Yousuf Raza – Ramadan Nights 2021 Day 25
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We ask for his help, we ask for
his forgiveness, we believe in him, and we
put our trust in him.
And we seek refuge in Allah from the
evil of our souls and from the evil
of our actions.
Whom Allah guides, there is no misguider for
him, and whom He misguides, there is no
guide for him.
And we bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him.
And we bear witness that Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger.
And the best hadith is the book of
Allah, and the best guide is the guide
of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
And the evil of affairs is its occurrence,
and every occurrence is a creation, and every
creation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is
in the Fire.
In his noble book, Allah says, after I
say, I seek refuge in Allah from the
accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the
Merciful, the Compassionate And it was revealed to
Noah that none of your people will believe
except those who have already believed.
So do not despair of what they used
to do.
And build the ship with Our eyes and
Our revelation, and do not address Me concerning
those who have wronged.
Indeed, they will be drowned.
And build the ship, and every time a
leader of his people passes by it, make
fun of him.
He said, If you make fun of us,
then we will make fun of you as
you make fun of me.
So you will come to know who will
come to him a punishment that will disgrace
him, and a permanent punishment will fall on
him.
Until when Our command came and the light
appeared, We said, Carry in it from each
of your two wives and your family, except
those on whom the word has preceded and
those who believe.
And none believed with him except a few.
And he said, Ride in it.
In the name of Allah, its course and
its anchor.
Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.
And it runs with them in a wave
like the mountains.
And Noah called out to his son, and
he was in isolation.
O son, ride with us, and do not
be with the disbelievers.
He said, I will go to a mountain
that will protect me from the water.
He said, No protector today from the command
of Allah, except the Merciful.
And the wave passed between them, and he
was of those drowned.
And it was said, O earth, swallow your
water, and O sky, rise up, and pour
out the water.
And the matter was decided, and it settled
on the mountains.
And it was said, Away with the wrongdoing
people.
My Lord, open my chest and ease my
affair, and let my tongue understand what it
says.
O Allah, benefit us with what you have
taught us, and teach us what benefits us,
and increase us in knowledge.
O Allah, show us the truth of things
as they are.
O Allah, show us the truth as it
is, and grant us to follow it.
And show us falsehood as falsehood, and grant
us to avoid it.
Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.
Ameen.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
So we continue with Surah Hud.
And as we saw before, we're going to
talk about Anba'u Ar-Rusul, stories of
the messengers of Allah.
Those messengers that were sent to nations with
clear evidence, and on not getting the appropriate
response, after repeated reminders, repeatedly showing them the
evidence in various ways, their opposition towards the
messengers resulted in them being destroyed.
And the messenger and whoever believed with the
messenger, they were saved.
So we start all the way from the
very first Rasul, Nuh alayhis-salam.
Prior to him, there were Anbiya, but not
Rusul as such.
So he's the first one with this mantle,
this responsibility.
And as a result, he is the first
one, the refusal to whom would result in
the complete annihilation of the people with
rescuing of those believed.
So, wa laqad arsalna, a'udhu billahi minash
shaitanir rajim, wa laqad arsalna, I went a
little too back, sorry.
Wa oohiya ila Nuh.
So it was revealed to Nuh alayhis-salam,
after he's done telling them about Tawheed, about
his Prophethood, about afterlife.
He's portrayed the message, relayed the message in
every which way possible for as long as
he did, 950 years.
And here comes the permission that, Ya Nuh,
no one else is going to believe.
Anahu lain yu'minu min qawmika illa man qad
aaman.
Nobody else is going to believe from your
people other than those who have already believed.
Fala tabta'is bima kanu yaf'alun.
So whatever they continue to do, whatever the
way they're acting, do not let that distress
you.
Wasna'il fulka bi a'yunina wa wahyina.
And so build a ship under our supervision
and in accordance with our revelation.
Wala tukhaqibni fil ladheena ghulamu.
And do not plead before me on behalf
of the ghulameen.
Innahum mughraqoon.
They are all going to be drowned.
Now Nuh alayhis-salam, prior to this, we
know that in his frustration and his exasperation,
he has called for the athab.
He has asked Allah, and Ya Allah, that's
it.
I don't want to have anything to do
with these people anymore.
Take them down.
This is as much as I could do.
And I want for us to be rescued,
and I want for these people to be,
to taste a punishment for how they've treated
us.
And so here comes the permission.
Here comes the fulfillment of that dua.
Allah tells Nuh alayhis-salam to start building
a ship.
And he's building a ship with no water
body in sight.
He's constructing this ship for the protection of,
for his own protection and that of people
with him.
And as he's instructed other animals as well.
People, the disbelievers looking at Nuh alayhis-salam
were like, what?
How do you, what, what in the world
are you, what's gotten into you?
What is, are you mad?
Why would you be building a ship in
the middle of nowhere with no water body
in sight?
Wa yasna'ul fulk.
Wa yasna'ul fulk.
And he was building the ship.
Wa kullama marra alayhi mala'un min qawmihi
sakhiru min.
Every time the chiefs of his people passed
by him, sakhiru min, they ridiculed him.
They ridiculed him.
Qala in taskharu minna.
He responded, if you ridicule us now, fa
inna naskharu minkum kama taskharu min.
We will ridicule you as you are ridiculing
us.
So this is how far Nuh alayhis-salam's
iman is allowing him and his followers to
see.
They are taking precautions.
When, for whatever everybody else can see and
judge by, there are no precautions necessary.
That they are, this is an observation of
taqwa.
That they're, that they're living by taqwa.
And so that taqwa becomes a source of
mockery.
It makes them look strange.
It makes them look weird.
Why would you do such a thing?
Why would you spend so much time working
so hard on something you don't really need
to?
It is because iman allows for them to
see, believe in what others wouldn't see or
would not believe in.
And so this work that is put in
to build this ship, that when it really,
when the azab of Allah hits, you have
something to keep afloat.
You have something, it was very concrete as
far as Nuh alayhis-salam is concerned.
It's probably more abstract with, as far as
we're concerned.
It was more abstract with Rasulullah salallahu alayhi
wa sallam and the sahaba radhiyallahu ta'ala
anhum as well.
That what are, what are they doing?
Where are they, where are they going?
What is, what's up with all the effort
that they're putting in?
What's up with all the weirdness?
They're not like other people.
They do stuff differently.
They spend all this time doing all that
stuff that normal people don't do.
And because they can't, as they say, hear
the music, they laugh at those who are
dancing.
And the people who believe necessarily are those
who can hear and see things other people
can.
And if they're responding to what they hear
and see, accordingly, those who can't hear or
see that are going to look at this
as something to make fun of.
And so the mockery of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi
wa sallam and the sahaba at that time
for doing all of what they were doing,
and the mockery of Nuh alayhi salam and
the people with him, how they're just looked
at as not just odd, as mad.
But they keep going.
They're like, no, and when the time comes,
it's simple example.
All of us have been there, either on
the side of the nerd or on the
side of the bully, where the nerd is
studying for an exam that is coming.
And the bully or the not so nerd,
the cool kids are like, what's wrong with
you?
Why in the world are you wasting your
time?
There's a lot of time until the exam.
We'll manage.
We'll manage.
And everyone knows what happens.
The nerds know and the bullies know or
the cool kids know that eventually the exam
comes and you're just not ready.
You're just not ready.
And the nerd who was so much a
focus of mockery now is a source of
envy.
And when the results come, if the nerd
has that bullying tendency themselves, they're going to
come back and laugh at your face.
See, I got through really well.
And you either barely scraped through or you
failed.
Because you were making fun of me when
you were supposed to be working.
Because a nerd technically, on account of being
a nerd, all the labels attached to those
who work in time, who get the job
done, who put the effort in, they're looked
at as weird.
And just the word nerd signifying something to
that effect.
And that works for the rest of your
life, especially with hereafter in consideration.
فَإِنَّ نَسْخَرُوا مِنْكُمْ كَمَا تَسْخَرُونَ We will make
fun of you too.
We're not going to stand on this high
horse and say, Oh no, it's okay, it
doesn't matter.
We're going to be fine with you.
We're going to be kind and nice to
you.
No, you've hurt us enough.
You've given us sufficient pain.
When our time comes, and this is something
that you see consistently within the Qur'an,
at least on a couple of occasions, that
this aspect, this aspect of vengeance, wanting to
get back at those people.
This is accorded a dignity.
This is given a space.
This is acknowledged.
The people of paradise are going to be
looking at the people in Jahannamun, looking on,
looking at them suffering.
Why?
Because they were made to suffer at their
hands.
And they carry that in themselves.
We want that revenge.
And Allah justifies that feeling of revenge.
It's how it's channeled.
It can be very dangerous if not appropriately,
if you're not aware of how bad it
can go, of how horribly wrong it can
go.
It has to be contained.
But if you appropriately contain it, discipline it
the way you ought to, then Allah gives
it the fulfillment that it deserves.
It is not relegated as altogether demonic.
It is identified as something that is human,
something that you find fulfillment for, if not
here, then hereafter.
And so Nuh Alayhis Salaam and the people
with him straight out respond to those making
fun of them.
We're going to make fun of you pretty
soon.
فَاسَفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَن يَأْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْزِيكَ You will
soon find out who's going to get a
punishment that is going to humiliate him.
So you're going to be humiliated and we're
going to be watching.
And we're going to be laughing.
وَيَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمًا Who is afflicted by
an everlasting doom.
حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا And finally when our
command came وَثَارَتْ تَنُّور And the oven overflowed
that seemed to have been a sign for
Nuh Alayhis Salaam that the oven, a particular
oven or any particular oven is going to
overflow.
Maybe the whole valley is being referred to
outside.
قُلْ نَحْمِلْ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّنْ ذَوْدَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ We
said to Nuh Alayhis Salaam Take into the
shape a pair of every species وَأَهْلَكَ And
your own household إِلَّا مَنْ سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلِ
Except the one against whom the verdict of
Allah has already been passed وَمَنْ آمَن And
also take on board all those who believe
Nuh Alayhis Salaam has already been told who
is allowed on board.
The rest, nothing going.
So as far as whatever conceivable distance whatever
land that Nuh Alayhis Salaam and his people
have in their access this flood is going
to overtake all of it.
Is it going to be the entire world?
Probably not.
But at least wherever life, human life exists
with Nuh Alayhis Salaam and his people that's
going to be taken care of.
So yeah, when the flood abates you want
to have a source of you want to
have some cattle.
That's how you continue.
That's your food.
So there's those species that have to be
taken on board maybe perhaps other animals as
well.
You want the you want the cycle, the
ecosystem to be preserved or whatever is going
to come after the flood because the flood
is that's it's going to wipe everything out.
You want to be able to sustain life
after it abates as huge as the flood
or as far-reaching as the flood is
going to be.
وَمَا آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ But no one
believed in him except very few.
وَقَالَ اَرْكَبُوا فِيهَا The Nuh Alayhis Salaam said
get on it.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرِيهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا In the name of
Allah it sails and in the name of
Allah is its anchorage.
It's going to stop in the name of
Allah.
إِنَّ الرَّبِّ لَغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمِ Most definitely my Rabb
is extremely forgiving and always merciful.
Holding on to the maghfirah and the rahna
of Allah when the azaab of Allah is
nigh.
It's around the corner.
It's about to come.
And Nuh Alayhis Salaam himself and for his
people reminding them of how this is all
to be in the name of Allah.
How this is the barakah, the blessing.
This response that you're giving to Allah for
what Allah has asked of you to do.
And how to respond you begin with the
name.
And so responding to Allah in his name
whatever action that you're doing bringing him into
consideration so as to keep yourself in check
so as to remind yourself of his mercy
so as to give yourself hope so as
to invoke from within yourself that faith that
is necessary for the action that is demanded
of you and his fear like no other.
How is this going to turn around?
How is this going to work out what
the flood we're about to experience the ship
that we're about to go on there's a
whole lot up there.
There's a whole lot going on.
And so to find solace in holding on
to the rope of Allah and holding on
to the name of Allah that's where your
conviction comes to keep going.
And so the ship sailed with them on
board something that people thought would never be
possible.
Ship sailing in the middle of the land
what's going on?
But the flood was that great flood.
So his is translated both ways that his
son was either on the shore on a
corner where water had not reached as yet
or he was just aloof in his head
and that's a state of mind as well
that you're on the shore you haven't really
dived in Iman is diving in to stay
on the shore to not really believe is
to stay at the corner to stay to
not really get in to be aloof So
my dear son come aboard with us and
do not be with the disbelievers He responded,
I'll take refuge by climbing up some mountain.
Now already the mockery that they'd made of
Nuh and his people they're seeing something of
that coming true that it has rained enough
for that ship to to now be actually
sailing yet the conviction with which they had
mocked the conviction with which they had disbelieved
it is so firm it is so deep
-rooted that even now the words of Nuh
are having no effect even now the dissonance
is such that they're like no no no
no no whatever we held on to that's
going to protect us is going to protect
us I'm going to take a refuge by
climbing up some mountain how big can this
flood actually get I'll be on top of
a mountain I'll be okay don't you worry
it will protect me from water it's water
right how big can water get I've seen
I've seen rain before a little more rain
than than before but so be it can
it get as high as a mountain I
don't think so I'll be okay so this
conviction in in what they're already holding on
to even though Nuh Alayhi Salaam's threat is
coming true Nuh Alayhi Salaam said no one
can protect you from the amr of Allah
because Allah's command Allah's Allah's purposeful directive that
has come that is in sync with whatever
you have ignored in your life prior to
this this meaning and purpose of reality of
your life this is that meaning finding fulfillment
in another way that those who do not
live up to that meaning do not acknowledge
the meaningfulness of their own creation they're done
away with the one he has mercy on
that's the only one who's going to be
saved saved from the azab of Allah and
the waves rolled between them end of the
conversation no more talk he was given that
one last chance he chose to refuse and
he was among those drowned apparently he thought
he still had time to climb up some
mountain but then the waves rolled in and
so it was said to the earth swallow
your water and sky withhold and the water
subsided and the matter was accomplished and
the ship came to rest upon the mountain
of of judy and it was proclaimed away
with these unjust people Nuh called out to
his and said my son is from my
family now recall end of Mecca migration about
to happen a lot of the sahaba are
going to go to leaving their families behind
leaving their sons behind leaving their brothers behind
leaving their fathers, mothers, sisters so many of
their family are going to be left behind
Yathrib is that ship Medina is going to
be the ship of Nuh that is going
to be saved from the that is going
to strike the rest of at least the
Quraish but then even the rest of the
Arabian Peninsula and so people are being informed
straight up that even the prophet of Allah
the exception was not made for for their
family there was no favoritism of any sort
if they didn't respond so be it so
Nuh asks Allah my son was from my
family and your promise is definitely true and
you are the most just of all judges
Allah said he wasn't from your family he
was not of your family at all the
ahlik the promise towards his ahl extended to
the family of iman in the context of
the adab and then there's also readings that
altogether identify that that son of Nuh alayhislam
was not even his biological son that his
wife was that that much of that much
given into infidelity he wasn't faithful to him
but then definitely he wasn't part of the
family of iman and so he wasn't on
the ship he is now literally this would
translate to he's a he's a bad action
or he is he's the embodiment of bad
conduct what a bad human being looks like
so that's at the end of the day
Allah's characterization of people as to what kind
of conduct they that emanates from them so
do not ask me about things you do
not know I admonish you lest you become
of those taken over by emotion again taken
over by emotion acting without knowledge because what
emotion does is that it overwhelms you so
that the better force of action to take
that you reflect on and respond more responsibly
to the situation you don't do that you
just go in with the where emotion drives
knowledge helps identify okay not this that even
though this is so much of where I
want to go but that in this case
Nuh Alayhi Salaam his love for his son
and his complaint or dua or request whatever
it was at that time Allah SWT said
no no Nuh Alayhi Salaam said my Rab
I seek your protection from asking you for
what I know nothing of and if you
do not forgive me and if you do
not have mercy on me I will be
of the losers so Allah SWT said Nuh
is sent from the mountain with peace and
blessing from us upon you and generations from
those with you and there are going to
be other communities whom we will allow to
enjoy the comforts of this life then a
painful punishment from us will overtake them so
now on this is the filtered purged part
of humanity that is now going to carry
forward the prophetic responsibility they're going to carry
forward where Allah wants humanity to go to
worse the other the necros part the disease
pathological part which was only going to corrupt
the rest of the body and not allow
for it to live up to its meaning
that has been done away with that amputation
has has already happened it just so happens
that the amputated part was pretty much in
terms of mass 90% or more and
the saved part is just a little bit
that was with the few people that were
with Nuh and so now they're going to
continue but that doesn't it's not going to
be that every single time somebody goes wrong
or a part of the community goes wrong
they're going to be wiped out with a
complete annihilation no that's that's that's a special
circumstance for the prophets neither is it to
be assumed that anyone who undergoes suffering is
undergoing the punishment from Allah that they're going
to that they're being afflicted they're being tormented
no that is not to be taken against
special circumstances with prophets and their them having
communicated the message and the arrogance of the
people and the whole process so what is
going to happen from now on that people
even if they are getting if they are
being blessed in this world but they're wrong
or their their attitude is that of rejecting
Allah or arrogance against Allah not living up
to that meaning they'll still be given here
in this world but then they're going to
be driven to a painful punishment there is
no guarantee that the people who are surviving
with Nuh their future generations are immune or
invincible that they're spiritually they've attained to this
purity no it doesn't matter who your ancestors
were all the more reason that if your
ancestry was as as awesome or as blessed
or as brave or as strong in faith
as the prophets were and the people with
the prophets were all the more reason that
you should be one of gratitude you should
be on their legacy you should emulate them
that actually puts more responsibility on you rather
than just in a privilege of exclusivity in
which you're better than everybody else no the
people who are saved their future generations their
responsibility is on themselves these are from the
stories of the unseen which we are revealing
to you neither you nor your people knew
them before this as far as is concerned
as far as all of Quraysh are concerned
take Bani Ismail in its entirety from Ibrahim
as far as the other lineage from Ibrahim
that is the Bani Israel they have these
stories with them they know about Nuh they
know about the stories but as far as
Bani Ismail is concerned the Arabs are concerned
their ancestors they don't know about this there
is no scripture there there is no revelation
of this sort these stories are a novelty
in the Quraysh Rasulullah S.A.W and
for the best part most of Quraysh have
no access to them they're too unlettered to
have access to them and so for Rasulullah
S.A.W to be going into these
details Allah is putting this out as a
sign that this is from me so endure
patiently for sure the final outcome the aqiba
the best end belongs to the people of
taqwa the moral of the story and to
Aad we sent their brother Hud and he
said to his people my people worship Allah
you don't have any other ilah other than
him you are nothing but inventors of lies
whatever you've fabricated other than Allah that's messed
up where'd you bring that up from how'd
you just concoct that without real knowledge without
any evidence in antum illa muftaroon ya qawmi
la as'alukum alayhi ajra my people I
don't ask you for any reward for this
my teaching whatever I'm calling you to towards
there's nothing in it for me and you
know it it's just I have your best
interest at heart in ajri illa alal lazee
fatarani my reward is on the one who
brought me to existence this is between me
and him as far as reward is concerned
that's me and him you need to listen
to what I have to say you know
that there's no because a suspicion is legitimately
launched against the one calling towards truth what's
in it for you because that's how most
of religion operates for them and he distinguishes
himself on that account no this is not
what it is I got no interest here
if anything I'm putting everything on the line
so aren't you going to think aren't you
going to use your reason my people ask
your Rabb to forgive you and then turn
to him repentant recognize realize what you're doing
you're wrong big time and then make amends
start walking towards him once you do that
he is going to send abundant rain upon
you from the sky and he will strengthen
you by adding to your strength you're already
very strong he's going to make you stronger
and do not turn away as criminals they
said you have brought us nothing in terms
of clear proof and we're not going to
desert our gods just on your words we're
not going to believe in you one bit
father rethink that the best we can say
about you is that our gods have possessed
you with an evil affliction all said I
call Allah to witness and you all be
witness as well I got nothing to do
with whatever it is that you associate with
Allah all the shuraka all the shirk that
you do other than him so plan plan
plot do the best you can bring it
all together against me and don't give me
a chance I for sure put my trust
in Allah my Rabb and your Rabb was
the best you can do all of what
you threatened me with at the end of
the day you too are in the control
of Allah he is your Rabb there is
no living creature but he is holding it
Allah is holding every creature by his forelock
that's how that's how much control he has
my Rabb is on a straight path but
if you turn away I have communicated to
you the message with which I was sent
to you and my Rabb will bring another
people to replace you and you cannot harm
him one bit and my Rabb is a
protector over everything so when our Amr came
through we saved Hud and those who believed
with him by a mercy from us and
we saved them from a harsh punishment that's
odd they denied the ayat of their Rabb
and disobeyed his messengers and they followed the
command of every obstinate oppressor a curse was
made to follow them in the life of
this world as well as on the day
of judgment whenever they're going to be remembered
they're going to be remembered with this curse
and for sure Ad refused to accept their
Rabb so for sure away with Ad the
people of Hud and so we sent to
the Thamud their brother Saleh my people worship
Allah you don't have anyone other than him
as a God he is the one who
raised you from the earth and settled you
therein so seek his forgiveness and turn to
him in repentance for sure my Rabb is
close ready to respond they said Saleh you
were the center of our hopes you had
such potential you could have gone places until
now are you going to stop us from
worshipping what our fathers used to worship and
we are in serious doubt about what you're
calling us to Saleh is one of my
people don't you see that if I'm unclear
proof from my Rabb and he has blessed
me with a blessing with his mercy who's
going to save me from Allah if I
disobey him if that's what ends up happening
then you're not increasing me in anything but
loss and my people this is a camel
of Allah for you as a sign so
let her be so that she can eat
freely on the earth of Allah and do
not ever touch her with any evil intention
or you would be seized by an impending
punishment it was they demanded a miracle of
Saleh it was given to them but it
comes with a price tag it comes with
requirements that you have to fulfill all the
ayat of Allah they're not just given ayats
have to be responded to taken seriously given
their due regard but they hamstrung her they
killed her Saleh said so live enjoy yourselves
for three days in your homes that is
an unfailing promise so when our command came
when our amr came we saved Saleh and
those who believed with him out of mercy
from us and the humiliation of that day
and for sure your Rab he's the strong
the mighty and a terrible shriek seized those
who did so they became corpses dead bodies
lying in their houses upside down as if
they never lived there before without a doubt
denied their Rab and so away with the
mud continuing so we just spoke about the
three Russell that came before Ibrahim Alihi salaam
then Ibrahim Alihi salaam his story is mentioned
in these surahs he was mentioned in alam
instead and here he was not mentioned in
Yunus and we find a mention here in
Hud.
However, his story is not brought in as
like a messenger messenger in the form that
goes to a nation and then the nation
rejects him and then the azab comes on
the nation.
Even though that aspect is, it seems to
be there it is hinted at but not
explicated too much as such.
His journey was very unique and there's different
phases to his journey as well.
Perhaps at a different time we're going to
talk about it.
Here, one of those aspects is mentioned when
the angels came to Ibrahim and certainly there
came our messengers to Ibrahim with glad tidings.
They offered him salam and he also returned
their salam.
Within no time, he brought a roasted calf.
So as you would expect, Ibrahim, his hospitality
is on the mark.
Before you know it, he has something brought
for them.
But when he found that their hands are
not extending towards the food, they're not bothered
with the fruit that he's brought to them
and Ibrahim didn't ask before bringing it.
He just brought it and that's the hospitality
that you expect of him.
He wasn't like, he was like, no, I'm
going to bring it for you and he
did bring it for them and they're not
even touching it.
And in that day and age, it was
proficious because one of the honor code of
criminals was that they wouldn't eat from the
house that they were going to either rob
from or kill in or whatever.
So they wouldn't eat from that house.
So that sort of put Ibrahim alayhis salaam
off a little why are they not eating?
He felt uneasy with them.
And he started feeling afraid of them.
They responded, do not be scared.
We have been sent to the people of
Luke alayhis salaam.
And his wife was standing by.
So she laughed.
Now again, this is the second time within
the surah that we find the good guys
or the people of Iman actually finding this
relieving to the point of laughing at it,
that criminals are getting punished.
And again, the vengeful feelings that find validation
that they're very human, they're really there.
And for whatever we can understand, the wife
of Ibrahim alayhis salaam, just she can't hold
her laughter.
She just laughs out as soon as she
hears this.
It tells us a lot about what was
going on in the time of Luke alayhis
salaam with his people.
And particularly being a woman, she feels for
the women of that society as completely neglected,
completely ignored.
And whatever else is going on in those
no responsibility and complete no responsibility, no boundaries,
sexual interaction between men, which was very public
as well.
So she laughed.
And so we give her the good news
of Ishaq and also of Ya'qub following
Ishaq.
And she said, my, my, how in the
world am I going to have a child?
I'm an old lady.
And my husband is really old as well.
For sure, this is something incredibly strange.
So the angels come with, with this unexpected
news on both accounts, these strong, well-established
people, they're going to be cut off altogether.
And these apparently, this old couple that you
can't expect for them to bear children.
But then there's this good news that the
angels come with again, both of these events,
the wiping out of an entire nation and
the glad tidings of a child.
Both of these are out of the ordinary
events, but they make sense because they are
in sync with the Amr of Allah.
And it is that Amr of Allah that
is holding together what is ordinary or what
is routine.
And if you're able to appreciate him in
the order, in the regularity of the world,
as you see it around you, then whenever
that regularity is broken, whenever there is this
flash of spontaneity, this novelty that is so
necessary for the progression of life and human
society, it adds up.
It makes sense.
So they said, do you wonder at the
Amr of Allah?
Again, consistently, whenever these out of the ordinary
interventions take place, whenever there is a break
in that regularity, the use of the word
Amr of Allah is consistent.
Do you wonder at the Amr of Allah?
The mercy of Allah and his blessings be
upon you, people of the household.
Most definitely, he is praiseworthy and honorable.
Again, the angels can't hold themselves at expressing
their wonder.
And again, going back to the story of
Adam, where they felt that this this khilafah
was something that was more of their right.
But then Allah told them otherwise, and they
understood.
But then every now and then, it escapes,
like these human beings are so fallible.
They can't get this.
And then they're so honored.
And this is the most honored of the
families, being the family of Ibrahim Alayhis Salaam.
And so when Ibrahim Alayhis Salaam recovered from
the fright, he was really fearful.
And he received the glad tiding.
He started arguing with us for the people
of Lut.
Inna Ibrahima lahaleemun awwahum muneem.
Without a doubt, Ibrahim Alayhis Salaam was forbearing,
soft-hearted, and consistently turning towards Allah.
And his consistent turning towards Allah, the softness
of his heart, the tolerance, it just, for
him, the pain or the azaab for the
people of Lut, he had a few questions.
He had a few reservations there.
Again, in Makkah, time of migration, there's all
of these people, some whose vengeful feelings for
the Quraysh, they're pretty real.
Others who are feeling sorry for the Quraysh,
who are feeling afraid for the Quraysh.
Some of them have families, so they're really
concerned that what is going to become of
our families that we leave behind.
And others may not necessarily have families' families,
but like Ibrahim Alayhis Salaam, they're very soft
-hearted, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam being, of course,
one of them.
Feeling, is there anything that can be done
for them?
Is there any way out for them?
Is there anything more that I can do?
That's sort of an attitude.
And when that attitude has to be checked,
and the importance of tough love, and the
toughest with respect to wiping out an entire
nation altogether, because of the greater good that
is at stake.
Ibrahim Alayhis Salaam was told, drop it.
Let it go.
The amr of your Rab has already come.
It has been issued.
And they are going to receive a punishment
that cannot be turned away.
And when our messengers came to Lut, he
was distressed with their presence and felt discomforted
for them.
Well, all I have I am and I'll
see when he said, this is a trying
day.
So not only the homosexuality is just one
element of what the people of Lut did,
that they did that for sure, but they
targeted with that any new people that would
come around.
And Lut Alayhis Salaam is frantically trying to
protect those travelers.
It's like they've come in the anyone passing
by Sodom and Gomorrah, they're like sitting ducks,
that anyone can victimize them and make them
do what they wouldn't want to do.
And so Lut Alayhis Salaam sees angels came
in the form of handsome young men, and
he is distressed like this is going to
be this is going to be a tough
day.
And trying to protect them, them trying to,
them not understanding and then the people trying
to get at them and Lut Alayhis Salaam
trying to reason with them.
He's done this before.
He's done this before.
And so when he sees them, he doesn't
know that they're angels yet.
He's distressed.
And the people come rushing towards him.
And they were long addicted to this evil
practice.
As far as they're concerned, their eyes are
bobbling.
Now they're like ruling at the side of
these young men.
Lut Alayhis Salaam again takes it up with
them.
My people, my daughters, here are my daughters.
So either he's talking about his own daughters
or the daughters of his nation.
On something of Lut Alayhis Salaam being the
only one there for them to look after
them, to regard them, to take care of
them.
But of course, they're all just there.
He's like, come on, let's end this.
Let's see reason.
Let's do this right.
They're purer for you.
They're more appropriate for you.
So have the taqwa of Allah.
Do not humiliate me regarding my guests.
Is there not a single upright man among
you?
They responded, you already know.
We have nothing to do with your daughters.
We don't have anything to do with your
daughters.
And you know exactly what we want.
Lut Alayhis Salaam said, only if I had
some power against you.
Again, for the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and
the Sahaba to be able to identify with
the weakness of Lut Alayhis Salaam in front
of his people.
Or if I could take a refuge, some
refuge in some strong fortress, where I could
just hide away, protect myself, my people, my
daughters, these guests.
The Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said, may Allah
have mercy on Lut.
He was already in a strong fortress.
The conviction, the iman that he had, that
strong fortress for him.
At this point, the angels speak up.
We are messengers of your Rabb.
They are never going to be able to
reach you.
These people are not going to be able
to harm you.
So move with your family and part of
the night.
And do not even look back.
You don't even want to see from a
distance what's becoming of this town.
If the sight is going to be traumatic,
don't look back.
Keep going.
Keep walking away.
Except your wife.
Innahum useebuha maa asabahum.
She is going to be afflicted with whatever
strikes them.
So she was party to the crime.
She was in it, in on it with
them, facilitating them, however she was facilitating them.
And she has nothing to do with you.
Innahum awAAidahum as-subh.
And for sure their time, their scheduled time,
they have an appointment for the punishment.
It is in the morning.
Alaysa as-subh biqareeb.
And is in the morning very close?
Falamma jaa'a amruna.
And so when our judgment came, when the
amr came, JaAAalna AAaliyaha saafilaha.
We turned the town upside down.
Wa amtarna AAalayha khijaratan min sijjilin mandood.
And we showered them with layered hard clay.
Musawwamatan AAinda rabbih.
Marked with your Rabb.
Your Rabb personally marked each stone with who
it was going to strike.
Wa maa hiya minas zalimeena bi baAAeed.
And it is not far from the zalimeen.
So two ways of reading this.
That this people of Makkah, this fate, this
punishment of Allah is not far away from
them.
Or generally zalimeen, people who insist upon this
zulm to meet a similar end.
That's not far away from them.
Alaysa as-subh biqareeb.
Or in terms of distance, the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah, they're not that far away
from here.
Just go and see what became of those
people.
Were they wiped out or not?
If you not have adequate evidence that these
cities did in fact experience a complete wiping
out.
Again, something that Rasulullah ﷺ could not have
access to.
As far as some of those nations or
those people, the ruins were clear to see.
But not for all.
Wa ila madiyana akhaahum shuAAibaa.
And to the dwellers of Madian, their brother
Shu'aib was sent.
Qala ya qawm i'budullah.
He said, my people, worship Allah.
Ma lakum min ilaahin ghayruh.
You have no God except Him.
Wa laa tanqusul mikyaala walmizan.
And do not deliver short measure.
Do not cheat people when you weigh.
The goods in your transactions, in your business
dealings.
Inni yaaraakum bikhayr.
I see that you're already well off.
You're already rich people, wealthy people.
Yet you feel this need to cheat.
Wa inni akhaafu AAalaykum AAathabaa yawmin muheet.
And I fear for you the punishment of
an all-encompassing day.
Wa yaa qawmi awful mikyaala walmizana bilqist.
My people, deliver full measure and weigh fairly.
Wa laa tabkhasun naasa ashyaa'ahum.
Do not deprive people of their due.
Wa laa ta'thaw fil ardi mufsideen.
And do not spread mischief in the land,
corrupting it.
Baqiyatullahi khayrun lakum.
Prophets, that is given by Allah.
That which is fair, that's the baqiyatullah.
It is a prophet of Allah, that Allah
is giving you.
That is better for you, in kuntum mu'mineen,
if you would be believers.
And again, to understand wealth with this perspective
that there's limitations, there's an ethical code that
your practices are bound by.
And that once observed, what you earn there
from is baqiyatullah.
It is something that Allah is specifically giving
you.
And to trust him is to remain content
with what you earn through halal, through observing
those ethics, those morals in your business practices.
That's what is being encouraged.
Relying upon cheating, when it becomes so much
of a consistent practice, that the understanding by
default is, if we don't cheat, we're going
to lose.
We're going to lose money.
We're going to become poor.
That's tawakkul on the cheated amount.
As far as halal means are concerned, pursuing
them, working for them, that falls within the
parameters of tawakkul on Allah.
Baqiyatullahi khayrun lakum in kuntum mu'mineen, if you
would be believers.
Wa ma ana AAalaykum bihafeed.
And I am not a protector over you.
Qalu ya Shu'ayb, they said, Shu'ayb,
as-salatuka ta'buruka an-naturuka ma ya
'budu aba'una.
Does your prayer command you that we give
up worshipping what our fathers used to worship?
I mean, come on.
We have some sort of prayer going on.
We have worship and all that stuff.
That worship is very conveniently, it has nothing
to do with our business.
Our God stays in the temple.
What the * is this with you bringing
your God and having him interfere in our
economic transactions?
We want to do whatever we want to
do.
Who the * are you?
Who the * is your God?
We want to worship him, worship him.
But bringing him into our economic dealings, that
we're not going to stand for.
And we've seen, well, we said this before,
it's worth saying it again.
Before Ibrahim AAalayhi Salaam, human society has not
developed this interdependence to the level that it
did develop by the time of Ibrahim AAalayhi
Salaam.
And so with Nuh AAalayhi Salaam, with Hud
AAalayhi Salaam, with Salih AAalayhi Salaam, it is
not necessary to go beyond the message of
Tawheed.
Simple Tawheed, simple Risalah, simple Akhirah.
But with Lut AAalayhi Salaam, with Shu'ayb
AAalayhi Salaam, and then with Musa AAalayhi Salaam,
it is necessary that the message of Tawheed
is complemented with the extension, it is part
of Tawheed.
To mention the social implications, there are the
economic implications, there are the political implications.
So is your prayer commanding us to stop
worshipping what our fathers used to worship?
Or not to do with our wealth as
we please?
We need, we have, this is the absolute
authority that we have over what we do
and how we practice business.
Keep God out of this.
إِنَّكَ لَأَنْتَ الْخَلِيمُ الرَّشِيدُ If you really are
forbearing, if you really are, you have tolerance
and you are a rightly guided person, they're
now invoking morality to ensure that Shu'ayb
AAalayhi Salaam stays out of their business.
They're invoking tradition.
If you really are khalim, if you really
are a good person, rightly guided person, then
you should know better.
Don't interfere with our business.
Don't interfere with our traditional religion.
قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ يَا رَعَيْتُمْ He said, my
people, have you considered إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ
مِّن رَّبِّي If I am on a clear
proof from my Rabb, what is the difference
between you and me?
بَيِّنًا What I'm bringing is clear proof.
And what you're calling on or what you're
invoking is you don't have that.
You don't have that standard.
You don't have truth backing you up.
إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّي It's not
my claim versus yours.
It's my claim backed up by my evidence
that I bring that you can see as
evidence as well.
And typically we don't see it here, but
we see with other prophets.
It is an evidence that people from then
can testify to.
But yes, this cannot have been him.
It has to have come from Allah.
We saw this most clearly with Musa AAalayhi
Salaam.
وَلَيَا قَوْمِ رَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن
رَّبِّي I am on clear proof from my
Rabb وَرَزَقَنِي مِّنْهُ رِزْقاً حَسَنًا He has blessed
me with a beautiful provision from Himself وَمَا
أُرِيدُ وَنُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْه And I
do not intend to do in my opposition
to you which I stop you from doing.
I don't want that my reaction towards you
is such that I cross boundaries.
That I find a justification doing what you're
doing.
No, I'm going to maintain my responsibility before
Allah.
إِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلَّا الْإِسْلَاحَ مَا أَسْتَطَعَتْ I desire
nothing except reformation to the best of my
ability.
وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ And my success is
not but from Allah.
عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ On Him alone I have relied
وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِي وَإِنْتُهِمْ I turn to Him for
everything وَيَا قَوْمِنْ مَا يَجْرِمْ أَنَّكُمْ شِقَاقِي Do
not let your dissension from me force you
أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مِثْلُ أَعْمَا أَصْعَبُ That there befalls
you whatever befell the people before قَوْمَ نُوحٍّ
وَقَوْمَ هُدٍّ وَقَوْمَ صَالِحٍ People of Noah, Hud,
and Saleh وَمَا قَوْمُ اللُّوْطِ مِنْكُمْ بِبَعِيدٍ And
the people of Lut are not far away
from you neither in time nor in space
in terms of distance But why do you're
again Shu'ayb alayhis-salam coming clean with
them First he said I don't want that
in reaction to how you're treating me I
start resorting to the kind of practices you're
resorting to get back at you to justify
myself against you or whatever I want to
stand clear of there And also your hatred
towards me be that in its own place
Don't let that hatred lead for your rebellion
such that you call or you justify the
azaab of Allah upon you like the previous
people did وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ And seek forgiveness from
your Rabb ثُمَ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ And turn to
Him in repentance إِنَّ رَبِّ رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ For
sure my Rabb is merciful and loving قَالُوا
يَا شُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا نَقُلُ They
said Shu'ayb we no understand We don't
understand what you're talking about just most of
what you say is way over our head
وَإِنَّ لَنَرَاكَ فِينَ ضَعِيفًا What we do see
is that you're weak We see you have
no power You are weak وَلَوْ لَا رَهْتُكَ
Had it not been for your family Again
something Rasulullah ﷺ can relate with Had it
not been for your family لَرَجَمْنَاكَ We would
have stoned you وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ And
you have no strength against us قَالَ يَا
قَوْمِ يَرَهْتِي عَزُوا عَلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ He said
my people my family is more powerful to
you It means more to you It is
of more value than Allah وَاتَّخَذْتُمُوهُ وَرَأَكُمْ وِهْدِيَةً
You've put Him behind you Neglected, ignored إِنَّ
الرَّبِي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ مُحَيطًا My Rabb encompasses all
of what you do وَيَا قَوْمِ يَعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ
مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي يَعْمَلُ So my people do whatever
you want to do Whatever you can do
in your place And I'll do what I
have to do ثَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ يَأْتِهِ عَذَابٌ
يُخْصِي And we will soon know Who is
going to be afflicted with the humiliating punishment
وَمَنْ هُوَ كَذِبٌ And who is a liar
وَارْتَقِبُوا وَإِنِّي مَعَكُمْ رَطِيبٌ I will be watching
with you وَلَمَا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا And so when
our command came نَجَّيْنَا شُعَيْبٌ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ
We saved Shu'ayb and those who believed
with him بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَّا Out of our mercy
وَأَخَذَتِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا الصَّيْحَةِ And the awful sound
seized those who did dhulm فَأَفْضَهُوا فِي دِيَارِهِمْ
جَاثِمِينَ And so they were upside down in
their houses Dead كَأَلْنَمْ يَغْنَوْا فِيهَا As if
they never lived there عَلَىٰ بُعْبًا لِمَدْيَنَ كَمَا
بَعِدَ الثَّمُودِ Alā buʿbal li madyana kamā baʿidath
thamūd So for sure away with these people
of Madin Just like the people of Thamud
were done away with وَلَمْ قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ
بِآيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ And so we sent Musa
With our signs and a clear authority إِلَىٰ
فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ To Fir'aun and his chiefs
فَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ But they followed the command
of Fir'aun وَمَا أَمْرُوا فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍ And
the command of Fir'aun Was not right,
he guided يَقُدُومُوا قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ He will
precede his people on the day of judgment
He will be leading them فَأَوْرَذَهُمُ الْنَّارَ And
will lead them straight into the fire وَبِئْسَ
الْوِرْضُ الْمَغْرُودُ And how despicable is the place
to which they are led!
وَأُتْبِعُوا فِي هَذِهِ لَعْنَةً They were followed by
a curse in this life وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ As
well as on the Day of Judgment بِئْسَ
الْرِفْدُ الْمَرْفُودُ And how despicable is the gift
that is gifted!
ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْقُرَاءِ This is from the
news of the towns نَقُطُّهُ عَلَيْكُ Which we
relate to you مِنْهَا قَائِمُوا وَالْحَصِيدُ Some of
them still stand But others are reaped away
Just like harvested fields completely taken down Some
have remains that you can see وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ
We did not do wrong to them وَلَكِنْ
ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ Rather they wronged themselves They had
the complete freedom To choose which course of
action to take They chose and they reaped
the consequences They cannot blame this on fate
They cannot scapegoat God That it was Him,
He made us do it No, they had
freedom They could have chosen otherwise And they
did not And so they wronged themselves فَمَا
أَغْنَتْ عَنْهُمْ آلِهَتِهُمُ الَّتِي يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ
مِنْ شَيْءٍ And their gods that they used
to call on besides Allah They were of
no benefit to them at all لِمَّا جَاءَ
أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ Once the Amr of your Rabb
had come وَمَا زَادُوهُمْ غَيْرَ تَتْبِيبٍ And they
added nothing to them except ruin وَكَذَلِكَ أَخْذُ
رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ And thus is the
seizing of your Rabb Whenever he seizes the
towns Whenever he takes them Takes hold of
them Takes them with ask Takes them in
punishment وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ While its dwellers are engaged
in zulm Injustice إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ And
for sure his seizing is incredibly severe and
painful إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةٌ And for sure
in that is an ayah, is a sign
لِمَنْ خَافَ عَذَابَ الْآخِرَةُ For anyone who fears
the punishment of the hereafter This is not
just something that befalls nations This is something
that individuals need to be very wary of
Because there are times when you feel There
is an age And there is a state
of health And resource and wealth That you
feel very strong in So don't think that
as individuals You're going to point to or
follow in the legacy Of the nations who
earned the azab of Allah And he faced
the same poison and they died from it
But you're not going to No There is
something to be afraid of There is something
to be afraid of In all of these
stories for everyone إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةٌ لِمَنْ
خَافَ عَذَابَ الْآخِرَةُ ذَلِكَ يَوْمٌ That is a
day مَجْمُوعٌ لَّهُ النَّاسُ On which humanity will
be assembled وَذَلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَّشْهُودٌ And that is
a day to be witnessed And this wiping
out of nations In response to rejecting the
prophets Is a sign of the day of
judgment itself It is a sign of the
sunnah of Allah That he punishes It's not
a joke It's not just empty threats He
carried it out before He will carry it
out again وَمَا نُؤَخِّرُهُ And we do not
delay it إِلَّا لِأَجَلٍ مَعْدُودٍ Except a very
limited term Except they have a very limited
term يَوْمَ يَأْتِي لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ
The day it comes No individual will dare
to speak Without his permission فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِيٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ
And from them will be the wretched And
from them will be those Who attain felicity,
happiness فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ الشَّقُوا فَفِى النَّارِ So for
the wretched ones They're going to be in
the fire لَهُمْ فِيهَا زَفِيرٌ وَشَهِيقٌ For them
in there are sighs and sobs قَالَ بِينَ
فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَوْتِ Living in it
as long as The heavens and the earth
last إِلَّا مَا شَأَ رَبُّكُ Except whatever your
Rabb wills إِنَّ رَبَّكَ فَعَالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ And
your Rabb does whatever he wants وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ
السُّعِدُوا فَفِي الجَنَّةِ And as for those who
are felicitous Who are happy They're going to
be in paradise قَالَ بِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ
السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَوْتِ To live in it as long
as The heavens and the earth continue to
exist إِلَّا مَا شَأَ رَبُّكُ Except what your
Rabb wants عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوثٌ As a favor
not to be taken away فَلَا تَكُ فِي
مِرْيَةٍ مِمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَا أُولَٰى So do not
be in any doubt about the people About
what these people are worshiping مَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا
كَمَا يَعْبُدُ آبَأُهُم مِّن قَبْلِ They worship what
their fathers used to worship وَإِنَّا لَمْ وَفُوهُمْ
نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوسٌ And we are going to
pay them their due undiminished وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى
الْكِتَابُ And we did give Musa the book
فَاخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ But it came under disagreement وَلَوْ
لَا كَلِمَةٌ تَبَقَطْ مِنْ رَبِّكِ And had it
not been for a word Already issued by
your Rabb لَقُبِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ He would have judged
between them اختلاف happens if Allah wants He
can resolve that اختلاف He allows for that
اختلاف to prevail Allah values human freedom This
is something that you have to live with
Resolve on your own Otherwise it will be
resolved on the Day of Judgment وَإِنَّهُمْ لَفِي
شَكِّ مِنْهُمْ رِيْفٌ And definitely they are in
suspicious doubt about it So once something comes
under اختلاف There are multiple varying interpretations and
opinions On a single fact On a single
ayah Whether in scripture Or in the world
of nature People start becoming doubtful of it
Is there any truth to it at all?
Absolute certainty And absolute doubt They are very
very convenient positions to take Either way Inaction
Not having to do anything Seems justified Not
having to take responsibility Not having to think
Most importantly Seems justified When there is belligerent
certainty And you keep going, keep going, keep
going Not having to Not bothering to reflect
If there is any change in action that
is necessary If there is any change in
course that has become necessary Just reflexively, reactively,
habitually Going on and on and on and
on and on Refusing to think Change Act
better Or differently In any way And then
doubt There is too much اختلاف There is
too many differences We can't know We can't
know at all We can't know anything Okay,
awesome We gotta do nothing You have to
do something, of course You do what is
pleasurable You do what brings money There are
all kinds of اختلاف that are transcended All
kinds of اختلاف are transcended when it comes
to Pleasure, power, or wealth You live on
that reflexive mode But real action That follows
thinking through the اختلاف And then believing in
one or the other And then taking that
up as a course of action Open to
what results you get To see if acting
differently is warranted Is justified And then going
on with that process No, that's too much
trouble It's too long I want the tree
And the fruit from the tree And that
fruit from the tree should make me invincible
And eternal And forever like an angel That's
what I want That is very cute But
grow up The time for that is gone
وَإِنَّهُمْ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٌ And they're in
a suspicious doubt about it About the book
that they had And about the Qur'an
itself About scripture itself وَإِنَّكُ لَلَّمَا لَيُوَفِّيَنَّهُمْ رَبُّكَ
أَعْمَالًا And for sure your Rabb will fully
compensate them For all their deeds إِنَّهُ بِمَا
يَعْمَلُونَ خَبِير He is definitely aware of all
that they do فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَنْ تَابَ
مَعَكَ So stand firm as you're commanded Along
with those who have repented with you وَلَا
تَطْغَلْ And do not cross limits إِنَّهُ بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيَةً He is definitely watching all that
you do وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَىٰ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا And
do not be inclined towards those who are
unjust فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارَ Lest the fire afflicts you
وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءٍ And
you find no protectors besides Allah ثُمَّ لَا
تُنْصَرُونَ And then you are not helped thereafter
وَأَقِمِ السَّلَاةَ طَرَفَي النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ And
establish prayer at the two ends of the
day And the starting hours of the night
إِنَّ الْحَسَدَاتِ يُطِبْنَ سَيِّئَاتٍ For sure, lots of
good, beautiful actions They do away with evil
actions Again, this is the Sahaba and Rasulullah
ﷺ This small community of believers being prepared
for migration Being prepared to take on these
rejecters of truth They're being warned, you can't
take your Iman for granted You can't take
your action for granted Hold on to Salah
at all of these different times during the
day Now that it has become formalized with
the five prayers after the Mi'raj The
command for prayer is now explained With the
times of day being mentioned as well So
hold on to this attitude The proclivity to
lean towards the Kuffar and their strength And
their power and their threats and their wealth
It's very strong given that the light at
the end of the tunnel Is too far
away, you can't see it at all So
hold on to this Salah, hold on to
your faith Hold on to these warnings that
you're getting These ayat that you're being shown
from previous nations And stand strong إِنَّ الْحَسَدَاتِ
يُطِبْنَ سَيِّئَاتٍ Keep doing good, keep doing good
What is going to become an impediment In
what is going to be required of you
later on The sacrifices that you're going to
be required to do The sabr that you're
going to be required to express To live
by The greatest obstacle in that is going
to be your own character Your own personalities
And within that, the Sayji'at The blotches,
the dark marks They're going to make that
all the more difficult So the more good
you build up on right now The easier
it will be when the going gets even
tougher إِنَّ الْحَسَدَاتِ يُطِبْنَ سَيِّئَاتٍ So continue to
do good And that good will do away
with the evil The good has this capacity,
has this divine quality Of even turning the
evil into something beautiful ذَلِكَ الذِّكْرَا لِلذَّاكِرِينَ And
that is a reminder for those who remember
That your Sayji'at, they can become your
strengths Provided the Hasanat are able to Supplant
them Not just supplant them, transmute them Into
something awesome For so much that Umar He
used to do prior to Islam It gave
him an insight, it gave him an understanding
Khalid bin Walid الناس كالمعاد Men are like
minerals Human beings are like minerals خيارهم في
الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم
في الإسلام The best of them in Jahiliyyah
Will be the best in Islam They bring
those abilities with them And what they, especially
what those abilities The way they manifested themselves
in Jahiliyyah It gives them an insight It
gives them an understanding That others would not
have إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُطِبْنَ سَيِّئَاتٍ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَا لِلذَّاكِرِينَ
And continue to be Perseverant فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا
يُضِيءُ أَجَلَ الْمُحْسَنِينَ And for sure Allah does
not allow The reward of the people of
excellence To go to waste فَلَوْ لَا كَانَ
مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمُ الُّبَقِيَّةِ So why were
there not In the generations before you Those
who had this endurance This ability to discriminate
يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ Who could forbid
the people from evil From mischief on earth
إِلَّا قَلِيلَ مِمَّنْ أَنْجَيْنَ مِنْهُمْ Except a few
of those whom we saved From among them
وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا أُطْرِفُوا فِيهِ But the
wrongdoers pursued The affluence provided to them وَكَانُوا
مُجْرِمِينَ And they were criminals The affluent people
Doing all the wrong that they were doing
That's one problem But then there's nobody to
stop them There's nobody to tell them anything
The affluent people need That within the society
There are those who are letting them know
Hang on Hold it on Hold on to
it Take it easy You're crossing boundaries here
There needs to be something in the society
That puts a check Because affluence tends to
corrupt It leads to all sorts of evil
And the affluent themselves Are going to be
too blind to them They have to have
this This segment of the society That can
put a check on it Rather than reinforcing
it Rather than reassuring them No, no, no,
don't worry about it Keep going as long
as you give us A little bit of
whatever charities You're going to give وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ
ظَلَمُوا مَا أُطْرِفُوا فِيهِ وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ وَمَا كَانَ
رَبُّكَ لِيهُ لِكَ الْقُرَىٰ بِظُلْمٍ And it is
not possible That your Lord destroys a city
Unjustly وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ While the residents were still
reformers There was reform, there was change There
was improvement Still going on Allah would never
destroy It is only when That community is
not a community That group of people That
crowd of people is dead They're dead people
walking Deprived of all life And all that
persists in there is Pure evil وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ
وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدًا If
your Rabb wanted He would have made people
a single community One community Happy family of
believers وَلَا يَذَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ But they will not
cease to differ اختلاف is going to continue
إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ Except those Who receive
the رَحْمَة Of your Rabb The mercy of
your Rabb The ربوبية of Allah being important
The رَبُّكَ Referring to Rasulullah ﷺ That being
important And then the grace of Allah How
all of these come together How the ربوبية
of Allah The special mercy of Allah On
account of that ربوبية And Rasulullah ﷺ How
he communicates to us Through word and action
And legacy How this These اختلافات are to
be negotiated How is it that you That
you work your way through them Across them
Without Allah intervening To tell you this is
A And this is B And follow A
and don't follow B اختلاف is inevitable اختلاف
is inevitable Your conviction Of ايمان Your determination
to act And to do good Will have
to overcome The necessary challenge And obstacle of
اختلاف It is a test It is a
trial It is something that you have to
overcome إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكُ وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ That
is how Allah has created them That is
how human beings have been created With this
freedom of choice And then with this freedom
We're going to make mistakes Mistakes in interpretation
Mistakes in How we look at things It's
not going to be the same way And
the more we are able to identify With
the Rububiyah of Allah We will be able
to offer Mutual correctives That I am inclined
towards making mistakes But then being open To
the idea of community Being open To other
perspectives Will help me Check my mistakes And
I can help you check yours And all
of us Coming from all of these different
perspectives And areas of speciality We rectify Each
other's proneness to error And come closer and
closer Towards truth What is a problem A
problem is going to be istikbar The arrogance
of not letting anybody in Not letting anybody
Check you وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ That's how we've created
them وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ And the word of
your Rabb Is going to prove true لَأَمْلَأَنَّ
جَهْنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ Where Allah said
I will fill up the Hellfire With jinns
and human beings altogether This word that He
gave Shaitaan And He said Ya Allah, I'm
going to come at them وَكُلَّنَّ قُسُوا عَلَيْكَ
مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الرُّسُلِ And that's how we relate
to you From the news of the messengers
مَاذَا ثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ Through which we strengthen
your heart وَجَاءَكَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْحَقِّ And it
carries the truth for you وَمَوْعِبَتْهُمْ وَالذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
As well as a heart-softening speech And
a reminder for the believers Now look at
these ayat In the context of Rasulullah ﷺ
saying شَيِّبَتْ مِنْ يُهُودٍ وَاخَوَاتُهَا Surah Hud and
its sisters I've turned my hair white The
concern The Impending doom For the Quraysh For
Rasulullah ﷺ's clan For his tribe, for his
people How definitive that impending doom is now
It concerns him And so when these ayat
are being revealed to him And they're telling
him This is being revealed as a solace
for you To strengthen your heart To keep
you strong And as a reminder for those
who are believing with you وَقُلِّ الَّذِينَ لَا
يُؤْمِنُونَ And tell them, those who don't believe
أَعْمَلْ وَلَا مَكَانَتِكُمْ Do whatever you can in
your place إِنَّا أَعْمِلُونَ We will as well
وَانْتَظِرُونَ We are also waiting وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ
To Allah belongs the unseen Everything unseen in
the heavens and the earth وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ
كُلُّ And all matters will return to him
alone فَعْبُدْهُ So worship him alone, just his
ibadah وَتَوَكَّلَ لَيَنْ تَرَسْتْهِمْ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا
تَعْمَلُونَ And your Rabb is not unaware Of
what you do وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ
أَجْمَعِينَ So we begin with Surah Yusuf Inshallah
Just about now So for obvious reasons this
is My favorite One of my favorite surahs
My association with the surah Goes back to
the time as I am told When I
was a fetus And my mom Used to
recite this Quite a lot Or pretty much
all the time Surah Maryam Which might explain
some of my Aspects And Other than that
This picture Nice Punjabi Arabic Reciting Surah Yusuf
So that's as far That's how far Surah
Yusuf and I go But for less shallow
Reasons as well This is This is one
of my Favorite surahs and I hope Something
of those deeper reasons Can be communicated across
The few sessions that we're going to be
talking About this Inshallah Right so Oh Allah
Reciting Surah Yusuf Reciting Surah Yusuf These are
the ayat Of the clear book Arabic Japanese
So we have definitely Sent it down as
an arabic Quran And you will always Hear
this ayat Whenever you are being and encouraged
to learn the language, to learn Arabic for
Quranic comprehension and rightfully so.
It is the language of the Quran and
the more attuned you are to the language,
the more well versed you are to the
language, the more personally you're going to be
able to relate with the ayat as best
as possible.
Fair enough.
Then there's another phrase that follows the Quran
in Arabia and that is لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعَقِلُونَ So
that you use your intellect.
This Quran is being revealed to you so
that you use your intellect.
In an Arabic language, this Arabic Quran is
being revealed to you, is being revealed so
that you can use your intellect.
How about that?
A revelation that is coming down, Wahi coming
down, the most pristine, protected, refined form of
human intuition or human intuitive experience, father, that
you can possibly imagine.
God speaking to a human being in the
highest, most eloquent, most personal way imaginable.
Through Wahi.
And what is one of the functions of
Wahi?
To pave the way for human intellect.
To open the doors of using reason.
And this is what makes the Quran so
revolutionary.
That typically, traditionally, resorting to
scriptural sources or resorting to intuitive spiritual dimensions
of reality or humanity or what have you
was looked as an alternate to intellectual pursuits.
It was looked as something that you are
doing other than or even against intellectual pursuits.
That the fallibility of reason and the incapacity
of reason is being overcome, is being set
aside, is being replaced with this all superior
revelatory source.
And so that is how scripture has been
used.
And unfortunately, that form of thinking was imposed,
has been imposed, continues to be imposed on
the Quran as well.
To the point that I have heard with
my own ears that whenever the Quran is
talking about لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْتِلُونَ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ وَيَتَدَبَّرُونَ It is
talking to the Kuffar.
It is talking to, for them to use
their intellect so that they can come to
the understanding of Quran and that's it.
No more intellect after that.
I was like, what?
I've heard it from very distinguished scholarly source,
which is what makes it all the more
tragic.
That this insecurity, this deep-seated insecurity that
finds no other route other than to pitch
the Quran against reason, against intellectual pursuits.
It goes so far as to, I don't
know what to make of it.
I do, but you know.
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْتِلُونَ So this Quran has been revealed
in Arabic by all means.
Do what you can.
Refine your understanding of the language, of Arabic.
Get up close and personal with the Quran.
But yeah, also see how it's paving the
way for your intellectual development.
How it paved the way for humanity's intellectual
development.
For the way humanity developed its intellectual resources
and what the Muslim world gave to humanity
and then Muslim world went to sleep.
It continues to be an incredible, incredible contribution.
And now that continues to be developed over
the past couple of centuries.
We got nothing to do with it.
We don't want to have anything to do
with it.
We have all the more reason to oppose
it since it's no longer ours.
But to see that this endorsement of the
Quran and how much of a light-imposed
modernity this promises to be.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْتِلُونَ So we
have sent this down, this Arabic Quran, so
that you may use, all of you, addressing
us in the plural.
So that you use your intellect.
نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ أَفْسَنِ الْقَصَصَ We relate to
you the most beautiful story.
The beautiful story of the beautiful Yusuf.
Coming at one of the most tragic times
for Rasulullah ﷺ.
Rasulullah ﷺ lost Abu Talib.
Which means it's only a matter of time
before the Quraysh start bidding on the head
of Rasulullah ﷺ.
How much should we give for whoever brings
him dead or alive?
It eventually happened.
But the door to that was opened with
the passing away of Abu Talib.
The Abu Talib who was willing to go
through that boycott.
Despite not being Muslim himself, but standing strong,
supporting Rasulullah ﷺ.
He went with his entire clan into that
valley.
In which they were not allowed access to
basic needs to survive.
That Abu Talib was gone.
That support was gone.
The emotional support that she was.
And much more than emotional.
From day one we've seen how her validating
Rasulullah ﷺ.
How in a way she believed in him
when he didn't believe in himself.
And he felt that he's a poet or
possessed.
This is some demonic experience.
She told him no.
And she verified for him in so many
different ways.
That he's on the right track.
He passes away.
The year of grief ensues for Rasulullah ﷺ.
Where he's still struggling to come to terms
with.
How can my own clan, my own people,
my own brothers.
Be so opposed to me.
How can they have so much animosity.
So much enmity.
Then the best support that he had in
human form.
He loses.
The year that he does not smile.
ﷺ That's when Allah tells him the story.
So this story comes in response to those
events in Sira.
لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُعَادَكَ One of the purposes of
the Qur'an.
One of the functions of the Qur'an
for Rasulullah ﷺ.
Is to respond to real time events as
they're happening.
And it comes as a response to a
question.
That the Jewish people settled in Yathrib have
asked.
The Quraysh in their exasperation.
Realizing that they know nothing of scripture or
revelation or what have you.
Have resorted to the Jewish tribes and said
can you help us out here.
This dude claims to be a prophet.
We don't know what he's at.
We don't know what he's on.
But we need something.
So why don't you tell us something that
we can stump him with.
Some questions perhaps.
And so they ask a few questions.
Three of them are to be answered in
Surah Kahf and Surah Bani Israel.
One of them is answered here in Surah
Yusuf.
So they're like Ibrahim ﷺ.
He was based around the holy land.
Jerusalem and whereabouts.
How in the world did Yusuf ﷺ and
his brothers.
How did they end up in Egypt?
Why is the Bani Israel in Fir'aun's
captivity in Egypt.
Whereas Yaqub ﷺ from Is'haq ﷺ.
They were settled in and around Jerusalem.
So how did all of them just end
up in this place in Egypt.
When we talk about Fir'aun, we talk
about Musa.
That's happening in another part of the world.
So how did that come about?
So this story answers that question.
And it responds to Rasulullah ﷺ's need in
that time as well.
بِمَا أَوْحَيْنَ إِلَيْكَ هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ Just like we
revealed to you this Qur'an.
وَإِن كُنتَ مِن قَبْلِهِنَ مِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ And before
this you were of those who did not
know, who were unaware.
إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لْأَبِيهِ When Yusuf said to
his father, يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتَ I'm pretty
sure I saw this dream.
أَخَذَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمْحَ I see 11
stars, the sun and the moon.
رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي ثَاجِدِي I see that they're doing
sajda before me.
قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا نَقْصُسْ رُؤْيَكَ عَلَى إِخْوَتِكَ
So Yaqub alayhi as-salam responded, My dear
son, don't tell this dream to your brothers.
فَيَكِيدُوا لَكَ كَيْدًا They will contrive a plan
against you.
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوبٌ مُّبِينٌ And for sure,
Shaytan is an open enemy of human beings.
As awesome as this dream is, as wonderful
as it is, what it symbolizes is something
that your brothers are not going to be,
Oh my God, welcoming you with open arms
about.
It's going to trigger inside of them that
hatred, that envy, that demonic state.
And we don't know what follows from there.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ يَجْتَبِيكَ رَبُّكَ And then he goes on
to talk about, first the warning comes in,
and then he talks about how awesome the
dream is.
This is how your Rabb will choose you.
وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَخَادِيثِ And he will teach
you the interpretation, it's been looked at in
both ways, interpretation of dreams, and also a
deeper understanding of affairs, of matters, of problems.
وَيُتِّمُ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ And he will perfect his
favor upon you, وَعَلَىٰ آلِيَعْقُوبِ As well as
the family of Ya'qub.
كَمَا أَتَمَّهَا عَلَىٰ أَبَوَيْكَ مِن قَبْلِ Just like
he perfected it before you, on your grandfathers.
إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
And for sure, your Rabb is knowing and
wise.
If he is making this choice in your
favor, choosing you thus, as somebody who is
going to have this depth, this knowledge, this
ability, this is a continuation of that prophetic
lineage, of that prophetic legacy, that he chose
Ya'qub Alayhi Salaam, he chose Ithaq Alayhi
Salaam, and he chose Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam.
The most noble lineage, the lineage of Yusuf
Alayhi Salaam, where his father, grandfather, and great
-grandfather are all prophets.
لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي يُوسُفَ وَإِخْوَةِهِينَ And for sure,
in the story of Yusuf and his brothers,
there are آيَاتُ لِلسَّائِلِينَ signs for those asking.
And so those asking include the Jewish people,
those asking include the people of Quraysh, because
they got that question from the Jewish people.
And then those asking in a very different
way includes Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam because he's
also asking for help in his state of
need in the Amul Huzm.
إِذْ قَالُوا When they said, لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ
إِلَىٰ أَبِيْنَا مِنَّا Yusuf and his brothers are
more beloved to our father than we are.
So Yusuf and Binyamin are the two sons
from one mother, and the rest of them,
the ones talking to each other right now,
they're brothers from another mother.
And the brothers from another mother look towards
Yusuf and Binyamin, who are younger, not very
fondly.
When they look at their father showing this
affection towards them, and they look at it
as, okay, that's their, you know, our father's
lost it.
He's giving preference to them over us.
وَنَحْنُ أُصْبَةً Even though we are a strong
group.
So why should our father favor us?
Because we're stronger.
There's more of us.
We're more powerful.
We're more worthy of his love.
His love should conform to our standards.
And our standards are based entirely on this
understanding of strength and power.
So what's wrong with him that he wouldn't
choose us?
Again, Rasulullah ﷺ has been constantly tortured by
the Quraysh with a similar narrative, with a
similar logic.
How in the world are you chosen by
God?
How in the world are you the messenger,
the prophet?
The Qariyatayni Azeem, the two great cities, Ta
'if and Mecca, the great leaders in those
cities, the powerful leaders, the wealth that they
have, the influence that they have, the entourage
that they have, and God chose you?
Clearly something's wrong there.
So this preference that is being given to
Yusuf ﷺ by his father, this preference that
is being given to Rasulullah ﷺ by Allah,
and the brothers can't take it.
Like how that doesn't make sense.
He should conform to our standards.
How dare he?
إِنَّ أَبَانَ لَقِيدُ الْعَالِمُ مُبِينٌ Our father's lost
it.
He's gone cuckoo.
He's lost his way.
أُقُتُلُوا يُوسُفٍ Kill Yusuf.
I just get rid of him.
Again, they're so fixated.
Their anger with respect to...
And Yusuf ﷺ did not tell them the
dream.
The father told him not to, he didn't.
Yet they see there's something about him.
There's something about him that we don't have.
But whatever it is that we have, that
is a real thing to have.
And so on the basis of that standard,
the misguidance of our father in giving him
preference, we have to set that straight.
We have to set it right, even if
it means getting rid of him altogether.
What are you going to do?
You have to do it for the truth.
The truth is that we are stronger and
our father is better off directing his attention
towards us.
So let's save him the trouble.
أُقُتُلُوا يُوسُفٍ Let's kill him.
أَوِطْرَحُهُ أَرْضًا Or just throw him away in
some other land.
يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ Your father's attention will
be all yours.
Your father's love, affection, attention, all of it.
And again, what are they doing it for?
Their father is the prophet.
Their father is...
His affection means more than just the affection
of a father.
It is the affection and the privilege of
being close to or closer to a prophet.
It is a spiritual legacy as well that
they yearn.
وَتَكُونُوا مِن بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ And after that,
you can become righteous people.
And you can do tawbah.
قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ One of them said, and
this is reportedly the eldest of the brothers,
the relatively most sane, most reasonable among them,
لا تَقْتُلُوا يُسُفٍ Do not kill Yusuf.
وَأَلْقُوهُ بِغَيَابَةِ الْجُبْ Rather, throw him in a
dark well.
So they've already entertained the possibility of the
worst.
Now doing something less than the worst is
almost like doing Yusuf a favor.
See, we didn't kill you.
We could have, but we didn't.
See how generous we are?
لا تَقْتُلُوا يُسُفٍ وَأَلْقُوهُ بِغَيَابَةِ الْجُبْ يَلْتَقِطُهُ بَعْدُ
السَّيَّارَةَ So passing by a caravan can pick
him up.
إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ Now that you have, that
you're going to do something, you've already resolved
to do something, if there is something that
you got to do, then let's just do
this.
He's not on board entirely, but he's not
off board either.
قَالُوا يَأَبَانَ So they asked their father, Dad,
ما لَكَ لَا تَأْمَنَّ عَلَى يُسُفٍ What's wrong?
Why don't you trust us with Yusuf?
وَإِنَّ لَهُ لَنَاصِحُونَ And we have his best
interest at heart.
We love him so much.
أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدَيْنْ يَرْتَعْ وَيَلْعَبْ Send him with
us tomorrow, let him enjoy himself and play.
And you can well imagine that they do
think that they have his best interest at
heart.
See, all this pampering, all this love and
attention, that's not good for him.
It's going to spoil him.
That's roughing him up, toughing him up.
That's, you know, he needs to be stronger
too.
Get rid of him altogether.
We'll teach him life lessons.
We have his best interest at heart.
أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدَيْنْ يَرْتَعْ وَيَلْعَبْ So send him
with us tomorrow.
He'll enjoy, he'll play.
وَإِنَّ لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ And we will take very
good care of him.
We'll protect him.
قَالَ إِنِّي لَيَحْزُنُنِ يَنْ تَذْهَبُوا بِه Yaqub Alaihissalam
said, I feel grieved, I feel sad, that
you should take him with you.
مُعَطَفُ أَن يَأْكُلَهُ الذِّئِبَ And I fear that
a wolf might eat him up.
Yaqub Alaihissalam is onto their game somewhat.
He has something of an idea.
They're up to no good.
And so he's expressing his fears.
He's letting them know.
وَأَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ غَافِلُونَ But you're not paying attention
to him.
قَالُوا لَئِنْ أَكَلَهُ الذِّئِبُ وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةً If a
wolf eats him, we're this strong group.
إِنَّا إِذَلَّا خَاسِرُونَ Then for sure, we're a
bunch of losers.
If that ends up happening, what does that
say of us?
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا بِهِ So when they finally took
him with them, وَأَجْمَعُوا And they had a
consensus.
أَنْ يَجْعَلُوهُ فِي غَيَابَةِ الْجُدْرَ That they will
place him in a dark well.
And well, not like the kind of wells
we know, in the sense that there's those
small, dark holes and, you know, a lot
of yellow water.
Wells used to be relatively more spacious.
Or bigger.
So there would be adequate place to even
sit inside of them.
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْنَ And it was at this point
that we revealed, but it's still a well.
It's still dark.
It's still dingy.
It's still not the kind of place you
want to be in.
It's deep, deep down underground and there's nobody
there.
And for a little boy, who was how
old could he have been?
It's incredibly frightening.
And we revealed to him at that time.
And Allah comes to his aid even at
that time as a child.
لَنُنَبِّئُ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُمْ بِأَمْرِهِمْ هَذَا You will remind them
of this act of theirs.
So there's already this vengefulness which is being
sparked within Yusuf Alayhi Salaam which is being
validated that don't worry.
And he's being given this, and of course
there's this fear for his life as well.
He's being told don't worry about it.
We gotcha.
We're going to take care of you.
We're going to take such good care of
you that you're going to be in a
position to tell them about what they've done,
about the gravity of what they've done.
وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُونَ And they don't understand.
وَجَاءُواْ أَبَاءْهُمْ عِشَاءً يَبْكُونَ Late in the evening
they returned to their father, crying.
قَالُواْ يَا أَبَانَا Our dad.
إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقْ We went off racing with
one another.
وَتَرَكْنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَاءِنَا We left Yusuf with
our belongings.
You know, all our stuff.
فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئِبَ And a wolf ate him.
وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَّنَا And you will not
believe us.
وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَدِقِينَ Even though we're true, you
always suspected us.
وَجَاءُواْ عَلَىٰ قَمِيصَهِ بِذَمِنْ كَذِبٍ And they came
with his shirt, stained with false blood.
This was their evidence, their proof.
قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا قَالَ
بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا It becomes something
so easy.
You have driven yourself, this heinous act that
you've done.
How were you able to justify it to
yourself?
Somehow your nafs has allowed you to do
that.
What was it all done in the name
of love of the father, love of the
prophet?
Love of the father, love of the prophet.
These very incredibly important values.
Why wouldn't you do something for the love
of your father?
Why wouldn't you do something for the love
of a prophet?
How far it has taken you that these
disguises, this infatuation with your own love of
your father or the prophet is such that
it has blinded you into committing something justified
for you in doing something so heinous, so
criminal.
قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَالصَّبْرٌ جَبِيلٌ
Patience is most fitting.
He doesn't trust them.
He doesn't believe them.
He doesn't buy it.
He said, but sabr is the best way
forward.
فَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ Allah is going
to be, Allah is the best one worthy
of seeking help from against what you describe.
وَجَاءَتْ سَيَّارًا And there came a caravan.
فَأَرْسَلُوا وَارِدَهُمْ And they sent their water drawer,
the one who's going to bring out water.
فَأَدْلَ دَلْوَى Who let his bucket down into
the well.
قَالَ يَا بُشْرَىٰ هَذَا غُلَامٌ And he shouted,
good news.
Look, I found a young boy.
And what does that mean?
That means money.
They're going to sell him as a slave.
وَأَسَرُوهُ بِضَاعَةٍ And they hid him.
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ But Allah knew what
they were doing.
So two opinions, either the people in the
caravan who have found Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, they
immediately hide him.
So their owners or their claimants or their
family just doesn't find out.
So they get, he's practically being kidnapped.
Or it is said that the brothers came
in.
And they're like, he's ours.
You want him?
وَشَرَوْهُ بِالثَّمَنٍ بَخْسٍ ذَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودًا And they sold
him out for a petty price of a
few dirham, few darahim, like a fourth of
a dinar, like a quarter.
وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ And concerning him, they
felt very zahid.
They felt very righteous.
Look, we did not overcharge.
We were so nice.
We did not overcharge.
We did not.
We actually gave him out for a huge
discount.
So whether it's the kidnappers or whether it's
the brothers who have also practically kidnapped their
brother and sold him away, their guilt for
the crime that they've committed, the kidnapping itself,
the treachery against their father, against their brother,
how are they dispelling that guilt?
We sold him off for such little money.
We didn't overcharge.
The zahid, the simplicity, the big discount that
we gave.
See, we're not greedy people.
We don't do it for the money.
الحمد لله، ما شاء الله، تبارك الله وَقَالَ
الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَاهُوا مِن مِصْرَةٍ لِامْرَاتِهِ And the Egyptian
who bought him said to his wife, أَكْرِمِي
مَثْوَاهُ Make his day honorable.
عَسَىٰ أَن يَنْفَعْنَا He may prove very useful
to us.
So again, this Aziz, this dignitary in Egypt,
he has a position in the court of
the king.
He has his position in the city.
He's not just anybody.
He sees something in Yusuf.
He's generally seems to be a nice person.
So he's telling his wife, make his day
honorable.
He may be very useful for us.
أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدَهُ We may even adopt him
as a son.
They did not seem to have a son.
None appears in the story.
And there have been interpretations that say they
could not have a son.
That Aziz himself may have been impotent.
And that may be one of the reasons
why his wife did what she did because
her husband wasn't able to.
وَكَذَلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ And that is
how we established Yusuf in the land.
وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَخَادِيثِ So as to be
able to teach him the interpretation of events.
The brothers plotted, but then Allah planned.
And the plan of Allah was such that
the animosity and the enmity of the brothers,
it is even claimed it brought out from
something so traumatic as that.
Something so evil as that.
That now through this, Yusuf is going to
be able to learn what he would not
have been able to learn even though he
would have been brought up in the household
of a prophet.
And what the prophet would give him in
the sense of a prophetic knowledge, that's all
fine and dandy and great and awesome.
But the تَأْوِيلِ الْأَخَادِيثِ that he is going
to learn being raised in the house of
a government official.
There's going to be dignitaries coming and going.
Conversations that he's going to be listening in
on.
Affairs of the state.
Politics and economy and what not that he's
going to be learning.
And for that تعليم, this sort of a
setup was ideal.
وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِ Allah was in full
control over his affair.
The أَمْر, the meaningfulness of Yusuf's life, of
Allah's purpose for him.
Allah was in full control.
And even in that very traumatic, very difficult
situation of unimaginable suffering for a child, there
is so much good that can come out.
وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ But most people
don't know.
Most people see the cross-section of what
is going on.
And if you look at it in cross
-section without the full picture, what's hidden inside
of it as possibility, as potential for what
it holds for the future.
And yet, you can't make sense of it.
So much pain, so much difficulty, so much
suffering for a child.
وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّ And when he reached his
maturity, أَطَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا We granted him wisdom
and knowledge.
وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْلِ الْمُحْسِنِينَ And that is how we
reward those who attain to excellence or those
who work with excellence.
The most beautiful of conduct.
Again, he's a prophet, but the حُكْمًا وَعِلْمٍ
that he is given, Allah says that comes
to the people of excellence, to the people
of Ihsan.
Not Anbiya, not Rasul necessarily, but مُحْسِنِين.
That's the sunnah of Allah.
وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَن نَفْسِهِ The
lady of the house in which he lived
sought to seduce him.
وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابِ And she bolted the doors.
وَقَالَتْ And she said, أَيْتَ لَكَ كَمَعًا قَالَ
مَعَادَ اللَّهِ Yusuf Alayhi Salaam said, Refuge of
Allah.
I seek the refuge of Allah.
إِنَّهُ رَبِّي He is my Rabb.
This is read both ways.
Allah is my Rabb and I seek his
refuge.
Or this is referring to the Aziz, her
husband, his master.
I am his slave.
I am bound to him.
I owe him this trust that he's left
me alone with you.
I can't betray that.
إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَى He has provided me
an honorable living.
إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ And those who are
unjust are never going to succeed.
If I do not keep that trust, if
I do not honor that trust, again, if
anyone has a right to play victim here,
like, oh my God, why in the world
was I treated with such unfairness, such injustice?
And this sense of being a victim and
not being able to see any possibility of
meaningfulness in your suffering, it does lead for
you to feel that it's perfectly fine if
I'm unfair, if I'm unjust, if I don't
play by the rules.
The rules weren't followed in my case.
I was picked up and thrown out of
my house down in the well and then
sold off and then bought as a slave.
How is any of that fair?
And so if I've been victimized such and
put through that trauma and that pain, if
as a young adolescent or teenager and a
woman of power and apparently a lot of
beauty and attraction, if she's calling me, then
the *, why not?
But Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, he said straight out,
no, he's still able to see the goodness
and it's pretty, it's pretty incredible.
He is still able to see the goodness
and where is he able to see this
goodness?
He's able to see this goodness in his,
the one who bought him, the one who
has kept him as a slave and he
feels like he owes him his trust that
he does.
He's going to honor that trust.
He's not going to betray it, that he
still owes Allah to live morally.
He understands that this is going to be,
that this zulm is not justified based on
the zulm that I've experienced.
People who are unjust do not succeed.
وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ With a passion she desired
him.
وَهَمَّ بِهَا He desired her.
لَوْ لَا أَرَّأَ بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ Had he not
seen a sign, some burhan from his Rabb.
This connection with Allah, that this relationship of
Rabb and Abl, that Yusuf a.s. was
able to maintain and nurture despite everything, despite
everything, or even because of everything.
This allowed for him even in that state
where your fear, your desire can simply overpower
all better sense, all better reason, all better
moral sense.
He is still able to see something, some
sign, appreciate that this is not going to
be done.
I am not doing this.
I'm getting the * out of here.
هِذَٰلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ And so this
is how it was, that we could shield
him from the evil and immorality.
إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ He was one of
our chosen ibad, مُخْلَصِين Again this عُبُودِيَّ that
he had given himself to, this prepared him,
this enamored him with the moral uprightness such
that even in that difficult of a situation,
the sort of situation in which for a
young man to hold himself back was incredibly
challenging and difficult to the point that the
Quran acknowledges it.
Yet he was able to do so.
It is that moral uprightness and that عَبْدِ
الرَّبِّ relationship that stands up for you, that
manifests itself in so many different ways, within
your own personality, in the environment somehow, something
or the other, that ended up saving him.
وَسْتَبَقَ الْبَابِ And so they raced towards the
door.
وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِنْ دُبُرِ And she ripped his
shirt from the back.
وَأَلْفَيَ سَيْجِدَهَا لَدَ الْبَابِ And at the door,
they met her husband.
وَقَالَتْ مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءٌ And
she immediately thought on her feet, this is
not a pretty situation to be in.
Hubby was not supposed to be home.
Hubby is home.
He's standing there.
All the doors that she locked, whatever happened
to those doors?
Whatever it is, she's looking at her husband.
And she's not like, you know, all in
hijab and mashaAllah, covered from head to toe.
You can well imagine that if she's looking
to seduce Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, she is decked
out.
So what should be the punishment of one
who has evil intentions towards your wife?
إِلَّا أَن يُسْجِنَا وَأَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ Except an imprisonment
or a very painful punishment.
Yusuf Alayhi Salaam said, هِي رَوَضَتْنِي النَّفْسِ She's
the one.
She sought to seduce me.
وَشَهِدَ الشَّاهِدُ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا And a witness from
her own family testified.
So apparently husband's not alone.
He has company.
So this embarrassing situation, it's not just her
husband.
He has somebody with him who is apparently
from her family.
He testifies.
Again, him being from her family.
شَهِدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا He's not related to Yusuf.
He can't be related to Yusuf.
The truth of the claim that Yusuf Alayhi
Salaam is making.
Yusuf Alayhi Salaam makes a claim.
The wife of the Aziz makes a claim.
And they're both making claim from their own
self.
It's a self-referential claim.
Right?
He's saying I'm innocent.
She's saying I'm innocent.
He's saying she's guilty.
She's saying he's guilty.
What do you do?
The more distant the affirmation, the confirmation, the
evidence from your own person, the stronger the
credibility of your truth.
And so Yusuf Alayhi Salaam's case becomes stronger
when somebody who's her relative says, okay, let's
look at the objective evidence here.
If his shirt is ripped from the front,
then she's speaking the truth.
He is one of the liars.
But if the shirt is ripped from the
back, from behind, then she is lying.
And he is the one speaking the truth.
And so when her husband found Yusuf Alayhi
Salaam's shirt ripped from behind, he said, this
is one of your women's tricks.
And for sure, you women have very, you
have mighty tricks.
You have these big tricks.
And so Yusuf Alayhi Salaam's case again, his
misogyny, his embarrassment, of course, but then him
not doing anything either.
And when it's in front of him, yet
they want to hash it up.
Yusuf, let it go.
The most he can do.
You are the one at fault.
But she gets away with it.
The best that the husband can do at
that point is abuse her, tell her that
it's her fault, and nicely requests Yusuf, which
is pretty much a command since he's the
owner and he's the slave, to let it
go.
But coming back, the Sunnah that we see,
that the Quran follows, that in affirming its
own truth, in affirming its own claim to
truth, it invites the reader, the listener to
affirm from the most distant of sources.
Let that Shahid come from the Bani Israel.
Let that Shahid come from the world of
nature.
Let that Shahid come from the Torah and
the Injil.
Let that Shahid come from history.
Let that Shahid come from all of these
desperate sources.
And the more desperate the sources, the more
varied the sources, the more distant they are
from the Quran and from each other, the
more the credibility of the truth claim.
Coming back to the story.
Women of the town started talking.
The minister's wife tried to seduce her young
slave.
She has fallen madly in love with him.
Of course, the husband had company.
As honest in judgment as that person was,
speaking in favor of Yusuf.
Maybe he wasn't the only one.
Maybe it was him.
Somehow news leaks that the minister's wife is
blank, blank.
She can't hold herself.
She even has it for her slave boy.
And we find her clearly off track.
Again, how the spin of others and that's
a very integral role of gossip in a
degenerate society.
That all of these scandals, all of these,
and there's a word for them, when these
celebrities have these scandals, when you're talking about
how they're so unfaithful, so bad, so addicted
to this drug or that drug and then
coming out of rehab and going into rehab
and then cheating on their husbands and cheating
on their wives and cheating on their boyfriends
and cheating on this and cheating on that
and not having it good.
Or politicians for that matter.
Their degree of corruption and they stole from
here and they bribed him and they bribed
that.
Every degenerate society needs this gossip, these scandals,
these scandals of these slanders, these exaggerations, these
rumors and these true stories of corruption and
evil so as to make the members of
that degenerate society feel good about themselves.
We're so righteous.
We're so nice.
We're so good.
We could never stoop to that level.
And whatever guilt we have for being whatever
way we are, not good enough or the
little evil that we do here and there,
it wanes in comparison.
It wanes in comparison to the gravity of
the evil of that person.
And so why does it spread like wildfire?
Because each of us involved in spreading it
like Cher ha ha.
It's speaking to us, speaking to an inner
need, a guilt that actually wants to be
allayed through proper means, repent, make amends, start
growing, make something of your life, do something
responsible.
That's too much trouble.
Like Cher forward?
Amin ha ha.
How horrible are these people?
Astaghfirullah.
That's so much easier.
That is so much easier.
Why don't we just do that?
Guilt goes down.
You feel so righteous and nice about yourself
in comparison to the evil of the other
person.
Life moves on.
She is astaghfirullah.
Way off that.
So the gossip, it goes around so fast,
it comes back to her.
When she heard about their little gossips going
around, she invited them.
And she arranged for them a reception.
And she gave each of them a knife.
So when they're all doing their thing, talking,
cutting their fruits or whatever, she said, Yusuf,
can you come here for a bit?
They have to come.
The moment they saw him, they were overwhelmed
by him.
And they cut off their hands.
The word in the ayah seems to suggest
that they intentionally cut their hands.
And what has been read from this is
that one of them may have cut off
her hands unintentionally.
And Yusuf, as the servant of the house,
has to attend to her.
He has to serve as the nurse.
Attend to her bleeding hand and God knows
what else.
The rest of the women are like, how
does she get that much attention?
We want that nurse.
So they're like, me too.
And they said, oh, my God.
This is not a man.
This is but a noble angel.
She said to them, This is the one
about whom you were blaming me.
Yes, I did try to seduce him.
But he held strong.
And so if he does not do what
I am asking him to do, he will
indeed be thrown into prison.
And he will be humiliated in the sight
of the people.
Prison is dearer to me.
I'd rather be in prison rather than what
they invite me to do.
So it's not just her anymore.
All of them are taking their shots at
Yusuf.
All of them are now going to look
for some way or the other to have
him.
He's like, ya Allah, can't take this anymore.
Send me to prison.
I'll be better off there.
If you don't save me from their trap,
I will incline towards them.
I'm not going to hold on to my
righteousness or my ability to have saved myself
before or my nobility.
My father is a prophet.
My grandfather is a prophet.
I saw this wonderful dream in which the
sun and the moon and the 11 stars
were bowing to me for crying out loud.
I can hold myself strong.
No way.
I prefer prison.
I will be of those who are overtaken
by their instincts.
So his Rabb accepted his prayer.
And he averted them.
He saved him from their trap.
Allah is hearing and knowing.
Even after seeing all the signs, it appeared
to them appropriate that he should be in
prison for some time.
Alhamdulillah.