Trusting Allah in the Face of Temptation | From Trial to Triumph Ep. 9

Opening & Introduction

Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, wa ala akhiratil muttaqeen, wassalatu wassalamu ala ashraf al anbiya wal mursaleen, Sayyidina Muhammadun nabiyyil alameen, amma ba'd.

We begin from ayah number 22, where Allah says:

And when he reached his age of maturity — and I'm going to translate very loosely, insha'Allah we can continue diving deeper into each word — and when he reached his age of maturity, We gave him wisdom and knowledge, and this is how We repay and recompense and give back to those who are excelling in life, in regards to ihsan.

The Meaning of أَشُدَّهُ (Ashuddah)

Allah begins this verse after Yusuf (alayhi salam) is purchased by the Aziz of Misr — that now he's been living in this home for some time, for some years. And this is a point of contention in this ayah: what age is Yusuf (alayhi salam) at this point of his life?

Allah says, when he reached the height of his strength — ashuddah. The word أَشُدَّ is used in the Qur'an in two ways.

Number one, it is used to just mean extreme — شَدِيد, shadeed. Like for example, when Allah refers to punishments in the Qur'an, He would say شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ, or عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ — extreme. So, he reached the age of extreme maturity.

The other meaning is from the word شَدَّ الْوَثَاق — shaddal wathaq — which means to tie, to be able to tie something up. Like when Allah refers to this word when a person ties a knot on their promise to someone — that is شَدَّ.

So when Allah says he reached the age of his extreme maturity, or where everything is tighter — i.e., there is an ability to resist more — because that is what maturity means.

The Word أَشُدَّ Elsewhere in the Qur'an

Before I speak about the actual age, Allah could have simply said when he reached the age of youth. Allah could have used other words that refer to the fact that he had reached the age we are talking about right now. Allah in the Qur'an uses this word in other places as well.

For example, He uses it in Surah al-Ahqaf, where He speaks about when children grow up:

Allah says: We have advised the human being to be kind to their parents, to excel with their parents. The mother carries him — one burden upon another burden, or multiple burdens upon multiple burdens — because something being نَكِرَة, an indefinite common noun, means it could mean multiple. And then Allah says: until the point that they reach the peak age of their maturity, and they reach the age of forty. So that is an option — that this refers to the age of 40, even in this verse.

Other places in the Qur'an, Allah also uses the word بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ for when you are able to give money back to an orphan whose wealth you are holding. Orphans — may Allah protect and preserve all of our parents, and may Allah give these children the highest levels of Jannah, because they have something synonymous with the Prophet ﷺ. This child, when he loses his parents, you are not allowed to give them their money. You are supposed to take care of their wealth — you cannot use it either; that is one of the major sins that were present even prior to Islam.

So when this child's wealth is being held — when do you give this child his wealth back? Not when do you use it upon him, but when do you give him the full autonomy of it? Allah in that also says بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ — when they reach the age of this extreme level of maturity, that is when you are able to give them their money back, because they would know how to use it.

So all of these usages refer to the fact that this person has reached young adulthood — and I will give ages in a few moments.

Why the Plural Form أَشُدَّ?

Before I speak about the age itself — and this word is fascinating — Allah did not use the word أَشُدَّ in the singular format; Allah used it in the plural format. It would have made sense if Allah said he reached the age of his extreme maturity, but why the plural format?

Something interesting here: one is to say that a person reached the age of physical maturity. One is to say that a person reached the age of emotional maturity, but they may not have reached the age of physical maturity. There are young children who are perhaps at the age of 8, 9, or 10 — they are not physically mature yet — but people will say, wow, this child is so mature, in his way of greeting elders, in his way of controlling himself in front of other people. And sometimes a youngster is mature — he is beyond the age of بُلُوغ — but they still cannot control the tantrums, cannot hold back, so they have no emotional maturity. Forget spiritual maturity — even emotional maturity is lacking. And sometimes a person can be mature in other ways — like some people are very mature in certain aspects of their life when they are at school, but when they come home they are very immature, like they are like switches.

So this word أَشُدَّ is fairly inclusive and comprehensive because it includes every aspect of Yusuf's life — that when he reached the height of maturity, of extreme maturity, or when he reached the height where he was able to resist — i.e., he had عَقْل — he was able to hold back. They say the word أَشُدَّ refers to anything which is extreme, that is pulling you, and you are able to resist it, because you are mature. Like when a person is mature in regards to their diet, they know how to resist something that perhaps will harm them. So he reached the age of maturity all across the board, in every aspect of his life.

And this is understood, because a prophet would not be able to be a prophet if they lacked in emotional intelligence. Like leaders cannot be leaders if they lack in aspects of this. So it is not that he reached the age of physical maturity — if the age were important, Allah would have mentioned his age. It is not the age that is the highlight of this verse; it is the concept of بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ. He had reached the age that now he is able to comprehend, he is able to process, he is able to know what is good and what is bad for him in all aspects of his life.

There are people who are extremely mature in aspects of their life — like, for example, what phone to buy — but they may be extremely unintelligent when it comes to purchasing cars, because their maturity level in that would be different. That is micro. But at the macro level, this person has a grasp of all aspects of his maturity. That is what بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ refers to.

Imam Razi's Comparison: The Human Being and the Moon

Imam Razi has an interesting take on بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ. He says that the human being is like a moon, and the cycle of a moon is quite similar to the cycle of a human being's life — like a lunar month. The moon, as it is born, is very fragile, almost unnoticeable — hence the new moon. You cannot see it, you cannot notice it, and then it starts gradually growing. Until it becomes larger and larger, and now it is unavoidable, overwhelming in the most beautiful way. Regardless of whether a person wants to recognize it or not, you have to admit that it is there. And then once it dips and goes the opposite way, it starts becoming smaller and smaller until the last day where you cannot notice it again.

He says the same concept applies to the human being:

He says from the age of 1 to 7, it is like the new moon — the first 7 days of a moon, or the first 7 years of a child's life. It is there, it is beautiful, but it does not really have maturity yet. Then from the age of 7 to 18, or 7 to 21, this moon is now in a second phase. In some interpretations he says that the moon of a human being has 5 phases, not 4 — because normally it is 7, 7, 7, 7, making 28 or 29 or 30 days. He says the third phase is from the age of either 18 or 21 to 33 or 35. And that is ashuddah — that is when the moon is the brightest. And then it starts dipping.

After a certain age, as is mentioned by Imam Shafi'i and other scholars as well, this human being physically starts deteriorating. And just like the moon — it is hard to tell if the moon is the full moon or one day after the full moon by naked-eye observation alone. Similarly, it is not as though a person deteriorates instantaneously normally — Allah protect and preserve. This is why sometimes our parents get elderly so quickly because we did not notice them deteriorating, we did not notice them aging. But just naturally, a person's presence and creation starts getting less and less. And by the way, that also includes at times their character.

This is why being kind and being respectful to our parents when they are old at that stage is what Allah calls ihsan — not at the age when they are at their peak, because in that moment we need them more than they need us and there is no reason for us not to be kind to them. But at the age where they deteriorate even in their ways of operating with us — perhaps how they speak, their tone — because now they are just old, they are irritated at times by seeing things. It is okay. At that age, we have to be able to respond to them in the right way as well.

So, he says that this أَشُدَّهُ is like that moon — right now he is at his peak. He is reaching that age of physical strength, emotional strength, spiritual strength, and so on and so forth.

What Age Does Ashuddah Refer To?

Now, what does this age refer to? There is a spectrum of responses and there is nothing definitive simply because there is no hadith or textual evidence from the Sunnah that determines the age he was at. But there are opinions found amongst the Sahabah and the Tabi'een that say he was either 33 or 35. And generally the opinion that is accepted is that he was 33 years old. This is supported through a connection that human beings when they reach Jannah will also be 33 years old, because that is the peak of physical strength — so Allah will give the people of Jannah the age of 33, and they will never age beyond that. The default is that at the age of 33 a person is at the peak of their physical strength — their prime, if you want to call it. So 33, based on that, is consistent.

It is also consistent and supported if we take the opinion that Yusuf (alayhi salam) became a prophet while he was in prison. Now there are different opinions and I want to be fair about this. There are opinions about the fact that maybe he became a prophet at a younger age. I know conventionally it is understood that prophets become prophets at the age of 40, which is the accurate opinion. But Isa (alayhi salam) became a prophet from birth. And we have Yahya (alayhi salam) who became a prophet as a child:

O Yahya, take the scripture with determination — We gave him prophethood as a child. He was less than 7 years old when he became a prophet. So it does not mean that there is a single rule for all prophets. The Prophet ﷺ speaks about the fact that prophets are granted prophethood at the age of 40, but it is possible that Yusuf (alayhi salam) could have received prophethood while he was in the well:

But the response is that this was not prophethood — that was just him being consoled, like how the mother of Musa was consoled through Allah's revelation, because even non-prophets can be consoled by Allah. Therefore:

People who are struggling today in Gaza are experiencing Allah's closeness in ways that we could never have manifested or imagined. Because the Prophet ﷺ speaks about the idea that Allah is always with the broken-hearted. So the revelation — that وَحْي — does not always mean that this person is receiving prophethood. Allah uses the word وَحْي in revelation even for the honeybee:

That is an opinion which is there, but it is not considered the strongest. Then the second opinion is that no — he received prophethood right now, at وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا — which I will get to right now — meaning that he became a prophet at this age, so that means أَشُدَّ means 40 years old. That is also possible. But the strongest opinion found consistently throughout the books of tafsir is that he was 33 here, and he received prophethood while he was in prison. He was in prison for about 7 years — بِضْعَ سِنِينَ — minimum. Between 7 to 13 years, with 7 years being the common opinion. So if he was in prison for 7 years, that means he reached the age of 40 whilst being in prison and Allah gave him prophethood.

آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا — Wisdom and Knowledge

وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ — When he reached this age of intelligence and maturity — which is really important, because what is being said here is that a person cannot be given any type of authority or leadership if they do not have a grasp of themselves, if they do not have a grasp of their own emotions. Being a mother and a father is an honor and it is a responsibility. But if I do not have a grasp of my emotions with my spouse, how am I going to deal with my own children? So the precondition, the prerequisite of having any form of leadership — to the extent of even having younger siblings and being responsible for them — is بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ. A person needs to develop a level of maturity in all aspects of their life. And we all slip and fall, and it is something which is accepted as long as we know that it is a mistake and not something that we can justify.

So آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا — We gave him hukm and 'ilm. I translated it loosely earlier as wisdom and knowledge. The word حُكْم in the Qur'an has multiple usages — this is normal in the Qur'an. In some places Allah will use one word and it will carry one meaning, and somewhere else it will carry a different meaning. I can use the simplest examples and you will understand. Allah in the Qur'an uses the word مَلِك for Himself — but here in this surah Allah is using the word مَلِك for the king of Egypt. Allah uses the word رَبّ only for Himself — but in the story of Yusuf, Allah uses رَبّ for the master of Yusuf (alayhi salam). So the Qur'an does this — as does every language — where one word has a placement here and the same word is used slightly differently somewhere else.

There is consistency in the Qur'an for the word حُكْم meaning prophethood — this is the same word Allah used for Yahya (alayhi salam), and He uses it for Sulayman (alayhi salam) as well, meaning giving them نُبُوَّة. So it is possible this meant prophethood. Then what does عِلْم mean? That He gave him prophethood and knowledge? Prophethood would be greater than knowledge.

حُكْم — Wisdom from Hands-On Experience

The opinion of Imam Razi and other scholars such as Imam Alusi is that حُكْم refers to wisdom — specifically wisdom that is gained by hands-on experience. Wisdom, even as perhaps we have understood it, does not come from books; it comes from experience. A person gains knowledge from books, but a person gains wisdom from experience. That is why they say one day of experience is better than a hundred days of learning — because now you have experience.

This is why even in America — the best economy in the world as they call it — what they look for is experience. A person who came out of the University of Michigan, one of the most prestigious universities in the entire country, but if you do not have experience you do not get a job. Because people look for حُكْم before they look for عِلْم. They look for wisdom before they look for knowledge when it comes to giving people responsibilities. A person can be very knowledgeable, but if they do not have the wisdom of how to deal with the situation, you will not give them the position of leadership in that moment.

Even in our boarding school, we have so many students who graduate and finish their عَالِمِيَّة — they are fresh graduates and they have so much knowledge — but for the first three to five years we make it a rule that they have to serve with another scholar, like residency. That they have to be with someone so they can also gain experience. And then even after that, we always have to stay underneath someone and with someone. But the idea is that now, at least, you have enough experience to be able to deal with a situation at hand in a manner that is respectful and appropriate for that moment. And then you can go back and ask, Did I do the right thing? That is حُكْم.

And Allah mentioned this before He mentioned knowledge — which is not removing the virtue of knowledge, but it is simply highlighting the fact that Yusuf (alayhi salam) did not actually study from books. He did not go to school. This is his life right here. He has been serving as a slave. But for all these years he has been able to gain so much access to experience because his king — his master — is granting him all these opportunities of service. So he is learning on the fly because he has been given responsibility of taking care of this and taking care of that. Imagine being the intern of the president — it is very different from being the intern of a random person. He is interning with the Aziz, the treasurer of Misr. So his opportunities are far greater and far wider than those of a normal person. That is حُكْم.

So Allah gave him such great wisdom from his hands-on experience. This is why youngsters in college intern — because they want to gain that experience before they graduate.

عِلْم — Divine Knowledge

And عِلْم — Allah is saying that he also had divine knowledge as well, because he knew how to interpret dreams. So it was not just that he had hands-on experience and had no access to knowledge — he also had access to divine revelation through Allah. Hence he saw a dream when he was just a child. Hence he was able to interpret dreams even before he became a prophet:

And when he was asked to interpret dreams while he was in prison, he said: عَلَّمَنِي رَبِّي — This is what my Lord taught me.

So آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا — We gave him wisdom — the experience of how to deal with situations — and We gave him knowledge — divine access. He has both. Allah gave him both. That is the age he is in: 33 years old. The peak of his strength, emotional intelligence, physical maturity, his beauty, his presence, his charisma, his personality — all fine-tuned at this point of his life. And of course it stayed that way, but this was where it reached أَشُدَّهُ — its highest strength, like شَدَّ الْوَثَاق — like it was knotted really well, it was protected.

How Yusuf's Slavery Prepared Him for Greatness

What is profound — and this is very interesting — is that one can connect the dots that Yusuf (alayhi salam) knew the solution of how to be the treasurer and to correctly and appropriately protect the world from a famine because he was a prophet. We can say that. But prophets as a default are not knowledgeable about matters of the world — that is something Allah can give them, but it is not a given.

And therefore, when the Prophet ﷺ came to Medina and the companions of the Ansar asked him about how to plant the seed — vertically or horizontally — and the Prophet ﷺ gave his opinion, that year it was the worst year of harvest and the growth of crops. So they came back to the Prophet ﷺ and said, Ya Rasool Allah, look what you did — you destroyed all of our crops. He said, I am a prophet. Do not ask me about information about how to farm. Ask me about matters of deen. He is not saying that he cannot give his opinion — what he is saying is that his opinion about matters of their worldly life is not necessarily authoritative and definitive. It is still beneficial, and if you take it there will be a wisdom in it — but it is not authoritative.

Like for example, if I were to go to a shaykh or a mufti — a great scholar — and ask him what career choice I should take, of course his advice would be supportive and helpful. But it does not mean that I have to do it. Versus if I ask him whether or not this food is halal or haram, and he gives me the fatwa — now I am literally bound by it because I know the information about it. So that is what that means.

So what I am saying — and I do not want anyone to take this out of context — is that Yusuf (alayhi salam) knew all of this information because he was a prophet: it could be said, but that could be a stretch. Because how would he know? Yes, it is possible Allah gave it to him. But we can connect the dots in a far simpler manner. Yusuf (alayhi salam) understood how to be a treasurer because for more than 20 years — or at least 15 years — he was the assistant of the treasurer, and he learned the entire system, having hands-on experience and being the first person with his master in the room for every meeting.

And this is, if we are able to understand this, so soothing and consoling — to know that every situation in my life has the potential of being switched around:

Yusuf (alayhi salam) would never have understood how to deal with the famine that was coming to Egypt, and how to be the treasurer that he became, if he had not been a slave of this Aziz. Being a slave is what opened the doors for him to become a king. The moments — these challenging moments — at times can be opportunities that will stem from them into something we will, insha'Allah, appreciate.

And it may not happen, and that is okay — we do not want to romanticize the Qur'an. There are many stories in the Qur'an where the outcomes are not the best of outcomes. Musa (alayhi salam) never made it to the Promised Land. So many stories in the Qur'an speak about difficulties at the endings as well. Because for us the ending here is not the final ending — it is the transition. But Allah gave him wisdom, and He gave him knowledge. Because wisdom — meaning hands-on experience without textbook or classroom knowledge — can be deceiving. So you need both.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ — The Reward of Ihsan

Then Allah says: وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ — And this is how We give back to those who are muhsins. This word ihsan I mentioned in week one — it is one of the most repeated qualities in the story of Yusuf. Ihsan and lutf — subtle excellence. Because in every movement of this story, Allah is referencing the quality of ihsan in Yusuf (alayhi salam). Even the idea of أَحْسَنُ الْقَصَصِ — it is the same word. And this word comes again and again throughout the entirety of the story.

At this point, one can argue: what did Yusuf (alayhi salam) do to be considered a muhsin? His journey of giving back has not even begun yet. Where is ihsan coming in here? And the response, as given in the books of tafsir, is that every task that he did, he would do with ihsan — نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ — he would complete it with that level of excellence. And Allah is also highlighting what is about to come in the next verse, because that is also a level of ihsan.

To be able to uphold the rights of people in the best manner is ihsan. Worshipping Allah correctly is called ihsan because we are upholding the rights of Allah upon us. Excellence is simply an extension of having good justice — justice at every level. Why is it called ihsan to dress correctly for the job? Because that is also the right way to present yourself in that situation. That is the adl of it, or else it would be considered dhulm. Tie your shoelaces — this is ihsan, because otherwise it would be وَضْعُ الشَّيْءِ فِي غَيْرِ مَحَلِّهِ — placing something in the wrong place — which is dhulm.

So Allah is saying that this is how He gives back to the people of ihsan — all of us, not just Yusuf (alayhi salam). مُحْسِنِينَ — when a person is given a blessing from Allah — آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا — recognize that that blessing came from Allah and use it in a manner that fulfills the commandments of Allah.

Allah speaks about this even to the Prophet ﷺ in Surah al-Duha — the simplest example. Allah speaks about:

And then Allah says:

You were also once misguided — meaning you did not have prophethood — and Allah gave you guidance. You were also poor, and Allah gave you wealth. You were also weak, and Allah gave you strength. And now when those people come to you, you should also take care of them, not turn your back towards them.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ.

Ayah 23: The Trial of Zulaikha

The story continues. Now, why Allah highlighted the fact that Yusuf had reached the age of his physical and emotional maturity before this story takes place is also something to reflect upon. Because at this point of his life, he is at his apex. Allah has given him so much — strength, maturity, beauty. And normally when a person reaches that age, they naturally desire more, not less:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6436; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1048 — on the authority of Anas ibn Malik)

The Prophet ﷺ says: If the son of Adam had been given one valley full of gold — where that should be plentiful for him — this person would now want a second valley. And nothing will fill his mouth but the dust.

So this is where a person is now growing. They have their talent, their skills, their wisdom, their tenacity, their charisma — they can push their way forward. This is that age. But this is also the age of knowing how to resist and how to hold back. It is not the age of youth where a person does not yet know how to protect themselves. So Allah now begins the journey of what we know as Zulaikha and Yusuf (alayhi salam):

I probably will not be able to get to the whole verse today, but we can at least highlight and speak about some of the components that Allah is speaking to us about.

The verse begins with وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي — and I will translate loosely, then we will go back and highlight each word. That she seduced him — الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا — the one in whose house he was — i.e., the owner of the house, Zulaikha, the wife of the Aziz. عَن نَّفْسِهِ — against his will. وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ — and she locked the doors. Every movement is being initiated by her. She begins the inclination and starts leaning towards him. And then she locks the doors. And then, as if that physical formation were not enough, she goes ahead and invites him very openly — there could be no second meaning in this. وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ — Come to me. قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ — and he says, I seek refuge in Allah. And verily his master had been excellent and kind to him, and those who are oppressive will never be successful.

The Meaning of رَاوَدَ

رَاوَدَ in Arabic comes from the root إِرَادَة as well — رَاوَدَ from إِرَادَة, which means to intend. إِرَادَة generally just means to intend. But رَاوَدَ means to very gently — عَلَى رِفْقٍ — Imam Qurtubi says رَاوَدَ means to gently, with رِفْق — with gentleness and with a level of tenacity — incline someone towards you. It is almost like grooming. She is grooming him. In very subtle ways, in very gentle ways, in very kind ways — not in a very heavy or stern form. In a very gentle form. That is what رَاوَدَ means at its root.

But the word when used in the pattern رَاوَدَ — which is مُفَاعَلَة — means one person attempting to seduce the other person. And this pattern is used twice in the Qur'an — in the story of Yusuf multiple times, and also in the story of the people of Lut, when the angels came down and the same word is used — that they attempted to seduce the angels against their will.

Like: to intend something and now to go ahead and make your way forward and to pull that person to you — that is called رَاوَدَ. It is a planned, precise, methodical, thoughtful process. It is not something executed without a plan. So Zulaikha did not just try to pull Yusuf into a room. She planned it out. That is رَاوَدَ. She prepped him. And she now started to attempt to incline him towards her and to seduce him. It was a planned, precise setup that she had against Yusuf.

غَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ — Locking Every Door

Imam Razi, as does Imam Qurtubi — and this is the common tafsir — says that there were about 7 different doors or corridors. I just came back from Spain, and you see this in the Alhambra Palace and these different places where you have different hallways that lead to a main big room or main corridor. So all of those rooms that would lead to this main room — they were all locked.

Allah could have used the word أَغْلَقَ — أَغْلَقَ would mean that they are closed and may even be locked. But they are not like غَلَّقَ, which means that they are in every way locked — the windows are locked, the doors are locked, the patio door is locked. That is what غَلَّقَ means — there is no way out. And this is important because later on Yusuf (alayhi salam) runs to a locked door, and she is the one who has the keys.

A Person of Beauty and Prominence

So in this moment, when everything is closed off for Yusuf (alayhi salam) and the opportunity of haram has been completely presented to him — Zulaikha, this beautiful powerful person — the Prophet ﷺ spoke about this under the hadith of those who will be under the shade of Allah's Arsh on the Day of Judgment:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

A person who protects himself or herself from a moment of temptation in front of someone of great beauty and prominence — ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وَجَمَالٍ — and then holds back. This is not someone who is just a normal individual. This is one of the most honorable people in the kingdom. And then to hold back — it takes a different level of commitment, resistance, and taqwa.

أَشُدَّ — reaching the strength of maturity. This is what this means. That is why one needs to be mature when they get married — because maturity hides within it the greatest asset of trust. A person who is mature at work can be trusted. A person who has children can be trusted. A person who is married can be trusted.

He Had No Worldly Reason to Say No

So Yusuf ﷺ has reached that age. But this has been presented to him on a platter. And let me say this in a way that hopefully makes sense. For Yusuf ﷺ, he had no worldly reason to say no. Of course he becomes a prophet — I am not speaking about that — but from the worldly setup, he had no reason to say no. This person would open up doors for him, give him access. He could even use this as leverage later on, as people in the world do today. There was nothing for him to lose by committing this sin.

That is how people think. What am I going to lose anyways if I drink alcohol right now? It is not like I have anything going for me anyways. What am I going to lose if I start listening to haram music? He had nothing to lose and so much to gain. But a believer understands — like Yusuf did — that he would have lost Allah. Now, I am not saying that when we sin we lose Allah completely, but it opens up the door for more sins. And that is when a person loses Allah.

Even the Prophet of Allah taught us the du'a:

O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your deen and upon Your obedience. The heart is between the fingers of Allah — بَيْنَ إِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِ الرَّحْمَٰن — He shifts and maneuvers and changes our hearts the way He chooses. This is why we ask Allah:

The iman within the heart is what protects it. So the Prophet ﷺ is saying: Allow me to stay steadfast upon Your deen and upon Your obedience. The opportunity is opened up to him. And for us living in America, these opportunities will avail themselves again and again. They will come with potential worldly implications that may seem to benefit our dunya. I say potential because there is nothing good that can come from haram in dunya or akhira — but the delusion, or the assumption, can be: If I do this, yes, it will bring something good.

Haram will present itself in a way that no one will know about it, and the implications of worldly benefit may be extremely attractive. And this is where we learn from the story of Yusuf. It does not just teach us how to be patient — some of us can be sitting here saying, Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed me — and patience, of course, is something all of us need. But we may not consider it a necessary muscle at this very moment because we feel we are not dealing with anything. But the story also talks about something else: how to deal with protecting yourself from using haram to gain in dunya.

How can I protect my investments from haram? Just because I can compound more with it? How can I protect myself from haram even though it may open up an opportunity of promotion at work? I am not going to a networking event where they are drinking alcohol and sipping along with them. No, it is not going to happen. And who am I to say anything? This is each of us thinking about ourselves and reflecting upon the story of Yusuf (alayhi salam).

Avoiding Sin: The Path to Becoming the Greatest Worshipper

This is why the Prophet ﷺ speaks more about growth in iman coming from preserving yourself from committing sins than from actually doing good deeds. And I find this so profound. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked by Abu Huraira (radiyAllahu 'anh):

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2305)

O Messenger of Allah, how do I become the greatest worshipper? He could have said: Pray more tahajjud, do more istighfar. But instead he said: Avoid the forbidden things, and you will become the greatest worshipper.

Deterrence is always better than the consequence. Istighfar is beautiful, but protecting myself from sin is even more beautiful. Asking for an apology is virtuous — but not as virtuous as not hurting the person in the first place. We at times think of the virtue of apologizing as so great that we forget that the harm came from us in the first place. We cause the water to spill over, so if we get a mop and clean it — do not give yourself a tap on the shoulder as if you deserve it. We have to ask for an apology. We messed up. If we are disrespectful to our parents, we must ask for an apology.

By the way, the Prophet ﷺ taught us that if we commit the same sin a hundred times, Allah will forgive us. We understand that, right? But we must understand: that is post-sin — that is not pre-sin. The mindset is always to protect ourselves. Allah's forgiveness is not motivation to sin. Allah's mercy is motivation to seek tawbah after the sin. There is no such thing as premeditated tawbah.

Tawfiq and the Qualifying Factors

Tawfiq is a blessing. Just like how wealth is a blessing and wealth has qualifying factors that allow us to receive it — the Prophet ﷺ speaks about those who give charity receiving more wealth, those who are good to their parents receiving more rizq — similarly, there are qualifying factors that allow a person to increase in their tawfiq towards doing good.

Sometimes a youngster — all of us included, even elders — asks: why is it that I cannot take the next step in my relationship with Allah? Why cannot I move forward beyond these deeds? It is tawfiq. And one of the greatest qualifying factors of tawfiq is that a person prevents himself from committing sins over and over again. Because that sin — just like how it draws a dark dot on the heart — also slightly removes tawfiq from us.

This is why the Prophet ﷺ taught us:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1987, on the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari)

Immediately after committing a sin, do a good deed so that it wipes it out. So that you know your tawfiq is still there. Even after a sin — pray. I just committed a sin, why should I pray? No — pray. This is Allah saying: you still have tawfiq. Say istighfar right away. What is worse is if I avoid doing istighfar because I think I am too far gone — that would be Shaytan's greatest victory: to make us feel hopeless.

قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ — I Seek Refuge in Allah

So youngsters — we will also have these opportunities where the person is noble, the situation is so attractive, غَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ, no one will know about it. Nobody will know about it. And then the clear ask is there — there is no confusion or lack of clarity in what is being presented to you. وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ — there is no room for misreading it. This is for you.

In that moment, Yusuf (alayhi salam), the first thing that he says is: مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ — O Allah, I seek refuge in You. We would be delusional to believe that we have the strength to protect ourselves without Allah's help. No one has that strength — not even prophets. Not even prophets.

قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ — In that moment, even a prophet of Allah said: O Allah, I need Your help to protect me from this moment. Sometimes we become so comfortable in areas that are compromisable — not compromising, but compromisable — that we think our ability to resist will always protect us. It is playing with fire. Even the prophets would say مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ — I seek refuge in Allah.

إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ — Then he speaks about his master — verily he is my master who has been excellent and kind to me. إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ — Verily the oppressors will never be successful.

Insha'Allah, we will recap the last two parts of this verse next week insha'Allah. There is a lot going on here — each word has depth. I did not get a chance to speak about هَيْتَ لَكَ, where there are about seven different qira'at of it. Maybe next week insha'Allah we will speak about that as well.

May Allah bless you all, reward you all. Insha'Allah we will have our session next week again, insha'Allah wa ta'ala. We are going to keep going. I know we had a few breaks on and off, but I made sure I came back today because I do not want another break. I said insha'Allah we have to be able to complete this surah at least within three years insha'Allah. JazakAllah khair. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.