Leadership Without Ego | Surah Yusuf | From Trial to Triumph Ep. 15

Leadership Without Ego | Surah Yusuf | From Trial to Triumph – Episode 15

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ. وَعَلَى عَاقِبَةِ الْمُتَّقِينَ. وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ. سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّد النَّبِيِّ الْأَمِينِ.

Amma ba'd. We reached ayah number 56. We will go ahead and recite the few verses that we will be covering today, and we will try our best to cover at least five verses — where Yusuf عليه السلام begins this next discussion after he is freed from prison. His name is cleared, his reputation is clear.

He did not leave on someone else's dime. The king said to him, "Leave prison because you interpreted this dream. We want to reward you for it, because you've done something good for us." Just to backtrack — he said to the king, "No, I'm not going to leave because of my goodness towards you. That was my responsibility. I'm going to leave because my name is clear." They invite all of those people who had accused him, and his name is finally cleared. Then the king once again invites him to leave prison. And he leaves on his own accord.

Yusuf's Appointment: Asking for the Right Position

Now after leaving prison, the king recognizes the worth of Yusuf عليه السلام — specifically the fact that he was able to interpret the dream but also provide the solution for the challenge that was to come. That in a few years we will be facing a famine, a drought. If he was the one who designed the solution, we should probably let him be the one that executes it as well.

So he turns towards him and says:

"I would prefer that you work for me alone. You have no other responsibility, no other occupation. You have a position within my government, within my family, that is a very honorable and trustworthy position — and I want to give it to you."

I mentioned this a few sessions ago — the king himself was also a Shami king. He was not from Egypt. He was not an Egyptian king. He was an outsider; a foreign power that was ruling the land of Egypt. We talked about the tribe of the Hyksos. And there's something to be said about how and why he felt a level of familiarity, a level of ulfah, a level of trust with Yusuf عليه السلام — because he's also a Shami. He's also from the same community. So he felt this comfort and said, "I want you to work for me."

And Yusuf عليه السلام went ahead and said:

"If you are going to hire me, then make me the treasurer of the land." In other words: if you're going to give me a position in the government, why not give me the position that I believe I can actually help you in? I know I can figure out how to set up the structure of preserving the crops for seven years.

In different books of history about Egypt — and I've read probably eight or nine different books on the history of Egypt since I started the Tour of Tales — they talk about how the Hyksos tribe, while they were ruling, invented something like a walk-in freezer, or a refrigerator. Because anyone could have thought about the idea of preserving some of the crops for the next seven years. But they couldn't think of how to actually do it. If you save the food, it's going to rot. So how do you actually preserve food so it lasts seven years and is still consumable?

They write that one of the unique traits of the Hyksos tribe, in their era of ruling — obviously where Yusuf عليه السلام was the treasurer or the king — is that they invented this idea of a freezer. They would dig and had a system of holding the food so it doesn't go bad. So he says, "Make me the treasurer upon the land," because the previous treasurer — his 'Aziz — had passed away. And he felt comfortable being the treasurer not only because he had divine support, but also because for about 20 years he had been an assistant to the treasurer.

When he was a slave, he was serving the minister who was responsible for all of the finance of the country. So he's seen everything up close. It's like being a paralegal — you've already been serving for so many years, or being a resident before becoming a physician. You've already been serving for 20 years in the same work and have a lot of experience. It wasn't your liability, but you've been observing and serving at that capacity for all those years, so there is a certain level of knowledge you've naturally cultivated. So he asked for the position that he felt most comfortable in.

Is One Allowed to Ask for a Position?

Is one allowed to ask for a position? Because we hear narrations that speak about:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7148; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1652)

"Don't ask for leadership. Because if you ask for leadership, then know that when it is given to you, you become responsible for every aspect of it." Meaning if something goes wrong, you're liable for it in the eyes of Allah. You take:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829)

This is why some people would run away from leadership. Every time it would come their way, they would turn their back from it.

The Example of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

When Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was announced as the next khalifa, it wasn't expected because he was not next in line. Just as families work in today's time, there was an aspect of nepotism even in that era — but that's not how Islam works. Khilafah is not a family lineage thing. And the entire struggle that took place between the grandchildren of the Prophet ﷺ and Yazid was exactly for that purpose.

The next person in line was supposed to be Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik's brother. But Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, when he was on his deathbed, asked his advisor — Raja ibn Haywa — and said: "I know I've not necessarily fulfilled my responsibility. I've lived a lavish life. What should I do to have a face to show Allah?"

And Raja ibn Haywa said to him: "You've only got one thing you can do that can save you — announce that the next khalifa will not be your son, but your nephew, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz." Because Sulayman's sister, Fatima bint Abd al-Malik, is the wife of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. "Make your nephew the khalifa, because he's the only person who has the correct aptitude and build to lead the community." But Sulayman said, "My people will never let me, because if I announce it, they'll fight me." So he was told: "Don't announce it while you're alive, write it down. When you pass away, it will be announced on your behalf."

So when it was announced that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was the next khalifa, he turned away and said, "I'm not doing it." They said, "This is the order of the previous khalifa — you have to accept."

Similarly, when Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه called upon Umar and said, "I'm going to make you the next khalifa," Umar said, "No, I'm not taking that role." And Abu Bakr had to convince him over multiple sessions. Finally he said: "The reason why I'm making you khalifa is because you don't want to take that role — but you're made for it. You're ready for it."

The Hadith About Not Giving Leadership to Those Who Ask

In one narration, two Yemeni men from the tribe of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari رضي الله عنه came from Yemen and wanted to ask the Prophet ﷺ for a position. The Prophet ﷺ called Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, since he was also from there and a much more senior companion, and sought his counsel. Abu Musa said, "I haven't seen anything special in them, nor have I seen anything bad." The Prophet ﷺ said: "We don't give leadership to people who ask for it."

In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه that he was not giving him a leadership position. After that day, Abu Dharr continued running away from it.

So Why Did Yusuf Ask?

Okay, well if that's the case, why did Yusuf عليه السلام ask for a position? And how do people like us deal with this situation?

The first answer — which is also mentioned in tafsir — is that he wasn't asking for a position. He was simply indicating: since you are giving me a position anyway, let me lead in a space that I'm actually well-equipped for. It's like your employer says, "I want to use you somewhere," and you say, "If you're going to use me anyway, use me in logistics — I'm better at that." You're not asking for it; you're saying, "I can be more useful in this area."

The second answer is that a person is actually allowed to ask — but only if they believe, and this is a major condition, that there is nobody else in that area or space who can fulfill the rights of that role. Who else could fulfill the rights of the role of treasurer? He was a prophet, trustworthy, honest, and he had seen for 20 years how his previous minister dealt with the finances of the country. He had expertise. So since he felt like he was honest, truthful, and ready for this job — and had the background to fulfill the responsibility — it was permissible to ask.

You can ask for a position if you truly feel you can fulfill the responsibility of it more than anyone else. But you can't serve if you're only serving your title. Are you serving the title? Because that's what a munafiq would do too. Or are you serving because you actually believe it is beneficial for yourself and the people around you?

The Danger of Ego in Leadership

The moment a leadership position is taken on by anyone, and they take the liability of it but don't take the actual benefit of it — meaning they don't genuinely serve — they've already lost that position in the eyes of Allah. If you can't benefit yourself, why are you trying to benefit people through that position? That is where the worst outcomes take place.

The Prophet ﷺ says one of the signs of the Day of Judgment is:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 100; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2673)

Near the time of the Day of Judgment, people will take the most ignorant of people as their leaders. This is a punishment that Allah will place upon people — the most ignorant, the most useless, the lowest of people will become the leaders.

Scale it back down to our situation. Many of us — youngsters — can find ourselves in leadership positions in institutions, in universities, in masajid. And it is a big turn-off when you see a youngster, a brother or a sister, who had great character and then was given a position and lost that character because of it. Why do you walk differently now? Why do you meet people differently now? Why do you create more formalities? You're just the treasurer of the MSA that hardly has a hundred dollars in its account. What are you flaunting?

Can I lead without a title? And if I can't, then I shouldn't have a title.

Khalid ibn al-Walid: Serving Without a Title

In the story of the Battle of Yarmouk — one of the most decisive battles in Muslim history against the Romans — the Muslims were drastically outnumbered: some say 30,000 to 300,000, others say even greater numbers. Khalid ibn al-Walid رضي الله عنه was the general of the army. He had been the general since the time of the Prophet ﷺ, in the Battle of Mu'tah — when Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja'far, and Abdullah ibn Rawaha became shaheed, and Khalid grabbed the flag. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Now the sword of Allah has grabbed it," and he kept the leadership position.

Umar رضي الله عنه, in his very first command as Ameer al-Mu'mineen — which is quite remarkable — demoted Khalid's position in the middle of the battle and promoted Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. His rationale was clear: people kept saying "Khalid is the one winning us the battles," rather than saying "Allah is the one." Their tawakkul was falling upon Khalid. So he's thinking long-term — we don't want people's reliance to be upon a person. And Abu Ubaydah had immense merit; he was from the Asharah Mubassharah, the ten companions guaranteed Jannah.

When this command came in the middle of the battle, Abu Ubaydah received the letter that he was now the leader. If it were you or me in Khalid's position, we might have said: "If I'm not the leader, that means you don't really need me." Most people would respond that way — attaching their worth to their title. But Khalid said to Abu Ubaydah: "Whatever you tell me, I'm going to do." His service did not dip. He actually served more, because he was never serving for the title.

So if you are genuinely the right person and you're asked to step up — don't say no. If you're the hafidh in the room and everyone else is asking you to lead salah, that is not the time to play the humble card. Lead, because now you're being asked and you are the right person. If you don't, and the next person leads without knowing the fara'id of salah, everyone's prayer is compromised because of you. Allah gave us whatever He gave us because He gave us the ability to lead in that context.

But if we don't receive a position, we shouldn't feel bad about it either. You are allowed to indicate, to make ishara. If you work for an organization, you can say, "I want to be given that position." It's like asking for a promotion. There's nothing wrong with that, if you can fulfill that responsibility.

Hafidh and 'Alim: Trustworthiness and Competence

So Yusuf عليه السلام says:

"I am extremely trustworthy and knowledgeable." حَفِيظٌ — I can protect everything, I can preserve it. You won't see anything disappearing. Anyone who works in a cash business knows that a few hundred dollars can go missing every single day, because حِفْظ — trustworthiness — is a big deal. I won't steal, I won't lie, I won't cheat.

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22836; also referenced in Shu'ab al-Iman by al-Bayhaqi)

When khiyanah — deceit — becomes common among people, poverty increases. Poverty increases because there is no one trustworthy. That's what we see in certain countries: infrastructure challenges, economic challenges, but also the absence of amanah with someone else's money.

And then عَلِيمٌ — sometimes a person can be trustworthy but just not good at their job. You can trust them with the money, but they can't grow it. عَلِيمٌ means: I'm also very competent. I can do the job well, better than anyone else. So: one has good taqwa and good amanah — loyalty — but also ability. Some people are very loyal but not able, and many who are very able are actually not loyal. Yusuf combined both.

The Prophetic Commentary: The Importance of "In sha'Allah"

The Prophet ﷺ passed a remarkable comment about this verse. He said:

(Referenced in Tafsir Ibn Kathir under Surah Yusuf, 12:55; attributed to various scholars of tafsir)

"If Yusuf had said, 'Make me the treasurer of the land, in sha'Allah,' he would have been given the kingdom of the entire world at that time — like Sulayman عليه السلام." Just by adding in sha'Allah, Allah would have given him the kingdom of the world.

This is not a criticism of Yusuf عليه السلام — it is highlighting how we should interact with our dreams and aspirations. We add Allah's will to them, and Allah will give us even more. Why do we only say in sha'Allah when there is doubt in our ability? Why not say it when there is certainty? In sha'Allah is for certainty the same way it is for doubt. Because at the end of the day, Allah is the one who wills it.

Allah's Establishment of Yusuf in the Land

Then Allah says:

مَكَّنَّا — We gave him the position, the sovereign ruling, the rulership of the entire kingdom. Some commentators even say he was not only the treasurer; he later became the king of Egypt. Allah answered his du'a.

In one tafsir of Imam al-Qurtubi, مَكَّنَّا doesn't just mean that Allah gave him the kingdom of Egypt — it means Allah also opened up the hearts of people towards him. People loved Yusuf. Not only the foreign people; even the local Egyptians loved Yusuf عليه السلام.

You know one of the seven people who will be under the shade of Allah's Arsh on the Day of Judgment — the first one mentioned in the hadith, in all the different variations, the first one that doesn't change:

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

A just ruler. That your people love you — this is the quality of a good ruler. The Prophet ﷺ said that a good imam — not only of a masjid, but of any leadership position — is one whose people are happy with him. Your job is to actually make your people happy, without compromise of course.

The Three Levels of Not Wasting a Person's Good

نُصِيبُ بِرَحْمَتِنَا مَن نَّشَاءُ — We choose to give from Our mercy whomever We wish. Allah didn't have to make Yusuf king. He didn't have to. Even after all these years of being persecuted and oppressed, it was Allah's mercy. See, from the du'a of Zakariya عليه السلام — he asked Allah for a child for more than 25 to 30 years, and when Allah blessed him with his son Yahya عليه السلام, Allah began that story with:

The remembrance of your Lord's mercy upon His slave Zakariya. Meaning: your Lord's rahma is what gave him Yahya. Even though he made du'a for 30 years, if Allah chooses not to give it, it wouldn't be oppression — it would be 'adl, justice. If He gives, it is rahma.

The surah in the Qur'an that speaks about blessings and ni'mahs — Surah al-Rahman — begins with الرَّحْمَٰنُ, which is the thesis of the surah. Allah is clearly telling humankind and jinkind: all these blessings that you're about to read — they all come from Me being al-Rahman to you. If I'm not al-Rahman to you, you won't receive a blessing.

Then Allah says: وَلَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — We do not waste the reward of those who do good. And نُضِيعُ — "to waste" — has three elements, highlighted in the tafsir of Ibn Kathir as well:

Number one: We recognize it. Sometimes someone does something good for you and you don't even acknowledge it — that is the height of either being unaware or being a narcissist. Allah always recognizes the good that we do.

Number two: We are appreciative towards it. Someone does something good for you, and you say, "I really appreciate what you did for me." That's the second tier. كَانَ سَعْيُهُمْ مَشْكُورًا — Allah appreciates our efforts.

Number three: You give back beyond what they gave you. This is ihsan. When Allah gives:

When Allah gives, there is no end to it — because there is no end to His treasures. And the greatest way to receive from Allah is to give to His people:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani, Hadith 5765; also in Shu'ab al-Iman by al-Bayhaqi)

People are the dependents of Allah. They rely upon Him. And Allah says: if you take care of My 'iyal, I'll take care of you. The best way to receive from Allah is to serve His people. So Yusuf عليه السلام had been serving people — he interpreted the dream, he told them the solution — and Allah took care of him.

The Reward of the Hereafter Is Greater

The reward of the hereafter is better for those who have iman and those who have taqwa. Even though Yusuf was given the kingdom, even though he was made the king, Allah is saying: even for such a reward of dunya, the reward of the akhirah is still better. Imagine receiving the kingdom — you would say, "This is as good as it gets." Allah says: no. Even for this person who's been given the keys of the greatest civilization of that time — Egypt — what you're going to get in the akhirah is better. So imagine for people like us. What kingdom do we have? Our bedroom? Our car?

Allah says:

And in Surah al-Isra: don't walk with arrogance. You're not going to reach the height of the mountains, and neither is your weight going to tear open the earth. You're not that big a deal. The reward of the akhirah is better for those who have iman and taqwa.

The Brothers of Yusuf Arrive

Time goes by. The famine strikes. Everyone in that region is struggling. There is a lack of food — a famine is when people have money but can't access food because there's nowhere to buy it from. The entire region is struck with this, and Egypt is the reference — the greatest economic hub, like the USA or China of that time. Everyone refers to Egypt. This is why those travelers took Yusuf there — to get the best price for a slave in the market of Egypt.

All the countries that needed support would go to Egypt. So the brothers of Yusuf, from Kina'an — that's Palestine or Lebanon — they come. فَدَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ — They enter upon him. فَعَرَفَهُمْ — the fa in Arabic means right away. It didn't take him long to recognize that these were his oppressors. You know, when someone has been wronged or abused, they can remember their abuser even 40 years later, because they've gone through that traumatic experience. So he recognized them right away.

وَهُمْ لَهُ مُنكِرُونَ — But they were completely ignorant of who he was. Imam al-Qurtubi mentions that Ibn Abbas gives some reasons: one is that Yusuf عليه السلام had a crown that covered his face, along with a large kingly necklace and layers of royal clothing, so you couldn't see who this person actually was — like how in football you can't really tell who the player is with the helmet on.

Another reason: مُنكِرُونَ — even though this person looked like someone familiar, there was no way this could be Yusuf. Because Yusuf was sold as a slave. They denied the possibility of this position being held by Yusuf. And a third reason: when they had last seen him, he was perhaps nine or ten years old, and now he's at least 40, being a prophet. More than 30 years later, he simply doesn't look like the Yusuf they remembered. But he recognized them.

The Wisdom of Qadar: Ali ibn Abi Talib on Surah Yusuf

Ali رضي الله عنه says here: if a person wants to learn the beauty of qadr — of divine decree and predestination — they don't have to read a book of Aqidah. They should just study Surah Yusuf. Because Allah flipped the entirety of the world to prove the superiority of a believer — of Yusuf — over his siblings. He flipped everything.

Sometimes Allah will flip things just to show your goodness to people. Or the opposite — Allah will flip things to expose a person. Ali رضي الله عنه says that Allah loved Yusuf so much that it's almost as if He created an entire seven-year famine just to show who Yusuf was to his brothers. It's qadr. Who else could have planned a projection of such a nature? A kid who was deep in a well, sold as a slave, wrongly accused, thrown in jail, unknown to the world — and Allah changes the entire nizam, the entire system, and sets up a famine so that people know who he actually is.

And those same hands that were harming him are now coming to beg him for food. Everything has a rise, but everything also has a dip. Today we may have jobs, and someone else may be looking for one — but don't treat them with disrespect, because tomorrow that could be you or me. This is why Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه says — in an athar — when you're at a high, treat people the way you would want to be treated if you were at a low. Because the day may come when you'll be there.

Allah gauges us based upon how we treat people when we're up, not when we're down. Being kind to people when we're at the bottom is not the same as being kind when we're at the top. Because when we're at the bottom, we actually benefit from it — it's in our interest. But being kind when you're in a position of power, that's difficult.

The Prophet ﷺ asked about the woman who used to sweep the masjid when she passed away — an unknown personality. He said, even if we don't know her name, she is still someone who helped the community.

Yusuf's Fulfillment of Duty Despite Past Harm

Despite knowing that these are the same people who ruined his entire life and stripped him from the love of his father, Yusuf still fulfills his role with great diligence. He doesn't let the emotions of the past obscure the responsibility that Allah has placed upon him at that moment.

Tomorrow, if Allah gives you a position and someone comes to you whose father harmed you — don't put the weight of the father's sins upon the child. The Prophet ﷺ, when Ikramah ibn Abi Jahl was coming to accept Islam, said to the Sahabah: "When Ikramah comes, I don't want you to refer to him as Ikramah ibn Abi Jahl." — even though that's his name. Abu Jahl's actual name was Amr ibn Hisham. The Prophet said: "Call him Ikramah ibn Amr ibn Hisham." He wasn't even Muslim yet, but the Prophet didn't want the weight of his father's sin placed upon him.

No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.

So Yusuf fulfilled his responsibility even though they wronged him. And if he had taken them to prison, no one would have faulted him for it. This is why he is a muhsin. He doesn't act based upon what is acceptable — he acts based upon what is better. What is acceptable is a very relative term; those boundaries keep being pushed. We respond not based on what's acceptable, but based on what is better:

Respond with that which is better. We will continue from here next week, in sha'Allah, on Sunday at 4pm. Allah bless you all.

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.