AL BAYAN - Surah YUSUF - Part 7 - Verses 21 - 24 - Javed Ahmed Ghamidi

[Ghamidi] All praise be to
Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Peace and blessings be upon
Muhammad, the honourable Prophet.

I seek refuge with Allah
Almighty from the accursed Satan.

In the name of Allah the most
Gracious the most Merciful.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

we are starting our study
from the 21st verse of the Surah.

This is Surah Yusuf.

The chronicle of Syedna Yusuf A.S.
that has been narrated in this,

from the point of view
of the object of this Surah,

it is intended to show,

that at this time, whatever
the Quraish is doing—

the brothers who are in the
tribe of the Prophet (pbuh),

is not different from what
the brothers of Yusuf had done.

They have been shown a mirror, (to see) how
this scheme of Allah is going to be manifested.

And how you will be disgraced and will stand
bowed down before your brother one day.

And this will be the time when he will declare general forgiveness or amnesty for you.

However, as the Quran has
said, that this is the best of stories.

i.e., it is the most excellent among all the
stories that have been narrated in the Quran.

In each and every part of it,
at its each and every stage,

some aspects of the eloquence of the Quran
are made apparent in a very beautiful way.

And the instruction that
Allah gives to humans,

and the aspects of human psychology
that are related to that teaching,

some parts of it are also worth
studying and reflecting upon.

In this chronicle, the
discussion had reached this point

that among the people of
Egypt, the person who had puchased him

that is Potiphar, who had bought him,

He came and told his wife that
this is a boy keep him with great care.

I hope he will bring us benefit.

And if he should actually
prove to be worthy of this,

then it is possible
that we will adopt him.

That is, make him our son.

The Quran had stated, that this is how
We gave Yusuf a place in that country.

i.e., the brothers put him in a dark well.

A moving caravan picked
him and brought him.

And the way in which
slaves used to be sold,

the serfs would be sold,

in the same way, they came to
the Egyptian market and sold him.

If one looks at it in this sense, that
was a great disaster waiting to happen.

But Allah the almighty
created such circumstances,

that the man who bought
him was the Aziz of Egypt.

The future that Allah
had destined for him,

there could not have been a better place
than this for his preparation.

Therefore, in this way, he reached
the royal palaces, the royal families,

and the people who were
concerned with the royal affairs.

So, it has been
expressed by a saying,

that it was in this way that We gave
Yusuf a place in that country.

That is, we created
such circumstances,

that, we lifted him up from his status as a
slave or a serf, and had him placed there.

"Wa li nuallimahu
min ta'weelil ahadees".

And this so that We can teach
him to reach the reality of things.

I have said that this is a very
comprehensive expression.

In which the interpretation
of dreams also comes.

But in a much broader sense, Allah tells us
that the things that happen in the world,

the incidents that occur, the
calamities that present themselves,

in the same way, some thing,
some speech is given before us

we read or listen
to some discourse.

So, the real purpose is to reach
the reality of the matter everywhere.

Allah gives special capacities
for this to the Prophets.

And it has also been
told about Yusuf A.S., that

We taught him to reach
the reality of things.

This was in our view.

That is, we kept this ability
within him, or created it.

I have said about this in detail that
the whole thing is latent within it.

That We take him to a
peaceful place, keep him there,

give him the opportunity to
understand the royal matters,

he is still young, in fact,
in one way, he is a boy only.

So, when he spends
10-20 years here, then

the next stages
which are predestinate,

he will become capable of
fulfilling those responsibilities

or of reaching those realities.

All this is hidden in
this one sentence.

He said, We have made this arrangement,
i.e. the brothers had planned to kill him.

The actual scheme was this only,
that this boy should be killed.

A brother presented a
plan that,

instead of killing him and taking such
a big crime upon one's head,

throw him in some well.

So, at least his life was saved.

But where did Allah take him from
there and what was the outlook in that?

So it is evident, this lesson
has been given here,

that sometimes a person thinks
that he has been treated unjustly,

a great crime has been
comitted upon him,

what has Allah the Almighty done?

He was sitting at home and,

what a life he was living
as a son of the Prophet!

But see, neither was Allah's
intervention made apparent,

nor could the father save him.

Brothers took him and went
back to decieve the father,

that he was eaten by a wolf,
while throwing us into a well.

So to say, this whole story
becomes very painful for a person,

that what is this that
has happened to me?

So, it has been shown
here that sometimes,

you are seeing that
this is happening to you,

and that someone has
deceived you in this way,

or you have become a
victim of someone's deception.

or there has been a
conspiracy against you,

or some people
have tried to kill you.

Before the sight of Allah, in such
misfortunes, many big things happen.

So, it has been commented
on that further ahead that,

Wallahu Ghalibun Ala Amrihi Wala
Kinna Aksar An Naasil La Ya'lamun

The reality is that Allah
keeps on enforcing his will,

but most people do not know.

i.e., such descents,
such stages where,

it looks as if a person has
fallen off from the skies.

these have no
importance with Allah.

He creates pathways
from within these,

that if the person is
actually His servant and

He has assigned a big position
for him, then He takes him there.

So, Allah has such sway over His affairs.

He says, "but most people do not know".

i.e., people obviously
see only what is present,

their vision is confined to the apparent.

They remain entangled in
those things, and then

very immediate things
troubles them too.

If a disease or a problem arises,

or if they are debarred
from some big position,

if a person thinks positively,

then all these things become
a means of his education,

and create opportunities
to elevate him.

And these are the things from
within which Allah the Almighty

draws out the pathways
towards great exaltation.

So, this wisdom has
been stated by Allah here.

And in this, it has been said
especially that when Allah decides

that He is to take out
some good from an evil,

then He does so unwaveringly
and no one can restrain His hand.

If people would only know this,
then they would never cry or wail.

Then that thing would
always be before them,

which the Quran has said, that,

'La Taqra'u Ala Ma Wa
La Ta'asu Ala Ma Fata'kum

Wa La Tafra'u Ala Ma Ata'akum'

There is no need to celebrate too much
about what Allah has given,

and when Allah
deprives us of something,

then there is no need
to be saddened by that.

A person should always
remain steady on that right balance,

which the Lord of this world, this
universe wants from the people.

But most people do not know.

'Wa Lamma Balagha Ashuddahu
Ata'inahu Hukmam Wa Ilma'

He said that now, for that remedy of Ours—
or whatever We preordained for him.

the manifestation of
that destiny has begun.

Therefore, it
occured in this way.

That is, this much is predetermined
here, that whatever Allah had wanted,

it has begun. How did it begin?

He said, "So it happened in the same way—

'Wa Lamma Balagha Ashuddahu
wa Ata'inahu Hukmam Wa Ilma'

Wa Qadhalika Najzil Muhsineen'

And when he reached maturity,

then we gave him
authority and knowledge.

Here it is obvious that,

authority is the ability by which
a person makes right decisions.

In Arabic language and in our Urdu
as well, it is also used in this sense.

That is, we use the word 'hukum'
to give a command.

But here it does not mean this.

Rather, here it means that ability
of a person to make a decision,

it is that which in fact
makes him a guide as well.

And it is also becomes the means
to attain a position of authority.

We gave him this thing and along
with that, we gave him knowledge too.

I have written on it,

"i.e., the knowledge that is divinely
revealed for the guidance of mankind".

i.e., here, that
knowledge is meant,

which is obtained through
'Wahi' (revealed upon someone).

These are the different styles
by which the Quran tells that,

we have chosen
him for Prophethood.

And then after that, it was said
—'Wa Qadhalika Najzil Muhsineen'

"In this way do We reward
those who are good in their deeds".

That is, whatever
we get from Allah,

– since this world is
a workshop of trials –

then here, only by putting some
attributes and qualities up front,

or by putting some person's
struggle before up front, do we get it

When Allah gives, then there
are some justifications behind it.

And when He takes, then there
are some means behind that too.

So to whomever Allah gives
this knowledge, this wisdom,

that they may give
guidance to people,

to the extent that they are
even chosen for Prophethood,

then in that, so that the
glory of His Nature be respected

there is a great
invovlement (on His part).

This has been interpreted
here with the word 'Muhsineen'.

i.e. those people who take advantage
of the Guidance given by Allah.

Because He has entrusted
that Guidance within mankind,

and He has given him the
power of discernment.

Because he (man) has a conscience,
a living and wakeful conscience,

it guides him on every occassion.

So the people who accept that guidance,

and arrange their lives
in accordance with it,

they are 'Muhsineen'.

The Quran uses this word
'Muhsineen' in this sense.

i.e., they are those
who act with excellence.

Whatever they have recieved, they
fulfill its dues with excellence.

They fulfill it in a very good way.

The people who have this
quality, We give them such rewards,

i.e., We reward them in
this way in this world as well.

So this is what has been said.

After this, the account goes on—

"Wa raabaduthu allati
huwa fi baitiha an nafsihi

wa ghallakatil labbaab
wa kaalat haytalak".

"And the woman in whose house
Yusuf resided, began tempting him".

In this, so much is clear that he came
when he was a boy, he became a youthful,

once he became a young man, he
was exquisitely beautiful,

extraordinary beauty, extraordinary
grace, extraordinary appearance,

and she started to seduce
Yusuf in the house he was in.

So the wife of Aziz,
i.e., the wife of Potiphar,

whose house he
was living in,

she herself fell
in love with him.

"One day, she bolted the doors".

Since the matter is
of such nature,

the Quran does not consider
it worthy of its status,

to describe it in great detail.

These are such things that can
might be of interest for the novelist,

but the Quran, in such matters,

generally adopts a very
brief and abridged method.

That is, in a few sentences,
it puts a picture in front of us

and moves towards the real issue.

So here too, it has
done the same thing.

"And the woman in whose house
Yusuf resided, began tempting him".

Then what did she do?
'Wa Ghallakatil Abwab'

She, one day—i.e. the
matter kept on escalating,

it is obvious that
there are beginnings,

then one begins to have courage.

"One day, she bolted the doors".

It was a time (of the day) when she
saw that there was no one at home,

or there is no possibility that her husband
could come, so she closed the doors.

'Wa Qaalat Haitalak'.

And she said "come".

That is, she gave the
invitation to sin, to Yusuf.

See what the answer is.

'Qala Maazallahi Innahu
Rabbi Ahsana Maswai

Innahu La Yuflihus Zaalimun'

This was not an ordinary test.

He is a young man, he
is exquisitely beautiful,

he is still in his early years,

in this passions can also run high.

And an extraordinary woman in
the house, in such a safe environment,

tells him that "come".

Yusuf said, "God's refuge!"

He is my master, he
has kept me cordially,

I cannot do this treachery.

Because such oppressive people
never attain success.

The interesting thing is that he
did not say that my Lord is watching.

Allah the Almighty is watching
all these things from the heavens.

How will I answer
him? He did not say this.

Yusuf said, "God forbid!" He
is my master, i.e., your husband.

He who bought me, in whose
house I am, he is my master.

He has kept me with cordiality.

i.e., he has not
misbehaved with me.

I was a slave when he bought me,
and has always taken care of me.

And I am being raised
in this house as a son.

I cannot do this treachery.

Because such oppressors can
never attain salvation.

Those who do treachery
with them who do good,

or who give a bad recompense
for their good deeds,

Allah the Almighty's
law is that,

He sometimes disgraces
them even in this world as well.

Such cruel people
never attain success.

"He is my master", I have
written a footnote about it,

i.e., your husband is my master.

He did not say this about Allah.

The words are 'Innahu Rabbi',

the word 'Rab' has
been used for 'master'.

That is why some people thought
that it is for Allah the Almighty.

It is not so.

"The actual word used for master is 'Rab'".

"Just, as it is used
for Allah,

it is also used for 'Malik'
(master) and 'Aaqa' (owner)".

In the Arabic language,
like in our Urdu,

is not just used for Allah
or the Lord of the Universe,

rather, in the common language, it
was used for 'Aaqa' and 'Malik'—

there was slavery in those
days, it would be used.

and it is still used.

In Arabic language, i.e., even in the
Arabic language that is spoken today,

the terms 'Rab-ul-Maal', 'Rab-ul-Bait'
and 'Rab-ud-Daar' are used in ordinarily.

i.e. for the head of the family,
'Rab-ul-Bait' is normally used.

Similarly, the person who invests in a
partnership, he is called 'Rab-ul-Maal',

so this is the common language,
and he has used in word in that sense.

"There are many examples
of words in this language,

that are used both for Allah the
Almighty and for human beings".

This was the reason
that, in Hebrew as well,

the words 'Ibn' and 'Ab'
are used in the same way.

i.e., for the Lord too
and for the father as well,

for the son too and
for the servant as well.

So, the people, having made
a mistake in the translation,

established the doctrine
of the word Christ son of God.

So, sometimes there is a shared meaning
between the words,

and where it has to been seen
where the word has been used,

and from that point of view,
its meanings are also explained.

They are used for Allah
and for his servants as well,

However, in both the forms, their
meanings are completely different.

When the word 'Rab' is
used for Allah, it means that,

'The Lord of this
universe', the creator.

'munim e haqiki' the one
who nurtures us, 'paalan haar'.

But when, coming to lower
status, when it is used for masters,

then it means he who has
taken responsibility for us,

under whose command
we are living our lives.

Excuse me.

However, this question
can surely be asked,

that why did Yusuf
A.S., on this occasion,

refer Zalikha to her husband,
instead of referring to Allah?

Obviously, a person thinks
that he should have said that,

"God forbid!" How can I come
near you? My Lord is watching me'.

He did not say this.

Ustaz Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi
has elaborated on this, he writes

He writes, "If you ponder
over this sentence of Yusuf A.S.,

you will find that it has great
psychological eloquence".

Before a woman blinded by passions, who is
unaware of God and the hereafter,

"It is obvious that the admonition
of God and the hereafter,

is like playing a flute
to a buffalo".

He has given such a fine lesson
that where is you addressee standing?

i.e., that expression of
an impression,

we start to say "God,
hereafter" from time to time.

What is to be said and
when and on which occassion,

this contains a great teaching about this.

Before a woman blinded by passions, who is
unaware of God and the hereafter,

"It is obvious that the admonition
of God and the hereafter,

is like playing a flute
to a buffalo".

If her excitation could
be cooled down a little,

i.e., at that time he was in her
clutches, the doors were closed.

If her excitation could
be cooled down a little,

then it could have been done by
the very remark that Yusuf A.S. said.

If there was a hint
of decency in her,

then she would have definitely thought that
on the one hand is this young man,

who is so affected by such a
simple favor of his master,

and he has so much care
and concern for his lordship,

that despite my
undaunted invitation to sin,

to engage in
disloyalty towards him,

he imagines as the destruction
of his world and the hereafter.

i.e., the ties and relationships
that we have with this world,

if he is shy of offending the sanctity of
such relations,

then he will also be shy of offending God.

These are immediate things,

which are present
in our surroundings.

So Yusuf A.S.—a woman
who is in the world,

if she had the fear
of God and the hereafter,

then why would she have
reached upto this extent?

He drew the attention
of a woman of this world,

by the reference
of the world itself.

then she would have definitely
thought that one is this young man,

who is so affected by such a
simple favor of his master,

and he has so much care
and concern for his Lordship,

that despite my
invitation of love,

to engage in
disloyalty towards him,

he imagines as the destruction
of his world and the hereafter.

i.e., on one hand,
there is this young man,

whose moral
qualities are so high.

And on the other, there
is me who is his wife—

Now you see that both
are in a similar relationship.

i.e., if his is a relationship
of a slave and a master,

then hers is a relationship
of a wife and a husband.

And there too, there
is a superiority of a kind.

That he is also the
head of that family.

So he compared
both and said that,

how a human being should
be mindful of such,

relations, ties,
kindness and favors.

This has been stated in a Hadith
by the Prophet (pbuh), that,

"Man Lam Yashkuril
Naas Lam Yashkuril Laah"

That person who is not thankful
of the people in his neighbourhood,

having witnessed their kindness,
then he is not grateful to Allah either.

So the first stage
of human morality,

from where a person
starts his training,

is actually the decree of the
moral sense present in him,

that this my mother, or my father,
he is my master,

he has been favorable to me,
this person has supported me,

So if a person's moral sense
does not alert him to these things,

then he cannot be taken
from this place to Allah.

He has said this from
absolutely right place.

And I am his wife, I have
been wed to him formally,

I have made him the owner of my chastity,

I have become the queen of his
house, I am the proprietor of his wealth,

but the condition of
loyalty with him is that,

blinded by lust, I am giving invitation
to love to his subordinate slave.

This is the point towards
which he is drawing attention.

That he is my master and in the capacity
of a slave—he is not present at the moment,

so I feel that I should
not be treacherous to him.

You are his wife.

This it is this place from
where he has drawn attention.

And he has said a
very excellent thing.

He said that "God
forbid! He is my master",

He has kept me in his care, I
cannot be treacherous to him.

Because such oppressors
people never find success.

"Wa Laqad Hammat Bihi Wa
Hamma Biha Laula Ra Burhani Rabbi"

"Qazaalika Linasrifaan
Hussuwa Wal Fahshaa,

Innahu Min Ibadinal Mukhlaseen".

The truth is that the woman
had already desired Yusuf.

It became clear from her discussion,
from her inviting in this way,

that she had already
decided that today,

I will take him that
place I desire.

(The Lord) says that even Yusuf, if
he had not seen the sign of the Creator,

he would have decided too.

It has been said that this was not
an ordinary test for a young man.

Who has come to this environment
after coming out of the village life.

And here in the surroundings,
the things that are present,

she was inviting in
every possible way,

in that, for a lady to
call him, to invite him,

to bring his attention
towards herself,

this was not an ordinary thing.

And the carnal passions Allah
has placed within mankind,

it is not easy to control
them in such situations.

But the sign of Allah was revealed.

And Yusuf remained
steady in this situation,

he stood firmly on his feet.

What is this that the Quran has
said "that the clear proof was revealed".

"If he had not seen the prooffrom Allah,
he would have made his decision".

i.e., the situation was such that
Yusuf's feet would have slipped too,

but to safeguard him, Allah the
Almighty revealed his sign.

I have written, "This
refers to the divine spark,

which is innately found
in every human being".

When the Quran says that We have
made the human race and nurtured it,

then 'Fa'alhamaha
Fujuraha Wa Taqwaha',

i.e., the perception of good and the evil
have been given within human beings,

in it, the good is present
in the form of a light.

This becomes the
voice of the conscience.

"This refers to the divine spark, which
is innately found in every human being".

i.e., this sign is present
in every human being.

Allah has created us by keeping
this sign in me, you and me.

This is not an external thing.

It is that same conscience,

through which Allah the Almighty
gives the initial invitation to the truth,

through which the inclination
for goodness is created,

which holds hands
on different occasions,

the light is present
inside in the same way.

"However, on such occasions"—
it is evident, that light is there,

it is yet to appear

It also happens
that it does not.

And here it did.

So why has it happened?

However, it appears on such
occasions only for those,

value it and accept its
guidance at every step of their life.

i.e., the guidance and the voice
of goodness that Allah has kept in us,

in a Hadith, the Prophet used
the word 'Waiz' (preacher) for it.

It is within us.

This is the sign of Allah.

This sign comes to the fore.

i.e., what happened there?

That Allah brought
it to the fore.

And it comes to the fore at a
time and it comes for those people,

who do not, at an
earlier stage,

create obstacles in the way
of its coming to the fore.

i.e., whenever this light is
appears, this guidance comes,

then a person
welcomes it, he stops.

"For them, it becomes
strong this way",

i.e., those who keep
accepting the guidance,

who keep hearing the
voice, who say 'La Baik',

"For them, this light becomes so
strong that in such situations,

it protects them from the onslaughts of their
evil desires and the temptations of Satan.

Which was born for an
unmarried boy of 18-20,

years, as a result of the
enticements of Zalikha.

i.e., if a person keeps
protecting himself,

and whenever such
enticements occur,

then the voice that rises from
within, if he keeps listening to it,

then this voice becomes
strong, it becomes very powerful.

If he does not try
to extinguish this light,

then its flame
becomes stronger.

And then when such a
delicate situation comes,

then Allah's help and
guidance is gained.

This light is permitted
to move forward by God,

and since no obstacle
has ever been created,

then in this way, with the help
of Allah, a person is saved from sin.

It has been said, that this has happened.

And He praised him that there is no
doubt he is among Our chosen one.

i.e., he had these very qualities in him.

Before this, in this
same way,

he was among those
who valued his inner light.

and since he valued it, so
We, on this occassion too,

We helped him and in
this way, We saved him.

This chronicle continues.

Our time is over.

"Aqoolu Qauli Haaza Was Tagfirullah
Li Wa Lakum wa lis sairil Muslimiin".

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