WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:09.060 The story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) with the wife of al-Aziz. 00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:14.720 And Yusuf remained steadfast against the greatest of temptations. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:20.550 The temptation of women is the greatest temptation a young man can ever face, 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, 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:31.649 and then by adopting the lawful means to confront this temptation. 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, 00:00:36.649 --> 00:00:38.649 while she was a woman of high status and great beauty, 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:41.649 and he was a young, foreign servant in her house, 00:00:41.649 --> 00:00:44.649 having no family in that land of temptation. 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:49.649 Yet despite all of this, he safeguarded his chastity from falling into it, 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:52.649 sought refuge in Allah from its evil, 00:00:52.649 --> 00:00:55.649 and chose prison over yielding to temptation. 00:00:55.649 --> 00:00:58.869 Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 00:00:58.869 --> 00:01:02.869 "Yusuf (peace be upon him) sought refuge from their evil and their plots, 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) 00:01:08.870 --> 00:01:10.900 meaning from immorality. 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) 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:19.900 That is: 'If You leave me to myself, I possess no power over it, 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:22.900 nor do I possess any harm or benefit for myself, 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:24.900 except through Your might and Your power. 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:27.900 You alone are the One whose help is sought, and upon You alone is reliance placed, 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:30.900 so do not leave me to myself.'" 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) 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:36.000 "So his Lord answered him," 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:37.000 as the verse states. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:42.000 That was because Allah granted Yusuf (peace be upon him) immense protection, 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.000 shielding him so that he resisted with the utmost restraint, 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.000 choosing prison over yielding to that. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.000 And this represents the highest stations of perfection: 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 that despite his youth, beauty, and perfection, 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.000 his mistress seduced him— 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.000 she being the wife of the chief minister of Egypt, 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.000 possessing the utmost beauty, wealth, and authority— 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:07.000 yet he refrained from it 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.000 and chose prison instead, 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.000 out of fear of Allah and in hope of His reward. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.060 For this reason, it is established in the two Sahihs 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:18.060 that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 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: 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:29.060 a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah; 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:32.060 a man whose heart is attached to the mosque 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:35.060 from the moment he leaves it until he returns to it; 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:38.060 two men who love each other for the sake of Allah, 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:41.060 meeting for His sake and parting for His sake; 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:44.060 a man who gives charity and conceals it 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:48.060 such that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent; 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:52.060 a man whom a woman of high status and beauty invites [to sin], 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:55.060 and he says, 'Indeed, I fear Allah'; 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:59.060 and a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes overflow with tears." 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:02.259 And for young men, in Yusuf (peace be upon him), 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:06.259 there is an excellent example in confronting the temptation of women. 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:10.259 But before we review the method of Yusuf 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:12.259 in confronting the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:15.259 and the women who were with her, 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:17.259 we must mention the ways 00:03:17.259 --> 00:03:20.259 through which young men are exposed to the temptation of women. 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:22.419 O young men! 00:03:22.419 --> 00:03:26.419 The temptation of women reaches you through two pathways: 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.419 The first is a passing, incidental pathway, 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:33.419 which occurs when a young man happens to see a young woman, 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:37.419 or communicates with her in one way or another, 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:41.419 or what occurs in mixed family gatherings. 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:45.539 The second is a systematic, deliberate pathway, 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:48.539 which is orchestrated by the devils among mankind, 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:52.539 who plot to plunge youth into the temptation of women 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:55.539 by every means at their disposal, 00:03:55.539 --> 00:03:56.539 such as: 00:03:56.539 --> 00:04:00.539 flooding society with degenerate, mixed parties 00:04:00.539 --> 00:04:04.539 under the guise of entertainment and openness to the world; 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:09.699 imposing co-education at all academic levels; 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:14.740 integrating women into all jobs and diverse fields; 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.740 prohibiting the segregation of spaces for women and men 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:20.740 across all spheres of life; 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:24.930 banning sincere counsel and the enjoining of good in society 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:28.930 under the pretext of allowing personal freedoms; 00:04:28.930 --> 00:04:34.959 flooding the media landscape with vulgar and degenerate movies and series, 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.959 presenting them as role models to be emulated; 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.990 spreading the display of female adornment (tabarruj) and encouraging it, 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:48.990 while restricting the Islamic hijab and veiled women in all spheres of life; 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:53.149 opening the doors of brothels and facilitating them for youth; 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:59.279 repealing all laws that protect chastity in society and criminalize fornication; 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.279 and enacting laws that allow fornication to spread, 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:07.279 such as declaring that consensual sex is not a crime, 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:12.279 or prohibiting women from profiting through prostitution and penalizing only that aspect, 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.279 so that fornication becomes freely accessible throughout society; 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:22.279 alongside many other schemes aimed at the chastity of young men and women. 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, 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:33.540 so one must beware of them 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:37.540 and increase vigilance and caution when experiencing them. 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:41.540 Such factors include: first, being away from home. 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:44.540 A young man living abroad for studies, 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:47.540 or due to emigrating from oppressive lands, 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:50.540 is tremendously vulnerable to temptation, 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:54.540 as there is no moral restraint from the society he lives in, 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:57.540 nor from his family due to their distance from him; 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:01.540 this makes it easy for him to fall into the temptation of women. 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:06.540 Some states have employed this pathway to corrupt the youth 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:10.540 by contriving scholarship programs in non-Muslim lands 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:15.540 and plunging large numbers of young men and women into these programs, 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:19.540 so that they return with their souls thoroughly indoctrinated 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:22.540 with what is intended for them in the near future. 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:27.660 Yet Yusuf was a stranger in Egypt, far away from his family, 00:06:27.660 --> 00:06:32.660 and despite that, he guarded his chastity against temptation and did not fall into it. 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:37.759 Second: a group of women conspiring to seduce a young man. 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:42.759 This is among the calamities of our time, 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.759 for it has become widespread in many societies today 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.759 to see the collective pursuit of young men by girls, 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:54.889 and the practice of vice in a coordinated manner. 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) 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:03.079 to make him fall into immorality, yet he remained chaste. 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:07.079 Third: the threat of imprisonment, dismissal from work, 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:11.079 expulsion from continuing education, or deportation from the country 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. 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.079 And Yusuf (peace be upon him) was threatened with imprisonment, 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:24.079 yet he chose it over falling into temptation. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:28.209 Thus, taking Yusuf (peace be upon him) as an example in his confrontation 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:32.209 with the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz and the women who were with her 00:07:32.209 --> 00:07:36.209 is an absolute necessity for all young men and men 00:07:36.209 --> 00:07:39.209 when confronting such temptation. 00:07:39.209 --> 00:07:42.370 So how did Yusuf (peace be upon him) confront it? 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 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.720 through several means, the first of which was: 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.720 seeking refuge in Allah from this temptation. 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:00.720 When she said, "Come on, you!", he replied, "Allah forbid!" 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:05.720 And this seeking of refuge took place at the very onset of the temptation. 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:09.779 Therefore, every young man who wishes to be saved from the temptation of women 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:14.779 must seek refuge in Allah from it at his very first encounter with it. 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:16.980 The second means: 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:20.980 when Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw that the temptation was persistent 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:25.980 and that attempts to make him fall into temptation were repeated, 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:28.980 he repeatedly sought refuge in Allah from the temptation 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:32.980 and persistently supplicated Allah to turn it away from him. 00:08:34.169 --> 00:08:39.169 Likewise, a young man should continually seek refuge in Allah from temptation 00:08:39.169 --> 00:08:41.169 as long as he lives, 00:08:41.169 --> 00:08:44.169 until Allah delivers him from it. 00:08:44.169 --> 00:08:46.330 The third means: 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:49.330 practical flight from the place of temptation. 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:54.330 After seeking refuge upon her saying "Come on, you!", Yusuf (peace be upon him) 00:08:54.330 --> 00:08:58.330 raced to the door to escape her while she pursued him. 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 00:09:03.330 --> 00:09:08.330 and then frequent places of temptation without keeping away from them, 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:12.330 such as sitting in mixed cafés in shopping malls, 00:09:12.330 --> 00:09:17.330 repeatedly frequenting markets without any need to buy, 00:09:17.330 --> 00:09:20.330 visiting mixed entertainment venues, 00:09:20.330 --> 00:09:23.330 attending degenerate parties, 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:26.330 or visiting internet websites 00:09:26.330 --> 00:09:29.620 and degenerate mobile applications. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:31.620 Furthermore, know, O young man, 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:36.620 that you may be tested with places of temptation that you cannot escape, 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:40.620 such as mixed educational environments and mixed workplaces, 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, 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:48.620 who was the source of temptation. 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, 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:56.620 and to be persistent in doing so. 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:58.779 The fourth means: 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:01.779 relying upon Allah when confronting temptation. 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:06.779 This is evident from his supplication (peace be upon him) when he said: 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." 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:18.899 Indeed, a young man's conceit regarding himself, his intellect, and his personal abilities, 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:22.899 and his reliance upon them when confronting the temptation of women, 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:25.899 is the very beginning of falling into temptation. 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. 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 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:41.899 from relying upon ourselves. 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): 00:10:47.899 --> 00:10:51.899 "What prevents you from listening to what I advise you: 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:55.899 to say in the morning and in the evening: 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:59.899 'O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek aid; 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:02.899 rectify for me all my affairs, 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:05.899 and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.'" 00:11:06.059 --> 00:11:10.059 Self-reliance when facing the temptation of women 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:16.059 means that a young man believes he is capable of facing this temptation on his own, 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. 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:26.059 This is true conceit and self-delusion, 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.059 and it marks the beginning of the fall. 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:30.580 The fifth means: 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:34.580 choosing the available alternatives to distance oneself from temptation, 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:38.580 even if they are contrary to what a person desires and likes. 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:43.610 Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given the choice between only two options, with no third: 00:11:43.610 --> 00:11:47.610 either committing immorality or going to prison. 00:11:47.610 --> 00:11:50.610 So he chose prison over committing immorality, 00:11:50.610 --> 00:11:53.610 as there was no third option before him. 00:11:53.610 --> 00:11:57.610 And prison, even though it is naturally disliked by human beings, 00:11:57.610 --> 00:12:00.610 was made by Yusuf (peace be upon him) 00:12:00.610 --> 00:12:05.610 beloved to himself for the sake of the pleasure and acceptance of Allah. 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) 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:15.610 Thus, he transformed what was disliked by the self into something beloved to it, 00:12:15.610 --> 00:12:19.740 for the sake of being saved from the temptation of women. 00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:21.740 Be certain, O young man, 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:25.740 that nothing can save you from temptation except turning to Allah 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:27.740 and seeking refuge in Him. 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:31.740 And Allah Almighty answered His prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:33.740 when he turned to Him, 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:35.740 as He Almighty said: 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) 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:44.019 "Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:46.019 To be continued... 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:50.019 We will continue in an upcoming session, if Allah wills, 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:55.500 the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.