1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,060 The story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) with the wife of al-Aziz. 3 00:00:09,060 --> 00:00:14,720 And Yusuf remained steadfast against the greatest of temptations. 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:20,550 The temptation of women is the greatest temptation a young man can ever face, 5 00:00:20,550 --> 00:00:26,550 and there is no deliverance from it except by turning to Allah and seeking refuge in Him from its evil, 6 00:00:26,550 --> 00:00:31,649 and then by adopting the lawful means to confront this temptation. 7 00:00:31,649 --> 00:00:36,649 Indeed, Yusuf (peace be upon him) was tested with the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz, 8 00:00:36,649 --> 00:00:38,649 while she was a woman of high status and great beauty, 9 00:00:38,649 --> 00:00:41,649 and he was a young, foreign servant in her house, 10 00:00:41,649 --> 00:00:44,649 having no family in that land of temptation. 11 00:00:44,649 --> 00:00:49,649 Yet despite all of this, he safeguarded his chastity from falling into it, 12 00:00:49,649 --> 00:00:52,649 sought refuge in Allah from its evil, 13 00:00:52,649 --> 00:00:55,649 and chose prison over yielding to temptation. 14 00:00:55,649 --> 00:00:58,869 Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 15 00:00:58,869 --> 00:01:02,869 "Yusuf (peace be upon him) sought refuge from their evil and their plots, 16 00:01:02,869 --> 00:01:08,870 “He said: O my Lord! Prison is more dear than that unto which they urge me, and if Thou fend not off their wiles from me I shall incline unto them and become of the foolish.” (12:33) 17 00:01:08,870 --> 00:01:10,900 meaning from immorality. 18 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:14,900 “He said: O my Lord! Prison is more dear than that unto which they urge me, and if Thou fend not off their wiles from me I shall incline unto them and become of the foolish.” (12:33) 19 00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:19,900 That is: 'If You leave me to myself, I possess no power over it, 20 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:22,900 nor do I possess any harm or benefit for myself, 21 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:24,900 except through Your might and Your power. 22 00:01:24,900 --> 00:01:27,900 You alone are the One whose help is sought, and upon You alone is reliance placed, 23 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:30,900 so do not leave me to myself.'" 24 00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:34,000 “He said: O my Lord! Prison is more dear than that unto which they urge me, and if Thou fend not off their wiles from me I shall incline unto them and become of the foolish.” (12:33) 25 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 "So his Lord answered him," 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,000 as the verse states. 27 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,000 That was because Allah granted Yusuf (peace be upon him) immense protection, 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 shielding him so that he resisted with the utmost restraint, 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000 choosing prison over yielding to that. 30 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,000 And this represents the highest stations of perfection: 31 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,000 that despite his youth, beauty, and perfection, 32 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000 his mistress seduced him— 33 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 she being the wife of the chief minister of Egypt, 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000 possessing the utmost beauty, wealth, and authority— 35 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,000 yet he refrained from it 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,000 and chose prison instead, 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,000 out of fear of Allah and in hope of His reward. 38 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,060 For this reason, it is established in the two Sahihs 39 00:02:14,060 --> 00:02:18,060 that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 40 00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:24,060 "There are seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His: 41 00:02:24,060 --> 00:02:29,060 a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah; 42 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:32,060 a man whose heart is attached to the mosque 43 00:02:32,060 --> 00:02:35,060 from the moment he leaves it until he returns to it; 44 00:02:35,060 --> 00:02:38,060 two men who love each other for the sake of Allah, 45 00:02:38,060 --> 00:02:41,060 meeting for His sake and parting for His sake; 46 00:02:41,060 --> 00:02:44,060 a man who gives charity and conceals it 47 00:02:44,060 --> 00:02:48,060 such that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent; 48 00:02:48,060 --> 00:02:52,060 a man whom a woman of high status and beauty invites [to sin], 49 00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:55,060 and he says, 'Indeed, I fear Allah'; 50 00:02:55,060 --> 00:02:59,060 and a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes overflow with tears." 51 00:02:59,060 --> 00:03:02,259 And for young men, in Yusuf (peace be upon him), 52 00:03:02,259 --> 00:03:06,259 there is an excellent example in confronting the temptation of women. 53 00:03:06,259 --> 00:03:10,259 But before we review the method of Yusuf 54 00:03:10,259 --> 00:03:12,259 in confronting the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz 55 00:03:12,259 --> 00:03:15,259 and the women who were with her, 56 00:03:15,259 --> 00:03:17,259 we must mention the ways 57 00:03:17,259 --> 00:03:20,259 through which young men are exposed to the temptation of women. 58 00:03:20,259 --> 00:03:22,419 O young men! 59 00:03:22,419 --> 00:03:26,419 The temptation of women reaches you through two pathways: 60 00:03:26,419 --> 00:03:29,419 The first is a passing, incidental pathway, 61 00:03:29,419 --> 00:03:33,419 which occurs when a young man happens to see a young woman, 62 00:03:33,419 --> 00:03:37,419 or communicates with her in one way or another, 63 00:03:37,419 --> 00:03:41,419 or what occurs in mixed family gatherings. 64 00:03:41,419 --> 00:03:45,539 The second is a systematic, deliberate pathway, 65 00:03:45,539 --> 00:03:48,539 which is orchestrated by the devils among mankind, 66 00:03:48,539 --> 00:03:52,539 who plot to plunge youth into the temptation of women 67 00:03:52,539 --> 00:03:55,539 by every means at their disposal, 68 00:03:55,539 --> 00:03:56,539 such as: 69 00:03:56,539 --> 00:04:00,539 flooding society with degenerate, mixed parties 70 00:04:00,539 --> 00:04:04,539 under the guise of entertainment and openness to the world; 71 00:04:04,539 --> 00:04:09,699 imposing co-education at all academic levels; 72 00:04:09,699 --> 00:04:14,740 integrating women into all jobs and diverse fields; 73 00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:18,740 prohibiting the segregation of spaces for women and men 74 00:04:18,740 --> 00:04:20,740 across all spheres of life; 75 00:04:20,740 --> 00:04:24,930 banning sincere counsel and the enjoining of good in society 76 00:04:24,930 --> 00:04:28,930 under the pretext of allowing personal freedoms; 77 00:04:28,930 --> 00:04:34,959 flooding the media landscape with vulgar and degenerate movies and series, 78 00:04:34,959 --> 00:04:38,959 presenting them as role models to be emulated; 79 00:04:38,959 --> 00:04:42,990 spreading the display of female adornment (tabarruj) and encouraging it, 80 00:04:42,990 --> 00:04:48,990 while restricting the Islamic hijab and veiled women in all spheres of life; 81 00:04:48,990 --> 00:04:53,149 opening the doors of brothels and facilitating them for youth; 82 00:04:53,149 --> 00:04:59,279 repealing all laws that protect chastity in society and criminalize fornication; 83 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,279 and enacting laws that allow fornication to spread, 84 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,279 such as declaring that consensual sex is not a crime, 85 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:12,279 or prohibiting women from profiting through prostitution and penalizing only that aspect, 86 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,279 so that fornication becomes freely accessible throughout society; 87 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:22,279 alongside many other schemes aimed at the chastity of young men and women. 88 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:30,500 This systematic pathway may be accompanied by other factors that aid in the downfall of youth into the temptation of women, 89 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:33,540 so one must beware of them 90 00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:37,540 and increase vigilance and caution when experiencing them. 91 00:05:37,540 --> 00:05:41,540 Such factors include: first, being away from home. 92 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:44,540 A young man living abroad for studies, 93 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:47,540 or due to emigrating from oppressive lands, 94 00:05:47,540 --> 00:05:50,540 is tremendously vulnerable to temptation, 95 00:05:50,540 --> 00:05:54,540 as there is no moral restraint from the society he lives in, 96 00:05:54,540 --> 00:05:57,540 nor from his family due to their distance from him; 97 00:05:57,540 --> 00:06:01,540 this makes it easy for him to fall into the temptation of women. 98 00:06:01,540 --> 00:06:06,540 Some states have employed this pathway to corrupt the youth 99 00:06:06,540 --> 00:06:10,540 by contriving scholarship programs in non-Muslim lands 100 00:06:10,540 --> 00:06:15,540 and plunging large numbers of young men and women into these programs, 101 00:06:15,540 --> 00:06:19,540 so that they return with their souls thoroughly indoctrinated 102 00:06:19,540 --> 00:06:22,540 with what is intended for them in the near future. 103 00:06:22,540 --> 00:06:27,660 Yet Yusuf was a stranger in Egypt, far away from his family, 104 00:06:27,660 --> 00:06:32,660 and despite that, he guarded his chastity against temptation and did not fall into it. 105 00:06:32,660 --> 00:06:37,759 Second: a group of women conspiring to seduce a young man. 106 00:06:38,759 --> 00:06:42,759 This is among the calamities of our time, 107 00:06:42,759 --> 00:06:46,759 for it has become widespread in many societies today 108 00:06:46,759 --> 00:06:50,759 to see the collective pursuit of young men by girls, 109 00:06:50,759 --> 00:06:54,889 and the practice of vice in a coordinated manner. 110 00:06:54,889 --> 00:06:58,889 And the women conspired along with the wife of al-Aziz against Yusuf (peace be upon him) 111 00:06:58,889 --> 00:07:03,079 to make him fall into immorality, yet he remained chaste. 112 00:07:03,079 --> 00:07:07,079 Third: the threat of imprisonment, dismissal from work, 113 00:07:07,079 --> 00:07:11,079 expulsion from continuing education, or deportation from the country 114 00:07:11,079 --> 00:07:17,079 if the young man does not engage in vice with the lady of the palace and her corrupt entourage. 115 00:07:17,079 --> 00:07:21,079 And Yusuf (peace be upon him) was threatened with imprisonment, 116 00:07:21,079 --> 00:07:24,079 yet he chose it over falling into temptation. 117 00:07:24,079 --> 00:07:28,209 Thus, taking Yusuf (peace be upon him) as an example in his confrontation 118 00:07:28,209 --> 00:07:32,209 with the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz and the women who were with her 119 00:07:32,209 --> 00:07:36,209 is an absolute necessity for all young men and men 120 00:07:36,209 --> 00:07:39,209 when confronting such temptation. 121 00:07:39,209 --> 00:07:42,370 So how did Yusuf (peace be upon him) confront it? 122 00:07:42,370 --> 00:07:49,560 Yusuf (peace be upon him) confronted the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz and the women with her 123 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,720 through several means, the first of which was: 124 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,720 seeking refuge in Allah from this temptation. 125 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,720 When she said, "Come on, you!", he replied, "Allah forbid!" 126 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,720 And this seeking of refuge took place at the very onset of the temptation. 127 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,779 Therefore, every young man who wishes to be saved from the temptation of women 128 00:08:09,779 --> 00:08:14,779 must seek refuge in Allah from it at his very first encounter with it. 129 00:08:14,779 --> 00:08:16,980 The second means: 130 00:08:16,980 --> 00:08:20,980 when Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw that the temptation was persistent 131 00:08:20,980 --> 00:08:25,980 and that attempts to make him fall into temptation were repeated, 132 00:08:25,980 --> 00:08:28,980 he repeatedly sought refuge in Allah from the temptation 133 00:08:28,980 --> 00:08:32,980 and persistently supplicated Allah to turn it away from him. 134 00:08:34,169 --> 00:08:39,169 Likewise, a young man should continually seek refuge in Allah from temptation 135 00:08:39,169 --> 00:08:41,169 as long as he lives, 136 00:08:41,169 --> 00:08:44,169 until Allah delivers him from it. 137 00:08:44,169 --> 00:08:46,330 The third means: 138 00:08:46,330 --> 00:08:49,330 practical flight from the place of temptation. 139 00:08:49,330 --> 00:08:54,330 After seeking refuge upon her saying "Come on, you!", Yusuf (peace be upon him) 140 00:08:54,330 --> 00:08:58,330 raced to the door to escape her while she pursued him. 141 00:08:58,330 --> 00:09:03,330 So it is not enough, O young man, to seek refuge in Allah from the temptation of women 142 00:09:03,330 --> 00:09:08,330 and then frequent places of temptation without keeping away from them, 143 00:09:08,330 --> 00:09:12,330 such as sitting in mixed cafés in shopping malls, 144 00:09:12,330 --> 00:09:17,330 repeatedly frequenting markets without any need to buy, 145 00:09:17,330 --> 00:09:20,330 visiting mixed entertainment venues, 146 00:09:20,330 --> 00:09:23,330 attending degenerate parties, 147 00:09:23,330 --> 00:09:26,330 or visiting internet websites 148 00:09:26,330 --> 00:09:29,620 and degenerate mobile applications. 149 00:09:29,620 --> 00:09:31,620 Furthermore, know, O young man, 150 00:09:31,620 --> 00:09:36,620 that you may be tested with places of temptation that you cannot escape, 151 00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:40,620 such as mixed educational environments and mixed workplaces, 152 00:09:40,620 --> 00:09:46,620 just as Yusuf (peace be upon him) was tested by remaining in the palace of al-Aziz with his wife, 153 00:09:46,620 --> 00:09:48,620 who was the source of temptation. 154 00:09:48,620 --> 00:09:54,620 In that case, there is no recourse but to emulate Yusuf in his supplication that Allah turn temptation away from you, 155 00:09:54,620 --> 00:09:56,620 and to be persistent in doing so. 156 00:09:56,620 --> 00:09:58,779 The fourth means: 157 00:09:58,779 --> 00:10:01,779 relying upon Allah when confronting temptation. 158 00:10:01,779 --> 00:10:06,779 This is evident from his supplication (peace be upon him) when he said: 159 00:10:06,779 --> 00:10:13,779 "And if You do not turn their plot away from me, I will incline toward them and be of the ignorant." 160 00:10:13,779 --> 00:10:18,899 Indeed, a young man's conceit regarding himself, his intellect, and his personal abilities, 161 00:10:18,899 --> 00:10:22,899 and his reliance upon them when confronting the temptation of women, 162 00:10:22,899 --> 00:10:25,899 is the very beginning of falling into temptation. 163 00:10:25,899 --> 00:10:32,899 For a woman is more capable of plotting against a man and entrapping him in her desire if she wishes. 164 00:10:32,899 --> 00:10:38,899 The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us to seek refuge in Allah every morning and evening 165 00:10:38,899 --> 00:10:41,899 from relying upon ourselves. 166 00:10:41,899 --> 00:10:47,899 For he (peace be upon him) said, advising his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): 167 00:10:47,899 --> 00:10:51,899 "What prevents you from listening to what I advise you: 168 00:10:51,899 --> 00:10:55,899 to say in the morning and in the evening: 169 00:10:55,899 --> 00:10:59,899 'O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek aid; 170 00:10:59,899 --> 00:11:02,899 rectify for me all my affairs, 171 00:11:02,899 --> 00:11:05,899 and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.'" 172 00:11:06,059 --> 00:11:10,059 Self-reliance when facing the temptation of women 173 00:11:10,059 --> 00:11:16,059 means that a young man believes he is capable of facing this temptation on his own, 174 00:11:16,059 --> 00:11:22,059 and that he is too intelligent for a woman to lure him and make him fall into her desire. 175 00:11:22,059 --> 00:11:26,059 This is true conceit and self-delusion, 176 00:11:26,059 --> 00:11:28,059 and it marks the beginning of the fall. 177 00:11:28,059 --> 00:11:30,580 The fifth means: 178 00:11:30,580 --> 00:11:34,580 choosing the available alternatives to distance oneself from temptation, 179 00:11:34,580 --> 00:11:38,580 even if they are contrary to what a person desires and likes. 180 00:11:38,580 --> 00:11:43,610 Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given the choice between only two options, with no third: 181 00:11:43,610 --> 00:11:47,610 either committing immorality or going to prison. 182 00:11:47,610 --> 00:11:50,610 So he chose prison over committing immorality, 183 00:11:50,610 --> 00:11:53,610 as there was no third option before him. 184 00:11:53,610 --> 00:11:57,610 And prison, even though it is naturally disliked by human beings, 185 00:11:57,610 --> 00:12:00,610 was made by Yusuf (peace be upon him) 186 00:12:00,610 --> 00:12:05,610 beloved to himself for the sake of the pleasure and acceptance of Allah. 187 00:12:05,610 --> 00:12:11,610 “He said: O my Lord! Prison is more dear than that unto which they urge me, and if Thou fend not off their wiles from me I shall incline unto them and become of the foolish.” (12:33) 188 00:12:11,610 --> 00:12:15,610 Thus, he transformed what was disliked by the self into something beloved to it, 189 00:12:15,610 --> 00:12:19,740 for the sake of being saved from the temptation of women. 190 00:12:19,740 --> 00:12:21,740 Be certain, O young man, 191 00:12:21,740 --> 00:12:25,740 that nothing can save you from temptation except turning to Allah 192 00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:27,740 and seeking refuge in Him. 193 00:12:27,740 --> 00:12:31,740 And Allah Almighty answered His prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) 194 00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:33,740 when he turned to Him, 195 00:12:33,740 --> 00:12:35,740 as He Almighty said: 196 00:12:35,740 --> 00:12:39,769 “So his Lord heard his prayer and fended off their wiles from him. Lo! He is Hearer, Knower.” (12:34) 197 00:12:39,769 --> 00:12:44,019 "Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." 198 00:12:44,019 --> 00:12:46,019 To be continued... 199 00:12:46,019 --> 00:12:50,019 We will continue in an upcoming session, if Allah wills, 200 00:12:50,019 --> 00:12:55,500 the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.