Tafseer al Quran – Page 14 – Easy Quran Weekly Tafseer

Surah Yusuf #33

“He said: ‘My Lord! The prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me; and if You turn not their guile from me, I may incline towards them and become of the ignorant ones’.”

Tafseer

Interestingly, some commentators have narrated an astonishing subject and have said that some of the Egyptian women in the gathering supported the wife of the ‘Aziz and, giving right to her, defended her behavior.

They surrounded Yusuf and every one of them tried in her own way to persuade him to submit to the desires of the wife of ‘Aziz or to her own, in other words, they all had the same intentions as Zulaykha had.

It is in the face of this overwhelming temptation that Yusuf cries out to his Lord that he would welcome a life prison than the corruption to which those women were inviting him.

In a tradition attributed to Abu Hamzah al Thumali, it is narrated that Imam Ali-ibn-il-Hussein (as) said that as soon as those women had parted company with Zulaykha, each one of them sent someone in private to Yusuf and requested an audience with him.

Yusuf had been surrounded by a series of difficulties from all sides. However, being already prepared for any mishap that might befall, he turned to Allah immediately without entering into any relationship with these passionate, promiscuous women and sought His help.

The verse says:

“He said: ‘My Lord! The prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me;…”

He was in the prime of his youth, and naturally, the lower aspect of his soul could have inclined towards them and he would have found himself among the ignorant.

But, since he knew that in all cases, especially at the time of crises, there is no way to safety except relying on Allah, he trusted in Allah and asked Him help by saying:

“…and if You turn not their guile from me, I may incline towards them and become of the ignorant ones’.”

Points to Remember:

1. Men of Allah prefer all the difficulties that come with a life of honor to a sinful life of luxury.

2. By seeking assistance from the Almighty, man can distance himself from any kind of sin and temptation under any kind of circumstance.

3. Hardship and suffering cannot provide man with the justification to commit sin.

4. Man’s character depends on his soul and not on his body. If man’s soul is free and he is in prison, it can be like a paradise for him. And if his soul is under pressure, even a palace may become a prison for him.

5. To please people at the expense of displeasing Allah is manifest ignorance.

6. But the men of Allah, who are enlightened by the light of faith, easily pass through all these trials showing their steadfastness and irreconcilability with evil. They go as far as courting their death, for victory is the ultimate aim.

Authentic Tauheed :

His response >> 12:33
Yusuf made the point : adultery is NOT an option [he would rather go to prison]
–zina is for people who are jahil– therefore Yusuf would rather go to prison and sleep rough and eat badly
–than go through all the hardship rather than to sleep with Zulaikha

Reflections :

Prophet Yusuf’s answer in face of this great test

‣ He chooses the prison or would prefer to be in this prison in this world than to be in prison surrounded by hellfire in the hereafter

‣ It’s more beloved to him to be in prison in this world than to be in prison in the hereafter

• What they’re calling him to is jahanem

• The temptations that call to to the disobedience of Allah are calling to the prison of

the hereafter

• Surely, if you didn’t turn me away from their plots

• He doesn’t say kaydaha (only wife of Aziz) but uses kaydahona (all the women)

• If you don’t divert me from their plot, I’m amongst the ignorant

Lesson

1)This is the lesson which the great Yusuf, the infallible one, has taught us. It is he who says to Allah if their evil plots are not averted from him, he would tend to incline towards them, and he would be left alone in his plight and will be no more. It is holy Allah Who is the Protector, not one’s abilities, powers, or mere virtues.

This state of absolute dependence on Allah (s.w.t.) does not only provide man with a power and perseverance which is unlimited, but it also makes it possible for him to enjoy the hidden Divine favors as well, favors which are impossible to explain and can be only witnessed and accepted. Such people are they who are sheltered by Allah both in this world and the Hereafter.

2)Be careful when making du’a to Allah

Some scholars say that had Yusuf (a.s) asked Allah (swt) to only remove him from them, that he would not have been imprisoned. But he said prison is more beloved to me and Allah responded to his du’a.

3)We must be careful in how we phrase our du’a to Allah (swt) because Allah is always listening. The way we phrase our du’a has an impact.Sent from my iPad

Surah Yusuf #32

“She said: ‘This is before you he about whom you did blame me! And indeed I sought to seduce him from his (pure) self, but he proved continent. And (now), if he does not do what I command him, he shall certainly be imprisoned, and will certainly be of the humiliated!’”

TAFSEER

At this moment, the wife of the ‘Aziz turned to those women who used to criticize her for her intense love for Yusuf and said that although they had not seen him before, only getting a first glimpse of him caused them to lose their hearts.

How could they possibly have blamed her, when she was exposed to looking at that beautiful face frequently day and night? She also admitted that he was innocent indicating that she was the one who did the seducing.

The verse says:

“She said: ‘This is before you he about whom you did blame me! And indeed I sought to seduce him from his (pure) self…”

Thus while she was justifying her behavior, she explicitly confessed her culpability saying that she was the one who invited him to engage in an illicit act which he had refused to do.

The verse continues saying:

“…but he proved continent…”

However, without expressing her remorse, she threatened him with imprisonment and humiliation if he did not acquiesce to her demands.

She said:

“…And (now), if he does not do what I command him, he shall certainly be imprisoned, and will certainly be of the humiliated!””

She tells them to look at Yusuf (AS) and then think about what they had said. By this, she is implying that if each of them had been in her situation, then they would have done exactly the same as she did. Then she openly admits what she had done. She then promises Yusuf that if he does not do what she says then surely he will be imprisoned and become of the disgraced. Those who are made to suffer both physical and psychological punishment.

Highlights

Psychological and social conditions influence individual morality. When ‘Aziz’ wife was afraid of exposing her evil actions, she closed the doors to the room. However, when she found the Egyptian women on her side, she openly stated that: “And indeed I sought to seduce him from his self”
The liar is always exposed and scandalized. The one who claimed that Yusuf wanted to seduce her yesterday, and had had evil intentions towards him, today openly confesses that she herself had the intention of gratifying her sexual desires towards him.
It is true, that at times the enemy also testifies to the honesty of the person he opposes.
Residing in palaces paves the way for the loss of one’s chastity.
(Although the ‘Aziz realized that his wife had betrayed him and he asked her to repent of her guilt, they did not become alienated from each other and he did not distance between his wife and Yusuf.)

Authentic Tauheed:

A fitnah yesterday, a fitnah today, and it shall be a fitnah tomorrow
>> the Rasul said : the biggest fitnah I’ve left behind is the fitnah of women

“I have not left behind me any fitnah more harmful to men than women.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

A woman who is pretty, and she knows that she is beautiful , and that woman has no taqwa
<< this woman is the shaitan in human form

Zulaikha said that
–if Yusuf does not do what she says,I will put him in prison
–she told this to the women
–this declared this publicly

> therefore Zulaikha declared that she will throw Yusuf in prison if he does not accept her proposal
–Zulaikha had a high status in the society, therefore she was surprised that a servant boy (Yusuf) rejected her
–she could not accept this

Reflections

‣ She doesn’t show remorse for her actions

• She has the audacity and no shame

‣ Now the wife of Al-Aziz is trying to force him

‣ Now he’s facing the fitnah of all these women not just her

‣ She says that if he doesn’t obey her now, he will be punished

• If he refuses to obey her order, he will be imprisoned or be of those who are disgraced

Lesson:

1)Being abused by a person of authority, your desires chasing you to be fulfilled, mindless, gossiping by women-sound familiar?

2)Well this is the story of our lives too isn’t it? And now Allah teaches us how to deal with it by revealing to us a story of a Prophet who faced the same difficulties in life and you will learn how he dealt with them in the pages ahead. So the next time you feel like saying, ‘Oh if I lived in the time of the Prophets, it would be very easy to be a good Muslim because I wouldn’t have to face the problems that I do today’ … think again!

3)Women who have no power will have no other options but to hate the person who rejected them or to be cold towards them or to continue pursuing them by any other means.

4)The same case applies to society. When people are no longer sensitive to evildoing, it becomes easier to commit sin.

5)1beauty and handsomeness are a fitnah, in all times

6)wealth and power and nobility mean absolutely nothing. They were the wives of the rulers and the people of power. What did their wealth and their status do for them? Did it in any way make them more honored or noble? Did it in any way make them behave like a human being is supposed to behave?Sent from my iPad

Surah Yusuf #31

“So when she heard about their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a repast for them. Then she gave each one of them a knife, and said to him (Yusuf): ‘Come forth to them.’ When they saw him, they extolled him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands and said (exclaimed): ‘Allah Blameless! This is not a human being. This is not other than a noble angel!’”

Tafseer

When the wife of ‘Aziz became aware of the intrigue of the Egyptian women, she became very angry. Then she came up with an idea. She invited them to an elaborate party which she had organized for them and gave each person a sharp knife to peel the fruit served.

The verse says:

“So when she heard about their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a repast for them. Then she gave each one of them a knife…”

Allah (swt) specifically mentions that she gave each one a knife to bring our attention to the fact that even this was part of her plan. She wanted them to see Yusuf (AS) and cut themselves. She knew that this was what would happen and they would cut themselves.

This also shows that how severe tests, temptations, and trails Zulaykha must be going through for many years while Yusuf was present in front of her day and night.

From the sequence of events, one can readily infer that she did not care much for her husband and was not afraid of him, so she had not learnt anything from the previous scandal.

She then ordered Yusuf to come into the hall so that they could see his beauty for themselves and stop blaming her for what she did.

The verse says:

“…and said to him (Yusuf): ‘Come forth to them.’…”

Just at that moment when all of the women were cutting their fruit with the knives that was when she tells Yusuf (AS) to come out. The word “come out” gives the meaning of something that has been hidden is being brought out. So this suggests that in all of this time Yusuf (AS) had been kept hidden not only from the women on that particular evening, but he (AS) had been hidden from everyone throughout his entire life. No one has ever seen him before that evening.

The verse says:

“…When they saw him, they extolled him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands...”

They were so overwhelmed that they fell head over heels in love with him, which profoundly embarrassed him.

As soon as they saw how abstinent and chaste he was, and his attractive eyes in his innocent face which had blushed from modesty and shame clearly illustrated these facts, they all exclaimed that that young man had never done anything wrong in his life, he was not an ordinary man, but was a sublime heavenly angel.

The verse continues saying:

“…and said (exclaimed): ‘Allah Blameless! This is not a human being. This is not other than a noble angel!’”

Explanations

The Arabic term /haša/ means: ‘excepting, with the exception’. It was a custom in that time that when they wanted to know a person exempted from an indecency, at first they exempted Allah and then that person.
The wife of ‘Aziz was quite politically astute, through the banquet she had arranged she caught the women unawares and was able to expose the vulnerabilities of the rivals in that locality.
Talking about other people’s problems is not always a show of compassion. It can be the result of jealousy, or part of a plot against them.

Plot

In this ayah Allah (swt) tells us what was the response of Zulaykha to what the women in the city had spoken in the previous ayah. Notice how Allah (swt) refers to what these women had spoken as a “plot.” That was indeed what it was.

They did not speak these words against Zulaykha only for their entertainment, but rather this was a deliberate plot to bring her down. They were jealous of her. Even if they claimed to be her friends, deep down inside they hated her. She had more beauty and more power and more wealth than them.

So they would do anything to bring her down and to bring themselves up in the process. That was why they spoke these words against her. It was all a part of their plot to bring her down. So Zulaykha wanted to make them pay for the words that they had spoken against her, so she made a great effort to plan and prepare her revenge.

Reflections

And when she heard about their plots, she understood them. ‣ “I know what you want. I’ll show you.”
She chose fruits that need to be cut for dessert
She ordered prophet Yusuf to come out• When he comes out, they’re cutting their hands and didn’t realize it• They cut it until their hands were bleeding
The wife of the Aziz is watching this whole incident in front of her, and she’s smiling

Lessons

Yusuf was beautiful both externally and internally. As for his external beauty, it made the king’s wife did what she did, and it made the other women cut their hands while proclaiming, “How perfect is Allah (or Allah forbid)! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!” His internal beauty was because of his great chastity and self-restraint in spite the many enticement there were to commit sin. This is why the king’s wife said, “I did seek to seduce him, but he refused
Inner beauty is more attractive than outer beauty. Yusuf (AS) had great inner qualities. Wife of Aziz acknowledged that when she said, “He stayed chaste.”

Sent from my iPad

Surah Yusuf #30

The women of the city began speaking, ‘The wife of ‘Aziz is attempting to seduce her own slave. She has loved him a violent, passionate love. We see her to be in such manifest and clear error.’

Tafseer

Despite the attempts of ‘Aziz to keep the matter hush-hush and quiet, the news spreads. SubhanAllahthis is the Sunnah of Allah ‘azza wa jall, and this is what happens.

This type of gossip and slander and innuendo people just love to spread. How did people find out? Most scholars say that it was from the household of Yusuf and the slaves in the house other than these four. They don’t blame any of these four. Of course we know Yusuf would not have said anything. ‘Aziz himself was too embarrassed, and the wife would not say anything, and the shaahid was from her own family.

Most likely the news spread amongst the slaves of the house other than Yusuf. It might have been also that in her passion she is so obvious in her flirtations with Yusuf that the other slaves clearly see this.

They might not know the full details and might not know of that incident, but they do know that she is in love with Yusuf. The other slaves spread it to the other slaves’ households, and they spread it to the mistresses and the masters. Slowly but surely, gossip spreads.

Often, gossip spreads, and as it spreads it gets bigger and larger. As it spreads, a small tale is made ten times larger. In our Shari‘ah, the door has been shut and sealed ongossip and slander and backbiting. In our Shari‘ah, we don’t get involved with any of this.

Gossip is of many types in the Shari‘ah: gheebah, nameemah, buhtaan; all of this comes under types of gossip.

1) Gheebah means saying something about someone in his absence that he doesn’t like, even if this is the truth.

2) Buhtaan means spreading a blatant lie about somebody; this is a slander, and it is worse than gheebah.

The least you should do is remain quiet and hate it in your heart. There is no iman lesser than this. The better thing to do is cause reconciliation, and if there are people fighting or having a problem, then you get in the middle and solve the problem.

This is very relevant in every single society. It is relevant to the story here. It shows us human nature. We can talk about it in the story of the slander of Aisha as well.

In the slander of Aisha, when the munafiqoon said something about Aisha, Allah criticized the munafiqoon for saying it, and then Allah criticized the sahabah for spreading it. Both are worthy of criticism. The first group Allah said will go to nar’l-jahannam. They have invented a blatant lie. If they don’t repent, Allah says they will go to the fire of Hell.

The second group Allah says, “Why didn’t you keep quiet? Why did you throw it from tongue to tongue?” Tallaqa means it came to your tongue and you threw it back at somebody. It is as if Allah is giving an imagery that this evil rumor is spread from tongue to tongue like wildfire. Allah says, “Why did you do it? Why did you have to go and tell other people? You should have simply stayed quiet and said, ‘This is an evil lie, I’m not going to say anything.’ Just be quiet about this.”

This shows us again and again that a Muslim society and a Muslim character and a Muslim akhlaq rises above gossip and rises above innuendo and slander. A Muslim does not get involved in these matters. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Of the perfection of one’s Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him.” If somebody comes and tells you, “Oh, so-and-so said this,” then say, “I don’t need to know. Why are you telling me?” You don’t go and tell other people.

Authentic Tauheed:

Here we can learn that women love to gossip, and that if a woman has an affair she will tell her best friend

(the affair becomes more exciting when she tells her best friend)

similarly, the women in the city had a problem with Zulaikha’s relation

because they thought her affair was not befitting for her Status.

They were not slandering Zulaikha

but they were only backbiting

had they lied about her, then it would have been slander

because she did indeed want to go to bed with Yûsuf

Reflections

The news got out

Maybe this was not the first time

There are many things before this than led to it ‣ They say “torawido” (ترو د)- present tense

She’s still trying to seduce him

This is intended to harm the wife of the Aziz

They’re mentioning her status

The position is being mentioned and not just her name • She’s trying to seduce her slave?

Their use of these harmful words is for an objective

She’s passionately in love

It’s intended for her to hear

When a person does a wrong, they try to justify their wrong

The women of the city had a plan, but they didn’t say it explicitly

Lesson

Allah (swt) specifically mentions that women engaged in this gossip. This shows us how some women have a propensity to engage in gossip .So we are reminded in this ayah of the thinking and the behavior of those who are heedless of Allah (swt). The thinking and the behavior of the arrogant.
To save ourselves from becoming like those women we should not focus on the faults of others. Shaitan wants to make us think that we are better than them. So he will make us see every possible defect and flaw in others and he will make us ignore our own weaknesses and shortcomings.
Now that we know this plot of Shaitan and now that we have learned this lesson that Allah (swt) has given us in this ayah, then we must be on our guard. So the next time that you think that your Muslim brother or sister is in clear error then remember this ayah. Remember this plot of Shaitan and what he did to those women. Make certain that Shaitan does not do the same to you.
We learn about the evils of gossip, slander and backbiting
It is from the beauty of a persons Islam that he abandons that what does not concern him.
Allah does not like three things for you
1. Gossip
2. Asking too many questions
3. Wasting money
We learned that the believer does not talk about issues that are of no concern to him.

Surah Yusuf #29

O Yusuf! Overlook this matter; and you, (O my wife), ask forgiveness for your sin, for surely you are of the wrong-doers.
Surah Yusuf 29

Tafseer:

“Yusuf, turn away from this…”

This means: don’t tell anybody, ignore it, imagine that this never happened. “There were only four people, and it is a small thing, and I know I’m not going to tell anybody what happened, and I know my wife is not going to tell anybody, and I trust this man because he is a part of her family, and he would not bring dishonor to his own family.” The only person left is Yusuf.

“As for you, ask forgiveness for your sin. Make up for this sin. You were of those who committed a major sin.”

The question arises, why did the husband basically let her off with a tap on the wrist? This is a serious crime here. May Allah protect all of us. If any man, Muslim or non-Muslim, found even a fraction or even a portion of this from his own wife, you can imagine what would happen.

Why did this man overlook all of this?

Allah ‘azza wa jall knows best – and it makes complete sense from what we know about human psychology is that the reason why he wanted to keep this affair and matter secret was because it harmed his own reputation.

He had his own ego and prestige in society. Scholars point out the dangers of one’s ego and the dangers of one’s prestige that you are willing to allow filth to corrupt your own household as long as it is private.

This is, I think, a very logical reason why we can say that the husband ‘Aziz undertook no action. The main point that comes to his mind is: “What will people say? What will people think? It is going to destroy my reputation and my honor, so I cannot let this continue.” He simply said, “Yusuf, turn away from here.”

Another interesting point here is that ‘Aziz and his wife are not Muslim, yet he tells her, “Istaghfiri lidhanbiki. (Seek forgiveness for the sin you have committed).” He wants her to seek forgiveness from his gods and not from him. He knows that infidelity is a sin despite the fact that they don’t believe in our Shari‘ah.

Some Explanations:

The ‘Aziz of Egypt wanted to cover up the incident, but the people of the world in all centuries came to know about it in order for Yusuf’s innocence to be maintained.
The ‘Aziz, typical for those among the affluent classes, had a lenient attitude towards matters regarding chastity, and refrained from seriously chastising his wife.
Non-godly leaders are usually not able to take a decisive stand towards their own impure wives.

A woman’s sexual relationship with any man other than her husband is illegitimate and indecent.

Authentic Tauheed :

In Islam if you did something haraam, and you didn’t know it was haraam, the Shariah court cannot touch you >> Umar did not stone the woman to death who slept with her servant boy, she was jahil
>> this shows you the mercy of Islam
–but if daar ul harb, or kufr, the kuffar have no mercy, they say ignorance is not an excuse
–and they will punish you-

Reflections

The weakness of al-Aziz in dealing with the situation.

• He just let go, and didn’t take further steps

‣ The rulings of Ad-Dayyuth.

It’s someone who doesn’t take responsibility of his women (wife or daughter or mother or sister)
It’s a person that doesn’t care when the women of his family don’t take care of themselves or protect themselves
The prophet said “The person who is ad-dayyuth does not enter jennah.”

Lesson

This husband was supporting his wife by letting the issue slide easily. It seems he cared more for his reputation than justice. This is later on evidenced when Yusuf was sent to jail for committing no crime. This was done to limit the effect of the Do not cover up the truth, act fairly.