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Assalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah Quran Weekly,
This is Abdul Nasir Jangda coming back to you with another episode yet of the Stories
of the Prophets. Today we are going to talk about Yusuf (AS). Yes, the famous amazing
story of Yusuf (AS). The story that Allah (SWT) Himself calls the best, the most excellent
of stories. Yusuf (AS) is basically being put in a position where he is being called,
he is being asked to commit a terrible, terrible sin and he is enticed towards this sin. So
what does Yusuf (AS) do? Yusuf (AS) obviously backs away from that situation but he goes
a step beyond that. He says to Allah (SWT)
رَبِّ (Rabbi)
My Lord, My Master who guided me to this wise decision.
السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ (Assijnu ahabbuilayya mimma yadAAoonanee ilayhi)
That I would rather choose prison than committing
the sin that these people are asking me to commit -- adultery, fornication. I would rather
go to prison than do that.
وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ (wa-illa tasrifAAannee kaydahunna asbu ilayhinna waakun mina aljahileen)
O Allah, if you don't save me from them, I fear that I might actually fall into that
sin and commit an act of ignorance.
فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ فَصَرَفَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (Fastajaba lahu rabbuhu fasarafaAAanhu kaydahunna innahu huwa assameeAAu alAAaleem)
So Allah (SWT) says, Allah answered Yusuf (AS)'s prayer and saved him from their trickery
and everything that they were planning, and He is constantly listening, and All-Knowing.
ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا رَأَوُا الْآيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ (Thumma bada lahum min baAAdi maraawoo al-ayati layasjununnahu hatta heen)
And then basically Allah (SWT) made it apparent to him that you will serve some time in prison.
But Yusuf (AS) understood that was what was best for him at this time.
وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ (Wadakhala maAAahu assijna fatayani)
But now Allah (SWT) tells us that when Yusuf
(AS) entered into prison, there were two other young men who entered into prison along with him.
قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا (Qala ahaduhuma innee aranee aAAsirukhamran)
They come to Yusuf (AS) and say, look we heard
that you were a special guy, that you can interpret dreams, and that you are a very
pious, righteous man. One of them says that I saw a dream where I am basically squeezing
and extracting wine for the king.
وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَحْمِلُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِي خُبْزًا تَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ (Waqala al-akharu innee aranee ahmilufawqa ra/see khubzan ta/kulu attayru minhu)
And the second says that I am seeing that I am carrying a basket of bread on my head
but what is going on is that birds are coming and eating from that basket of bread.
نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ ۖ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (Nabbi/nabita/weelihi inna naraka mina almuhsineen)
So please tell us what these dreams mean because
we obliviously see for ourselves that you are an excellent, excellent person. You are
from those who excel in doing good deeds -- a righteous, pious man.
So now Yusuf (AS) does something very interesting. They are asking for the interpretation of
their dreams but Yusuf (AS) says that this is the ideal opportunity to have a very important
conversation. What does he say?
قَالَ لَا يَأْتِيكُمَا طَعَامٌ تُرْزَقَانِهِ إِلَّا نَبَّأْتُكُمَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ قَبْلَ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمَا (Qala la ya/teekuma taAAamunturzaqanihi illa nabba/tukuma bita/weelihiqabla an ya/tiyakuma)
He says that first of all let me establish
one thing. Before your next meal arrives, before lunch is served, I will have told you
the interpretation of your dreams. So meaning what? I am not putting this off. I am not
brushing you off. I am not trying to find a way out of this situation. I will tell you
what your dreams mean and I will tell you in fact before lunch is served. So I need
you to stay with me here. I need you to pay attention because you are asking me for something,
so I would like to share something with you as well.
ذَٰلِكُمَا مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِي رَبِّ (Thalikuma mimmaAAallamanee rabbee)
First of all, how do I interpret dreams?
I am not some angel that I interpret dreams but rather this is something that My Lord,
My master Allah taught me to do.
إِنِّي تَرَكْتُ مِلَّةَ قَوْمٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَهُم بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ (Innee taraktu millata qawmin layu/minoona billahi wahum bil-akhiratihum kafiroon)
He says, I have left the religion, the way of those people who don't believe in Allah
(SWT) and they disbelieve very vehemently in the life of the Hereafter. They reject
the belief in the life of the Hereafter. But rather what do I do? What is my path in life?
وَاتَّبَعْتُ مِلَّةَ آبَائِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ (WattabaAAtu millata aba-eeibraheema wa-ishaqa wayaAAqooba)
He says that I follow the religion, the path
of my forefathers -- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Yaqoub).
مَا كَانَ لَنَا أَن نُّشْرِكَ بِاللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ (Ma kanalana an nushrika billahi min shay-in)
That it is not fitting for us. It was never
an option for us to ever associate anything with Allah (SWT) as a partner.
ذَٰلِكَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا (Thalikamin fadli Allahi AAalayna)
This is from the huge blessing that Allah
(SWT) has showered upon us.
وَعَلَى النَّاسِ (WaAAala annasi)
And upon people.
وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ (Walakinna akthara annasi layashkuroon)
But rather most people don't appreciate this
fact that Allah has given us this information, that Allah has taught us this.
And then he says,
يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ (Ya sahibayi assijni)
O my two companions in prison, my two buddies, my two prison mates.
أَأَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمِ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ (Aarbabun mutafarriqoona khayrun ami Allahu alwahidualqahhar)
He said what is better? Is it better to worship
many, many different deities, gods, and lords or is it better to worship Allah who is one,
alone, unique, dominant and powerful? Who do you think is better to worship? What makes
more sense to you? To worship these scattered lords, gods, and idols that you don't even
understand fully or to worship Allah who is one, alone, unique, All Mighty, and All Powerful.
He is the one that has given me the gift that I would like to share with you all.
مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِهِ إِلَّا أَسْمَاءً سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا أَنتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُم مَّا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَانٍ (Ma taAAbudoona min doonihi illaasmaan sammaytumooha antum waabaokumma anzala Allahu biha min sultaninini)
He says as far as what you worship other than
Allah, they are just names. These are just random ideas, fables, and myths. These are
names that you and forefathers came up with. Allah never sent down anything that establishes
this fact. He says,
إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ( In Alhukmu illa lillahi)
That the command, the power is only in the
hands of Allah.
أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ (Amara allataAAbudoo illa iyyahu)
He has commanded that you worship no one other
than Him. Only Him you should worship.
ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ (Thalika addeenualqayyimu)
This is the proper way to live one's life.
وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (Walakinna akthara annasi layaAAlamoon)
But most people, they don't understand.
Now as Yusuf (AS) had promised, he says,
يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا (Ya sahibayi assijniamma ahadukuma fayasqee rabbahu khamran)
As for one of you, you will go back to serving
wine to the king.
وَأَمَّا الْآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِن رَّأْسِهِ (Waamma al-akharu fayuslabu fata/kulu attayrumin ra/sihi)
And as for the other, you will be killed.
You will be executed and birds will come and peck away at your head after you are dead
and you have been hung.
قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ (Qudiya al-amru allathee feehi tastaftiyan)
And that is exactly what ended up happening
to the two people that asked the question to Yusuf (AS).
So this is a very interesting story from the life of Yusuf (AS). This is an amazing event
from his life, from his story that is told to us from the Quran. Why did I choose to
share this story with you today and why did I say that this had a profound impact on me?
Let me explain. Yusuf (AS) is a prophet of Allah (SWT). He is a caller and an inviter
to Allah (SWT). That is what he does. Now he has found himself in a bit of a predicament.
He was dealing with some serious circumstances that lead to him being in prison. But he does
not let that stand in the way of him living out the potential, the purpose of his life.
He does not let that get into the way of his identity, who he is, or the purpose of his
life. He is the prophet of God. He is a prophet of Allah (SWT). He invites people to Allah
(SWT). So if he is out in the open, if he is free, or if he is living at home, he invites
people to Allah (SWT). But if he is locked up in prison, he still invites people to Allah (SWT).
Then a couple of quick tips for that person doing some work of dawah, talking to people,
trying to invite people to Allah (SWT). A couple of tips we pick up from Yusuf (AS),
a prophet of Allah (SWT).
Number one, look for the opportune time when you have people's attention. When you are
sitting and conversing with people, exchanging thoughts and ideas with people, that's when
you go in. That's when you try to basically share this message with them.
The second thing is that Yusuf (AS) does not abstractly talk about Allah (SWT) but what
does he do? Yusuf (AS) connects the idea of Allah (SWT), the message about Allah (SWT),
to their actual question. They are saying, "you are an amazing guy, you can interpret
dreams." He says, "yeah, but where do you think this comes from? Allah gave me this
gift." He connects it to the situation. He ceases the situation when he has their attention.
And thirdly and most importantly, he keeps his word. He is a man of his word. He told
them, "I will tell you what your dream means before lunch is served." And what happened?
He told them what their dreams meant before lunch was served. And whether they believed
or not, it was on them.
So an inspiration that I take from the story of Yusuf (AS) is remember who you are. You
are a Muslim. Wherever you go, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what they
are saying on the news, what the Islamophobes are saying, or whatever is going on, you are
a Muslim. Believe that, know that, and live your life as a Muslim. And as a Muslim it
is your responsibility to share the message of Islam with all of mankind. Tell people,
introduce people, and call people to Allah (SWT). People deserve to know who Allah (SWT)
is. Share the message about Allah (SWT) with them, but when you do so, be a man of integrity
like Yusuf (AS).
I hope everyone benefited from today's lesson from the Stories of the Prophet. InshaAllah
I will see you next time.
Jazaakullahu khairun Wa Assalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah