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 --> 00:00:15.910 "What was the affair of the women who cut their hands?" 00:00:15.910 --> 00:00:20.870 When Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, wills to grant victory to one of His servants, 00:00:20.870 --> 00:00:24.940 He orchestrates means for him that never even cross his mind. 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:29.940 In the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz lies a magnificent example of this. 00:00:29.940 --> 00:00:34.189 For after they unjustly sentenced Yusuf (peace be upon him) to imprisonment, 00:00:34.189 --> 00:00:37.189 for an indefinite period, 00:00:37.189 --> 00:00:42.189 leaving him in prison without reviewing his case or the reasons for his incarceration, 00:00:42.189 --> 00:00:46.189 Allah prepared the means for his release. 00:00:46.189 --> 00:00:50.350 The first means was that two young men were imprisoned alongside him; 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:54.350 each of them had a dream, 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:57.350 and they related their dreams to Yusuf, who interpreted them, 00:00:57.350 --> 00:01:00.509 and both interpretations came to pass exactly as he had foretold. 00:01:00.509 --> 00:01:04.510 The second means was a dream seen by the king himself, 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:09.510 which he presented to his courtiers, among whom was the man who had been saved from prison. 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:12.510 The king asked for an interpretation of his dream, 00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:17.510 and the surviving companion directed them to Yusuf (peace be upon him). 00:01:17.510 --> 00:01:23.700 In these circumstances that Allah has related to us in the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him), 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:25.700 there is a profound lesson for every wronged person: 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:30.700 that Allah will surely grant him victory and change his circumstances one day. 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:32.700 So let him not rush for relief, 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.700 but remain steadfast upon the truth, no matter how long it takes. 00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:43.989 The unjust conduct adopted by the Aziz of Egypt and his wife toward Yusuf—imprisoning him without trial, 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:45.989 without looking into his case, 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:49.989 and abandoning him in prison for an indefinite term, 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:53.989 despite knowing full well his innocence of the accusation leveled against him— 00:01:53.989 --> 00:01:59.019 is a form of oppression that, in this very manner or similar ones, 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:02.019 persists in our world today. 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:07.120 Scholars, callers to Allah, and reformers are imprisoned without genuine charges; 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.120 they are never granted a trial, 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:13.120 and if they are judged, they are not treated with justice, 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:17.120 only to be left imprisoned indefinitely. 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:24.180 “And it seemed good to them (the men-folk) after they had seen the signs (of his innocence) to imprison him for a time.” (12:35) 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:31.500 Relief from Allah arrived years after the release of the youth who was spared imprisonment and execution, 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:33.500 who had since become a courtier to the king. 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:36.569 Yusuf interpreted the dream, 00:02:36.569 --> 00:02:38.569 and the king was deeply impressed by his interpretation, 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:42.569 requesting to meet him and ordering his release from prison. 00:02:42.569 --> 00:02:45.569 However, Yusuf refused to leave 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:49.569 before the full truth behind his imprisonment came to light. 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:53.629 Thus, he said to the king's messenger with consummate courtesy, 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:55.629 exemplifying the noble character of prophethood, 00:02:55.629 --> 00:03:00.629 exceptional wisdom, and sound judgment in dealing with the situation: 00:03:00.629 --> 00:03:02.629 "Return to your master, 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:07.629 and ask him: What was the affair of the women who cut their hands?" 00:03:07.629 --> 00:03:10.629 “And the king said: Bring him unto me. And when the messenger came unto him, he (Joseph) said: Return unto thy lord and ask him what was the case of the women who cut their hands. Lo! my Lord knoweth their guile.” (12:50) 00:03:10.629 --> 00:03:13.819 Yusuf refused to leave the prison 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:16.819 until the truth became entirely clear to the king 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:20.819 regarding the accusation falsely cast upon him and for which he was imprisoned. 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:23.889 Yusuf refused to leave the prison 00:03:23.889 --> 00:03:29.889 so that the king and his subjects would know that his incarceration was not due to any wrongdoing on his part, 00:03:29.889 --> 00:03:32.889 but was purely an act of injustice and transgression. 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:36.080 Yusuf refused to leave the prison 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.080 lest it be said 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:43.080 that the king only freed him out of gratitude for his interpretation of the royal dream. 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:46.300 Yusuf refused to leave the prison 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:51.300 until his complete innocence was demonstrated before both the king and the public, 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:55.300 so that no one could ever slander his honor thereafter. 00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:58.400 The first step toward establishing his innocence 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.400 was refusing to leave prison 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:06.400 until he was proven blameless regarding the pretext for which he was confined. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.620 In this lies a lesson for every wronged and imprisoned individual: 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:13.620 that it is his right to defend himself, 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.620 to refute the false charges pinned upon him, 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:19.620 especially those concerning his honor and integrity. 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:21.980 The second step 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:25.980 was framed by Yusuf as a question to be directed to the king, 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:27.980 and he presented it accordingly. 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:35.980 In this question, the refined etiquette of Yusuf (peace be upon him) shines brightly 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:38.980 in his treatment of the one who had treated him kindly 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:40.980 and in whose palace he had lived— 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.980 namely, the Aziz of Egypt. 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:47.009 He did not explicitly mention the Aziz's wife, who was the direct instigator of the affair 00:04:47.009 --> 00:04:49.009 and the one who had ordered his imprisonment. 00:04:49.009 --> 00:04:52.009 He also took into consideration the feelings of the king, 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:54.009 who regarded the Aziz of Egypt 00:04:54.009 --> 00:04:57.009 as a senior dignitary of his realm; 00:04:57.009 --> 00:04:59.009 so Yusuf did not trouble the king by singling her out. 00:04:59.009 --> 00:05:01.009 For had he mentioned her directly, 00:05:01.009 --> 00:05:05.009 the king might have refrained from investigating a matter 00:05:05.009 --> 00:05:08.009 that directly touched the honor of the wife of one of his highest officials. 00:05:08.009 --> 00:05:12.009 Instead, he mentioned the women who had cut their hands, 00:05:12.009 --> 00:05:15.009 inquiring into the reason behind that incident. 00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:17.009 An investigation into that matter 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:20.009 would inevitably lead back to the wife of the Aziz, 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:23.009 who had arranged that gathering for them 00:05:23.009 --> 00:05:26.009 in which they cut their hands, 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:29.009 and who had already confessed to them that she had solicited him, 00:05:29.009 --> 00:05:32.009 insisted upon her desire, 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:35.100 and threatened him with imprisonment if he did not comply. 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:39.100 If this testimony were presented in the presence of the king through those women 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:41.100 rather than directly through Yusuf, 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:44.100 the truth would become unmistakably manifest to the king, 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:48.100 Yusuf's honor would remain untarnished by false accusation, 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:50.100 his standing would be elevated in the eyes of the king, 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:53.100 and the king would realize with certainty that everything that had occurred 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:56.100 was merely the result of women's plotting, 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:59.100 just as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said. 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:02.100 “And the king said: Bring him unto me. And when the messenger came unto him, he (Joseph) said: Return unto thy lord and ask him what was the case of the women who cut their hands. Lo! my Lord knoweth their guile.” (12:50) 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:06.329 So what happened with the women during their interrogation? 00:06:06.329 --> 00:06:10.329 How did they answer when they were questioned? 00:06:10.329 --> 00:06:14.329 And was their response free of feminine intrigue? 00:06:14.329 --> 00:06:16.389 The discussion will be continued. 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:20.389 We shall resume in our next gathering, if Allah wills, 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:26.350 with the story of Yusuf and the wife of al-Aziz.