Part of The Story of Yusuf and al-'Aziz's Wife (series completed)
· Lesson 20 of 25
The story of Joseph and the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (20) | And Joseph was steadfast in the face of the greatest temptation
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) with the wife of al-Aziz.
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And Yusuf remained steadfast against the greatest of temptations.
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The temptation of women is the greatest temptation a young man can ever face,
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and there is no deliverance from it except by turning to Allah and seeking refuge in Him from its evil,
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and then by adopting the lawful means to confront this temptation.
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Indeed, Yusuf (peace be upon him) was tested with the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz,
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while she was a woman of high status and great beauty,
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and he was a young, foreign servant in her house,
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having no family in that land of temptation.
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Yet despite all of this, he safeguarded his chastity from falling into it,
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sought refuge in Allah from its evil,
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and chose prison over yielding to temptation.
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Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Yusuf (peace be upon him) sought refuge from their evil and their plots,
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“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)
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meaning from immorality.
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“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)
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That is: 'If You leave me to myself, I possess no power over it,
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nor do I possess any harm or benefit for myself,
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except through Your might and Your power.
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You alone are the One whose help is sought, and upon You alone is reliance placed,
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so do not leave me to myself.'"
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“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)
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"So his Lord answered him,"
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as the verse states.
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That was because Allah granted Yusuf (peace be upon him) immense protection,
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shielding him so that he resisted with the utmost restraint,
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choosing prison over yielding to that.
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And this represents the highest stations of perfection:
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that despite his youth, beauty, and perfection,
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his mistress seduced him—
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she being the wife of the chief minister of Egypt,
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possessing the utmost beauty, wealth, and authority—
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yet he refrained from it
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and chose prison instead,
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out of fear of Allah and in hope of His reward.
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For this reason, it is established in the two Sahihs
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"There are seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His:
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a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah;
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a man whose heart is attached to the mosque
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from the moment he leaves it until he returns to it;
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two men who love each other for the sake of Allah,
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meeting for His sake and parting for His sake;
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a man who gives charity and conceals it
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such that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent;
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a man whom a woman of high status and beauty invites [to sin],
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and he says, 'Indeed, I fear Allah';
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and a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes overflow with tears."
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And for young men, in Yusuf (peace be upon him),
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there is an excellent example in confronting the temptation of women.
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But before we review the method of Yusuf
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in confronting the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz
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and the women who were with her,
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we must mention the ways
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through which young men are exposed to the temptation of women.
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O young men!
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The temptation of women reaches you through two pathways:
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The first is a passing, incidental pathway,
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which occurs when a young man happens to see a young woman,
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or communicates with her in one way or another,
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or what occurs in mixed family gatherings.
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The second is a systematic, deliberate pathway,
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which is orchestrated by the devils among mankind,
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who plot to plunge youth into the temptation of women
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by every means at their disposal,
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such as:
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flooding society with degenerate, mixed parties
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under the guise of entertainment and openness to the world;
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imposing co-education at all academic levels;
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integrating women into all jobs and diverse fields;
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prohibiting the segregation of spaces for women and men
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across all spheres of life;
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banning sincere counsel and the enjoining of good in society
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under the pretext of allowing personal freedoms;
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flooding the media landscape with vulgar and degenerate movies and series,
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presenting them as role models to be emulated;
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spreading the display of female adornment (tabarruj) and encouraging it,
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while restricting the Islamic hijab and veiled women in all spheres of life;
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opening the doors of brothels and facilitating them for youth;
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repealing all laws that protect chastity in society and criminalize fornication;
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and enacting laws that allow fornication to spread,
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such as declaring that consensual sex is not a crime,
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or prohibiting women from profiting through prostitution and penalizing only that aspect,
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so that fornication becomes freely accessible throughout society;
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alongside many other schemes aimed at the chastity of young men and women.
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This systematic pathway may be accompanied by other factors that aid in the downfall of youth into the temptation of women,
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so one must beware of them
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and increase vigilance and caution when experiencing them.
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Such factors include: first, being away from home.
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A young man living abroad for studies,
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or due to emigrating from oppressive lands,
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is tremendously vulnerable to temptation,
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as there is no moral restraint from the society he lives in,
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nor from his family due to their distance from him;
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this makes it easy for him to fall into the temptation of women.
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Some states have employed this pathway to corrupt the youth
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by contriving scholarship programs in non-Muslim lands
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and plunging large numbers of young men and women into these programs,
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so that they return with their souls thoroughly indoctrinated
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with what is intended for them in the near future.
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Yet Yusuf was a stranger in Egypt, far away from his family,
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and despite that, he guarded his chastity against temptation and did not fall into it.
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Second: a group of women conspiring to seduce a young man.
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This is among the calamities of our time,
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for it has become widespread in many societies today
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to see the collective pursuit of young men by girls,
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and the practice of vice in a coordinated manner.
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And the women conspired along with the wife of al-Aziz against Yusuf (peace be upon him)
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to make him fall into immorality, yet he remained chaste.
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Third: the threat of imprisonment, dismissal from work,
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expulsion from continuing education, or deportation from the country
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if the young man does not engage in vice with the lady of the palace and her corrupt entourage.
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And Yusuf (peace be upon him) was threatened with imprisonment,
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yet he chose it over falling into temptation.
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Thus, taking Yusuf (peace be upon him) as an example in his confrontation
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with the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz and the women who were with her
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is an absolute necessity for all young men and men
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when confronting such temptation.
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So how did Yusuf (peace be upon him) confront it?
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Yusuf (peace be upon him) confronted the temptation of the wife of al-Aziz and the women with her
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through several means, the first of which was:
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seeking refuge in Allah from this temptation.
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When she said, "Come on, you!", he replied, "Allah forbid!"
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And this seeking of refuge took place at the very onset of the temptation.
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Therefore, every young man who wishes to be saved from the temptation of women
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must seek refuge in Allah from it at his very first encounter with it.
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The second means:
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when Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw that the temptation was persistent
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and that attempts to make him fall into temptation were repeated,
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he repeatedly sought refuge in Allah from the temptation
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and persistently supplicated Allah to turn it away from him.
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Likewise, a young man should continually seek refuge in Allah from temptation
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as long as he lives,
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until Allah delivers him from it.
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The third means:
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practical flight from the place of temptation.
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After seeking refuge upon her saying "Come on, you!", Yusuf (peace be upon him)
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raced to the door to escape her while she pursued him.
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So it is not enough, O young man, to seek refuge in Allah from the temptation of women
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and then frequent places of temptation without keeping away from them,
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such as sitting in mixed cafés in shopping malls,
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repeatedly frequenting markets without any need to buy,
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visiting mixed entertainment venues,
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attending degenerate parties,
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or visiting internet websites
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and degenerate mobile applications.
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Furthermore, know, O young man,
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that you may be tested with places of temptation that you cannot escape,
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such as mixed educational environments and mixed workplaces,
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just as Yusuf (peace be upon him) was tested by remaining in the palace of al-Aziz with his wife,
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who was the source of temptation.
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In that case, there is no recourse but to emulate Yusuf in his supplication that Allah turn temptation away from you,
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and to be persistent in doing so.
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The fourth means:
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relying upon Allah when confronting temptation.
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This is evident from his supplication (peace be upon him) when he said:
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"And if You do not turn their plot away from me, I will incline toward them and be of the ignorant."
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Indeed, a young man's conceit regarding himself, his intellect, and his personal abilities,
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and his reliance upon them when confronting the temptation of women,
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is the very beginning of falling into temptation.
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For a woman is more capable of plotting against a man and entrapping him in her desire if she wishes.
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us to seek refuge in Allah every morning and evening
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from relying upon ourselves.
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For he (peace be upon him) said, advising his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her):
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"What prevents you from listening to what I advise you:
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to say in the morning and in the evening:
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'O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek aid;
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rectify for me all my affairs,
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and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.'"
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Self-reliance when facing the temptation of women
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means that a young man believes he is capable of facing this temptation on his own,
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and that he is too intelligent for a woman to lure him and make him fall into her desire.
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This is true conceit and self-delusion,
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and it marks the beginning of the fall.
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The fifth means:
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choosing the available alternatives to distance oneself from temptation,
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even if they are contrary to what a person desires and likes.
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Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given the choice between only two options, with no third:
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either committing immorality or going to prison.
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So he chose prison over committing immorality,
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as there was no third option before him.
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And prison, even though it is naturally disliked by human beings,
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was made by Yusuf (peace be upon him)
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beloved to himself for the sake of the pleasure and acceptance of Allah.
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“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)
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Thus, he transformed what was disliked by the self into something beloved to it,
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for the sake of being saved from the temptation of women.
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Be certain, O young man,
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that nothing can save you from temptation except turning to Allah
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and seeking refuge in Him.
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And Allah Almighty answered His prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him)
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when he turned to Him,
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as He Almighty said:
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“So his Lord heard his prayer and fended off their wiles from him. Lo! He is Hearer, Knower.” (12:34)
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"Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing."
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To be continued...
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We will continue in an upcoming session, if Allah wills,
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the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.