Best of Stories – Study of Surat Yusuf 12

So now on eco Morocco live Ricardo Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala Rasulillah already he was a huge marine

we begin the name of Allah Allah Praise and Glory be to Allah and Maine's finest peace and blessings be upon His messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his family in his companions and all those who tried his path may Allah azza wa jal grant us and do a life upon his path and a death upon his deen and a reunion around him Allah whom I mean just like a little late on and I'm sorry for the for the hiccup the the glare of the sun was not allowing me to see my screen I didn't see wasn't able to see you well, and then my notes more importantly

and so we are at the juncture in the story where use of either histogram is being threatened by the woman, the woman is threatening use of the histogram and saying to him if you don't do what I have

come commanded you or if he doesn't do what I've commanded him, he's going to be imprisoned and he's going to be of those who are debased.

And so use of Allah He said, I'm says the first verse we will cover today are besieged or Hotbot lamb made their own any day oh my lord. Prison is dear to me more beloved to me than what they call me to. Well, let us refer Nick ADA who NASPO la Hinako manager hidden and if you don't turn away from me,

their schemes their plots us will la hinda I will

incline to them, I will fall for them, these plots will echo manager hit in and I will become of the ignorant.

Few important stops at this I first and foremost, never allow yourself to get locked into a relationship whether that be friend or otherwise.

That will cost you your relationship with Allah subhana wa Tada out of the relationship is always an option. This is not for people to rush to divorce, and immediately their mind drifts to a marital or spousal relationship.

But just to realize that any relationship at the expense of your relationship with Allah is prison. And whatever the cost of breaking that relationship is for the sake of saving your relationship with Allah subhanho wa taala. Even if it's prison, even if it's prison, then that is freedom. That is the the true freedom because the greatest captive is the one whose heart is kept imprisoned away from Allah subhanho wa taala. The greatest prisoner is the prisoner of his desire, the desire for friendship, the desire for companionship, the desire for approval of the people, none of that

should ever contend with our relationship with Allah subhanho wa taala. And we should all be always be worried about losing our relationship with Allah, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said, settlement couldn't Nephi he was at the beginning of Halawa, Lima and there are three qualities whoever has them will taste through them the sweetness of faith

for Allah and His messenger to be more beloved and then everything else so love a person not loving them for anything but but Allah subhanaw taala the third one is the one I want to hear for this discussion. He doesn't for a person to hate, to hate to return to disbelief to return to being severed from Allah, after Allah has saved them from that the same way they would hate to be burned in a fire and be taken and thrown into a fire a campfire of this dunya even before the fire of the Athleta you should despise that for the sake of Allah even if you inclined to it naturally.

And so use a rally Sam is saying I think I might incline like I like this, but I hate what it would do to my relationship with you so I'd prefer prison. Oh Allah prison is dear to me. Then falling for what I like at the expense of doing what you hate. That's the first lesson

The next one is notice what he said

in Natasa defining key the Hoonah us buoy Lena

if you if you don't turn away from me

what they are inviting me to

what does it mean what they are inviting me to means is not just the wife of Allah's ease now. Now they're all chasing him. Or they're all harassing him to listen to her. But either way the matter has been compounded.

And yet he still made it right. He still was able to resist. And, you know, she had the high use of one of the great scholars of Sudan. One of his students used to always remind me that he would tell them, it is supposed to be that the believers faith is so strong

wrong, that it doesn't matter what environment they're put in. Of course, we say don't subject yourself, you know, to an environment that could jeopardize your faith. But your faith, if you're taking care of it, if you're nurturing it properly, it can be in any environment and not be broken. Meaning if you're forced to be in any environment, so it's not just the wife of a disease, it's their women as well. Compounding the pressure harassing him or chasing them for their own selves independently. All of that makes no difference because his Eman was true, his faith was true. And so always keep that in mind. I always keep that in mind when you know when I think about how our

society sexualizes our youngsters, and even our children.

Some of you know the the mainstream discussions are happening about Netflix and whatnot. And you just feel like how can we ever expect that our kids are going to be able to survive these things, our youth are going to be survived these things. If we use the valet, Salam sutra, this ayah and the sutra reminds us that if your faith is nurtured, you can withstand absolutely anything that you're forced into, and not be broken by it not be broken in your dean bite. They are inviting him so it's plural now. And it's perpetual. It's not even just one incident.

The next lesson some scholars spoke a lot is why did he say if you don't turn away from me, that to which they are inviting me to why didn't he just say fornication they're inviting me to to Zina fornication. It's as if his tongue couldn't utter it. Because the purity of your heart has to reflect on the purity of your tongue. It just the tongue is the translator of the heart. You can't police your tongue. Perfectly. People's colors always true colors almost always come out. So people with pure hearts, chaste hearts the way Allah loves. They're not able to speak out vulgarity like

comfortably easily. It's not easy for them. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, I'll hire Oh, well, Larry, you should return even at Eman that hire this healthy shame that we should all have modesty shame, should this healthy shyness.

He says well over a year he is not being able to speak not being able to utter certain words. You know how like, you tell someone you're a horrible liar. That's a good thing sometimes that he's just not able to say just, you know,

what's the word

insolently Lie, Lie with a straight face, that type of thing. That's a good thing means there's discomfort which means your heart is alive. Your conscience is alive. You're having this inner conflict between what you want to do when what's you know, you shouldn't be doing. So He says I'll hire you while a usual botanical EMA and having healthy shame. And, and being speechless, meaning sometimes, but not being able to speak right are signs of of faith. And he said,

well, whether to while by no short breath and even Antifa and being vulgar, lewd, being able to just say anything, even. So we're talking about true things. Even if it's true, the believers aren't able to say it sometimes. Because they're just so uncomfortable about it can just lie you can just describe these graphic images, you just, it's hard for you because it disgusts you and you are not accustomed to it.

And you know, when you think about how easily images are circulated, how easily word just circulates or how easily lies circulated nowadays, that is a sign of the hearts becoming polluted. And so remember that as well. Why did he say that which they are inviting me to, because even the word Xena for him, it causes him to shudder

or the low Talana.

And then just the last point in the eye he said it led us to finally get down if you don't turn if you don't turn their plot away from me I'm gonna fail.

This is the important controller or regulator on the limits of self confidence. Self Confidence should mean you know your worth but not separating that from Allah, meaning Allah made me strong, Allah can pull my strength from me, Allah, you know, you recognize what Allah has given you capacity wise to be grateful for it, and to live up to it and to be protective of it and yes, but self confidence doesn't mean that I am inherently capable. And so he admits his poverty to Allah Allah. If you don't turn their plot away from me, I'll fail just like anybody else would fail.

I recognize this.

You know, I remember in high school, there was some Muslim students who were very shy around girls.

and they were particularly religious Hamdulillah. And they were shy around girls and they'd get made fun of like, what's wrong with you, you know, you don't like girls. And

subhanAllah like, the idea is, it's not that they don't like girls. The idea is he understands, he understands that if I play with fire, I could get burned he under you know it, this is actually about reality. Reality is human beings have certain inclinations have certain weaknesses, this society is in denial about the fact that the strongest test for men is women, profit, I'm sad that I didn't leave any test after me. So difficult one more difficult on the men of my own men and women, when society is in denial about that, they ignore it, and then try to like do Patchwork, like, oh, he shouldn't do this. And she, she shouldn't have to do that. And this is not even about blaming a

woman for being this is about all of us have to put our safeguards in place, higher hijab, lowering the gaze by the man and by the woman not being enclosed their enclosed areas together. To understand that this is not a light matter, we act like it, it is a light matter. And then we see these huge consequences and think there's an easy fix outside of what the deen of Allah azza wa jal has placed for us.

But the believers understand reality for what it is, we are who we are. And so we need to put enough safeguards for ourselves or else we will fail. And of course, the first of those safeguards is to appeal to a lot of Zoa gent

for the strength to act, right. And then to look at what Allah has given us the opportunities out of it, like the guidance, the protocols, the guidelines for gender interactions, and everything else.

And then he said, If you don't turn their plot away from me, I will fail, I will incline to them what I call manager hidden and I will be of the ignorant. What does that mean? I'll be able to ignorant pazza Rahimullah the great February he now he's one of the great students who NSMB Malik,

the servant of the prophets of Allah, Allah who said that him and his companion, a tag that says the Sahaba of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the companions of God's prophet, all agree that whoever this obeys, Allah is ignorant.

So what is he talking about? ignorant of God, God's greatness, God's right to be feared? Because there's two sides of ignorance. There's the ignorance of me not to knowing this was wrong or me not.

Knowing what I'm doing, right, so I could not know what I'm doing. Because I'm sleepwalking, or I was mistaken. Or I could know what I'm doing. I intentionally did that, not knowing it was wrong. That's not the ignorance we're talking about. That ignorance is excusable. If you've done your part, like it might be excusable, if you so long as you've done your part to know, to know what is right and what is wrong. That's but there's another ignorance that no one is excused for falling into which is being ignorant about Allah to the point that you knowingly defy him. So whoever this obeys, Allah has meaning knowingly, then you are ignorant because what greater ignorance is there then that

that thinking it's no big deal to defy Allah azza wa jal Bedelia Masada Hema hola I used to say to them, to his students and his companions do not look at the size of the sin. Look at the greatness of the one who knew sinned against you know.

One of the Syrian scholars Dr. Hammer the ultimate levels you have here the hula. He used to say he said once that a high schooler came to him and said to him, I love God, but I don't fear God.

He said to him.

Let me explain to you why. You ever seen children put their hands in dangerous places? Like, you know, the proverbial Snake's mouth or just like in a dog's mouth or just walk up to a dog? You know, naively

he said, Yeah, isn't why because they don't know any better. They're Jahad he said, Yeah, exactly. Your gehele of the greatness of Allah. And so you assume that Allah azza wa jal is just to be love. And that's an important distinction. You know, being Allah azza wa jal just out of love will not happen. We call in Islam Islam calls us to, to obey to loving Allah more than we fear him that's the dominant feeling towards Allah. But once you strip fear out of there, right, you're ignorant of Allah's right to be feared, you become very destructive, the scrub this destructive, self destructive, you become reckless, you become dangerous.

And that is why certain religions who have reduced the God to love right certain religious narrative say God is love, that reductionism that

has not proved produce moral consciousness, the way a balance of hope and fear, while primarily being love produces, which is what Islam guides us to.

So that is the issue of ignorance. So the next verse says what?

The next verse says that Allah Azza Baraka with Allah said festa Jabba la hora boo, his Lord responded to his dua.

His Lords responded to the facade of the advocate the Hoonah. And so he removed from him from use of La Salem, their schemes, their plots, in our simulium He is the All Hearing the All Knowing. First of all, Allah responded, meaning responded to his dua, you're supposed to say. Or you might say, What do I he didn't make any dua he just said, Oh Allah, I'm stuck. Oh, Allah, I'm gonna mess up if you don't do this. So he's stating something. He's not asking something. So where's the request? That is the request, stating your need for Allah stating Allah's perfection, stating your incompetence is of the forms of the art that we're talking about in the Quran and the Sunnah. So you

can for example, you and Assad has said and said, what what was his dua that Allah saved him after he said, let you know how I learned nothing worthy of worship with you so behind and glorified, you are in equal to avoid me I was a wrongdoer. Where's the request is a request.

It's implied, right?

Do I would come from something when someone's in extreme distress he says that ilaha illallah halimun. Karim? Allah Allah Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah Allah, Allah to Allah I'll do it later how to block should get him these are all asserting Allah's oneness and his greatness and that's it.

And so where's the DA? The DA is in there.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said this third and last example the greatest do I mean the prophets before me have said which is also the drought you say most on the Day of Arafah? He says Allah Ilaha illa Allah none worthy of worship of Allah. Why the Hoda Shetty, Kedah

alone without any partners level montco The whole hand all sovereignties Here's an old praises his Wahoo ally coalition encoded and his overall things cat capable where's the where's that is that he said he called the best da why is it the best da

was it includes the best words?

So do I'm asking Allah many times is by saying to Allah Oh Allah you are this you are this you are this Oh Allah I am that because why? Because the scholar said why are we taught do it in this form? Of course there are requests Oh Allah grant us the good of this life the next life protect us from the fire these those exists to of course, well, why is it sometimes not involving a request and like in language we call an interrogative sentence right? QUESTION a sentence with a question mark on it. But it's Allah saying Here we responded to his dua. They said the logic is that the generous person, even humans, right, we understand this among ourselves, they do not require

people to ask of them praising them is enough. Because their natures are so generous. They feel shy for the shyness of the person who's asking, right, like, Oh, I feel bad that I put them in a situation where they actually have to spill out their list of needs to me. And so we are supposed to spill out our needs don't take the example across the board like to the fullest extent. But the Prophet SAW Selim tied this concept with that principle. He said in Allah Hi, Yun, Satya, Allah is how ye mean he has abundant, higher abundant chain it is healthy, shame, shame befitting his majesty. But Allah is shot he has shyness that's part of his qualities. Of course it exists in him

in the perfect way not the way it exists in us. What he has a quality of shyness Why is the problem but I'm telling you this this, Allah is shy, ketene generous, and then he explains how that manifests. There are many a hadith talk about different ways it manifests. This hadith says he is too shy to have his sleeve, lift up his hands to him, and then he returns them empty and disappointed. So the same way.

A generous person being praised will quickly take out the money and give people before they even ask of Him. Allah azza wa jal is even more so even more so generous, even more so shy. When the slave asks of him, so much so that sometimes the ask is not even formed as an ask. It is just a statement of praise. And so he's saying, Oh Allah, if you don't, I'm going to fail.

And then Allah azza wa jal said, sort of advocate the Hoonah he will to avert from him there Cade.

So he did a verse from him there Cade the scheme of the women, no one notice he did

didn't say he didn't say.

And so I put him in prison. Right? I didn't say that. He said, so he turned away from them their plot how by sending him to prison.

These would both be correct. Allah responded to his door, I sent him to prison, or Allah responded to his dua and so he saved them from their plots. Why was the second one stated? The scholar said to teach us that Allah wants us to focus on what you've gained of your deen, not what you've lost of your dunya. Allah did send him to prison. But that's not as important or as relevant as the fact that he saved him in his Deen by removing him from that.

From that situation, that difficult situation, and then he said, you know, who was semi on him. And certainly he is the All Hearing the All Knowing,

all hearing is perfectly appropriate here because Allah subhanho wa Taala hears every last die that we make, and we should never ever assume otherwise. In fact, all hearing is

used to remind us and when the scholars speak about this, I use reminders that Allah hears it all.

And he loves to hear most the DUA that can't be heard by others.

So how do I rephrase that in a clear way, Allah loves private, intimate secret, more than he loves public,

Wi Fi, they're of the reasons more sincere, but also, because secret derived or shows the sincerity of your conviction, your certainty, not just your sincerity, that you're only wanting to hear you, but that you are positive that he hears you. Because the lower your voice is, the less people can hear you. The more Allah has your only audience.

And so that is why he loves secret, more and over the proofs that he loves secret dropmore Is that when he was praising Zakariya Allah He said at the beginning of sort of Meriam he said, the kuramathi optika This is the mention of the Mercy of your Lord upon his servant Zakariya met already and honored said he is my servant. He is the way I want people to be. And then he the first description of his servant he says even that the robber who need that and her fear is okay our servants academia who called upon his Lord, a call that was hidden. Allah loves to hear you whisper to him, because that is of the declarations,

your declarations that he is a semi, the one who hears all, and then I leave, and I leave the All Knowing, meaning not just as he hear all, but he knows all. He knows what you're going through. He knows that you can't string the words together, but the feelings behind them he knows. He knows when you're just giving lip service as opposed to when you actually have a present heart.

When you're making dua, he knows exactly how and when to give you what you're asking for in your DUA, who was semi on it and he's the All Hearing and the All Knowing and so if you're granted that the fact that you're making the granted the certainty to make dua, and you're granted the awareness of Allah to be present at heart when you make to us and it doesn't matter, you're you're alright, you're all right. Even if the world comes crashing down even if you're being sent off to a dungeon like use of iclm is that's all part of Allah azza wa jal taking you under his care under a special care because we're all under Allah's care, right?

So that's a

an important lesson as well as Ziad ABI Ziad used to say, I don't fear

being deprived of the response of my dua because Allah promised, I fear being deprived of do and similar a similar statement was narrated about Omar bin Hatha Raja Lavon. He used to say, I don't carry concern about the jab, the response, what I'm concerned about is am I am I and how, how am I making dua?

So that was the second is the third and last I'll run through it quickly, through my brother in law who invited him out. Then it became clear to them it appeared to them meaning it dawned on them, they decided that you know what we're gonna do. We're gonna stick him in prison after they saw the signs, they're still going to stick him in prison for a time. So it appeared to them, meaning it just arbitrarily appeared to them because they saw the signs of his innocence, yet, they still decided to extra judicially, as they say, right. This is a political decision, political verdict, not a judicial verdict. He didn't have a fair trial. And in fact, he had a mini trial in front of

those few people, and his innocence was proven in them. And so they just simply chose to decide very unfairly,

despite the fact that they are the ones that saw the proofs themselves firsthand, that they would still in

Prison him has been for a while.

And the only thing I really want to say here is

for so many people out there who are

our brothers and sisters who are political prisoners

just for the sake of politics, right?

Not because of a crime they committed these people

who were convicted

after people saw the signs just like you said, why they said right so the signs of their innocence. May Allah azza wa jal, Greg and patients and,

and remind us to make dua for them always, and grant their families patients and

help them remember that it is enough of a of an honor to be described with the description of use of valets salaam here.

And to remember that the end of this ayah Allah says, and they decided to put him in prison for a while, for a certain amount of time. But if you think about it, because we all know the end of the story, right? That he didn't stay in prison for as long as they decided he stayed in prison for however long Allah had decided. And so May Allah help our brothers and sisters and also in our ordeals as well sometimes were imprisoned out in public, right? We're locked in our ordeals. This ordeal will end

at a time that is determined by the one

who puts that ordeal in our life which is Allah subhanho wa taala. And though we don't understand and though it hurts, we don't want it any other way. We need to always remember that we should be choosing and preferring Allah's choice in our life over our choice for ourselves. Exactly located on we'll end there Subhanak Aloma Hamrick shadow Leila Highlandtown Asakura Canada with a Santa Monica Toma.