Part of The Story of Yusuf and al-'Aziz's Wife (series completed)
· Lesson 15 of 25
The story of Joseph and the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (15) | Joseph turned away from this
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with the wife of al-Aziz.
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“O Joseph! Turn away from this, and thou, (O woman), ask forgiveness for thy sin. Lo! thou art of the faulty.” (12:29)
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After al-Aziz became certain that his wife had attempted to seduce Yusuf, peace be upon him,
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he asked Yusuf to conceal the matter and not expose him,
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saying to him: "Yusuf, disregard this."
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Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"He was saying: Refrain from mentioning what she did toward you in trying to seduce you,
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and do not speak of it to anyone."
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Indeed, the principle of concealing the faults of the wrongdoer is a legitimate legal principle intended to reform both the individual and society.
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For this reason, the Shariah has come urging the concealment of a Muslim's faults.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"And whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection."
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He, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:
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"Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim in this world, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter."
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When the Prophet, peace be upon him, carried out the prescribed punishment of stoning upon Ma'iz after he had committed adultery,
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and Ma'iz felt the pain of the stoning, he fled.
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Hazzal then encountered him and struck him with an object he had, killing him.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, denounced his action.
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Nu'aym ibn Hazzal al-Aslami relates
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that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said regarding Ma'iz when he fled:
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"Why did you not let him be? Perhaps he would have repented and Allah would have accepted his repentance."
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And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
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"O Hazzal, had you concealed him with your garment, it would have been better for you than what you did."
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It was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in *al-Sunan al-Kubra*.
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The Companions applied this principle practically during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
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An example of this is what Abu al-Yusr narrated:
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He said: "A woman came to me to purchase dates,
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so I told her, 'Inside the house there are dates better than these.'
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She entered the house with me,
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and I leaned toward her and kissed her.
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I then went to Abu Bakr and mentioned that to him.
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He said, 'Conceal your fault, repent,
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and tell no one.'
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But I could not bear it,
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so I went to 'Umar and mentioned it to him.
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He said, 'Conceal your fault, repent,
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and tell no one.'
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But I could not bear it,
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so I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and mentioned it to him.
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He said, 'Is this how you treat the family of a warrior fighting in the cause of Allah in his absence?'
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until the man wished he had not embraced Islam until that very hour,
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and until he thought he was certainly among the people of the Fire.
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He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, kept his head down for a long time,
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until Allah revealed to him:
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'And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night...
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“Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful.” (11:114)
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That is a reminder for those who remember.'
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Abu al-Yusr said:
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'I came to him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, recited it to me.'
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His companions asked:
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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is this specifically for him, or for all people generally?'
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He replied: 'Rather, it is for all people generally.'"
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It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
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Allah has forbidden Muslims from spreading immorality,
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for the Exalted said:
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“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
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“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
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"And Allah knows, while you do not know."
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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"This is a third discipline for whoever hears any foul speech,
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and something of it settles in his mind and he speaks of it:
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he should not repeat it excessively, nor should he circulate or publicize it."
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Some people assume that merely mentioning an incident without naming the individuals involved is permissible,
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but in reality, it falls under the scope of spreading immorality among people.
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'Abd al-'Aziz al-Tarifi said:
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"Spreading immorality is forbidden even if it is true,
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such as someone speaking of an obscene incident among people even without naming the parties involved;
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it is not lawful for him to do so, even if he is truthful.
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For the Shariah did not forbid spreading immorality merely because it is a lie,
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but rather forbade it so that souls do not grow lax regarding the gravity and hideousness of what is unlawful;
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indeed, speaking of immorality incites desire toward it and trivializes it."
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Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from 'Ata' that he said:
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"Whoever spreads immorality will incur exemplary punishment, even if he is telling the truth."
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The danger of circulating news of immoral acts among people, even when true,
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is that it emboldens those who have not committed them to do so;
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thus, spreading news of immoral deeds is a cause of societal corruption.
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Al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Among the disciplines taught by this verse is that the hallmark of a believer
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is that he loves for his fellow believers only what he loves for himself;
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just as he would hate for bad news about himself to be circulated,
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he is likewise obligated not to love the spread of evil concerning his fellow believers.
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Furthermore, the circulation of reports of immorality among the believers—
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whether true or false—constitutes moral corruption.
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For among the things that deter people from vile acts is their awe and dread of committing them,
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and their aversion and distaste toward the bad reputation attached to them;
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that is what deflects their minds from even contemplating them,
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or gradually drawing near to them,
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until they are forgotten and their images are erased from souls.
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But when talk of immoral acts becomes widespread among the Ummah,
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thoughts are drawn to them, and the impact of hearing about them diminishes;
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complacency regarding their occurrence creeps into people's hearts,
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and the reports lose their shocking weight upon the ears;
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consequently, base souls soon dare to commit them.
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In proportion to their repeated occurrence and repeated discussion, they become commonplace.
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This is in addition to the harm and distress inflicted upon people by spreading immorality—
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harm varying in degree according to the varying truth or falsehood of the reports.
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It is for this reason that this sublime discipline was concluded with His words:
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'And Allah knows, while you do not know.'
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That is, He knows the corrupting consequences inherent in that,
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and thus admonishes you so that you may avoid them, while you do not know,
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assuming that speaking of such matters entails no harm."
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This is similar to His saying:
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“When ye welcomed it with your tongues, and uttered with your mouths that whereof ye had no knowledge, ye counted it a trifle. In the sight of Allah it is very great.” (24:15)
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A genuine concern for the purity and wholesomeness of society
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requires us to spread the culture of concealing the faults of the sinner and the wrongdoer,
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in order to block the path against Satan on the one hand,
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and open the door of repentance for the sinner on the other.
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However, this divine legislation regarding the concealment of the wrongdoer's fault
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applies only to one whose sin is not habitual
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and who is not accustomed to openly flaunting acts of disobedience.
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As for the one notorious for public defiance in sin and spreading corruption on earth,
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his actions must be denounced through legitimate legal channels,
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and his matter should be brought before the judiciary—
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if there is an Islamic judiciary that rules by the law of Allah in his land—
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so that the judge may rule against him in accordance with what the pure divine Shariah dictates,
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disciplining, reprimanding, or openly carrying out the prescribed legal punishment against him,
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so that he may serve as a deterrent to whoever sees him,
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causing them to stay far away from such heinous acts.
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Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Whoever is upright and not known for committing sins,
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if an error or a slip should happen to occur from him,
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it is not permissible to expose it, violate his privacy, or speak of it,
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because that is prohibited backbiting.
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And this is the category concerning which these texts were revealed."
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In that regard, Allah Almighty has said:
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“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
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“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
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What is meant is:
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spreading immorality concerning the discreet believer regarding a slip he may have made,
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or an accusation levied against him while he is innocent of it,
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as occurred in the incident of the slander (al-Ifk).
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A righteous vizier once said to someone enjoining good:
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"Strive to conceal the sinners,
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for the public manifestation of their sins brings shame upon the people of Islam,
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and the foremost of matters is to conceal shortcomings."
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Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"As for the one notorious for corruption and persistent in it,
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it is not recommended to conceal his faults;
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rather, his case should be brought before the authorities, provided that no greater harm is feared from doing so.
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This is because concealing his faults emboldens him to cause harm, spread corruption, violate sanctities,
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and emboldens others to commit the like of his deeds."
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All of this concerns concealing a sin that has occurred and concluded.
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As for a sin that you witness someone in the very act of committing,
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the obligation is to hasten to denounce it
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and prevent it, for whoever has the capacity to do so;
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it is not permissible to delay this.
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If one is incapable, he must refer the matter to the authority,
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provided that no greater corruption results from doing so.
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Thus, scholars distinguished between one whose soul succumbed to weakness and led him into sin,
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and one who is accustomed to it and repeats it habitually:
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the former's fault is to be concealed,
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whereas the latter's is not;
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rather, his case is to be dealt with in accordance with the commands of the divine Shariah.
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The request of al-Aziz for Yusuf, peace be upon him, to conceal the matter,
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even if it aligns with what the prophets call to in their methodology of calling to Allah,
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was flawed in terms of how al-Aziz handled the underlying problem.
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The issue was far greater than merely having Yusuf remain silent and not leak the news;
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the matter pertained to addressing a moral crime concerning honor.
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Therefore, asking Yusuf to cover up what had happened
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while leaving the status quo unchanged
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is not considered a sound remedy;
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rather, it borders on complacency with sin,
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or a lack of protective jealousy over one's honor,
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or perhaps even worse than that.
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In this lies a lesson for us in how we address societal developments in our present day:
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there are those who have gone beyond the stage of merely loving that immorality be spread,
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to the stage of actively spreading immorality itself, facilitating it,
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and calling to it through mixed gatherings
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and licentious concerts
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where young men and women mingle without modesty,
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alongside explicit calls to wanton display and unveiling,
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the abolition of every manifestation of chastity brought by the Shariah,
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the forbidding of what is right,
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and the punishing of those who forbid what is wrong.
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Here, one does not say: "Yusuf, disregard this."
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Here, one says what al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, stated:
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He said: "He placed the threat upon merely loving the spread of immorality among the believers
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to serve as a warning that loving such a thing warrants punishment,
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because loving it indicates malicious intent toward the believers.
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It is the nature of such an inner disposition that its bearer will not wait long
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before committing what he loves,
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or rejoicing when it is committed by others.
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'Loving' here is a metonymy for being poised to bring about what one wishes to occur,
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and the present-tense verb was used to indicate persistence."
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Do we then recognize those with malicious intent and corrupt inner dispositions in our societies,
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so that we may beware of them and beware of their deeds?
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To be continued;
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we shall resume in our next gathering, if Allah wills,
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the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.