Surah Yusuf #18

And they came with lying blood on his shirt. He said, “Rather, your inner desires have tempted you to do something. So, patience is best. It is Allah whose help is sought against what you describe.”

Surah Yusuf 18

TAFSEER

“And they brought forth his shirt with damin kadhib (a lying blood).”s

There is very beautiful Arabic balaghah here: ‘a lying blood.’ Blood does not lie but Allah ascribed the lying to the blood to show how evil and false it was. It should be damin makhdoob (a false blood), but Allah said, “a lying blood.” Allah ascribes the lying to the blood to show what a bold-faced evil lie. It was not the blood of Yusuf, and it is as if the blood itself was lying.

They brought forth his shirt, and it had blood all over it. They sacrificed a rabbit or a goat and splattered the shirt with blood and handed it to him and said that this was his shirt.

“He said, ‘No!…’”

Bal in the Arabic language is harf al-idrab, which means negating completely what has gone before. Take this as a rule: Anytime Allah says bal, it means that whatever has preceded is wrong and not true, and what will come after is the truth.

“…‘Your souls have made some matter appeasing to you…’”

Ya‘qub does not know the story, so he is saying that their souls made something appeasing to them. Why couldn’t Ya‘qub believe the story?

Remember that he was suspicious of them from even before the story began. When Yusuf told him the dream, he was suspicious: “I know something is wrong and they are going to do something to you.” And when they come to him, he says, “No,” and tries to push them away.

Also, scholars say another reason is that he remembers the dream of Yusuf, and the dream of Yusuf has to be fulfilled. “How can Yusuf be dead when I know for a fact that all of us are going prostrate to him?”

Also, they say that the shirt itself was evidence. In their haste, they handed him the whole shirt. It is said that Ya‘qub responded, “What a merciful wolf this is that ate up Yusuf without even one scratch in the shirt.” They forgot to tear the shirt up and handed him the full shirt. Ya‘qub knows this is just not right and something is wrong here.

Another beautiful point of this verse is that Ya‘qub understands that the brothers made a plot, and in order to plot this plot and enact this plot, they need to justify it in their conscience. Ya‘qub did not say “you have done wrong,” but he said, “your souls have convinced you that this doing wrong is good.” Do you see the difference between the two?

To say ‘you have done wrong’ is a factual statement. Instead of just criticizing the action, he criticizes the niyyah behind the action. “Not only have you done wrong, but your souls have managed to concoct some type justification, and you know the justification is wrong.” And of course, this is a plot of Shaytan. Any time we do a wrong, subhanAllah, Shaytan comes and gives us a million and one excuses. Every one of us – myself and you. Shaytan is making this pleasing to us.

“Fa sabrun jamil.”

This is a phrasing in Arabic that cannot be translated into English. In English, either the full phrase is: “I shall have a beautiful patience” or “there is nothing for me to do better than having a beautiful patience.” The ellipses here simply indicate that Ya‘qub is submitting to the will of Allah and saying, “I will have a beautiful patience.” This shows us a number of things:

  1. The blessings and the beauty of patience. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) tells us in the Qur’an, “Allah is with those who are patient.” There are only a handful of nouns that Allah says He is with. There are only a few, a dozen or less. Of them: muttaqin, saadiqeen, sabireen, Allah says that He shall reward those who are patient without any hisab. Bi ghayri hisab is hardly ever mentioned.

Bi ghayri hisab is the highest level of reward because every good deed is rewarded between 10 to 700 times. There are a few deeds that Allah says bi ghayri hisab, meaning Allah does not count. When Allah does not count, then it is infinity and there is no counting to it. Of them is to be patient. To be patient gives you that elite status. There is hardly anything else in the Qur’an and Sunnah that is bi ghayri hisab. The point of sabr, which Allah says in the Qur’an, “Enter Jannah because you have been patient. What a beautiful reward and what a beautiful place for those who are patient.” The hadeeth and the ayat go on and on about patience.

  1. This shows us that sabr has many categories. You can have a patience that is not quite beautiful but is patience. There are levels of sabr. Ya‘qub will go to the highest level of sabr. The highest level of sabr is what Yaq’ub has said: fi sabrun jamil (a beautiful patience). Scholars say a beautiful patience is one in which there is no complaining to the creation. You take it directly to Allah ‘azza wa jall. There are types of patience which are okay and good, but you need some help and some uplifting. Sabrun jamil is the highest level. You do not need any sympathy from people but are getting the reward from Allah.

Sabara means ‘to restrain / to withhold.’ The actual meaning of sabara is to hold back. That is why an animal that is reined is called an animal that is masboor. Sabr is called sabr because you are supposed to hold yourself back and restrain yourself. The reason why sabr is so difficult is because it is inaction in the face of wanted action. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told us that the strong person is not the one who can beat up other people, but the strong person is the one who can restrain himself when he is angry. This is the true test of strength. It is not just when angry but there is also sabr in response to calamities and sabr in response to worship. The sabr when having lost a loved one is a very difficult one.

Ya‘qub knows something is wrong. Some people may say, “Why doesn’t Ya‘qub do more with the brothers of Yusuf?” The response is that some scholars say that Allah had inspired him not to do that. This is possible; we will never know. Others have said that in his old age, At the end of the day, they are his sons no matter what they have done, and it is unquestionable that he has some type of love for them.

“And Allah is the One who I will turn to for help against what you have described.”

“[You have described something that surely did not take place. No wolf ate up my son Yusuf. I will turn to Allah to help me against what you have described.]”

Ya‘qub feels helpless, but at the end of the day what can he do? All that he can do is to turn to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and ask Allah to help him in finding Yusuf. This shows us that the believer is never alone and the believer is never without help. Allah is the One who we will turn to for help.

The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever turns to Allah for help, Allah will be sufficient for him. Whoever asks Allah ‘azza wa jall for protection, it will be sufficient for that person.” Therefore, when we are faced with a calamity or museebah, we turn to Allah immediately and effectively and insha’Allah that is the most effective way of getting our goal.

LESSON

Never lie.

When you are hit with misery/problem in this life, which this life is full of them, all you’ve got is patience. Be patient and your patience is for Allah. There is no end to patience. Patience is the resort when there is no other resort.

The importance of being cautious of the evil results of sins, because one sin often leads to many others. For the brothers of Yusuf tried varying plots when they wanted to separate him from his father; they lied many times, they falsified the blood on the shirt, they came at night pretending to cry, and all of this is as a result of one sin, one thing leading to a next.

Patience gets rewarded.
Prophet Ya’qub deals with the pain by being patient. This is a very important lesson for Muslims of this day and age to learn. The Muslim nation as a whole is going through a very rough period; one of the ways to deal with the utter hopelessness that exists in our nation is to be patient and to ask for Allah’s help.

Surah Yusuf #17

They said, “O our father, indeed we went racing each other and left Yûsuf with our possessions, and a wolf ate him. But you would not believe us, even if we were truthful.”

Surah Yusuf

TAFSEER

They said, “Oh our father, we went racing one another, and we left Yusuf with our belongings (food, vessels, containers, meat) and all that we came to have the picnic with because he was the youngest.

We are the elders and were playing (some type of race or hide-and-seek) and had to leave the youngest one.  We left Yusuf with our belongings. 

Oh our father, you gave us the excuse and we did not have this plot in mind.  You told us what to tell you.  Our minds are not yet that developed, and we are not that imaginative.  

You are the wise man and gave us what we needed.  This is what happened, but we know that you are never going to believe the story even if we were telling the truth.  We know that you will never have iman in us.”

Iman means to believe in something that is unseen.  Iman means believing in something that you cannot prove, which is why it is called faith.  They are saying,

“You will never have iman in us, even if we are telling the truth.”  What they are trying to say is that they know the story is so preposterous and far-fetched, and even if they were telling the truth they know that he would not believe them, so why would they lie?  

Deep down inside they know that what they are saying is a lie and they know that their father will never believe them. So before Yaqoob (AS) actually tells them that he is not going to believe them, they themselves admit this. 

This once again goes to show us that the deceiver will never be successful. In one way or another, his deception will be discovered. It could even be that he himself will admit to his deception as the brothers of Yusuf implicitly did here by telling their father that he would never believe them.

Of course, here they only add one more imaginative idea:  why would Yusuf be left alone.  What is the excuse?  This is the lie that they invent that they went racing one another and left Yusuf all alone.

Tradition about lie:

There are numerous Islamic traditions about lying, a few of which are listed below:

1) Imam Rida (as) said: 

“Keep away from major sins, which consist of: Killing someone the shedding of whose blood is forbidden, fornication, theft, lying, arrogance and extravagance.”

2) It is narrated from Allah’s Prophet (S) who said: 

“Abstain from lying for it seduces (man) to commit sins which in turn lead him to Hellfire.”

3) Imam Hasan ‘Askari (as) has been quoted to have said: 

“All corruptions are assembled in one house, the key of which is lying”

That is, man’s lying leads him to commit other sins.

4)Imam Sadiq (as) has been narrated who said: 

“Allah’s Prophet (S) said: ‘The worst type of quotation is quoting a lie’.”

5)Ali (as) has said: 

“The end of telling a lie is self–blame and feeling sorry for oneself.”

6) The sublime Prophet (S) said to Ali (as): 

“O Ali! Abstain from lying, for it brings shame. Then one would be reported as a liar to Allah.”

7) The holy Prophet (S) remarked: 

“He who bears false witness against a Muslim or the person sheltered by Islam, or an individual in the society, would be hanged by his tongue on the Day of Resurrection, and would be cast along with the hypocrites into the lowest level of Hell.” 

8) Ali (as) said: 

“The consequence of lying is meanness in this world and torment in the Hereafter.”

9)The sublime Prophet (S) said: 

“Lying is one of the gateways to hypocrisy.”

LESSON

The importance of being cautious of the evil results of sins, because one sin often leads to many others. For the brothers of Yusuf tried varying plots when they wanted to separate him from his father; they lied many times, they falsified the blood on the shirt, they came at night pretending to cry, and all of this is as a result of one sin, one thing leading to a next.

Repentance before committing a sin is not true repentance. “They said we will become righteous people after it( killing Yûsuf)”

When someone has their mind set on a particular evil, then they would not stop until that evil is accomplished.  So we should always ask Allah (swt) to save us from being among those whom Shaitan tricks into evil. From being among those who are blinded by their desire to do evil.

The guilt of people will manifest itself in one way or another. No matter how much people try to hide the evil that they have done, it will always show in one way or another.  So we should realize that any path that we take where we turn away from Allah (swt) is a path in which we will never reach success and never find happiness. May Allah (swt) help us to always remember this fact the next time Shaitan comes to us and prompts us to do evil!

So we all go on continually, unaware of what lies before us. We spend today in gladness—not knowing that tomorrow will bring us tears. We move on through the flowers, heedless of danger—not suspecting that at our next step we may fall into some hidden pit.  We set out on the happy journey, without thought of the possible accident on the way—which may leave us crippled or dead.

It’s easy to say; it’s okay. Everything will turn out all right in the end. But look at the immediate pain that flowed from a family eaten up with hate. The brothers lied to their father, but never escaped their personal guilt. It’s probably true that how we handle success says as much if not more about us as how we handle failure.

Surah Yusuf #16

“They came to their father at night, crying.”

Surah Yusuf 16

TAFSEER

They came back at night, but they were not supposed to stay out that late. Nobody picnics in the darkness. They are supposed to come back at maghrib / when the light is finishing. They purposely delayed to add to the plot and to pretend that they were searching and did not know what to do. They came at night much later than they should have come. They came back to their father crying.

In order to carry out their cruel act, they plot together a story, and in order to embellish the story, they show these false emotions. We all know human nature; it is easy to show these false emotions when you have an evil heart. Emotions are not the basis of pronouncing judgment on anything. Simply because someone is crying or emotional does not mean that they are innocent or scot-free. This is something that we all know from human experience, but yet unfortunately we still fall into this.

They came crying to their father at night so that he won’t be able to see the truth from their faces. The brothers purposely chose this time to return to their father. There are several reasons for this.

One reason is that their father could not have now told them to return and search for Yusuf (as). It was too late because the land was now covered in darkness.

And because they hoped that the darkness of the night would cover the expressions on their faces. They knew that they had to lie to their father. They had to pretend as if they were sad when in reality they were very happy. So they had hoped that the darkness of the night would aid them in this deception. Not only did they cry when they spoke with their father, but they were crying as they walked through the door.

REFLECTIONS

And they came to their father at night, weeping.

‣ Isha is when it’s a time when no one can see anything

They know their father

‣ Just became a person is crying doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth
If a person is really crying, why are they crying?
• When they feel that everything is out of their control

LESSON

Emotions are not the basis of pronouncing judgment on anything.

  • Simply because someone is crying or emotional does not mean that they are innocent or scot-free.
  • This is something that we all know from human experience, but yet, unfortunately, we still fall into this.
  • Crying is not always sincere nor a sign of honesty. Do not trust every type of crying and weeping.

Never be deceived by the emotions of people. Sometimes people can cry, but their tears are false. Even though what they are showing us is extreme sorrow and regret, what is in their hearts is actually the opposite of this. Their hearts are hiding the opposite of what their faces are showing. So we need to be careful. We should always study the entire situation instead of being fooled by false emotions.

Surah Yusuf #15

So, when they went away with him and were determined to put him in the bottom of a pit, (they did accordingly). And we revealed to him (Yusuf), “You will (one day) remind them of this deed of theirs, and they will not recognize (you).”

TAFSEER

“So when they took him away…”

Allah does not finish this portion. The missing sentence is: ‘and they did what they did.’ The sentence in Arabic is not finished. This is of the balagha or eloquence of the Arabic language that many times details are not mentioned, and the Qur’an is full of such ellipses (missing phrases or missing words). This is one of the problems of translation: when we translate the ellipses of Arabic goes completely blank. How do you translate this?

The point here is that Allah did not mention the details because:

It is understood that they did what they did and harmed him. These details are very painful, and Allah does not mention these painful details.

Then Allah says, “They all agreed to put him into the jubb (recesses / darknesses of the well.).”

This shows us that there was not one merciful heart amongst them because Allah uses the verb ajma‘u. There was not one heart of pity or mercy amongst them. Their hearts had become so hard that there was unanimity that they were going to throw him into the well.

This is amazing for us to think about: they are his blood brothers and the children of a prophet, but their hearts became so hard because of jealousy and greed of something that was halal. Imagine jealousy and greed for something that was haram?

They wanted something that was halal, but their hearts became blind. They completely rejected the begging, pleading, and crying of a little boy who is their brother and the heart of their father and the apple of his eye.

We cannot even imagine how this little boy who was abandoned, tortured, mocked, ridiculed, and harmed by his own brothers would have felt. He was so young that he was not baaligh yet.

He doesn’t understand why this is happening. He thought they were going to have a fun time, and he was an excited kid going out to have fun with his older brothers and thought they were going to race, but instead they do this to him.

One point that is really powerful about this whole story, and this is a point that we need to think about and shows the beauty of the Qur’an.

The evil actions of the brothers are never described in detail, and nor does Allah ever explicitly criticize them directly despite the fact that this is such a cruel thing that they did.

When we think about it, and we are not even a fraction of the level of the sons of these prophets eventually, our hearts shudder and our souls tremble thinking ‘how could you have done this?’

Yet Allah does not choose one negative adjective in the whole surah describing them as fasiqoon or dhalimoon or any type of adjective at all.

One wonders what is the reason for this? Surely they are worthy of criticism and surely they are worthy that these pitiful details should have been mentioned that would make our hearts cry that Yusuf begged and pleaded.

Allah ‘azza wa jall is silent. Why? What is the wisdom behind this?

It is not as though the Qur’an does not criticize other people. The mushrikoon are criticized. The Yahud and Nasarah are criticized. Why aren’t these people criticized when they are doing such a dastardly and evil deed?

Firstly, of the reasons why Allah ‘azza wa jall does not mention this, and this is generally a Qur’anic message, it is not appropriate to mention any type of evil in detail whether it is lewdness and fahishah or even something that is not respectful.

For example, Allah says in the Qur’an, “If one of you comes from the restroom…” Allah does not say ‘if one of you urinates or excretes…’ Allah says in the Qur’an,

“If you touch women…” Allah does not say ‘if you are intimate with women…’ Why? Because there is no need to mention these details in the language of the Qur’an.

This is a general rule: we don’t mention evil in detail. We learn this from so many other instances. It is not of the etiquettes of the Muslims to go into detail about fahishah or about evil or about a sin that occurred. The wordings of the Qur’an are extremely noble.

This shows us the difference between an Islamic model and the model that we live in of the world today. In the world today, any crime, vulgarity, murder, or rape, the news reports it in the most extreme, vivid detail.

Hollywood movies are made out of it and best-selling books are done. What happens? Mankind is desensitized. The fitrah of man becomes used to listening to this evil. One of the reasons – and we say this clearly – why crime spreads is because the news of crime spreads.

In a very good Islamic environment, you would not hear of these details. Let the police take care of it. There is no fa’idah to spread it amongst the people. Human nature becomes accustomed to listening to it and spreading it, and when it becomes accustomed to listening and thinking and spreading, this is the stepping-stone to actually doing it. Therefore, the first reason why Allah does not mention this is because it is not befitting of the Majesty of Allah ‘azza wa jall.

The second reason is perhaps the key point in the surah. Allah ‘azza wa jall accepted the repentance of the brothers of Yusuf. They repented and acknowledged their sin.

Notice that in the Qur’an, the only time their sin is mentioned is from their tongues. “And they go to Yusuf and they say, ‘Forgive us, oh Yusuf. We have done wrong.’ And they go to their father and say, ‘Oh our father, ask Allah to forgive us. We have done wrong.’” This is so powerful of a message.

Why? When Allah has forgiven them, why mention their faults? This is the perfection of Allah’s maghfirah. When Allah has forgiven them, why should Allah go into detail about what they did? Leave it. This shows us the Majesty of Allah ‘azza wa jall that we should learn from.

True forgiveness and true turning the other cheek means that we don’t go reminding people of what they have done. We don’t go mentioning the faults even if they have done it.

I want you to think about this point: how cruel have they been, yet how Merciful is Allah in describing their cruelty? It is amazing! Allah does not even finish the sentence. “When they went with him…”

This is the perfection of Allah’s maghfirah. Allah forgave them. Why should then Allah criticize and mention this? This really shows us that when we forgive, we can never forget, but we should try our best to overlook. Allah says, “Forgive and overlook.” Wasfahu means turn another page and ignore what happened in the past. We learn from this, this type of methodology.

Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says after this that they threw him into the well.

“…and We inspired him, ‘Of a surety you will inform them of this very deed they have done, and they will have no idea that you will be telling them.’”

It is possible that Yusuf got this ilham before actually becoming a prophet. In any case, it is quite clear that this is coming to Yusuf. As soon as the darkness of the well overtook him, Allah’s noor and Allah’s wahy came down immediately to console him.

What was his consolation?

“Surely, you will inform them of this very deed while they have no clue who you are.”

Once again there is tawkeed (emphasis). There is double emphasis here with the laam and nun in latunabbi’annahum. This simple pronunciation of a statement of fact of the future prediction tells us many benefits.

  1. The first benefit: “Oh Yusuf, you are not going to die in this well. You are not going to be left alone and die a miserable death. You will live.”
  2. “Oh Yusuf, you will go and be reunited with your family. Yes, they left you and turned their backs to you, but eventually you will be reunited with your family.”
  3. “You will tell them when they do not know who you are. Right now they have the upper hand and you have the lower hand, but the time will come when you will be saved from this well and will meet them again and will remind them of what they did and because you are unknown to them, you will have the upper hand.” This simple phrase has in it powerful messages of optimism.

From this, we can also gain a little bit of optimism ourselves. Remember this surah was revealed to cheer our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) up. It was revealed to make him feel the consolation and comfort.

Allah ‘azza wa jall is reminding him through the story of Yusuf that: “Just like your family abandoned you, Allah ‘azza wa jall will cause you to go back to them, and you will have the upper hand.” Allah ‘azza wa jall says in the Qur’an, “This city that you are leaving, you will go back to it. You will be given back to it, and you will be sent back to it.” This is exactly the message of Yusuf (‘alayhi salaam).

  1. Knowing the ultimate end of anything brings about some comfort. Yusuf is told of the ultimate end in this world. Only a prophet can be told this. For us believers, the ultimate end of the akhirah can be known to us, meaning that the continuing belief that if I am righteous and if I am pious, then the ultimate end will be for the righteous.

No matter what is happening in this world, and no matter how tough life is, and no matter the difficulty we are suffering from problems, always remind ourselves of the end.

The end result will be for the righteous. Yusuf is calmed down by the end result in this duniyah. In this duniyah, only the prophets are told the end results. In the akhirah we know that the righteous shall be saved. We continue to hope, and any time a museebah happens, we console ourselves and think “Insha’Allah the akhirah.

LESSON

Remain Pious whether humiliated or in a very high position

The evil actions of the brothers are never described in detail in the Qur’an, and nor does Allah ever explicitly criticize them . Because it is not appropriate to mention any type of evil in detail whether it is lewdness and fahishah or about evil or about a sin that occurred. Human nature becomes accustomed to listening to it and spreading it, and when it becomes accustomed to listening and thinking and spreading, this is the stepping-stone to actually doing it.

The lesson and the benefit that we can take from this part of the ayah is to realize that if we are sincere worshippers and servants of Allah (swt) then He (swt) would take care of us and look after us during times of need and hardship.

At that moment of difficulty when all of the world seems to have turned against us, then Insha Allah we will find Allah (swt) with us. Allah (swt) will console us and He (swt) will give us strength in order that we may overcome our grief and sadness, as well as our anxiety and fear.

If we are sincere to Allah (swt) and if we try our best to serve Him (swt), then Insha Allah He (swt) will take care of our children even when we are not there for them.

How do you say your good-byes? Yusuf went out from his father’s door that morning, for but a day absence. We can picture the parting. Little Binyamin and his father was anxious, worried and sad hoping that Yusuf would be home again by the evening. No one dreamed that for more than forty years, that bright happy face would not be seen, that some of them would never see him again.

Yaqub and Yusuf and the other members of that family had known that morning, that for more than forty years they would not meet again, would not their parting have been very tender?

Yet life is quite as uncertain for us and our households, as it was for Yaqub’s family. Any hurried good-bye maybe for years, and perhaps final; surely then it should be loving. We should never separate in an angry or impatient mood, with unforgiveness, bitterness, or misunderstanding. We should not say our good-byes coldly, carelessly—but always with thoughtful love and gentle feeling.

Suppose that the one who goes out—should be brought home dead; or should return to find the one dead—whom he left at the door. If the parting were with harsh word or look or thought—how must the surviving one grieve, when sitting by the deceased, to remember the last word or look!

The regret then will not atone for the coldness of the parting on the doorstep, nor will they take the pang out of the bereft heart. We should make every parting with home loved ones, every briefest good-bye, sweet enough, kindly enough, for a last farewell, should it prove to be the last, as it may well be.

Surah Yusuf #14

They said: “If a wolf devours him, while we are ‘Usbah (a strong group) (to guard him), then surely, we are the losers.”

TAFSEER

Usbah means a large group of ten or more, and they were exactly ten.  In English, the only word like this is ‘gang’, but this has a negative meaning.

How could a wolf take their little brother when they were a group of ten?  

Realize that Ya‘qub is already an elderly man.  We do not know his age, but we can imagine that he is already a grandfather and elderly and cannot take care of his own needs.  He is relying on his sons to do all of the housework and chores.  

Remember that they are living in a wilderness and there are no children of Isra’il now, and this is the genesis and beginning of the large tribes of Isra’il.  There are no allies and no friends.  The taking care of the housework and the goats and sheep and buildings are done by the ten brothers because Yusuf and his brother are too young.  These ten are the ones taking care of Ya‘qub’s needs.

They are saying, “We take care of everything.  Do you think a wolf is going to be able to do this?  We are a whole group of people.  We are constructing and building, and we are taking care of the goats and sheep, and now you think that a wolf will do this?” 

 It is clear that Ya‘qub’s excuse is not strong, and they know it.  As for the first meaning of Ya‘qub being sad, they do not say anything because they know that it is true, and they cannot say anything about this and let it go.  For the second point, they say, “How is this possible when we are an ‘usbah?”

He gave up and relented.  In this emotional struggle, the brothers of Yusuf won, and Ya‘qub allowed Yusuf to go with them.

We must guard ourselves against those evil plots which the wolf–like superpowers employ under the guise of recreational activities for the youth. 

LESSON

Don’t keep false promises. 

Verse 14 shows the pride and arrogance these brothers had because they thought of themselves strong. They completely forgot that all Might and all Power is only with Allah. From this, we are reminded once again that these are traits that are most displeasing to Allah (swt). So we should try our best never to be like these brothers. We have to save ourselves from their way of thinking. If you ever hope to accomplish anything in the future, then you must always believe that you will accomplish it only with the Help and Support of Allah (swt) and not through your own efforts or not because you are a strong group.

Beware of emotional blackmail Just because a group of people is committing a certain action, this does not make it correct. Shaitan can misguide the group just like he can misguide the individual. Sometimes it is easier to misguide the group because the members of the group will support themselves in their evil.  So our loyalty must always be to Allah (swt) and the Prophet (PBUH), and not to any group. We should evaluate everything that the group does and ask ourselves if such is pleasing to Allah (swt) or not.  We should not have the thinking that they are correct only because they are all doing it. Sometimes the group can be wrong, so we always have to check ourselves. May Allah (swt) protect us and may He (swt) guide us!