The story of Joseph, peace be upon him, with the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (8) | He is one of our loyal servants

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:04 The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him,

0:07 and his encounter with the wife of al-'Aziz.

0:11 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

0:17 Everyone who treads the path of guidance, being sincere with Allah,

0:21 Allah will grant them success in it.

0:23 And everyone who desires to be among the allies of Allah—

0:27 those upon whom there is no fear, nor shall they grieve—

0:30 and follows that path,

0:32 shall attain it by the permission of Allah.

0:34 Everyone who attains the rank of sainthood (wilayah)

0:37 enters into the protection and preservation of Allah,

0:40 and Allah assists them in all their affairs in this world.

0:45 All their faculties begin to act only in ways that please Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.

0:50 It is a matter of grave danger

0:53 to show hostility toward the allies of Allah,

0:55 because the One who defends them is Allah, the Exalted in His Majesty.

1:00 Whoever Allah defends is victorious,

1:03 and whoever Allah wars against is defeated without fail.

1:07 Allah the Almighty says:

1:09 "Unquestionably, for the allies of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve."

1:21 "Those who believed and were fearing Allah."

1:26 "For them are glad tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter."

1:32 “Theirs are good tidings in the life of the world and in the Hereafter - There is no changing the Words of Allah - that is the Supreme Triumph.” (10:64)

1:37 "That is the great attainment."

1:41 On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

1:45 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

1:49 "Allah has said:

1:51 'Whoever shows hostility to an ally of Mine, I have declared war against him.

1:55 My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him.

2:01 And My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him.

2:07 When I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears,

2:11 his sight with which he sees,

2:14 his hand with which he strikes,

2:16 and his foot with which he walks.

2:19 If he asks Me, I will surely give him,

2:22 and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him.

2:25 I have not hesitated about anything I do as I hesitate about taking the soul of the believer;

2:30 he dislikes death,

2:32 and I dislike causing him distress.'"

2:35 Narrated by al-Bukhari.

2:37 Thus, the path to sainthood is commitment to what Allah has made obligatory upon us,

2:42 followed by an abundance of voluntary acts.

2:45 Whoever reaches this rank,

2:47 several things are realized for him:

2:50 among them is Allah’s defense of him,

2:53 and the guiding of his faculties to act in accordance with what pleases Allah.

2:57 If he asks Allah for something, Allah grants it to him,

3:02 and if he seeks refuge from something, Allah protects him from it.

3:06 In light of the foregoing,

3:08 we continue our examination of the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-'Aziz,

3:12 so that we may understand the saying of Allah the Almighty:

3:15 "And she certainly determined [to seduce] him,

3:19 and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord."

3:26 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

3:33 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

3:38 For Yusuf, peace be upon him,

3:41 is one of the chosen prophets and allies of Allah.

3:45 His faculties are disciplined to please Allah.

3:49 When he was exposed to the trial of the wife of al-'Aziz,

3:52 he sought refuge in Allah immediately,

3:54 and Allah protected him from her and shielded him.

3:57 When the wife of al-'Aziz accused him before her husband,

4:01 Allah defended him and declared his innocence.

4:04 So how do we understand this?

4:06 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

4:09 Allah has affirmed the "inclination" (hamm) for him,

4:12 but He has not affirmed any sin.

4:14 Rather, He affirmed his innocence from sin.

4:17 If this inclination had been a sin,

4:20 it would have necessitated seeking forgiveness,

4:22 and the Lord of the Worlds would have reproached him for it,

4:25 as happened with other prophets.

4:28 However, we find the verse praising him,

4:31 stating that he is among the sincere servants of Allah.

4:34 Since Allah did not specify what this inclination was,

4:38 we should not preoccupy ourselves with it,

4:41 for if knowing it were beneficial for us,

4:44 Allah would have informed us of it.

4:46 Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

4:48 "He, glory be to Him and to Him is all praise,

4:51 never mentions a sin regarding any of the prophets

4:54 without also mentioning his repentance for it,

4:57 in order to exonerate him from deficiency and blemish,

5:00 and to show that his status was elevated, his rank was magnified,

5:04 and his good deeds and closeness to Him increased,

5:07 through the repentance and seeking of forgiveness that Allah bestowed upon him,

5:11 and the righteous deeds he performed thereafter.

5:15 And so that this may be an example for those who follow the prophets

5:19 and emulate them until the Day of Resurrection."

5:22 Therefore, since no repentance is mentioned for Yusuf

5:25 in the story of the wife of al-'Aziz,

5:28 it indicates that Yusuf did not commit a sin at all in that story,

5:32 unlike what some mention regarding things Allah has exonerated him from,

5:36 by His saying:

5:38 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

5:43 “She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves.” (12:24)

5:46 And He said:

5:48 "The point is that Yusuf did not commit a sin that Allah has attributed to him.

5:52 He, glory be to Him, does not mention a sin for any of the prophets

5:56 without mentioning his seeking of forgiveness for it.

5:59 Yet, He did not mention any seeking of forgiveness from Yusuf regarding this matter,

6:03 just as He did not mention any seeking of forgiveness from him regarding the preliminaries of indecency.

6:08 Thus, it is known that he did not commit a sin in either case.

6:12 Rather, his inclination was a result of his abandoning [the act] for the sake of Allah,

6:15 and he was rewarded with a good deed for it, as has been explained in its proper place."

6:21 Indeed, the preoccupation of people with this verse

6:24 to know the details of what Allah has hidden from us,

6:27 and subsequently taking from the books of the Jews,

6:30 from the Israelite narrations, and from the books of storytellers,

6:34 is a mistaken stance that does not benefit the Muslim.

6:37 Rather, it may harm him through what he believes or spreads of false speech

6:42 against one of the sincere prophets of Allah.

6:46 This is part of the deception of Iblis upon the Muslim,

6:49 to distract him from reflecting upon the verse to take the important lesson

6:54 which Allah has explicitly stated in the verse:

6:57 that whoever is among the sincere servants of Allah,

7:01 Allah the Almighty saves him from trials when they occur.

7:06 al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

7:10 "And the sentence 'Indeed, he was of Our sincere servants'

7:13 is an explanation for the wisdom behind turning him away from evil and indecency—

7:17 a turning away that is miraculous and beyond the ordinary—

7:20 so that Allah’s choosing of him would not be diminished

7:23 during this intense trial upon the soul."

7:26 So, how do we become among the sincere?

7:29 al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

7:31 "Regarding the word 'the sincere' (al-mukhlisin),

7:33 there are two recitations:

7:35 one as an active participle (al-mukhlisin—those who are sincere),

7:37 and the other as a passive participle (al-mukhlasin—those who are chosen/purified).

7:40 Its occurrence as an active participle

7:42 indicates his performance of acts of obedience and worship with the quality of sincerity.

7:48 And its occurrence as a passive participle

7:50 indicates that Allah the Almighty has purified him for Himself

7:55 and chosen him for His presence."

7:57 Based on the words of al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him,

8:00 we are able to perform the first matter,

8:03 because it is within our capacity and ability.

8:06 Therefore, O young brother,

8:08 trials today are numerous,

8:11 and there is no salvation from them except by holding fast to the command of Allah.

8:15 My advice to you and to myself

8:17 is to commit to what Allah has made obligatory upon us,

8:20 and to increase in voluntary acts of worship,

8:23 until Allah protects us from the most dangerous trial

8:26 that we, the men, are exposed to,

8:29 which is the trial of women.

8:32 And you, my sister,

8:34 know that you are being targeted for corruption today,

8:37 to divert you from your most important function in life

8:41 after realizing servitude to Allah,

8:44 which is raising generations upon the obedience of Allah.

8:48 They have mobilized against you with their cavalry and infantry

8:51 to distance you from this religion.

8:54 So stand firm and seek help from Allah,

8:56 and seek refuge in Allah from these trials,

8:59 both the apparent and the hidden.

9:02 Know that worship during times of chaos (al-harj) has great merit.

9:06 The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said about it:

9:10 "Worship during times of chaos is like an emigration to me."

9:14 Narrated by Muslim.

9:16 Steadfastness in this time also carries a great reward,

9:20 as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

9:24 "There will come upon the people a time

9:26 when the one who is patient upon his religion will be like one holding onto a burning coal."

9:31 Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.

9:33 So be patient and stand firm,

9:35 and be among the sincere servants of Allah,

9:38 and Allah will protect you from the evil of the devils.

9:41 Allah the Almighty says regarding the accursed Satan:

9:44 “He said: My Lord! Because Thou hast sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one,” (15:39)

9:47 “He said: My Lord! Because Thou hast sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one,” (15:39)

9:50 "And I will surely mislead them all,

9:52 except among them Your sincere servants."

9:56 The hadith has a remainder.

9:59 We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.

10:03 The story of Yusuf with the wife of al-'Aziz.

The story of Joseph, peace be upon him, with the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (8) | He is one of our loyal servants

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