permissible.  We are not allowed to use the system against our religion.  We cannot go and get something from a person that the Sharī‘ah would not have allowed us.  Unfortunately some people do this.  The Sharī‘ah would allow you to take x amount and you know that the court will give you double that amount, and some people are willing to go to the court to get double the amount, and this is something that is obviously not good as well.  They are misusing the system.  Alḥamdulillāh, there is no problem to use it for a legitimate means.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that the believer is always cautious.  The believer is not naïve and is not a fool.  When the brothers come to Ya‘qūb and say, “Hand over Binyamin.  We are going to take him as well.”  Ya‘qūb is not a fool and says, “Do you think I am going to hand him over just like I handed his brother over?”  The believer acts cautiously.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said in a beautiful parable, “The believer is never stung from the same hole twice.”  This is a parable now in Arabic, but our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the first to say it.  The believer is not naïve but is a man of wisdom and understands that if a problem has come from one area, most likely it will come again.  When the brothers come and say, “Hand over Binyamin,” he says, “I’m not going to do that.”  What happens?

We get to the next wisdom.  Generosity and good manners is the best way to get to someone’s heart.  How did Yūsuf win over his father’s heart when he didn’t know he was Yūsuf?  By returning the goods to the brothers and handing them back the merchandise.  When they came back, the father said, “No way I’m going to give you Binyamin.”  They open up the bag and find all of the money returned.  They can now have an excuse against their father and they say, “O our father, look at this.  Do you really think we would want to cause harm now?  This man has treated us nicely and has been hospitable and look at how generous he has been.”  Being kind, hospitable and generous will work miracles.  Ya‘qūb would never have given up his son unless Yūsuf (and he did not know it was his son) had demonstrated his gentleness and kindness.  If you want to get to somebody’s heart, good manners will win and not harshness and miserliness.

Of the benefits of this sūrah is wisdom in planning.  Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) has planted the cup in the sack of his brother, and now he wants to open up those sacks.  He begins with the sacks of the older brothers and works his way to the younger one.  This shows us the believer, once again, is not naïve.  He knows that if he were to go straight to the sack of Binyamin, people are going to say, “Wait, hold on a second.  How did you know it was in that sack?  He is planning things through and has foresight.  These days we have a whole science called management.  Yūsuf demonstrates that and thinks things through.  In our times, the chess player thinks ten steps ahead.  Yūsuf is thinking.  This is a sign of īmān.  The mu’min is not foolish.  The mu’min is a wise person.  Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) demonstrates this.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that even evil people have streaks of good in them.  Even the worst sinner can eventually repent if he turns over.  This is learned from the brothers of Yūsuf.  To me, this is one of the most fascinating lessons of this story:  where the brothers of Yūsuf began the story and where they end the story.  They began by plotting to murder their younger brother.  As I said, how many amongst us have done such a dastardly deed?  Alḥamdulillāh, I hope nobody is that bad amongst us.  Yet they ended up like the stars.  Even an evil person has good in them.  We see this right now in the part of the story when the brothers realize that Binyamin is not going to come back, they feel so guilty.  The eldest one says, “I am going to stay here.  I am going to impose an exile on myself because we made a mistake in Yūsuf and now we made another mistake.  We are in big trouble.  I want my father to know that I know I committed a crime and I know I am guilty.”  This shows that there are elements of good.  This shows us that even if there is somebody who at one point in their lives wanted to murder their younger brother, it doesn’t mean that they are going to be pure evil.  There is a beautiful saying attributed to ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – it is not a ḥadīth – that is that:  “Hate your enemy with a little less hatred (I other words, don’t be full of hate even towards your enemy.  Lessen the hate against your enemy.)  One day it is going to be very likely that he is going to be your friend.”  Hate your enemy with a little bit less hatred.  In other words, calm down, don’t be full of hate.  One day this very enemy might be a good friend of yours.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān:  “Repel evil with good and you shall see the one who was your worst enemy becomes a bosom friend.”  It is a very common thing.

Of the wisdoms and benefits of this sūrah is it is a sign of īmān to always think the best of Allāh ‘azza wa jall and to have the best thoughts of Allāh and to never lose hope.  At least thirty or forty years have gone by and Ya‘qūb has gone blind in his grief, but his faith in Allāh only increases and never goes down.  To the very end when all three sons are missing and he has gone blind, what does he tell his children?  “O my children, go find Yūsuf.  You will find him.  And never give up hope of Allāh’s Mercy.”  He is the one demonstrating this.  Never give up hope of Allāh’s Mercy.  The only people who can do that are the qawm’l-kafirūn.

Of the wisdoms that we learn is that complaining to Allāh is actually a sign of īmān if it is done properly, and complaining to the people is not a sign of īmān.  Ya‘qūb says, “I complain of my situation to Allāh.”  When the most difficult situation in his life ever happened, which was Ṭā’if by his own testimony – ‘Ā’ishah said, “Was there any day worse than Uḥud?”  He said, “Yes, there was the day of Ṭā’if.”  What was the du‘ā’ of Ṭā’if?  “O Allāh, to You I complain…” What does shakwa mean in this sense?  Many of us when we think of complaining, we think of “Why is this happening?  I don’t deserve this.”  That is not what we are talking about.  The complaint here is a complaint that is done to elicit Allāh’s sympathy and mercy.  This is what the complaint means.  “O Allāh, You see the situation I am in.  O Allāh, this is a distressing situation.”  This is complaining.  A factual description.  Not: “O Allāh, why is this happening to me?”  The believer never speaks in such a manner.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that the believer always ascribes good to Allāh and evil to the Shayṭān.  Notice in the end of the sūrah Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) says, “How generous my Lord has been when He saved me from the prison and caused you to leave the bedouin lifestyle and come into the city.”  At the end of the sūrah, Yūsuf says, “Allāh has granted us His blessings.”  All blessings are described to Allāh.  A problem happens:  “it was Shayṭān who caused problems between my brothers and I.”  All good was ascribed to Allāh.  Evil does not come from Allāh.  We ascribe good to Allāh.  We don’t ascribe evil to Allāh.  This is the proper way to phrase it.  We ascribe evil to other than Allāh ‘azza wa jall, and of course primarily the source of this type of evil comes from the Shayṭān.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that it is a sign of perfection of one’s īmān to not hurt the feelings of other believers.  Yūsuf exemplifies this in a manner that is unbelievable.  He bends over backwards to never mention the crime.  In the very last page, when he talks about the blessings of Allāh, he never mentions the well or the slavery because those were caused by the brothers.  When he said, “From now on there shall be no blame on you,” he lived up to his word.  No blame was put.  Therefore, he went out of his way to make sure that his brothers’ feelings were not hurt.  This is of the perfection of īmān.  Innuendos, hinting, double meanings, and derogatory snide remarks are not the way of the believer.  To do so goes against perfection of one’s īmān.

Of the wisdoms we learn is to forgive when you have power is the height of excellence; therefore, how much more so should you forgive when you don’t have power? You have to forgive.  To forgive when you have power is what Yūsuf did.  He was the king’s right hand man and controlled the country.  The brothers came to him realizing they made a mistake, and Yūsuf forgives despite his power.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was told through this sūrah: “A day will come when your own brethren are going to come to you and you must say the same thing.”  That is exactly what he did standing on the doors of the Ka‘bah.  He stood on the doors of the Ka‘bah, and the people of the Quraysh were around him, and he said, “What do you think I should do to you?  What do you think you deserve?”  They were petrified.  They deserved death and they knew it.  They deserved execution because of what they had done for the last twenty-three years.  Now they come trembling and scared.  “You are the son of a noble brother and one of us.  Remember us.”  They didn’t remember him back in the day, but now they come.  What did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say?  He said exactly what Yūsuf said, and he never once mentioned the faults of the Quraysh after this, just like Yūsuf.  He never once brings up the past that has happened.  Khalās, everything and everyone are forgiven, including those who have personally tried to assassinate him.  Everyone was forgiven down to the last man just like Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām) did, and no sins and crimes were mentioned after that.  If this is the case when you have power, then how much more so for me and you when somebody does us wrong.  Shouldn’t we also then say, “May Allāh forgive them”?  Forgive in your hearts.

Of the blessings that we learn from this sūrah is that asking people’s forgiveness for wrongs that you have done and publicly announcing your public sins is a part of īmān.  The general rule is that your sins are private.  If you have made a public mistake, then you need to issue a public apology.  The brothers made a public mistake and harmed their father.  They come in public and say, “ya abbāna-staghfirlana dhunūbana inna kunna khāṭi’īn.”  A public mistake requires a public apology.  A mistake that is done to a person requires that you seek forgiveness from that person.  This is not a private sin between you and Allāh ‘azza wa jall.

Of the blessings of this sūrah is that our religion tells us to treat our parents with honor and respect.  We know this for a fact.  Yūsuf demonstrates this many times.  When they enter Egypt, Yūsuf goes out to meet them, and he makes a du‘ā’ for them.  He puts them on the throne.  Physical, mental, spiritual exaltation.  No human being is more worthy of your veneration other than your parents.  In terms of natural love and dedication, there is no second to them.  Yūsuf demonstrates this over and over again.

Of the wisdoms and blessings of this sūrah is that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) can always bring about reconciliation between two people who are fighting and enemies of one another.  The brothers of Yūsuf and Yūsuf.  Imagine how much hatred much have existed in the brothers’ of Yūsuf hearts, and imagine how much pain in Yūsuf’s heart.  Yet, in the end, what happens?  All is forgotten and forgiven.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān regarding the mushrikūn who had accepted Islam (i.e. regarding the muhājirūn and the anṣār):  “If you had given this entire world to try to make them friends and bring reconciliation, they would never have become friends.  Allāh has brought about that friendship and reconciliation.”  Anybody you have some problem with and are distressed with, realize that it is only a matter of time inshā’Allāh.  Turn to Allāh and make du‘ā’ to Allāh to bring about that reconciliation.  Make this du‘ā’ to Allāh:  “O Allāh, bring our hearts together.”  If Allāh can bring together the hearts of the brothers of Yūsuf and Yūsuf, then surely your enemies and my enemies and your problematic situations and scenarios whether within the family or outside of the family, surely Allāh can bring about a reconciliation as well.  This is of the benefits we learn from this sūrah.

Of the blessings we learn, is that what is important in the eyes of Allāh is the state that you die in.  The state that you die in dictates your place in the hereafter and not the state that you began in.  This is one of the biggest sources of optimism in the life of the believer.  It is never too late to change.  It is never too late to turn over a new leaf.  It is never too late to give up a lifestyle of evil and start a lifestyle of righteousness.  The brothers of Yūsuf are a primary example of this.  They began the story in one state and ended in another and that is what is important.  Another manifestation of this wisdom is the du‘ā’ of Yūsuf:  “Cause me to die in a state of Islam.”  What is important is your state at the time of death.

Of the blessings of this sūrah is the whole page conclusion is the miracle of the Qurʾān.  This is a powerful tool that we don’t utilize to the extent that we should.  A powerful tool to talk about our religion is to talk about the Qurʾān.  Where did it come from, the style, the recitation, the beauty, the melody.  Everything about the Qurʾān is miraculous.  In the last two lessons we talked about the beauty of the Qurʾān.

We talked about the three levels of patience.  Notice that Yūsuf perfected all three levels.  The lowest level of patience is patience in the face of adversity.  Somebody dies, something happens, you lose your job – how do you react?  This is patience.  Yūsuf reacted with the utmost patience in all that happened:  in the well and the prison and in all that happened, he is reacting with patience.

Today Hijab Style brings you a Q&A with Bayan Jondy, the founder of Zeena, an American clothing brand catering for the modest dresser. Zeena have just launched their latest Eid Collection today; and I must say I’m loving the new designs! The pieces are elegant, stylish and versatile; real wardrobe staples. Here are a few of the new arrivals:

Silky Ruffle Zip-Up Shirt; Pleated Dream Skirt; Smocked Chiffon Shirt

Jana: When, who and how was Zeena established?

Bayan: Zeena was founded in 2008 when I started designing clothes for myself . My family and friends responded enthusiastically to my designs which gave me confirmation that there was a gap in the fashion industry that needed to be filled. My sister Amany and I are partners in Zeena and together we are able to design, innovate, and create the best products and service for our customers.

Jana: What makes you different to other modest clothing brands?

Bayan: We spent years carefully laying out our vision and did not rush into starting a company until we were able to ensure that all aspects of our business were covered. What makes us different from other modest clothing brands is that we provide contemporary, demure clothing at affordable prices!

Jana: What have been your most popular items?

Bayan: Our most popular items from last seasons have been the Ribbed Hoodie and the Tie Shrug, which are tops you tend to grab right before you run out of the front door. This season, the button down essential shirts have been very popular, due to their sophisticated style.

Jana: Tell us one thing that surprised you about the experience of setting up and running your online business?

Bayan: What surprised us the most was the overwhelming, immediate response we received outside of our North American customer base. Within the first few weeks of our launch, we were receiving orders and inquiries from the UK, Australia, France, Malaysia, South Africa, Lebanon, the UAE and many more countries across the globe! Such response showed us the universal appeal of our designs.

Jana: What’s your ultimate vision for Zeena?

Bayan: Zeena’s ultimate vision is to continue to provide contemporary, modest clothing for our customers every season. We aspire to have the most reliable clothing store, offer the finest quality clothing, and provide the best customer service.

Visit www.simplyzeena.com to see their designs!

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 14 of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 
Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

For those who came late, that was the recitation of Warsh, and that is not the usual recitation that we are used to.

We have basically come to the conclusion of Sūrah Yūsuf.  In these last verses, we had begun talking about the fact that Allāh ‘azza wa jall is telling the people that this story is a story that clearly indicates that this is a Qur’ān from Allāh, that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is a true prophet, and yet, “the majority of people, even if you want to, ya Rasūlullāh, will not be believers.  Even if you want them to be believers, your eagerness is not going to cause them to believe.”

Āyah 104

“This is despite the fact that you are not asking for any reward from them.  This is only a dhikr (reminder) for all of humanity.”

In other words, remember what is the conclusion of Yūsuf.  Why is Allāh ‘azza wa jall going into this conclusion?  Allāh ‘azza wa jall is linking the sūrah to the message of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).  He is linking the stories to the life and times of Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and is telling the people: “Where do you think this sūrah is coming from?  Where do you think this Qur’ān is coming from?  You did not know these stories.  The story of Yūsuf and his brothers was unknown to you, and it is an accurate story that is being revealed in the most eloquent language to an illiterate, unlettered man.  Where did it come from?”

Then Allāh is proving the fact that this is a book from Allāh and is saying, “Your sincerity is clear.  You have no motivation.”  Now Allāh gets to the issue of motivation.  It is human nature that we do everything for a motive.  Everything that we do has a motive to it.  You go to work for a reason.  You do everything in your life for a reason.  Even in a court of law, if you establish certain evidence, you also have to say what is his motive for the crime and why he did it because it is human nature that there is a motive for everything that is done.

Allāh ‘azza wa jall in this āyah is challenging the people to think why would a man start to go against his whole nation and preach a doctrine that will bring about initial persecution and humiliation.  What is in it for him?  Does he want power?  He is being humiliated and is almost going to lose his life and you are trying to kill him.  Does he want prestige?  What prestige is he getting when you are mocking him all over the world and when any caravan comes and you stand outside the city and say that there is a madman, a sāḥir, a majnūn.  What is his motivation?  Do you think he wants money?  He is not asking you for money.

This is one of the Sunan of Allāh ‘azza wa jall.  Allāh has Sunan and Rasūl has sunan.  Allāh’s Sunan are mentioned in the Qur’ān.  Allāh has Sunan.  What is the Sunan of Allāh?  It is the custom of Allāh and the manner of Allāh.  Allāh has a custom that He shows in humanity.  A part of the custom of Allāh is that the messengers never get any reward in this world.  They don’t get money.  They don’t get any reward in this world, and, therefore, every prophet comes and says the same message:  “I am not asking you for money.  I am not asking you for power.  I am not asking you for any reward.”  Because their motivation has been negated except for sincerity – in other words, any possible motivation has been negated.  “I’m not asking you for anything other than this message and call.”

There is no question that when a person has no monetary motivation and he does something, you feel better about it and feel, “Oh man, this guy must believe in his cause.”  There is no question about this.  Therefore, the prophets of Allāh, to demonstrate the perfection of their sincerity, have been refused to get any money, so much so that it is ḥarām for Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to be given zakāh and for the descendants of Rasūlullāh to receive zakāh because this is not befitting the messengers that anybody doubt their intention for this reason.  It is not allowed for them to do so.

Here Allāh ‘azza wa jall is saying, “I am not asking you for any reward to do so.”  I find this personally fascinating as a person who studies in academia and the Western study of Islam.  As you know, I am specializing in this.  This has always fascinated researchers from the medieval times that why did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) do this.  In medieval times, they would give the most ludicrous of excuses:  power, fame, and sensuality.  This was propaganda.  In the last 100 years when people have tried to be a little bit fairer and a little bit more honest, they realized the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not benefit even when he became the “king” of the Arabs.  Even when he became the leader of the Arabs, his lifestyle did not move up.  He still lived in the exact same house, slept in the exact same bed, and did not own any extra camels.

SubḥānAllāh, when we get a pay raise, the first thing we do is upgrade our status of living.  We earn 10% more and khalās, the car comes in, the house gets expanded, we build the room.  Here Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) starts his life literally as a shepherd, which is the lowest, if you like, menial labor that he can have, and when he passes away, his standard of living has not increased at all significantly.

You all know the famous ḥadīth of ‘Umar b. Al-Khaṭṭab.  He walks in and finds the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) does not even have a mattress, meaning a soft cloth, to lie on.  They had soft cloths and mattresses, and he began to cry and said, “Ya Rasūlullāh, surely you deserve better than the kings of Rome and Persia.  At least have a comfortable living.”  He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was sleeping on basically what we would call the frame of the bed.  This is in our vernacular.  He is sleeping on the palm tree leaves and the fibers of the palm tree.  This is the frame and not the mattress on the frame, and he is sleeping on that.  ‘Umar begins to cry because when the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) gets up, you see the marks of the frame.  He says, “Ya Rasūlullāh, at least look at the kings of Persia and Rome.”  Instead of saying, “You know, you’re right, maybe just get me a soft cloth,” what does he say?  You all know.  He says, “O ‘Umar, what is the matter with you?  Aren’t you thinking straight?  Don’t you want to have the ākhirah and let them have this world?”

It is clear that he doesn’t desire money.  The day he is gifted a new cloth and the reason somebody gave him the cloth is that they saw patches and spots here and there and felt sorry that how could the Rasūl (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) be dressed like this, so they gave him a brand new cloth.  For the first time he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is coming out wearing this cloth.  A ṣaḥābi came and said, “O Messenger of Allāh, gift me this cloth.”  He literally wore it for two minutes and is walking outside and somebody comes and says, “Ya Rasūlullāh, give me this cloth.  Gift it to me.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “I will do it.”  It is the only cloth he is wearing.  He goes back home and dresses in the patched garments again and comes out again and leads the ṣalāh.  When he goes back, all of the ṣaḥābah get angry with this person.  “Are you crazy?  Are you out of your mind?  Have you no shame?  You know that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) never refuses a request.  How could you have asked him for the cloth that he was gifted?”  So he says, “I didn’t do it for my dunya.  I wanted to be buried in this garment so that I can plead with Allāh ‘azza wa jall about the generosity of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that he gave this to me.  I wanted this to be my kaffan, and that is why I asked it from him.”

The point being that it is clear that he has no worldly motivation.  He doesn’t have a motivation for dunya, power, or prestige. This is what the āyah is saying.  As I said, I find it fascinating that to this day, there is not a solid excuse that they have managed to discover.  They have long ago stopped saying things like he wants power or he wants greed.  Now they try to be fair in our times.  A hundred years ago you didn’t have to be fair and could smear the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).  In our times, you cannot say any of this.  By and large, most people think he had worked himself up into the belief that he is a prophet.  In other words – astaghfirullāh – he is delusional that he is a prophet and sincerely thinks he is a prophet.  Basically this goes back to the claim in the Qur’ān that the Quryash said that he is majnūn.  They cannot outsmart the Qur’ān.  They cannot go outside what Allāh said.  They use the same excuses.  Some of them said he is a fancy poet.  Some of them said he is a sāḥir.  Some of them said he is a magician and some of them said he is majnūn.  These are the classical excuses, and the Qur’ān mentions all of them and refutes all of them.

My point is that modern researchers cannot go outside of these few excuses.  Every one of them Allāh has explicitly mentioned and refuted.  Also, for the claim that he is delusional, really you are claiming that a man has lived the sanest life in every field – he has been a commander, a military leader, and family person – and yet you think that in one aspect that he is a messenger of God he has somehow become delusional.  Wallāhi, this doesn’t make any sense.  Even non-Muslim biographers and analysts have to conclude that he thought he was sincere.  Nothing else explains his lifestyle other than the claim that he genuinely believed himself to be a prophet.  Of course for us, he genuinely believed himself to be a prophet because he was a prophet.

This is why Allāh is saying, “You are not even asking even money from them.”  This is a powerful tool that we can use when we talk about Islam:  go study the life of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and go see for yourself why he would preach this.  What did he gain?  The message is simple, powerful, and rational.  The messenger is flawless.  What can you say?

“This is only a dhikr for all of the world.”

‘Ālam generally is translated as world and means every community, every group.  In one sense, ‘ālam means the world of men, the world of jinn, the world of animals.  In another sense, ‘ālam means the world of nations – the nations of the Romans, the nations of the Persians, the nations of the Chinese.  ‘Ālam literally means a genus or category of people.  Allāh is saying that this Qur’ān is a dhikr for any category, whether it is humanity versus the jinn or even within humanity there are many different groups.

This Qur’ān is a dhikr.  What does dhikr mean?  Dhikr means a remembrance or a reminder.  This is one of the most common names of the Qur’ān.  The Qur’ān has many names.  The most common names are the Qur’ān and the Kitāb – these two are the most common names in the Book of Allāh.  Alḥamdulillāhi’lladhi anala ‘ala ‘abdihi’l-kitāb [18:1] — so Kitāb is mentioned.  Qur’ān is mentioned.  Both of these are mentioned around 75 times.

The two names are complementary.  Qur’ān means that which is recited, and Kitāb means that which is written.  The Qur’ān and the Kitāb are complementary because Allāh has promised to preserve the recitation along with preserving the writing.  You always need the recitation along with the Book.  The ḥāfiẓ has the Qur’ān and uses the kitāb.  Both are complementary names.  One is the recitation and the other is the speech.

The third most common name of the Qur’ān is Dhikr.  This is what is used over here.  Dhikr here means that it is meant to remind and meant to bring about something that you already know.  This is a powerful message that the message of the Qur’ān is not unique and you should know it.

I repeat – what I said is so simple, but I want you to understand the implications.  What is Allāh saying by using the word dhikr?  By using the word dhikr, Allāh is implying that the basic message of the Qur’ān you should know, and when the Qur’ān comes down, it should remind you of that basic message.  You guys are following this point, right?  The Qur’ān is a dhikr, meaning that it is nothing new.

What is not new?  The basic message that there is One God who is All-Perfect and worthy of being worshipped.  This is a message you don’t need to be taught; you know it already.  How does mankind know this message?  Because we believe as Muslims that Allāh ingrained in every human being the inherent capacity to know God and to believe in God.  That is why even the most primitive societies were religious.  I don’t know if you know this or not – atheism is a very, very modern phenomenon.  In fact, the first devout atheist is actually in the 19^th century – 150-200 years ago.  Atheism was unknown in humanity because it is in your nature to affirm a God.  It is in your nature to believe that this world came out of something.  It is nonsensical to claim that this world came out of nothing.  Therefore, atheism is a very modern trend.  Allāh created mankind to know the truth.  What is the truth?  There is only One God.  Most of mankind had deviated from this truth by believing in multiple gods, and so the thrust of the Qur’ān is use your fiṭrah and your intelligence and understand that there is not multiple but there is one God.  This is why the Qur’ān is called Dhikr because dhikr means it is reminding you of a message you should know.

Of course, dhikr also means that it is going to remind you over and over and over again.  It is always going to be a reminder and is never going to go away.  It is here to stay.  Yet a third meaning of dhikr is a matter of prestige, it will bring about your remembrance.  That is not the meaning in this verse, but it is the meaning in another verse.  Allāh says in the Qur’ān:  “This Qur’ān shall be a dhikr for you and your nation.”  What is the meaning here of dhikr?  One of the meanings is:  “This Qur’ān will take you places.  You will become remembered in the world.  You will have an ‘izzah because of this Qur’ān.”  This is exactly what happened.  The Arabs used to be the mockery of the Romans and the Persians and used to be considered the most backward civilization at the time and were so barbaric and Bedouin.  As I said, they didn’t have a unified government, language, script, or civilization. They were so backward the Romans and Persians didn’t even see the need to conquer them.  It is like the people living in the jungles – why should we go and conquer them?  Who cares?  The mighty empires of Rome and Persia have no need to descend down and conquer the warring Arabs.  They didn’t care about oil back then, so what is the purpose of invading Arabia?  There was nothing for them to gain.

Yet this nation managed to destroy the Persian Empire in 20 miracles.  Wallāhi, this is miracle we don’t understand.  The Sasanid Empire collapsed.  Also within 20 years half of the Roman Empire was carved up.  Muslims conquered the seats of Christianity, and that is Damascus and North Africa.  Alexandria is where Christian theologians met.  The Council of Nicaea, where Christianity was invented, was in Turkey.  Within another 500, 600, 800 years, there was more and more expansion until finally it conquered the seat of the Byzantine Empire and that is Constantinople, which is Istanbul.

This civilization of backward nomads who did not even have a culture, language, or script became the leader of civilizations.  Europeans would come to Andalus to study medicine, engineering, optics, and physics and then go back and began the Renaissance in the 17^th century.

Allāh is saying, “This book will take you places.”  That is one of the meanings of dhikr.  Dhikr in that context means:  you will be remembered and you will leave a legacy because of this book.  These are some of the meanings of dhikr, and Allāh ‘azza wa jall here is saying “This is a dhikr for all of humanity.”

The fourth most common name is Furqān.  You should memorize these names:  Qur’ān, Kitāb, Dhikr, and Furqān.  These are the four most common names of the Qur’ān in the Qur’ān.  Furqān means the criterion.  Furqān means that which separates good from evil, truth from falsehood, īmān from kufr.

In this verse, once again, the concluding verses all mean to prove the truthfulness of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the religion of Islam.  Allāh then says,

Āyah 105

“How numerous are the signs in the heavens and the earth that they continually pass by and they are oblivious to these signs and don’t think about these signs.”

Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is saying, “Ya Rasūlullāh, you have clear signs.  You are truthful, have miracles, and have no motivation.  You are not the only sign.  They have plenty of other signs.  If they are ignoring you, ya Rasūlullāh, get some consolation that they have been ignoring other signs long before you came on the scene.  You are not the only sign.  How many are the miracles in the heaven and the earth.”

The miracles of the heavens are the sun, the moon, the stars, and the creation.  On this earth you have the natural and the man-made.  Of the natural [miracles is], of course, the beauty of the oceans and the mountains and valleys and irrigation and cultivation. When it comes to man-made, you have the remnants of the nations of old.  The Arabs had plenty of ancient civilizations, which to this day are marvels to humanity.  The people of ‘Ād, the people of Thamūd, those who carved things into the mountains.  To this day, we have no idea how they built palaces.  Have you ever seen pictures of the Nabiteans, the people of Thamūd?  There are pictures you can see online and maybe some of you have been there and visited.  They literally have palaces carved into the mountains.  Their house is in the mountain.  They have bunk beds carved into the mountains.  They have rooms carved inside the mountains.  The Arabs were very familiar with these cultures.  To this day we have no idea how this happened just like the pyramids in Egypt.

Allāh is saying, “Look at these signs.  You are not the first civilization, and you are not going to be the last.  How many are the signs they have walked by and they don’t even think about it.”

Notice the beautiful choice of verb here:  yamurrūn.  Murūr literally in Arabic today means traffic.  Yamurrūn means they are walking without thinking.  Marra means just to pass by.  Allāh ‘azza wa jall uses a very precise word.  They walk by it without even thinking about it.  They are completely turned away from it even though they are walking by it.  While they are walking by, it is as if they have turned away.  While they go right by it, they don’t even see it.  This, of course, is the reality of humanity.  We see the beautiful signs around us – natural signs and miracles – and we don’t think about it.

Then Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) consoles the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) once again.

Āyah 106

“Most of them don’t believe in Allāh ‘azza wa jall properly.  They commit shirk along with this belief.”

This again is a very profound verse.  For the majority of the Quraysh, their problem was that they believed in Allāh but along with Allāh they believed in multiple gods.  Here Allāh ‘azza wa jall is pointing out a fundamental fact of our religion:  to believe in Allāh is not the essence of īmān.  The Quraysh also believed in Allāh.  The Quraysh believed Allāh created them and will resurrect them and Allāh is All-Powerful, but that did not make them Muslims.  This is a very important point in our times.  There are people who do believe in all of these things, but they are guilty of very grave crimes of shirk.  By explaining to them that the Quraysh believed in Allāh but committed shirk, we can explain to some of our fellow Muslims who have gone to excessive practices.

So, for example, common practices that we find sometimes is that people are invoking the dead and making du‘ā’ to those whom they call the ‘awliyah.  They go to the grave and say, “Ya Fulān…  Ya AbdulQadir….  Ya Chistie…, forgive me, give me a child, grant me this and that.”  They make du‘ā’ to this person.  If you were to ask them, “Akhi, how could you make du‘ā’ to this person?  Aren’t you a Muslim?”  He would say, “Of course I am a Muslim.  Astaghfirullāh.  I believe in Allāh and I believe Allāh created me and will resurrect me.”  All that he has just said is exactly what they Quraysh would say, and this verse clearly shows it.  Most of them believe in Allāh and Allāh says, “They have īmān in Allāh but they do shirk along with that belief.”

Ibn ‘Abbās explained this verse.  He said, “This verse means if you ask them, ‘Who created you?’  They would say, ‘Allāh,’ but when it comes to what they need, they ask other than Allāh.”  The sad reality is that we find the exact same attitude letter for letter, word for word, dot for dot in some minority segments of our fellow Muslims.  They say, “I am too sinful.  I cannot approach Allāh directly.  I have to go through the wali.  I believe in Allāh.  I am a Muslim.”

Even Iblīs believes in Allāh.  Does Iblīs deny Allāh exists?  Is he an atheist?  No.  Didn’t Iblīs make a du‘ā’ to Allāh “Qāla Rabbi…”?  What does “qāla Rabbi” mean?  My Rabb.  Iblīs is saying, “Allāh is my Rabb.  Allāh is my Lord.  Allāh is my Creator.”  Iblīs even makes du‘ā’ to Allāh, “O my Lord, allow me to live until the Day of Judgment.”  Does that make Iblīs a mu’min because he believes in Allāh?  Of course not.

A lot of us Muslims don’t know our own religion and think that if we believe in Allāh then we are a Muslim.  Iblīs believes in Allāh.  Abu Lahab believed in Allāh.  By the time testimony of the Qur’ān:  “They have īmān in Allāh.”  What did they do?  They would ask others besides Allāh for what they need.  They would go to their idols and say, “O idol, save me.  O idol, give me a child.  O idol, forgive my sins.”  They thought that these idols would then take their requests up to Allāh.  They used these idols as stepping stones and as intermediaries.  SubḥānAllāh, the exact same mentality 100% is found in those people who go to the graves and the saints.  They say the exact same thing:  “We believe in Allāh, but we need to go through [them].”

This is the beauty of Islam.  There is a direct channel.  You don’t go through the operator.  There is a direct line between you and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).  Going through individuals is the essence of shirk.  This is a beautiful verse that we can use to prove that believing in Allāh is not sufficient to be a Muslim.  You can have īmān in Allāh and still be a mushrik.  Allāh says, “They have īmān and they do shirk.”  When you have īmān and do shirk, the shirk cancels the īmān and it is not accepted by Allāh ‘azza wa jall.

Allāh ‘azza wa jall is saying, “Their problem is that they worship others besides Allāh.

Āyah 107

“Do they feel secure that a ghāshiyah will not come to them from the punishment of Allāh?”

What is ghāshiyah?  Ghāshiyah is that which covers up and that which envelops.  Every single punishment is called ghāshiyah because you are enveloped in it.  SubḥānAllāh we seek Allāh’s refuge from all of Allāh’s punishments.  Look at what is happening now with the tsunami and earthquakes and what not.  This is a type of ghāshiyah because you are overwhelmed and everything is neglected other than this. Ghāshiyah means you are covered up in it and you cannot think of anything else.  Look at these people now.  May Allāh make the situation easy and protect us from any fitan.  This is exactly what a ghāshiyah is.

Allāh is now threatening the Quraysh.  “The signs are so clear, the truth of the Prophet is manifest, I’ve given you so many miracles.  What is left?  Do you not worry that a punishment from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) will come that will overwhelm you?”

“Or the Day of Judgment will come and you are not even expecting it.”

“If I don’t punish you in this world immediately, then the only other alternative is the Day of Judgment.  Between these two there is no third alternative.  Either you are going to get a punishment that will destroy you and immerse you in it, or you will have to face the wrath of Allāh ‘azza wa jall in the Day of Judgment.”

The Day of Judgment will come suddenly.  The primary meaning is the real Day of Judgment.  However, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Death is the minor Day of Judgment.”  It is the individual Day of Judgment.  There is a reference here that: “If you don’t correct your act, I will either punish you with a punishment that will destroy you or you will die a death you weren’t prepared for and will have to face Me.  Choose which one of these you want.  Are you not worried?”  Afa’ aminu means do you feel safe that Allāh is not going to harm you?

This clearly shows us, brothers and sisters – and I have to say this honestly – in our times, when we give da‘wah to people, we ignore this tangent of the Qur’ān.  The Qur’ān has a carrot, but it also has a stick.  The Qur’ān entices with bashīr, reward, Jannah, and mercy, but it also has punishment.  If you reject, you are going to have to face your Lord.  The fact of the matter is that in our times, we consider it politically incorrect to talk about the fire of Hell.  We say when we give da‘wah let’s not talk about “if you refuse, you have to face the wrath of your Creator,” whereas the Qur’ān has both.  Human beings need both.  You need the carrot and you need the stick.  If you concentrate on one to the exclusion of the other, you get problems.  By always mentioning the carrot and no stick, people will say, “Okay fine, I’ll think about it.”  Tell a person directly, “Are you prepared to meet your Lord?”  This type of question:  “Are you ready to die and meet your God?”

By the way, there is nothing wrong with using the term “God.”  I think I mentioned this before.  We should have no problem, and when we speak to non-Muslims it is in fact better to use “God” for them because “God” means the Creator.  Amongst ourselves of course we use “Allāh,” but when we speak to non-Muslims, in the beginning we talk about God because we believe in God.   Allay says, “Our God and your God is one.”  Ilah is “God” and Allāh calls Himself ilah.  There is no problem using the term “God.”  Some Muslims are a little bit sensitive about this.

We tell them, “Are you prepared to meet your God?  Are you prepared to meet your Creator?  Are you willing to defend your beliefs and your lifestyle?”  Wallāhi I have tried this in my da‘wah with people, and so many times you see the faces of people change because you are not threatening him but you are threatening him with his Creator.  You are saying, “Are you prepared to meet your Lord?”  This really throws a person into shock.  A lot of people have never been asked this question, and this is exactly the question Allāh is asking directly.  “Are you not worried that a punishment of Allāh will come or death will come and you are not even ready for it?”  If Allāh ‘azza wa jall can ask this question directly, it is our job to spread this āyah as well.  Of course we change it in a manner that befits them and say, for example, “Are you ready to meet your Lord?  Are you ready for death and resurrection?  Your Lord will ask you, ‘What did you do with your life?  What did you do with the blessings I gave you?’”  Leave it at that.  Say, “Don’t answer me.  I’m not going to judge you, but are you ready?”  Leave the question at that.  I have tried this myself a number of times, and I’ve seen the effect.  The effect that this has is a very different effect than debate and quoting verses of theology.  That has its place but this also has its place, and the Qur’ān uses both of them.

After mentioning the carrot and the stick, if you like, and after mentioning so many miracles of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and creation, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is then told to say:

Āyah 108

“Say:  This is my path.  I am calling to Allāh.”

The path of Islam is a path that links you to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).  The path of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the job of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is to call people to this path.  How does he do this call?  ‘Ala baṣīrah means upon a clear knowledge.  “I’m not calling you based upon ignorance.  I’m not jāhil.   I know what I’m calling you to.”

Baṣīrah is from baṣarah, which is to see.  Baṣīrah means it is crystal clear.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said in one ḥadīth, “I have left you upon the shining path.  Its night is like its day.  No one can deviate from this path except that he wishes destruction.”  The path is clear.

“I am doing this [calling upon baṣīrah] and those who truly follow me also call.”

This is a beautiful message here.  Whoever claims to be a follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) had better be calling to his path because this āyah demonstrates and characterizes the followers of Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as being of those who call to this path.

“I and all those who follow me all call to this path upon knowledge.”  This shows us that on some level, calling others to Islam (da‘wah) is on some level farḍ ‘ayn.  What do I mean by ‘some level’?  Our biggest problem when it comes to da‘wah is that we don’t know what da‘wah is.  We think that da‘wah is always intellectual debate and basically being a Zakir Naik or Ahmed Deedat.  This is the biggest misconception of da‘wah.  Da‘wah, or calling others to Islam, is not only about intellectual arguments and debates.  Throughout this story we have always been mentioning the number one stepping stone to da‘wah is manners.  The number one stepping stone to people’s heart is: “We have seen you from the ṣāliḥīn.  Tell us the interpretation of the dream.  We think you to be a good man.”  The king says this, the interpreter says this, everybody says this:  “We see you to be a righteous person, help us out.”  This is the primary way of da‘wah.  Every one of us has to give da‘wah simply by being a good Muslim in our characteristics and manners.  This is the best da‘wah and far better than intellectual debate and argumentation.

Some people can go to the intellectual side and debate side and talk about theology and what Christianity and Judaism says.  This is for the educated in the sciences of religion.  On some level, every Muslim has to call others to Islam not by the tongue and not by knocking on the door and giving pamphlets – this, in my opinion, is not the best da‘wah – but simply by humanizing yourself to your neighbors and to your coworkers and showing them that your life is the meaning of Islam.  This is the best da‘wah.  Your relationship with Allāh ‘azza wa jall, your religiosity, your akhlāq.  And when you do so, you are opening up doors that arguments can never open up.

Also notice that Allāh ‘azza wa jall mentions the path to Allāh in the singular.  Qul hādhihi sabīl.  Ihdinas ṣirāṭ’l-mustaqīm.  The path to Allāh is one.  Whatever opposes it is in the plural.  “Don’t follow the paths because then you will be misguided from the one path.”  “Allāh takes them out of the darknesses to nūr.”  Allāh takes them out from multiple darknesses to the one light.  Notice truth is one.  Falsehood is many.  This is a clear point in our religion.  These days people don’t like to say truth is one and instead say truth is relative – you have your truth and I have my truth.  No, this is not the Qur’ānic message.  Truth is one.  Allāh is the Truth.  The way to Allāh ‘azza wa jall is one and is the ṣirāṭ and the sabīl.

Once the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) sat down in the sand and drew a straight line and said, “This is the straight path of Allāh ‘azza wa jall and leads to Allāh.”  Then he drew lines that go out in the sand.  By the way, this shows us that it is of the Sunnah and the methodology of teaching to employ diagrams and charts.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is the greatest teacher, and you can go into a tangent about how he used to teach.  He would draw diagrams and charts.  He is drawing diagrams and saying, “These are the paths that lead away from the one path.”  The path to Allāh is a straight path and one path.  All that opposes it are multiple paths.

“I am upon a knowledge.”

This shows you that if you want to be a true follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), you have to have knowledge.  If you are a jāhil, you can never get to that level of following.  A true follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) knows his religion.

“I do this, and all those who follow me.  And all exaltation is due to Allāh ‘azza wa jall, and I am not of the idol worshippers.”

In other words, “this is my path; I am calling to Allāh.”  By saying, “subḥānAllāh,” it is as if he is saying, “And while I am on this path, I praise and glorify Allāh.”  That is what it means here.  “As I am on this path, and as I am calling to Allāh, I make it a ritual to praise Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) as well, and I am never going to be of those who worship others besides Him.

Āyah 109

“There has never come before you prophets except that they have been men whom We have inspired from the towns/cities.”

The characteristics of the prophets are that they have been men that have been inspired from the cities.  What does this mean?  The point of saying this is to say the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has all of the characteristics the previous prophets had as well.  “You have the exact same characteristics.  You are not alone.”

This is a message to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to console him.  Remember this sūrah was revealed at a relatively depressing point in the life of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).  He is being reminded:  “You are not the only person that has suffered.  Many are the prophets before you that We have sent.”  SubḥānAllāh, it is human nature that when you find somebody who has suffered the same calamity as you, you feel a little bit of relief that you are not alone.  Our Rasūl (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is being reminded, “You are not alone.  There have been many prophets before you that have come.”

His people are being reminded, “Why are you so shocked?  What are you amazed at?  The characteristics of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) are the exact same as the prophets before him.”

This also shows us some theological points.  All prophets have been men.  This is the standard position of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah.  There have been no female prophets.  We firmly believe this even though there is a small minority opinion that Maryam (‘alayhi’l-salām) was a prophet, but it doesn’t appear to be the case.  Rather, she saw an angel, and angel communicated with her, but she did not receive waḥy.  She did not receive a book from Allāh ‘azza wa jall.  Angels can come to women and can appear in front of women, but this does not make them prophets.  Prophets means you get a revelation from Allāh, waḥy, and the dominant opinion has always been [all prophets have been male], and it is quite clear from this verse.  This is because for a woman to become a prophet, it would be more difficult for her to be accepted in any society, especially a patriarchal societies of old.  Also, a woman has her own issues – such as if a man is attracted to her.  It is not going to be the same as a man being a prophet.

No doubt, in our society it is politically incorrect to say that men and women are slightly different.  We believe that they are different and spiritually equal.  We don’t believe that men and women are equal physiologically or emotionally.  It doesn’t mean that men are better or women are better.  It is that Allāh has created each one for a role and a purpose, and Allāh ‘azza wa jall has made prophecy amongst men.  By the way, if any Christian or Jew argues with you, you can ask them to look at the Old Testament, which is full of male prophets.  There is no female prophetess over there either.

This is something that we firmly believe:  they have been men.  And they have been men who live in cities.  There have been no bedouin prophets.  Bedouins (people who don’t live in the cities) are, generally speaking, more uncouth and harsher and more gruff.  They don’t have manners and don’t know how to talk.  You all know the ḥadīth of the bedouin who walked into the masjid and lifted his pants in front of all the other men and urinated.  This is what a bedouin does because he doesn’t live amongst other men, so he is not used to interacting with other men.

Of the characteristics of the prophets is that they come from cultures of the cities.  They have manners, akhlāq and morals.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) came from the Quraysh, and the Quraysh were the most noble of all the Arabs.

“Haven’t they traveled in the land and seen the fate of those who were before them?”

Of course the Arabs knew the fate of the people of Ṣāliḥ, and in our times we have the pyramids and Petra in Jordan and the Herculaneum of Rome and Pompeii.  We have so many signs and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is asking, “Haven’t they seen these signs?  Haven’t they gone through the earth and seen the fate of the people of before?”  SubḥānAllāh, it is the Sunnah of Allāh that every nation and society thinks that it is the pinnacle.  Every nation believes they are the most powerful and they think that they have reached the pinnacle of civilization.  Such was the case of the people of Pompeii.  Such was the case of the people of Rome and the emperors of Persia.  Such was the case of the pharaohs of Egypt.  Every single civilization and society said, “We are the lasting legacy.  We have achieved what no other society achieved.”

We still the same sentiment in our time as well, yet Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is telling the Quraysh and people around them you are not the first, and you are not going to be the last.  Stop being so arrogant.  Allāh ‘azza wa jall has created so many different societies and nations.  Learns from the lessons of those before.  Where are they now?  Where is their power now?  Where is their fame?  Where is their might?  All of it has now gone.  You don’t even see except for the remnants you visit in museums and see one house out of thousands that used to stand.  Don’t you learn that your civilization one day will also be the same?  It will be a lesson for other societies, so take advantage and benefit before the end comes to you.

“Surely the house and the abode of the Hereafter is better.  Don’t you think and understand this?”

You are seeing the abodes of the people before and marveling at them.  The pyramids, the people of Ṣāliḥ and Thamūd and the grand palaces of Petra.  You marvel at that.

The meaning here is that after setting up the stage for the miracles of the prophets, the sincerity of the prophets that most of the people have rejected that the prophets have been preaching, all of these verses when you read them initially you think every verse is different, but when you actually study it, you see a beautiful message is in the background.  You just need to understand it.  What is that message?

“Ya Rasūlullāh, you are not the first prophet.  You have a message, you have a methodology, you have miracles.  Many people before you had the same miracles, and they were all rejected.”  What was the end result?

Āyah 110

“Until finally when the messengers gave up hope (of their people believing), and the messengers thought that they had been rejected.”

Kadhaba means to reject.  Kudhiba means they have been rejected.  Depending on how you recite the verse, kudhibu or kudhdhibu.

Khudhibu means the people thought that the promises of the prophets were false.  The people thought that here is a man telling us that Allāh is going to punish us if we don’t believe, but we haven’t believed, so where is the punishment?  He must be lying.  The people thought that the prophets are telling lies.  When the people thought that the prophet was telling lies, that was when Allāh’s safety came to save the people of the faith and punishment came for the disbelievers.

In the other qirā’a, “and they thought that their nations had rejected them.”  The prophets came to the realization that their nations would not believe.

These are the two meanings.  Who is the one doing the thinking and doing the assuming?  If it is the people, then the people have assumed that the prophets are telling lies.  If it is the prophets, then the prophets have realized that the people will not believe.

SubḥānAllāh, both of them are correct.  One of the principles of Qur’ānic recitation is that all of them are equally valid and both of them are correct.  When both have become exasperated, when the prophets are fed up of their people and the people are fed up of their prophets – basically it is a two-way street.  They are allowed to preach until this exasperation is reached.  What happens then?

“The prophets receive Our Aid.  They are saved.”

Once again there are two qirā’a:  nujjiya and nunji, and both of them are authentic.  Both of them add complementary meanings?  Why?  Again, not to go into too much detail, one of them is in the past tense, and one of them is in the future tense.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is saying that the people of the past when Allāh’s Command came, We saved them, and as for the ẓālimīn, they will get there punishment.  In the other recitation, which is in the future, it is a reference to our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that a time will come when We will save you and you will be saved from the clutches of them, and they shall be punished by the punishment of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

Both the past tense and the future tense play in perfectly.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was saved multiple times.  He was saved on the night of hijrah and the assassination attempt.  He was saved in the battle of Badr when there was very little hope otherwise.  He was saved in the battles of Aḥzāb and Uḥud.  Every single one of these battle situations became very tense.  “We will save (or We had saved – meaning the previous prophets).”  Once again, it is the perfect choice of two qirā’at here.  Allāh is saying, “We saved the people of the past.  Surely We will save you as well.”

“Our punishment will never be averted from the wrongdoers.”

No one has the power to come between Allāh and the decree of Allāh.  Now we get to the final verse.

Āyah 111

“Indeed, in their stories there is an ‘ibrah for those of intelligence.”

‘Ibrah comes from ‘abara which means to cross over.  You cross over the bridge, let’s say.  ‘Ibrah is a benefit you derive at a deeper level.  You cross over to the hidden or inner meaning.  You think about it, cross into an inner meaning, and get an ‘ibrah, a piece of wisdom.  Here Allāh is saying, “In their stories, indeed…”

Laqad always means an emphasis.  I have said this ten times, and I will say it again.  The whole chapter of emphasis in Arabic is lost in English because we don’t have this chapter in English.  When we say it, it sounds ridiculous.  Indeed, surely, verily.  It doesn’t sound modern, whereas in the Arabic language there is a whole chapter of tawqīd and emphasis.  There are ways to emphasize.  When you emphasize, it adds elegance and you pay attention.  Laqad means indeed, for sure.  But again in English it is not something we use.

Notice here – this is the last verse of the sūrah – how beautifully the beginning and the end are linked together.  What does Allāh ‘azza wa jall say in the very beginning of the sūrah?  Naḥnu naquṣṣu ‘alayka aḥsan’l-qaṣaṣ.  “We are going to narrate to you the best of all qaṣaṣ.”  Then the ending is:  laqad kāna fi qaṣaṣihim.  “Indeed in their stories…”  The [third āyah] has the present tense and here is the past tense because now the story has finished, so Allāh is saying, “In their stories there was…”  Kana is like a type of past.  In the beginning, Allāh is saying, “Pay attention!  You are about to hear some good stories.”  Then it is concluding.  Allāh is saying, “In these stories you just heard.”

This is beautiful.  Human beings cannot construct such eloquence.  This is a divine eloquence that only when you think about it you see it, otherwise if you tried to, you could not bring about such a beauty.

Another beauty here – and wallāhi this is just amazing; think about this – in the beginning Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “In the story of Yūsuf and his brothers, there are āyāt for those who ask.”  Here we are being told “In their stories there is ‘ibrah for those of intelligence.”  Now surely Allāh is doing this for a reason.  Why is there āyātu li’l-sā’ilīn in the beginning and then ‘ibrah li’uli’l-bāb in the end.  Which one is a higher level?  Uli’l-bāb.  The one who thinks, the one who ponders.  The one who is asking shows that he is interested and paying attention and has an open heart and open mind.  If you have that attitude of wanting to benefit, you will find miracles, āyāt, points, but when you really think about the story, you will go beyond āyāt and will go to ‘ibrah – morals, wisdoms, lessons.

Notice in the beginning Allāh mentions the lower level because it is human nature that the first reading is a cursory reading.  You are paying attention and want to know the story, the plot, and the ending.  In the beginning, Allāh ‘azza wa jall says just be interested, sā’il, and you will get a lot of benefit.  In the very last āyah, Allāh says, “Now you have read the story.  If you really want to benefit, you have to ponder over it āyah by āyah, verse by verse, and you will discover ‘ibrah.”  Beautiful.  In the beginning, you will benefit if you just pay attention.  In the end, now that the story is over (in the past tense) Allāh is saying laqad kāna, meaning there was indeed and now that you have done it you should go back.  There is an incentive being given now.  That is what I am trying to get at here.  There is a strong incentive being given.  Now that you have finished the story, now is the time to go back and try to do ‘ibrah if you truly are a person of contemplative intelligence.

This is really the beauty of the ending here that it links up directly to he beginning and tells you, “You haven’t come to the end.  This is just the beginning.  You need to now go back.”  Notice Allāh says qaṣaṣihim, which is plural, because there are lots of stories.  It is not just one story.  We call it the story of Yūsuf, but the fact of the matter is it is composed of multiple stories all put together.  Allāh ‘azza wa jall is telling you, this is just the beginning, and now the real journey begins to go back and find these ‘ibrah and to derive these benefits and wisdoms.  Therefore, inshā’Allāh ta‘āla, next week we will obey Allāh’s command and go back to the beginning, not āyah by āyah, but we will summarize perhaps fifty fawā’id, let’s say, overall holistically.  I am not going to recite āyah by āyah – I have done that at a basic level.  We will summarize as many as we can do, but it is going to be different from what we have done.  So we will say “of the benefits of the sūrah is this,” and I will mention where we get the benefit from.  This is what Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) commands us to do, and He concludes this by saying,

“These stories are not fabricated fairy tales.”

When we hear a fairy tale, we listen to it from a very different perspective.  When we hear a real story, psychologically and subconsciously we listen and hear with a different mind.  SubḥānAllāh we all understand.  When we watch a Hollywood movie versus a documentary, what is our attitude?  Hollywood movie:  entertainment.  Documentary:  it affects you, and you are seeing real images and this is not acting.  Sorry for being so crude, but we understand now.

Allāh is saying this isn’t a Hollywood movie and isn’t a fairy tale.  These are real stories.  Look at it as you would the way you would look at a real story and a documentary.

“These stories prove all that has come before and is a clarification for all you need to know.  It is a guidance and mercy for those of īmān and faith.”

May Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) make us amongst the people of īmān and faith.  May He make us amongst those who follow the footsteps of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as he calls people to the path of Allāh ‘azza wa jall.  May He make us amongst those who contemplate this sūrah in particular and extract the wisdoms and benefits and finds the ‘ibrah and make us of the uli’l-bāb.  May Allāh ‘azza wa jall make us benefit from the wisdom of Ya‘qūb and the patience of Yūsuf and the tawbah of the brothers of Yūsuf.  May Allāh ‘azza wa jall make us of the people of the Qur’ān.

Everything I have said that is correct and authentic of the interpretation of this sūrah is all from the blessings of Allāh ‘azza wa jall.  Anything I have said that was incorrect, a mistake, an incorrect judgment, all of this is from my whisperings and the whisperings of Shayṭān.  Allāh and His Messenger have nothing to do with those mistakes.

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 12 of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.allah.eu/general/the-best-of-stories-pearls-from-surah-yusuf-part-12.html/feed 0 http://www.allah.eu/allah/the-educated-young-man.html http://www.allah.eu/allah/the-educated-young-man.html#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:18:48 +0000 admin http://www.allah.eu/general/the-educated-young-man.html There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite some time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his 3 questions. Finally, his parents were able to find a Mulsim scholar

There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite some time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his 3 questions. Finally, his parents were able to find a Mulsim scholar.

Young man: Who are you? Can you answer my questions?

Scholar: I am one of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala )’s slaves and inshaAllah (God willing), I will be able to answer your questions.

Young man: Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to answer my questions.

Scholar: I will try my best, with the help of Allah(SubHana Wa Ta`ala ).

Young man:I have 3 questions:
1. Does God exist? If so, show me His shape.
2. What is takdir (fate)?
3. If shaitan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end will he be thrown into hell that was also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaitan (Devil) and the hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far?

Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man’s face very hard.

Young man (feeling pain): Why do you get angry at me?

Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions.

Young man: I really don’t understand.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young man: Of course, I felt the pain.

Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists?

Young man: Yes.

Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain!

Young man: I cannot.

Scholar: That is my first answer. All of us feel God’s existence without being able to see His shape.

Scholar: Last night, did you dream that you will be slapped by me?

Young man: No.

Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?

Young man: No.

Scholar: That is takdir (fate).

Scholar: My hand that I used to slap you, what is it created from?

Young man: It is created from skin.

Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from?

Young man: Skin.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young man: In pain.

Scholar: Even though Shaitan (Devil) and also the hell were created from the fire, if Allah wants, inshAllah (God willing) the hell will become a very painful place for Shaitan (Devil).
Source: Muftisays.com

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