“And the woman, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him from his self and she closed the doors and said: ‘Come here’. He said ‘I seek refuge in Allah! Verily He is my Lord. He made good my abode. Verily the unjust do not prosper’.”
TAFSEER
“The one in whose house he was living seduced him to herself.”
Rawadah means ‘to seduce / to entice’. The verb structure fa’ala means that she continued to do so. In other words, it was not just a one-time thing. It wasn’t just that she started one day and that was it. Rather, one can imagine that as Yusuf is growing older and increasing in his jamaal, handsomeness.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allah divided beauty into two halves. Half of beauty was given for all of mankind, and one half of it was given to Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam).” This is really mind boggling.
Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam) was given beauty and he was tempted, and because of his iman, he rose up from the temptation. How many amongst us could strive to that level? Accept what Allah has made for you and know that Allah has a better plan and Allah loves you more than you love yourself.
Allah does not say ‘the wife of ‘Aziz seduced him.’ Allah says, “The one in whose house he was living” to emphasize how difficult it must have been. He could have said the wife of ‘Aziz, but He didn’t.
Allah said this is a man living in another woman’s house. Every single day he has to serve her. Every single day he has to do all of the chores and household affairs, and the man is going for work. She is alone in the house, and he is the main servant because the husband said to treat him special and don’t let him do the other stuff. This is the personal attendant of the wife.
Allah is driving the point home that this is not the average enticement. This is a man who is living in the house of a woman, and he doesn’t seduce her, but she, the owner of the house and the one who is in charge and the one who controls, seduces him.
The point being here that we can imagine – and Allah ‘azza wa jall does not go into details – that she begins with flirtation and insinuation and innuendos and she goes more and more. Yusuf is ignoring all of this and pretending nothing is happening. Finally, she has to make the first move and a clear-cut move that she is not just flirting but wants to do more than this.
“Wa ghallaqati’l-abwaab…”
There is a shaddah here to show that she did not just close the door but she locked it and double locked it. She has a plan now. The beauty of the Qur’an is that Allah does not go into details when there is no need. Just mention what needs to be mentioned and leave the rest. Why does Allah do this? We mentioned this last week: because mentioning these details is of no benefit and brings about feelings and imagination and scenarios that have no need to be mentioned. This is the Qur’anic methodology and the Sunnah methodology in contrast to modern pop culture, modern news, and magazines. You don’t tell people.
Allah clearly says in the Qur’an in many verses: “Why didn’t you hide this? Why didn’t you go to the people in charge? Why didn’t you go to those in authority instead of spreading it?” With regards to other rumors, Allah says, “When you heard it, why didn’t you close your mouth and be quiet? [regarding the rumors of Aisha] Why did you throw it from tongue to tongue?” Gossip, innuendo, slander – this is not the way of the believer, and we don’t talk about these things.
She locked all of the doors. The rest we can understand. She has been planning for days, and finally the opportunity presents itself. Perhaps her husband is going out on a longer trip, or perhaps she knows that now is the time when there are no other servants, so she starts locking all of the doors from the outer door to the inner door all the way to the door of her chamber. She must have arranged for him to come to present something or do something.
“Wa qaalat hayta lak.”
“Hayta lak” or in another qira’a “Hiyta lak.” Allah uses a word that is not very common. What it basically means is ‘come on, let’s do it.’ This is not a common word in the Arabic language, but Allah is using a word that perhaps gives the best indication of her vernacular. She is using a crude terminology that gives the message across.
This is not just any seduction. Rather, this is a rather difficult seduction. Why? First and foremost, Yusuf is not from the people from Egypt. He is from a far away place and a different culture and a different religion. What reputation does he have? Zero.
It is a different culture and a different religion. He is the only Muslim in the whole country. The people are used to fahishah. In this land, if you do it, then it is not that big of a deal, and it is not a crime that goes against humanity. He is all alone.
Secondly, he is a slave. Slaves as it is don’t have any honor – I am saying that society expects slaves to behave in a dishonorable manner. It was the culture.
Thirdly, she is not just any woman. She is a free person, and in the days of slavery, a free person thought himself better than a slave. They feel slaves to be beneath them. A slave would never think of seducing a free person. It would get him into extra trouble. There is this category difference, but it is not the slave who is seducing. It is the free person seducing the slave.
To add to this, it is not just any free person, but it is his own mistress and owner. It is not a stranger and not someone who has no relation to him. It his own mistress, which means that she has power over him and is interacting with him on a daily basis. She has been flirting with him for months or perhaps even years. It is his own mistress, and it is in her own house. That is why Allah says, “The one whose house it was seduced him…” Powerful messages are being sent in the Qur’an here.
Lastly, as if this was not difficult enough, Yusuf has just reached manhood. We don’t know how old he was, but definitely he has just reached his young adulthood. We all know at that age it is the most difficult to control your desires and your shahawat. To add to that, the plotting and planning and the bolting of the doors. “Wa ghallaqati’l-abwaab.” All the doors have been shut.
This is why our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said “Any time a man and a woman are in khalwah (a place where nobody can see them), then they are never alone and Shaytan is the third of them.” We are not supposed to be alone in a room with a woman who is not our relative because this is what leads to temptation. Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam) has been for years serving this lady and becoming close to her as her slave. This has led to this lady being infatuated with Yusuf.
“And she said come. Qala ma‘aadha Allah.”
What he is saying is, ‘regardless of what I do or don’t do, Allah is always Supreme, and His refuge is always sought.’ He gives a statement of fact, and this is powerful because it is as if he is saying, ‘even if I cannot get to that level of actually seeking isti‘adhah, Allah is always ma‘aadhaAllah.’ In English, it is difficult to explain the balaghah. He is basically saying, “Allah is the One whose help is always sought, and Allah is always the One I turn to for protection.”
“He is my Rabb, and He has made my stay [or my livelihood or my life] so comfortable.”
Two possibilities have been advanced for the interpretation of the Qur’anic phrase: /’innahu rabbi ’ahsana mawaya/ (verily He is my Lord. He made good my abode).
- A – It is the Almighty, my Lord, Who has honored my position and I seek refuge in Him.
- B – The ‘Aziz is my lord who has honored me as his guest and he told you about me to give me a good abode, and I will not betray him.
Both possibilities have their own advocates which they support with their own documentations.
However, and Allah knows best. I do firmly believe in the other interpretation, which is that he is speaking about Allah. What clearly proves this point is the ending of the verse.
“Those who are evil will never be successful.”
This is a statement of fact regarding Allah and not regarding the husband. Those who are evil will never be successful. This is a statement that is talking about Allah’s Laws and not about the laws of the husband. Allah knows best, but it is clear that it is talking about Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
“He said, ‘Refuge is sought in Allah. Allah is my Lord. He has been so kind to me.’” This means ‘How could I sin? How could I do this after all that Allah has done for me?
He has saved me from my brothers, and He has saved me from the well. He has taken me to this great land. He has made me live such a comfortable life.’
Remember his life was closer to that of a luxurious servant rather than a slave. He was living a very different type of life, and probably no other slave in the city had as much luxury. He was sleeping in the house and palace. He is saying, “After all that Allah has done, how could I possibly disobey him?”
“Verily, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will never cause the evil people to be successful.”
This shows us the instantaneous reaction of Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam) that he turns to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). This shows us what we should do when we are tempted with evil. We will never be able to overcome evil ourselves. It is not possible. We do not have that much strength in us to fight evil whether the evil is our passions or anger. We cannot fight it ourselves.
LESSON
Brothers and
Notice that this is a factual account and is not gossip or slander but Allah only mentions what you need to know
The first thing Yusuf does is: “I need to turn to Allah. I need Allah’s Help. Verily, my Lord is the One who will help me against this.” This is the methodology we need to follow. Allah says in the Qur’an, “Any time Shaytan gives you some evil thought, seek refuge in Allah. Verily Allah is the One who Hears and Knows all.”
The inclination that Yusuf would have had for the woman, but resisted it for Allah’s sake is what actually brings him closer to Allah. Because this type of inclination is from amongst the soul’s evil suggestion and it is something that happens naturally to most of mankind. However, the love and fear of Allah overpowered the call of fulfilling desires. Thus, he is from amongst those “who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts.” And also from amongst the “seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allah.'”
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