The story of Joseph and the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (18) | Women's fascination with men's beauty

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

0:03 The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with the wife of al-Aziz:

0:09 The woman’s temptation by a man’s beauty.

0:15 It is in the nature of a woman that she loves beauty and adornment for herself,

0:20 and she loves to be more beautiful than others wherever she may be,

0:25 and she loves for people to praise her beauty and takes pride in that.

0:29 Yet she is a human soul, just like a man;

0:32 she desires in a man what a man desires in her.

0:36 Thus, even if she is beautiful, loves beauty, and entices men with her charms,

0:42 she likewise is attracted to a handsome, good-looking man and can be enchanted by him.

0:47 For this reason, Allah commanded women with what He commanded men regarding lowering the gaze,

0:53 because both are affected by looking at the beauty of the other and are drawn toward it.

0:59 Giving free rein to the gaze in looking at the beauty of the other side

1:03 is the beginning of ruin, inner torment, distraction of the heart,

1:07 and discontent with what one already possesses;

1:10 for not everything that is seen can be attained.

1:13 Therefore, Islam brought us that which brings peace to souls

1:17 and safeguards hearts from being distracted from the remembrance of Allah and gratitude for His blessings;

1:22 thus, it commanded lowering the gaze.

1:24 In the story of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with the wife of al-Aziz,

1:29 we observe how far the bane of casting unrestrained glances

1:32 can take a woman, consuming her heart and thoughts,

1:37 blinding her sight and eroding her modesty.

1:41 In the first scene of the story,

1:44 we see the epitome of this bane of repeated gazing by the wife of al-Aziz toward Yusuf,

1:50 and what it ultimately led to in her openly attempting to seduce him.

1:54 In the second scene of the story,

1:57 which is the other women gazing upon the beauty of Yusuf,

2:00 their hearts were so captivated that they were oblivious to their hands being cut by the knives,

2:04 failing even to feel the pain of the cut.

2:07 Allah Almighty said:

2:09 "So when she heard of their gossip, she sent for them

2:15 and prepared for them a banquet,

2:23 and gave each one of them a knife

2:36 and said, 'Come out before them.'

2:41 When they saw him, they greatly admired him

2:46 and cut their hands,

2:49 and said, 'Allah forbid!

2:54 This is not a human being; [this is none other than a noble angel].'"

2:59 “And when she heard of their sly talk, she sent to them and prepared for them a cushioned couch (to lie on at the feast) and gave to every one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): Come out unto them! And when they saw him they exalted him and cut their hands, exclaiming: Allah Blameless! This is no a human being. This is not other than some gracious angel.” (12:31)

3:05 And Yusuf, peace be upon him,

3:07 had indeed been granted half of all beauty,

3:09 as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said

3:13 regarding the journey of al-Isra' and al-Mi'raj:

3:15 "Then I was taken up to the third heaven,

3:19 and Gabriel asked for it to be opened.

3:21 It was said, 'Who are you?'

3:23 He replied, 'Gabriel.'

3:26 It was said, 'And who is with you?'

3:28 He replied, 'Muhammad, peace be upon him.'

3:33 It was said, 'Has he been sent for?'

3:36 He replied, 'He has indeed been sent for.'

3:39 So the door was opened for us,

3:41 and there I saw Yusuf, peace be upon him;

3:45 he had indeed been granted half of all beauty.

3:49 He welcomed me and supplicated for good for me."

3:52 Narrated by Muslim.

3:54 Thus, the plot of the wife of al-Aziz against those women

3:58 who had blamed her for her infatuation with Yusuf

4:01 was that she prepared for them a gathering where they could recline,

4:05 presented them with food along with knives to cut it,

4:09 and then ordered Yusuf to enter upon them

4:12 at the very moment they began cutting.

4:16 No sooner had they laid eyes on Yusuf

4:19 than their hearts, minds, and sight were utterly captivated

4:22 by his beauty, oblivious to everything around them,

4:26 and they cut their hands,

4:28 saying: "Allah forbid! This is not a human being."

4:32 “And when she heard of their sly talk, she sent to them and prepared for them a cushioned couch (to lie on at the feast) and gave to every one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): Come out unto them! And when they saw him they exalted him and cut their hands, exclaiming: Allah Blameless! This is no a human being. This is not other than some gracious angel.” (12:31)

4:35 As-Sa'di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

4:38 "'When they saw him, they greatly admired him'—

4:41 meaning they held him in immense awe in their hearts,

4:44 beholding an exquisite sight the likes of which they had never seen;

4:48 and in their bewilderment, they cut their hands

4:51 with those knives that were in their grasp,

4:54 and said, 'Allah forbid!'—

4:56 meaning, exalting Allah far above all imperfections—

4:59 “And when she heard of their sly talk, she sent to them and prepared for them a cushioned couch (to lie on at the feast) and gave to every one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): Come out unto them! And when they saw him they exalted him and cut their hands, exclaiming: Allah Blameless! This is no a human being. This is not other than some gracious angel.” (12:31)

5:03 and that was because Yusuf was granted such surpassing beauty,

5:06 radiance, and splendor

5:09 as to make him a sign for all onlookers

5:12 and an admonition for those who reflect."

5:15 A good-looking, handsome man

5:17 can indeed be a source of trial and temptation for women

5:19 if they let their gaze wander toward him.

5:22 Today, my sister,

5:24 a woman can fall into temptation by looking at men

5:27 through satellite channels,

5:29 in television series, movies,

5:31 and various other programs,

5:33 wherein a man appears

5:35 with makeup applied to his face

5:37 to beautify him before the public,

5:40 presenting him in the image of a romantic hero

5:43 who flatters women

5:45 with sweet, honeyed words

5:47 that leave a profound impression on the female viewer

5:50 as he acts,

5:52 until she falls in love with him

5:54 and grows resentful toward her own husband.

5:56 Truly, a woman’s infatuation

5:58 with an attractive man’s appearance

5:59 and her emotional attachment to him

6:01 can reach such a point

6:03 that she loses her self-awareness

6:05 and behaves in ways that disgrace her

6:07 in the eyes of onlookers,

6:09 just as happened to those women

6:12 when they saw Yusuf, peace be upon him.

6:15 They lost all awareness of what was happening to their hands

6:18 from being cut by the knives,

6:20 and their eyes were riveted

6:22 upon Yusuf, peace be upon him,

6:24 while the wife of al-Aziz looked at them,

6:27 gloating and delighted

6:29 at the success of her plot against them.

6:31 Muhammad Rashid Rida,

6:33 may Allah have mercy on him, said:

6:35 "'When they saw him, they greatly admired him'—

6:37 meaning they were awestruck by him and stunned

6:39 by that breathtaking magnificence

6:41 and extraordinary beauty;

6:43 they lost all presence of mind

6:45 and cut their hands

6:47 instead of cutting what they were eating,

6:49 utterly oblivious to what they were doing.

6:51 This occurred because

6:53 the voluntary motion of the knives continued

6:55 even after conscious control was lost,

6:57 carrying on in its original path

6:59 due to that loss of presence;

7:01 yet the cuts fell upon the palms of their left hands,

7:03 from which the food had already slipped

7:05 due to the slackening of their grip

7:07 in the stupor of that shock.

7:09 Thus the knives cut them—

7:11 that is, wounded them—

7:13 and had their grip not slackened, they would have severed their fingers entirely.

7:15 It appears that

7:17 their hostess

7:19 deliberately had the knives sharpened

7:21 far beyond what is customary for dining knives,

7:23 in order to maximize her cunning plot against them,

7:25 so that she might establish

7:27 an irrefutable proof over them

7:29 which they could never deny."

7:31 Scenes similar to this,

7:34 or closely resembling it,

7:36 are seen today in mixed-gender cafes

7:38 within shopping malls,

7:40 when an observer watches

7:42 from a distance

7:44 to take in the full picture;

7:46 one sees unfolding before them

7:48 unmistakable scenes

7:50 of a woman becoming infatuated with the man

7:52 she is gazing at,

7:54 drifting away from full awareness

7:56 and composure out of being intensely captivated by him.

7:58 My advice

8:00 to every righteous mother

8:02 is to keep a watchful eye on her daughters

8:04 in such mixed environments;

8:06 for a daughter might not display

8:08 her feelings in front of you,

8:10 yet her frequent

8:12 visits to these mixed

8:14 places can cause her to fall

8:16 into an infatuation with a handsome

8:18 young man without your realizing it.

8:20 Indeed, a young woman’s emotions

8:22 at this youthful stage

8:24 are passionate and fiery;

8:26 and many young men

8:28 in shopping malls

8:30 are eager to present themselves

8:32 in a handsome, elegant manner,

8:34 wearing pleasant perfumes,

8:36 and when they sit in cafes,

8:38 they adopt mannerisms and behaviors

8:40 specifically meant to attract girls.

8:42 Therefore, do not cast your precious child

8:44 into such mixed

8:46 gatherings,

8:48 which are no longer limited to cafes

8:50 in shopping malls,

8:52 but have become a widespread trial

8:54 across many domains:

8:56 such as universities,

8:58 private and public schools,

9:00 vocational training institutes,

9:02 workplaces,

9:04 mixed professional environments, and elsewhere.

9:06 And these words of mine

9:08 do not mean, my sister,

9:10 that gazing and staring repeatedly

9:12 at the faces of men

9:14 is a hazard only for your daughter;

9:16 for here was the wife of al-Aziz:

9:18 despite being a married woman,

9:20 she was enchanted by a handsome youth

9:22 younger than her in age.

9:24 Likewise, the women who

9:26 plotted against the wife of al-Aziz,

9:28 just as she plotted against them,

9:30 fell completely infatuated with Yusuf

9:32 from a single glance.

9:34 For captivating beauty can seduce

9:36 even a righteous woman if

9:38 she lets her gaze wander,

9:40 or if she indulges in moments of comparison

9:42 between the man she is looking at

9:44 and her own husband.

9:46 Indeed, gazing at a handsome man

9:48 is a poisoned arrow that strikes your heart

9:50 once you unleash it.

9:52 And the more frequently

9:54 those arrows strike, the deeper the wound

9:56 in the heart becomes,

9:58 the more heavily the blood bleeds,

10:00 and the harder the healing will be.

10:02 To be continued;

10:05 we will carry on in a future

10:07 gathering, if Allah wills,

10:09 with the story of Yusuf—

10:11 the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.

The story of Joseph and the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (18) | Women's fascination with men's beauty

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