WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:09.089 The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with the wife of al-Aziz. 00:00:09.089 --> 00:00:14.259 He said, "I seek refuge in Allah." 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:18.260 Indeed, salvation from the tribulations that buffet a Muslim’s faith 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:21.260 begins with seeking refuge in Allah from them. 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:25.260 Then, by distancing oneself from them and avoiding exposure to them. 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:31.489 Then, by dealing with them according to the methods of the Sharia and the Prophetic advice. 00:00:31.489 --> 00:00:35.490 Truly, the greatest tribulation that a man encounters in this world 00:00:35.490 --> 00:00:37.490 is the tribulation of women. 00:00:37.490 --> 00:00:42.490 As the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed us. 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:46.490 This is the very tribulation that Yusuf, peace be upon him, faced 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.490 in the house of al-Aziz with the wife of al-Aziz. 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.490 So, how did he deal with it and find salvation from it? 00:00:53.490 --> 00:00:59.710 We must first agree that the tribulation of women involves two parties: 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:01.710 the tempter and the tempted. 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:03.710 A man and a woman. 00:01:03.710 --> 00:01:08.739 The danger arises from a woman being tempted by a man and her tempting him. 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:13.870 The woman bears a great deal of responsibility in this tribulation from two aspects. 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:15.870 The first aspect: 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:18.870 causing a man to be tempted, 00:01:18.870 --> 00:01:20.870 whether intentionally or unintentionally. 00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:27.870 This does not occur on her part unless she transgresses the Sharia boundaries that Allah has commanded her to observe. 00:01:27.870 --> 00:01:34.900 A man will not be tempted by a woman who adheres to the boundaries of Allah and His law in her clothing, her movements, 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:37.900 her adornment, and her interaction with men. 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:44.900 Rather, a man is tempted by a woman who has transgressed the boundaries of Allah in her clothing or her adornment, 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:48.900 or in her movements or her interaction with men. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:02:05.900 Therefore, Allah the Almighty said: "Do not be soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire, but speak an honorable speech. And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance." 00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:13.969 And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not yet seen: 00:02:13.969 --> 00:02:18.969 a people having whips like the tails of oxen with which they strike the people, 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:23.969 and women who are clothed yet naked, swaying and making others sway, 00:02:23.969 --> 00:02:27.969 their heads like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. 00:02:27.969 --> 00:02:31.969 They will not enter Paradise, nor will they smell its fragrance, 00:02:31.969 --> 00:02:36.969 even though its fragrance can be perceived from such and such a distance." 00:02:36.969 --> 00:02:41.259 The wife of al-Aziz transgressed all these boundaries, 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:44.259 in terms of adornment and clothing, 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:48.259 in terms of being soft in speech with explicit expressions, 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:52.259 and in terms of seclusion and preparing the place. 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:58.259 This is considered one of the most potent situations and scenarios that tempt a man with a woman. 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:03.419 In this discourse, there is a lesson for every woman who desires truth and sincerity with Allah 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:06.419 in distancing herself from the tribulations of men, 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:11.419 and protecting herself from bearing their sins by causing them to fall into tribulation. 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:16.419 [The lesson is] to be sincere in working to adhere to the boundaries of Allah in her clothing, 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:21.419 her movements, her adornment, and her interaction with men. 00:03:21.419 --> 00:03:24.419 And not to rely on what she claims is in her heart, 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:28.419 [such as] not intending to tempt men or draw their attention. 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:33.419 For the standard is what one does, not what one claims in one's inner self. 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:37.610 The second aspect: her being tempted by the man. 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:42.610 This is a hidden matter known only to Allah the Almighty, 00:03:42.610 --> 00:03:46.610 yet what indicates it may appear from her, 00:03:46.610 --> 00:03:49.610 and some people may become aware of it. 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:53.610 A woman’s actions are evidence of what is in her inner self. 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:59.610 This does not occur on her part unless she neglects the care of her heart. 00:03:59.610 --> 00:04:03.610 It is the sick heart that falls into tribulation. 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:07.639 Therefore, Allah warned her against being soft in speech, 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:09.639 even if she did not intend to tempt, 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:14.639 for fear that her softness might encounter a sick heart and thus be tempted by her. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:18.860 And you, my dear sister, are responsible for protecting your heart 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:22.860 from falling into tribulations from their very beginnings, 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:24.860 so that your heart does not become blackened, 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:29.860 after which it neither recognizes good nor rejects evil, 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:33.899 as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:38.899 "Tribulations are presented to the hearts like a reed mat, stick by stick. 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:43.899 Any heart that absorbs them will have a black spot marked upon it, 00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:48.899 and any heart that rejects them will have a white spot marked upon it, 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:53.899 until they become two types of hearts: one white like a smooth stone, 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:58.899 which no tribulation will harm as long as the heavens and the earth endure, 00:04:58.899 --> 00:05:02.930 and the other black and dusty like an overturned vessel, 00:05:02.930 --> 00:05:06.930 which neither recognizes good nor rejects evil, 00:05:06.930 --> 00:05:09.930 except for what it has absorbed of its own desires." 00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:11.930 Narrated by Muslim. 00:05:11.930 --> 00:05:16.220 In the story of the Prophet of Allah, Yusuf, with the wife of al-Aziz, we have 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:20.220 an excellent example in dealing with the tribulation of women. 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:24.220 Yusuf, peace be upon him, followed the first course 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:26.220 in dealing with this tribulation, 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:29.220 by seeking refuge in Allah from it. 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:32.220 He said, "I seek refuge in Allah," 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:37.279 meaning: I take refuge in Allah and seek His protection from this tribulation. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:41.500 This action by the Prophet of Allah, Yusuf, peace be upon him, 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:44.500 is what our noble Prophet, 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:47.500 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, guided us to, saying: 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:50.500 "Seek refuge in Allah from tribulations, 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:53.500 both the apparent and the hidden." 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:55.600 Narrated by Muslim. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.600 So, whenever a man or a woman feels a type of tribulation, 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:04.600 each of them must begin by seeking refuge in Allah from it. 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:07.600 For there is no protector against tribulations except Allah. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.600 Then, one must distance oneself from the place of tribulation and its practical causes 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:16.600 that led one into it or nearly led one into it. 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:20.759 If the tribulation occurred because of conversation and messaging 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:23.759 via modern communication tools, 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.759 then one must abandon them and distance oneself from them, 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:29.759 even if it means changing one's phone number, 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.759 and deleting or blocking the other party's numbers. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.819 And if the tribulation occurred because of 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:39.819 mixing and direct contact 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:42.819 in the field of work, study, or otherwise, 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:45.819 then one must leave that place, 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:48.819 if the matter of the heart and its protection and safety 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:51.819 from tribulation concerns the one who has fallen into it, 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:54.819 whether man or woman. 00:06:54.819 --> 00:06:57.819 It is of no use to make flimsy excuses 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.819 for continuing to remain in the place of tribulation. 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:04.110 We have in the Prophet of Allah, Yusuf, peace be upon him, 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:07.110 an excellent example in his rapid flight 00:07:07.110 --> 00:07:10.110 from the place of tribulation toward the closed door, 00:07:10.110 --> 00:07:13.110 to open it and exit, 00:07:13.110 --> 00:07:16.110 preserving his religion, until Allah said of him: 00:07:16.110 --> 00:07:19.110 "And they both raced to the door, and she tore his shirt 00:07:19.110 --> 00:07:22.110 from the back." 00:07:22.110 --> 00:07:25.110 He did not hesitate for a moment in saving himself 00:07:25.110 --> 00:07:28.110 from this tribulation and used all 00:07:28.110 --> 00:07:31.110 his strength in this escape and raced her, 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:34.110 to the point that she tried to grab him, 00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:38.110 and the shirt tore from the force 00:07:38.110 --> 00:07:41.110 of Yusuf’s, peace be upon him, rush toward the door, 00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:44.240 fleeing from the tribulation. 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.240 O Allah, we seek refuge in You from tribulations, 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.240 both the apparent and the hidden. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.240 O Allah, we seek refuge in You from 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.300 the tribulation of women. 00:07:56.300 --> 00:07:59.300 The hadith has a remainder; we will continue in a 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:03.199 future meeting, if Allah wills, 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:06.199 regarding the wife of al-Aziz.