The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,
“The best ṣalāh after the obligatory/farḍ ṣalāh is the qiyām'l-layl.“

“Good Sleep, Good Health, and Tahajjud” In 3 Minutes!! By Shaykh Yaser Birjas

Click here to view the embedded video.

But we might be thinking, “Who am I to make qiyām'l-layl?  I haven't memorized nearly enough to do that on my own!”

I took Fiqh of ṣalāh in SoCal with Shaykh Yaser Birjas last year, and a convert asked the question, “How can I make qiyām'l-layl when I only know one or two sūrahs?” His response was, “Stand there and read 'Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad' 50 times in one rak'ah if you have to.”

We shouldn't let the amount of Qurʾān we've memorized keep us from making tahajjud /qiyām'l-layl / night prayer. The important thing to remember is that with making qiyām, we are supposed to stand for a long time and recite whatever we know, even if it's just a few sūrahs on repeat. Imagine how much Allāh would love for us to be so excited to make qiyām and to stand there in front of Him, even if it means that we just end up reading that sūrah (or any other sūrah) over and over again!!

Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) was asked by one of the ṣaḥābi, “When you were being tortured, why did you keep saying 'aḥadun, aḥadun (one, one)'?”  He responded by saying, “If I had known anything else at the time, I would have said it.“

Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) was one of the greatest companions of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and one of the men who left behind one of his own practices in ṣalāh that earned him a special place in Jannah and one that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) himself asked him about and accepted into his own Prophetic Sunnah that we still follow today (making 2 rak'ah ṣalāh every time after making wuḍū'.)

If Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) had to put to use what little he had at the beginnings of his growth in Islam, who are we to feel too insignificant or not good enough or not qualified enough and not use what we've got? And who are we to not continue to keep growing, to not want to grow into the kind of Muslim that Bilāl (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) was?

Don't forget! Short days. Long nights. We all have something to pray for.

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 15 (the conclusion) of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 
Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

Alḥamdulillāh, we thank Allāh 'azza wa jall who has allowed us the opportunity to study this entire sūrah beginning to end in 15 sessions.  As I promised you in our last lesson, in one of the last verses of the sūrah, it is as if Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) is saying, “Now you have read it once and benefitted from it at a basic level.”  I just recited for you “āyātu li'l-sā'ilīn.”  You have lessons for those who are curious and want to ask.  In the end, Allāh says, “In this sūrah, there is 'ibrah li'uli'l-bāb.”  There are profound wisdoms to learn for those of intellect and contemplation.  It is as if at the beginning Allāh is saying, “Read this sūrah at a cursory level.  Understand it at a basic level.”  Once we get to the end, Allāh is saying, “Now think about it.  Ponder over it and you will find much wisdom to learn and benefit from.”  We will obey the commandment of Allāh 'azza wa jall and take a swift relook at the entire sūrah in a holistic manner.  We will try to derive some of the overall benefits.

I am not going to quote you verse by verse.  We have already done that.  We are just going to quickly go over, and I have compiled around 50 to 60 of such benefits from the beginning of the sūrah until the end.  We are going to go over them one by one.

Of the benefits of the sūrah is that the believer is concerned for his or her family and his or her children.  The believer looks out for the welfare of one's children and offspring and tries one's best to protect them at a physical and at a spiritual level.  When Yūsuf told his dream to his father Ya'qūb, immediately Ya'qūb wants to protect Yūsuf.  Instead of jumping for joy, and instead of saying, “what a proud father you have made me,” he is protecting him.  He wants the best for his dīn and his dunya.  A sign of īmān (faith) is to want the best and to want a nurturing environment for your family.

Of the blessings and wisdoms of this sūrah is that dreams are a constant motif of this entire sūrah.  The sūrah begins with a dream and that is the dream of Yūsuf.  The sūrah has a dream in the middle and that is the dream of the two prisoners who saw themselves being killed and saw the birds eating from his head and the dream of the king.  Dreams are a constant theme in this sūrah.  Of the blessings we derive is that true dreams are from Allāh.  True dreams are a blessing that Allāh gives.  The interpretation of dreams is a science that only Allāh can teach you.  We learned this from this sūrah and went over it many, many times.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that the wise and intelligent person does not flaunt his or her blessings.  The wise and intelligent person does not show off worldly or spiritual blessings because showing off is not only egotistical and a lack of humility, but also it causes dangers and harms and problems.  That is why when Yūsuf had the dream, his father said, “Don't tell your brothers.  Don't show off.  They might get jealous of you.”  The wise person does not boast of his blessings, rather he hides them to the greatest extent possible.  These blessings are both religious and worldly blessings.  You don't flaunt the good that Allāh has given you, or else you will suffer the consequences in this world and perhaps even in the next.

Of the wisdoms we derive from this sūrah is that Shayṭān is every eager to cause problems between believers, especially between family members.  This was a successful plot of Shayṭān that he caused the brothers of Yūsuf to hate Yūsuf so much that they even intended at one point in time to kill him.  Of the benefits we learn is that Shayṭān is ever eager to cause problems.  He always wants to cause disunity amongst the ummah, especially amongst family members.  SubḥānAllāh, it is so true that every single family has its own issues and problems even though they are blood and even though they are family.  Every single family has problems either with the siblings, uncles, or aunts.  It is human nature, but Shayṭān makes it worse.  This story shows us this.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that a good household produces good offspring.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) mentions at the beginning of the sūrah: “This is how He will perfect His favors upon you as He perfected it upon your forefathers before you, Ibrāhīm and Isḥāq.”  I.e. because there was Ibrāhīm there was Ishaq and because there was Isḥāq there was Ya'qūb and because of Ya'qūb there was Yūsuf.  A house of piety will produce children of piety.  When one parent and one generation strives to be righteous, then the general rule is that the piety is transferred down to the next generation.  This is shown by the verse in the Qurʾān where Allāh says, “This is how We will perfect your favors as We perfected the favors upon your forefathers before you.”

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah that we learn is the importance of being fair, equitable, and just to all people.  In this particular case, Ya'qūb with his children.  We are told in our religion that we are not allowed to prefer one child over another and we cannot give a gift to a child and leave another.  We cannot show any outward favoritism.  Ya'qūb tried his best to be fair, but he couldn't control one thing and that is his emotions.  His children sensed his emotions, but his children could not complain that he spends more time with Yūsuf or that he gave Yūsuf a present that he hasn't given to them.  All they could say was that he loves Yūsuf, and love is an emotion of the heart, and you are not held accountable for emotions of the heart.  We learn to be equitable and just to people from this issue here.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that jealousy drives a person insane.  Jealousy is one of the most destructive emotions known to man.  Jealousy makes a person who is otherwise rational become irrational.  People will do things out of jealousy that you will not believe they could have done.  Here we have young adults plotting and planning to murder their brother who is only 7-8 years old.  Jealousy has caused such enragement and such anger.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) warned us, “I warn you from jealousy.  I caution you from being jealous because jealousy destroys your good deeds like a fire eats up wood.”  Jealousy is destructive in any form.  That is why we should seek refuge in Allāh from jealousy and try to solve jealousy as soon as it exists.  We also seek Allāh's refuge from the effects of jealousy:  min sharri ḥāsidin idha ḥasad.  This is of the blessings we learn from this sūrah.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is repentance before committing the sin is not a true repentance.  If you commit a sin and say, “Oh, I know I'm guilty.  May Allāh forgive me,” that is not a true repentance.  Before they committed a crime, the brothers of Yūsuf said, “We'll do the crime and then God will forgive.  We are going to make up for it.  We are going to be righteous after it.”  Their repentance was not accepted at that point in time.  It was accepted at the end of the sūrah when they genuinely come and say, “Oh our father, forgive us.  We were sinners.”  Inna kunna khāṭi'īn.  In the beginning of the sūrah, Allāh glosses over it.  This is not repentance; this is a joke.  You are going to murder your brother and then say, “May God forgive us, we are going to be good after that.”  A true repentance has to have the intention not to return to the sin.  If you have the intention that you are going to commit the sin, then this is not a true repentance.  A true repentance has to have the niyyah (intention) that this is the last time you are committing the sin.  As we mentioned before, if it so happens that you do return to the sin, it doesn't nullify your repentance.  The point is that you should have a sincere attempt to not return to the sin.  If you do return, you do another repentance.  And if you return again, then you repent again.  The point is that Allāh does not look at the quantity of sins.  Allāh looks at the quality of repentance.  It is not the number of times you have committed the sin but the quality of the repentance every single time you commit the sin.

Of the benefits we learn from the sūrah is that giving an excuse to someone whom you don't trust may backfire on you.  In other words, handing over excuses to somebody who has some evil or some disposition to harm you might actually come back to haunt you.  Ya'qūb was the one who gave them the excuse they needed to cover up their capture of Yūsuf and abduction of Yūsuf.  Ya'qūb was the one who said, “I am worried that wolf will eat him.”  He said this to try to get away from the real issue, which is: “I don't want to send my son with you.”  He used a secondary tactic, and what happened?  It backfired because they used that very tactic.  When they came back in the evening, they said, “A wolf ate your son.”  These are kids, and they wouldn't have been able to think of an excuse.  They are young men, maybe 18 or 19, and they would not have been able to think of a legitimate excuse of what happened to their brother.  Ya'qūb unknowingly and unwittingly gave it to them.  This shows us that one needs to think a little bit more before speaking in this regard.  We learn from this mistake that Ya'qūb fell into.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that the believer's firāsa is true.  Firāsa means intuition and a gut instinct.  We believe that a gut instinct is something Allāh sometimes blesses you with.  It is not something you can use in a court of law.  You cannot consider someone guilty in a court of law because you feel that way.  The more righteous you are, the more your moral compass and gut instinct will be rightly guided.  This instinct in Arabic is called firāsa.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Beware of the firāsa of the believer because the firāsa of the believer is always true.”  Where is the benefit here?  When the children came back to Ya'qūb and said, “Oh, sorry, your son has been eaten by the wolf,” Ya'qūb knew something was wrong.  There was no solid evidence, but his heart is telling him, “My kids are up to no good, and something is wrong.  Yūsuf is alive, and they've done something wrong.”  He doesn't have any evidence, but he still charges them with a crime.  “I don't know what you've done, but you have done something wrong.”  The firāsa or inner instinct of the believer is true.  When can you use this?  You cannot use this to charge anybody with a crime and cannot use it in a court of law.  If somebody comes and wants to have a business transaction with you and outwardly he looks like a trustworthy person, but inside you feel that something doesn't feel right, you are not obligated to engage in a business transaction or in a marriage proposal.  If somebody comes and proposes for your son or daughter and you don't feel about it, it is not a court of law that you have to explain why.  If something doesn't feel right and if this is from Allāh 'azza wa jall, then there is a reality to it.  As we said, the closer you are to Allāh, the more true your intuition is going to be.  This is a blessing of being close to Allāh that your intuition will then be rightly guided.

Of the wisdoms and blessings of this sūrah is the permissibility of using secondary evidence.  We mentioned this on more than one occasion.  The first time this comes up is when Ya'qūb is being told that his son has been killed by a wolf, but he sees the shirt untorn.  He sees the shirt that has been bloodied but with no tear in it.  This is a secondary evidence.  In our Sharī'ah, you are allowed to use secondary evidence and are allowed to take into account external factors even if there are no two witnesses and no direct evidence.  We use our common sense and compile the facts and look at the evidences and then place a verdict.

Of the wisdoms of this sūrah is that no matter how evil the crime, you should always advise the criminal to fear Allāh first.  Before you get to your own concerns with him, the first thing you should do is advise him to fear Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) and to remind him of the gravity of the sin.  The first thing that Ya'qūb does is say, “You have committed an offense.  Your souls have misguided you.  Qāla bal sawwalat lakum anfusukum amra.  Your souls have led you to destruction.  Before we get to what you have done to me, let me remind you that you have a God who is watching you.  Let me remind you that there is something between you and Allāh 'azza wa jall.”  Unfortunately a lot of times we jump this step and if somebody does you wrong, you immediately defend your rights and say, “How could you have done that to me?”  The reality is that you begin with the rights of Allāh.  Don't you realize that you have done a sin and are accountable to Allāh?  And then you are also accountable to having taken my money or backbitten or whatever the crime is that has been done.  Begin by reminding them of Allāh 'azza wa jall.

Of the benefits that we learn from this sūrah is that patience is of different types.  In the lecture that we gave, we clarified that Islamically patience can be of three types.  The first type is patience during a calamity.  This means that we don't say things that should not be said.  We don't say, “O Allāh, why are you doing this to me?  O Allāh, I don't deserve this; I haven't done anything wrong.”  We don't accuse Allāh of being unjust.  We withhold and restrain our tongues and say only that which is right.  We are patient in times of a calamity.

The second type of patience is patience in restraining yourself from committing sins.  We don't commit sins.  We have the capacity to commit sins but withhold ourselves from committing sins.  The third type is to persevere in the worship of Allāh.  To pray regularly.  To remember Allāh regularly.  When it comes to the lowest category of patience in an adversity or patience in a calamity, even this is of levels and types.  The best type of patience is ṣabrun jamīl because Allāh praises Ya'qūb for having ṣabrun jamīl.  What is ṣabrun jamīl?  Ṣabrun jamīl is the beautiful patience.  What is the beautiful patience?  What is the pinnacle of patience when you are suffering?  What can you do?  We learn it from Ya'qūb.  You don't seek the pity and the sympathy from the rest of humanity.  You seek Allāh's blessings only.  You don't go and want people's shoulders to cry on.  There is nothing wrong with that and there is nothing wrong with feeling human, but the perfection of faith and the perfection of trust in Allāh means that you turn only to Allāh and you don't complain to the people.  You don't say, “Woe is me!  Why is this happening to me?”  You expect your reward from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) and you don't try to get the sympathy from other people because at the end of the day, their sympathy is not going to lift your calamity.  Their pity will only bring about a type of humiliation in your own personal life.  Do you really want people to pity you?  Does that make you feel like a better person?  No!  It should not make you feel like a better person.  You do not want the people to pity you.  You want Allāh's Mercy to shower upon you.

Again, I clarify, there is nothing wrong with getting the pity of people, but there is no question that this is not the pinnacle of faith in Allāh.  The pinnacle of faith is bearing every calamity with a type of fortitude and a type of patience – ṣabrun jamīl.  This is the height of patience that you don't complain to other people.  You only address your grievances directly to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

Of the blessings that we learn from this sūrah and of the morals that we learn from this sūrah is that we learn that if you protect your faith and chastity in your youth and young life, Allāh will protect you in your old life.  This means that the young man or woman who has a strong relationship with Allāh rarely does such a person lose that faith later on in life.  When you protect Allāh in your youth, Allāh will protect you in your elder age.  When you protect the commandments of Allāh as a young man, Allāh will protect you as an older person.  We see this in the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) always having that connection with Allāh.  We learn it in the ḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) when he says that one of the seven people whom Allāh will shelter on the Day of Judgment is a young person (man or woman) who grew up immersed in the worship of Allāh.  If you can worship Allāh in your childhood, and by childhood we mean teens and twenties.  Shāb means young – child is not the correct word.  In your teens and your twenties, and some scholars have said even up until your early thirties you are still a shāb.  When you are religious in this phase of your life, and we know from personal experience that if you are religious when you are in your twenties, you hardly ever come across a person who leaves religion when they are 50 or 60.  We come across this in the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) as well.

Of the lessons and morals that we learn from this sūrah is the dangers of interacting with the opposite gender when there is temptation.  The owner of Yūsuf was attracted to Yūsuf, and they are alone for long periods of time, and this is fueling her desire more.  That is why our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said that a man and a woman should not be alone when nobody else can see them unless they are relatives or married.  They should not be alone and should not be in an area where these things can happen because it is human nature.  Men and women are naturally attracted to this feeling, and our religion teaches us to channel it to that which is permissible.

Of the lessons that we learn is that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) saves the righteous when they most need him.  No matter how difficult the situation will be, if you turn to Allāh,  Allāh 'azza wa jall will help you.  We learn this from the situation of Yūsuf being the young man and being the slave and being tempted by a woman of beauty and being tempted by his own owner, not just a stranger.  She has power over him and no one can see them.  We told you all of the stories of how she locked the door and prepared herself and did everything.  Typically, it would be almost impossible – dare I say without faith in Allāh it would be impossible – for any other man to have said no, but Yūsuf turned to Allāh.  Yūsuf invoked Allāh and said, “O Allāh, I need You to divert their plot away from me.  Wa illa taṣrif 'anni kaydahunn.  Unless You help me, I will be of those who commit a sin.”  This blessing here is that Allāh saves the righteous when they most need Him.  No matter how difficult the situation is, Allāh 'azza wa jall will save you.

Of the blessings here is that without Allāh saving you, you are not going to be saved.  These are two blessings that go hand in hand.  In other words, the only factor that can possibly help you overcome many of the passions of the soul, many of the passions of the body, many of the diseases of the heart and soul is to turn to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) because Allāh says in the Qurʾān: “kadhālika linaṣrif 'anhu'l-sū' wa'l-faḥshā'.  This is how We averted evil and lewdness from him.”  How?  Yūsuf turned to Allāh.  Yūsuf turns to Allāh, and Allāh says, “Because he turned to Me, I turned to him.”  What this shows, brothers and sisters, is that there is no disease that you have and no passion that you might have and no lust or desire that might plague your heart except that if you are sincere in leaving that lust and desire for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will give you protection against it.  The problem is not in Allāh giving you the protection.  The problem is in your sincerity and my sincerity.  Are you really sincere in your desire to give up this sin?  If you are, you will turn to Allāh sincerely.  If you turn to Allāh sincerely, Allāh says, “I will turn to you and I will protect you.”  This is what Yūsuf did.  In a situation the likes of which, as I said, it is humanly impossible to imagine otherwise, yet Allāh saved him in the middle of this fortress and in the middle of these locked doors.  Allāh 'azza wa jall answered his plea and call and saved him.  Why?  Because he made du'ā' to Allāh:  “O Allāh, I need You now.  Unless You protect me, no one will protect me.”  When he begged and pleaded with Allāh from the heart, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) responded back and said, “This is how We averted evil from him.”  Any time you are afflicted with a habitual sin, realize that if you truly want to give that sin up, nothing can stop you because Allāh is going to be on your side.  The question is, do you really want to give it up?  That is where the problem comes and we talked about that when we discussed those verses.

Of the morals and benefits that we learn from this sūrah are the evils of gossip, slander, and backbiting.  We mentioned that the believer does not talk about issues that are of no concern to him.  People are gossiping about so-and-so and this is human society, but the believer rises above this, and the believer does not allow his tongue to mention that which is of no concern to them.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Of the perfection of one's faith is that he leaves that which does not concern him.”  We see what happens when the women of the town begin gossiping about Yūsuf.  We see how the situation becomes complicated when the wife of 'Aziz feels so much pain because of her ego.  Of the wisdoms is that we learn the dangers of the ego and the dangers of the self and the dangers of caring so much about what other people know and view you to be.  The true believer is only concerned about how Allāh views him.  If Allāh 'azza wa jall views him in a positive manner, then who cares how the rest of the world views you.  Conversely, if the whole world views you in a positive light but you have not established your credentials in front of Allāh, of what use will their positive attitude be towards you?  That is why the true believer understands that praise and criticism from people will not affect him.  It is the pleasure of Allāh that will affect him unlike the wife of 'Aziz whose whole concern was her reputation and ego.  Because of that, she did an even more dastardly deed and a deed that really showed she lacked complete hayā' and modesty.  She lacks it because he is openly boasting about what she has done and is enticing Yūsuf in front of the other ladies.  This shows us the evils of gossip and the evils of being concerned with one's ego and one's prestige.

Of the wisdoms we learn from Sūrah Yūsuf is that we should appreciate the blessings that have been deprived from us just as we appreciate the blessings that we have been given.  What do I mean by this?  Realize that for many of us, certain blessings will become curses because we don't know how to handle them.  Certain blessings will become trials and tribulations because we are too weak.  If we truly believe that Allāh loves us, then we will have faith that Allāh will give us that which is beneficial for us.  Imagine if one of us had even a fraction of the beauty of Yūsuf.  Could we have withstood even a fraction of what he withstood?  Imagine if one of us was blessed with a fraction of the wealth of Qārūn or of the 'izzah of Abu Lahab in his town of Makkah and the Quraysh.  Imagine if we had that which many of us are jealous of others when they have it, and we are greedy about it and we are salivating and want that power and money.  Calm down and think.  If Allāh had given it to you, perhaps it would lead you to your destruction.  That is exactly what the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said.  He said, “Sometimes I give money to people even though I see others are needy of it because I am worried that if I give him that money, it will lead him to the fire of hell.  It will be too much for him, and he will do things that he should not do.”  The believer puts his trust and faith in Allāh.  O Allāh, you know me best, and You know what I should have deserved and gotten and what I shouldn't have.  I know that whatever I don't have, there is a wisdom that You know why I don't have it, and I put my trust in You.  We learn this from the story of Yūsuf.  Imagine if you had this beauty.  Who amongst us could have withstood those temptations.

Of the simple theological wisdoms we learn, and this is a wisdom that all of humanity knows, is that angels are beautiful creatures.  That is why when the women saw Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām), they thought he is an angel.  That is why every society considers angels to be beautiful.  In the Western society, they consider them to be innocent babies.  We of course don't imagine angels and cannot imagine them, but angels are created in the most beautiful fashion.  Any religion that believes in angels ascribes beauty to the angels.

Of the blessings and wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that inner beauty also plays a role along with outer beauty.  Inner beauty is good virtues, good manners, chastity, living a good and wholesome life.  When Yūsuf refused the seduction of the wife of 'Aziz and then she invited the other ladies and said that he is not doing it and he is still refusing, they became even more eager for him.  Why?  Because his inner beauty of piety appealed to them despite the fact that they lacked piety.  Allāh created human nature to admire perfection and beauty.  Deep down inside no matter how people live their lifestyles, they know certain things are wrong and immoral.  It is engrained inside of us.  Living a chaste and virtuous life is something that everybody knows is a good life.  These women want to commit a crime, but when they see that Yūsuf does not want to commit the crime, it makes Yūsuf even more attractive.  Why?  Because it is inner beauty of holiness, of chastity.  This shows us that even in a society that doesn't believe in God – remember that the people of Egypt were pagans and not worshippers of the true God – but they know what is right and wrong.  They know that casual intimacy and sex is not something that is encouraged and permissible, so when Yūsuf says, “No, I don't want to do that,” automatically it adds more beauty to his outer beauty.  This shows us Allāh has created humanity.  They didn't have a book and they didn't have a Sharī'ah, but they still knew what is right and wrong.  How and why?  Morality is engrained in human beings.  Certain things are engrained in us, and this is one of them.

Of the benefits that we learn from this sūrah is that a believer must call out to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) to help and overcome any sin.  Once again, Yūsuf is saying, “Unless You help me overcome it and fortify me against the seduction, I will never be able to withstand this temptation.”  When you are in a state of temptation and attracted to a sin, we learn from the story of Yūsuf that when you are thinking of the sin, you should start thinking of Allāh.  A lot of people have this concept that if they are thinking of evil, then they will do the evil and not think of Allāh because they think it is not the right time to think of Allāh.  Allāh says, “She desired him and he desired her.”  We explained that there is nothing strange about this.  He is a normal man and a young man and has come of age.  Just like every man, he has the same thing on his mind.  He desired her, and during this state of desire, what did he do?  He made du'ā' to Allāh.  There is a clash going on inside Yūsuf between the forces of good and the forces of evil.  It is an excellent clash to happen because you don't want to ignore the forces of good and let the forces of evil win over and not think of Allāh right now.  No – he is battling his desire for this temptation, and during this battle, he turns to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  You must turn to Allāh when thoughts of evil come to you.  It is the only way to protect yourself.  You must turn to Allāh when you are flirting with evil.  There is no other way to protect you.

Of the benefits we learn from this sūrah is that actions precede words when it comes to calling people to Islam.  This is one of the fundamental mistakes we make here in America.  We think that all we have to do is preach to the people and tell them about our religion.  The fact of the matter is that we have not established our social credentials and have not shown them who we are.  We haven't explained to them about charity and taking care of the poor and the status of the orphan.  We haven't demonstrated that we are morally responsible for the weak and the elderly and for the dispossessed.  This is our religion.  Look at Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) and what he does in jail and throughout the entire story.  He always establishes his moral character, mercy, tenderness, iḥsān.  What did the criminals say in the prison?  Inna narāka min al-muḥsinīn.  He hasn't even opened his mouth to preach, but within a few days, the prison is abuzz that this is a good guy.  Once that is established, then the opportunity presents itself and then Yūsuf starts preaching the message.  A lot of times we do the exact opposite and begin preaching when we haven't shown the mercy and tenderness of our religion.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is that you need to speak to people at a time and place they are comfortable with.  When the two prisoners come to Yūsuf for the question, what does Yūsuf say?  The first thing he says is, “Okay, I have heard your question, and I will respond before food is delivered.”  They must have had a time when the food comes and they know that time. Yūsuf is saying, “Before the food comes, I will answer your question.  Listen to me for a bit.”  He prepares them mentally for listening to the da'wah.  This is another issue where I think a lot of us fall into errors.  Personally, I don't believe in knocking door to door to preach about Islam.  I'm not saying that should never be done.  Perhaps in some scenarios it is good, but would you like people to come to your door?  Prepare the environment properly.  This is what Yūsuf did.  They come to him with the question of interpreting the dream, and Yūsuf understands, “Now I have your attention for a few minutes, so let me use this opportunity.  Give me five minutes.”  He then preaches Islam to them.  This shows us that if you do want to tell people about your religion, make sure that the time and the place is appropriate.  Don't try to shove the religion down their throats.  Don't try to be in your face.  This is a very beautiful point that we learn from Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).

Of the wisdoms that we learn from the story is that when we do call to Islam, we should call to tawḥīd and monotheism.  This is the gist of our religion:  la ilāha illa Allāh.  The entire two paragraphs that Yūsuf is talking about with the prisoners is all about: who is my Lord?  What do I do?  We spent a whole lecture on the one paragraph where he explained Islam and how beautiful that paragraph was.  It combined the three types of tawḥīd and combined the three pillars of our religion.  I say over and over again, brothers and sisters, what sets our religion apart from other religions is our simplistic creed in our Lord.  It is so simple:  there is one perfect God; worship Him alone.  This is our religion, and we need to keep on hammering this point instead of going on to different tangents.  What really makes our religion so precious to us?  The shahādah.  la ilāha illa Allāh Muḥammadan rasūlullāh.  This is what Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) preached to the people, and that is what you continue to tell to the people who do not know your faith.  It is a very simple religion.  There is One, All-Perfect God and you continue to worship Him as long as you live.

Of the benefits that we get from this sūrah is the necessity to use the means to get to the goals.  What does this mean?  Yūsuf wanted to be free.  Yūsuf wanted to get out of jail.  He didn't just sit down and say, “Allāh will free me when He desires.”  He did what he could.  What could he do?  A person was going to be freed and next to the king, so Yūsuf tells him, “Mention my case to your lord.”  There is nothing wrong with that at all.  He wants to be freed, and he realized that in order to be free, there has to be a court case and hearing and judge looking into it.  He goes through the process.  Why do I say this?  Because, once again, a lot of Muslims have this weird concept of trusting Allāh which for them means that you sit back and do nothing.  That is not trusting Allāh but that is acting foolishly.  Trusting Allāh means he realizes that Allāh can free him, but he has to walk through the path and get to the means.  In our case, it would be fighting in the courts and hiring a lawyer.  In our case, it would be if you are sick then go to the doctor and go to the hospital and get your treatment done.  Tawakkul doesn't just mean that you sit at home and expect Allāh to take care of you.  It means that your heart is attached to Allāh, but you walk the path to get to the goal.  The point is that Allāh created the goal, and let's that it is to be freed.  Allāh also created the path to get to the goal, and that is fighting in the court and going to the lawyers, etc.  You realize that both the path and the goal will come from Allāh, and you need to walk the path to reach the goal while your heart is attached to Allāh.

Of the benefits of the sūrah is that hastiness does not bring about good.  Patience brings about that which is best.  The fruits of patience are always going to be sweet.  The messenger comes to Yūsuf, and he has been in jail at least seven years in conditions that only Allāh knows.  At least in our times the jails are much more humane and clean and there are no rats running around.  Can you imagine the jails of those time?  How filthy and how despicable.  This is a prophet of Allāh, a noble man.  He has been put in a place where we would not even want our worst enemy to be put in.  No doubt that back then these are inhumane conditions.  This is a prophet of Allāh subjugated to such filth and lack of 'izzah.  Now somebody comes knocking on the door and says, “The king wants you.”  What did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) say?  “May Allāh have mercy on Yūsuf.  Had I been in that jail as long as he had been, I would have rushed to the door.  I would have demanded that the king release me before I interpret the dream.”  Even our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is saying, “Wow, māshā'Allāh.”  Yūsuf acted patiently and resisted hastiness.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Hastiness is from the devil.  Patience and to act with contemplation is from Allāh.”  By doing things in a long-term manner patiently, he sends the messenger back.  Realize that it is going to take a few days now.  “Go back to your lord and tell him to find out the story of those women.  I didn't do anything, and I want my name cleared.”  What happens?  Had he not done this, the king would have given him money and let him go, but by proving his innocence, the king says, “I trust you, O Yūsuf, what can I do for you?”  He makes him a minister instantaneously.  He takes him from the filth of the jail and makes him the most powerful person in the entire country, which is the minister of finance.  Why?  Because he acted long-term and without haste and putting his trust in Allāh and acting patiently.

Of the wisdoms of the sūrah is that you will not succeed until you have failed, and you will not rise until you have been debased and humiliated.  You don't expect life to be a bed of roses.  We talked about the sine wave.  This is a prophet of Allāh born in the household of a prophet – what a high point – and then thrown in the well to die, a low point.  He was sold into slavery.  SubḥānAllāh.   He gets to a palace and they treat him nicely – a high point.  Thrown into jail – what a low point.  Then what happens?  He becomes the minister.  Up, down, up, down.  The whole story is like that.  Why?  You are not going to succeed until you have shown Allāh that you can deal with failure.  You have to continue moving.  Allāh is not going to bless you when you haven't deserved or earned that blessing or at least shown Allāh that you are worthy of that blessing.  You need to go through the well and the prison in order to get to the palace and the ministry.  You need to go through the well and the prison in order to be blessed with the blessings of this world.  Realize the next time you are in a struggle and the next time you are in a down point in your life, that is your well and that is your prison.  If you turn to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla), inshā'Allāh the metaphorical palace is right around the corner.  You have to go through this to get to the heights in life.  If you put your trust in Allāh 'azza wa jall, you will see the fruits just like Yūsuf did.

Of the wisdoms we learn from this sūrah is the perfection of being generous with one's guests.  This is something that our religion prides itself on.   Honestly, I have to say, no matter what the problems are of the ummah and no matter how much fitnah, fasād, fāḥishah and corruption exist in the ummah, the one thing alḥamdulillāh we can be proud of throughout the Muslim world is that we are known for our generosity, and anybody who has traveled Muslim lands and gone and visited any country will testify and witness that Muslims are hospitable and generous to their guests.  They give their own food to their guests before they will eat.  This is something alḥamdulillāh we have learned from the prophet Ibrāhīm.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “The prophet Ibrāhīm was the first person to begin the tradition of honoring guests.”  Before the prophet Ibrāhīm, guests were not honored.  When the three angels came, the prophet Ibrāhīm ('alayhi'l-salām) bought a fat, juicy calf and cooked it for them and gave it to them.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) told us the first person to begin the tradition of being hospitable was our father the prophet Ibrāhīm ('alayhi'l-salām).  It remained in our religion, and we see when the brothers came to Yūsuf, he sends them back to their own father and said, “Wasn't I the best of all hosts?”  He opens their heart by being a good host.  SubḥānAllāh, brothers and sisters, alḥamdulillāh as I said this is alive in the ummah, and we should make sure it never goes away.  When somebody comes visiting you and when somebody comes from out of town, it is a part of religion and our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, – and wallāhi, think about it and why a prophet would say this ḥadīth unless it was so important – “Whoever truly believes in Allāh and the hereafter, let him honor his guest.”  What a beautiful religion this is.  If you believe in Allāh, honor your guests.  Give him your food, and show him the dignity and respect that you would want to be shown.  Alḥamdulillāh, as I said, this is one thing we can say is still alive in the ummah – Arab, Pakistani, Bengali, wherever you are, alḥamdulillāh we treat our guests well.  We learn this from the story of Yūsuf as well when Yūsuf says, “Wasn't I the best host to you?  When you go back, tell your father what a great host I was.”

Of the wisdoms that we learn from the story of Yūsuf is the permissibility of using ḥalāl tricks to get to ḥalāl goals.  In our religion, we don't believe that the ends justify the means.  However, we do believe in ḥalāl tricks if the goal is ḥalāl.  What is a ḥalāl trick?  A ḥalāl trick is something where you are not taking the rights of anybody else and are not lying and not stealing, but you do something that might not be the standard in order to get to a ḥalāl or permissible conclusion. What was the standard or conclusion?  Yūsuf wanted to keep Binyamin in the country, but there was no law of the land that would allow him to keep Binyamin, so what did he do?  Allāh told him of a ḥalāl trick.  The goal was ḥalāl:  he wants to protect his brother, and there is nothing ḥarām in that.  If the goal is ḥarām, it doesn't matter how you get there, it is ḥarām.  If the means is ḥarām, then even if the goal is ḥalāl you will be sinful.  In our religion we do not ever believe that the ends justify the means.  That is a Machiavellian concept.  We don't believe that in our religion.  In our religion, if it is ḥarām to do it, even if the net result is good it is ḥarām.  That is why we don't believe, for example, that you can give ḥarām money to build a masjid.  If you have ḥarām money from interest or any type of activity that is ḥarām, you are not allowed to give it to the masjid, and it is ḥarām to give it.  Allāh will not accept it.  Do you think that the people will accept it from you?  Some people ask if they do have that money, what should they do.  Give it to building other facilities around the masjid but not the actual masjid itself.  The musallah has a special fiqh and ruling.  The buildings around the musallah and parking lots have other rulings.  If you have surplus money from interest, we know interest is not allowed, and you want to get rid of it, you can give it to secondary causes but don't expect reward from Allāh.  Overall, from this we learn that it is permissible to have a ḥalāl trick to get to a ḥalāl goal.

Of the benefits and wisdoms, in America we have certain groups who say that it is not allowed for us to participate in the American electoral process and it is ḥarām to vote.  We have all heard of such groups saying we should not vote and should not participate in the system around us.  Yet Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) participates in the system of the king in order to get to the conclusion of keeping his brother.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān:  “He could not have kept his brother according to the laws of the king” unless Allāh worked this trick out for him.  He worked with the system in the system to keep his brother.  Therefore, in this land we are in the middle of the two extremes and say that alḥamdulillāh we have full legal (Sharri') permissibility to fight for our rights in the court system and take advantage as long as what we are asking for is permissible.  We are not allowed to use the system against our religion.  We cannot go and get something from a person that the Sharī'ah would not have allowed us.  Unfortunately some people do this.  The Sharī'ah would allow you to take x amount and you know that the court will give you double that amount, and some people are willing to go to the court to get double the amount, and this is something that is obviously not good as well.  They are misusing the system.  Alḥamdulillāh, there is no problem to use it for a legitimate means.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that the believer is always cautious.  The believer is not naïve and is not a fool.  When the brothers come to Ya'qūb and say, “Hand over Binyamin.  We are going to take him as well.”  Ya'qūb is not a fool and says, “Do you think I am going to hand him over just like I handed his brother over?”  The believer acts cautiously.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said in a beautiful parable, “The believer is never stung from the same hole twice.”  This is a parable now in Arabic, but our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was the first to say it.  The believer is not naïve but is a man of wisdom and understands that if a problem has come from one area, most likely it will come again.  When the brothers come and say, “Hand over Binyamin,” he says, “I'm not going to do that.”  What happens?

We get to the next wisdom.  Generosity and good manners is the best way to get to someone's heart.  How did Yūsuf win over his father's heart when he didn't know he was Yūsuf?  By returning the goods to the brothers and handing them back the merchandise.  When they came back, the father said, “No way I'm going to give you Binyamin.”  They open up the bag and find all of the money returned.  They can now have an excuse against their father and they say, “O our father, look at this.  Do you really think we would want to cause harm now?  This man has treated us nicely and has been hospitable and look at how generous he has been.”  Being kind, hospitable and generous will work miracles.  Ya'qūb would never have given up his son unless Yūsuf (and he did not know it was his son) had demonstrated his gentleness and kindness.  If you want to get to somebody's heart, good manners will win and not harshness and miserliness.

Of the benefits of this sūrah is wisdom in planning.  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) has planted the cup in the sack of his brother, and now he wants to open up those sacks.  He begins with the sacks of the older brothers and works his way to the younger one.  This shows us the believer, once again, is not naïve.  He knows that if he were to go straight to the sack of Binyamin, people are going to say, “Wait, hold on a second.  How did you know it was in that sack?  He is planning things through and has foresight.  These days we have a whole science called management.  Yūsuf demonstrates that and thinks things through.  In our times, the chess player thinks ten steps ahead.  Yūsuf is thinking.  This is a sign of īmān.  The mu'min is not foolish.  The mu'min is a wise person.  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) demonstrates this.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that even evil people have streaks of good in them.  Even the worst sinner can eventually repent if he turns over.  This is learned from the brothers of Yūsuf.  To me, this is one of the most fascinating lessons of this story:  where the brothers of Yūsuf began the story and where they end the story.  They began by plotting to murder their younger brother.  As I said, how many amongst us have done such a dastardly deed?  Alḥamdulillāh, I hope nobody is that bad amongst us.  Yet they ended up like the stars.  Even an evil person has good in them.  We see this right now in the part of the story when the brothers realize that Binyamin is not going to come back, they feel so guilty.  The eldest one says, “I am going to stay here.  I am going to impose an exile on myself because we made a mistake in Yūsuf and now we made another mistake.  We are in big trouble.  I want my father to know that I know I committed a crime and I know I am guilty.”  This shows that there are elements of good.  This shows us that even if there is somebody who at one point in their lives wanted to murder their younger brother, it doesn't mean that they are going to be pure evil.  There is a beautiful saying attributed to 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – it is not a ḥadīth – that is that:  “Hate your enemy with a little less hatred (I other words, don't be full of hate even towards your enemy.  Lessen the hate against your enemy.)  One day it is going to be very likely that he is going to be your friend.”  Hate your enemy with a little bit less hatred.  In other words, calm down, don't be full of hate.  One day this very enemy might be a good friend of yours.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān:  “Repel evil with good and you shall see the one who was your worst enemy becomes a bosom friend.”  It is a very common thing.

Of the wisdoms and benefits of this sūrah is it is a sign of īmān to always think the best of Allāh 'azza wa jall and to have the best thoughts of Allāh and to never lose hope.  At least thirty or forty years have gone by and Ya'qūb has gone blind in his grief, but his faith in Allāh only increases and never goes down.  To the very end when all three sons are missing and he has gone blind, what does he tell his children?  “O my children, go find Yūsuf.  You will find him.  And never give up hope of Allāh's Mercy.”  He is the one demonstrating this.  Never give up hope of Allāh's Mercy.  The only people who can do that are the qawm'l-kafirūn.

Of the wisdoms that we learn is that complaining to Allāh is actually a sign of īmān if it is done properly, and complaining to the people is not a sign of īmān.  Ya'qūb says, “I complain of my situation to Allāh.”  When the most difficult situation in his life ever happened, which was Ṭā'if by his own testimony – 'Ā'ishah said, “Was there any day worse than Uḥud?”  He said, “Yes, there was the day of Ṭā'if.”  What was the du'ā' of Ṭā'if?  “O Allāh, to You I complain…” What does shakwa mean in this sense?  Many of us when we think of complaining, we think of “Why is this happening?  I don't deserve this.”  That is not what we are talking about.  The complaint here is a complaint that is done to elicit Allāh's sympathy and mercy.  This is what the complaint means.  “O Allāh, You see the situation I am in.  O Allāh, this is a distressing situation.”  This is complaining.  A factual description.  Not: “O Allāh, why is this happening to me?”  The believer never speaks in such a manner.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that the believer always ascribes good to Allāh and evil to the Shayṭān.  Notice in the end of the sūrah Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) says, “How generous my Lord has been when He saved me from the prison and caused you to leave the bedouin lifestyle and come into the city.”  At the end of the sūrah, Yūsuf says, “Allāh has granted us His blessings.”  All blessings are described to Allāh.  A problem happens:  “it was Shayṭān who caused problems between my brothers and I.”  All good was ascribed to Allāh.  Evil does not come from Allāh.  We ascribe good to Allāh.  We don't ascribe evil to Allāh.  This is the proper way to phrase it.  We ascribe evil to other than Allāh 'azza wa jall, and of course primarily the source of this type of evil comes from the Shayṭān.

Of the wisdoms that we learn from this sūrah is that it is a sign of perfection of one's īmān to not hurt the feelings of other believers.  Yūsuf exemplifies this in a manner that is unbelievable.  He bends over backwards to never mention the crime.  In the very last page, when he talks about the blessings of Allāh, he never mentions the well or the slavery because those were caused by the brothers.  When he said, “From now on there shall be no blame on you,” he lived up to his word.  No blame was put.  Therefore, he went out of his way to make sure that his brothers' feelings were not hurt.  This is of the perfection of īmān.  Innuendos, hinting, double meanings, and derogatory snide remarks are not the way of the believer.  To do so goes against perfection of one's īmān.

Of the wisdoms we learn is to forgive when you have power is the height of excellence; therefore, how much more so should you forgive when you don't have power? You have to forgive.  To forgive when you have power is what Yūsuf did.  He was the king's right hand man and controlled the country.  The brothers came to him realizing they made a mistake, and Yūsuf forgives despite his power.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was told through this sūrah: “A day will come when your own brethren are going to come to you and you must say the same thing.”  That is exactly what he did standing on the doors of the Ka'bah.  He stood on the doors of the Ka'bah, and the people of the Quraysh were around him, and he said, “What do you think I should do to you?  What do you think you deserve?”  They were petrified.  They deserved death and they knew it.  They deserved execution because of what they had done for the last twenty-three years.  Now they come trembling and scared.  “You are the son of a noble brother and one of us.  Remember us.”  They didn't remember him back in the day, but now they come.  What did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) say?  He said exactly what Yūsuf said, and he never once mentioned the faults of the Quraysh after this, just like Yūsuf.  He never once brings up the past that has happened.  Khalās, everything and everyone are forgiven, including those who have personally tried to assassinate him.  Everyone was forgiven down to the last man just like Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) did, and no sins and crimes were mentioned after that.  If this is the case when you have power, then how much more so for me and you when somebody does us wrong.  Shouldn't we also then say, “May Allāh forgive them”?  Forgive in your hearts.

Of the blessings that we learn from this sūrah is that asking people's forgiveness for wrongs that you have done and publicly announcing your public sins is a part of īmān.  The general rule is that your sins are private.  If you have made a public mistake, then you need to issue a public apology.  The brothers made a public mistake and harmed their father.  They come in public and say, “ya abbāna-staghfirlana dhunūbana inna kunna khāṭi'īn.”  A public mistake requires a public apology.  A mistake that is done to a person requires that you seek forgiveness from that person.  This is not a private sin between you and Allāh 'azza wa jall.

Of the blessings of this sūrah is that our religion tells us to treat our parents with honor and respect.  We know this for a fact.  Yūsuf demonstrates this many times.  When they enter Egypt, Yūsuf goes out to meet them, and he makes a du'ā' for them.  He puts them on the throne.  Physical, mental, spiritual exaltation.  No human being is more worthy of your veneration other than your parents.  In terms of natural love and dedication, there is no second to them.  Yūsuf demonstrates this over and over again.

Of the wisdoms and blessings of this sūrah is that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) can always bring about reconciliation between two people who are fighting and enemies of one another.  The brothers of Yūsuf and Yūsuf.  Imagine how much hatred much have existed in the brothers' of Yūsuf hearts, and imagine how much pain in Yūsuf's heart.  Yet, in the end, what happens?  All is forgotten and forgiven.  Allāh says in the Qurʾān regarding the mushrikūn who had accepted Islam (i.e. regarding the muhājirūn and the anṣār):  “If you had given this entire world to try to make them friends and bring reconciliation, they would never have become friends.  Allāh has brought about that friendship and reconciliation.”  Anybody you have some problem with and are distressed with, realize that it is only a matter of time inshā'Allāh.  Turn to Allāh and make du'ā' to Allāh to bring about that reconciliation.  Make this du'ā' to Allāh:  “O Allāh, bring our hearts together.”  If Allāh can bring together the hearts of the brothers of Yūsuf and Yūsuf, then surely your enemies and my enemies and your problematic situations and scenarios whether within the family or outside of the family, surely Allāh can bring about a reconciliation as well.  This is of the benefits we learn from this sūrah.

Of the blessings we learn, is that what is important in the eyes of Allāh is the state that you die in.  The state that you die in dictates your place in the hereafter and not the state that you began in.  This is one of the biggest sources of optimism in the life of the believer.  It is never too late to change.  It is never too late to turn over a new leaf.  It is never too late to give up a lifestyle of evil and start a lifestyle of righteousness.  The brothers of Yūsuf are a primary example of this.  They began the story in one state and ended in another and that is what is important.  Another manifestation of this wisdom is the du'ā' of Yūsuf:  “Cause me to die in a state of Islam.”  What is important is your state at the time of death.

Of the blessings of this sūrah is the whole page conclusion is the miracle of the Qurʾān.  This is a powerful tool that we don't utilize to the extent that we should.  A powerful tool to talk about our religion is to talk about the Qurʾān.  Where did it come from, the style, the recitation, the beauty, the melody.  Everything about the Qurʾān is miraculous.  In the last two lessons we talked about the beauty of the Qurʾān.

We talked about the three levels of patience.  Notice that Yūsuf perfected all three levels.  The lowest level of patience is patience in the face of adversity.  Somebody dies, something happens, you lose your job – how do you react?  This is patience.  Yūsuf reacted with the utmost patience in all that happened:  in the well and the prison and in all that happened, he is reacting with patience.

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 14 of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 
Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

For those who came late, that was the recitation of Warsh, and that is not the usual recitation that we are used to.

We have basically come to the conclusion of Sūrah Yūsuf.  In these last verses, we had begun talking about the fact that Allāh 'azza wa jall is telling the people that this story is a story that clearly indicates that this is a Qur'ān from Allāh, that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is a true prophet, and yet, “the majority of people, even if you want to, ya Rasūlullāh, will not be believers.  Even if you want them to be believers, your eagerness is not going to cause them to believe.”

Āyah 104

“This is despite the fact that you are not asking for any reward from them.  This is only a dhikr (reminder) for all of humanity.”

In other words, remember what is the conclusion of Yūsuf.  Why is Allāh 'azza wa jall going into this conclusion?  Allāh 'azza wa jall is linking the sūrah to the message of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  He is linking the stories to the life and times of Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and is telling the people: “Where do you think this sūrah is coming from?  Where do you think this Qur'ān is coming from?  You did not know these stories.  The story of Yūsuf and his brothers was unknown to you, and it is an accurate story that is being revealed in the most eloquent language to an illiterate, unlettered man.  Where did it come from?”

Then Allāh is proving the fact that this is a book from Allāh and is saying, “Your sincerity is clear.  You have no motivation.”  Now Allāh gets to the issue of motivation.  It is human nature that we do everything for a motive.  Everything that we do has a motive to it.  You go to work for a reason.  You do everything in your life for a reason.  Even in a court of law, if you establish certain evidence, you also have to say what is his motive for the crime and why he did it because it is human nature that there is a motive for everything that is done.

Allāh 'azza wa jall in this āyah is challenging the people to think why would a man start to go against his whole nation and preach a doctrine that will bring about initial persecution and humiliation.  What is in it for him?  Does he want power?  He is being humiliated and is almost going to lose his life and you are trying to kill him.  Does he want prestige?  What prestige is he getting when you are mocking him all over the world and when any caravan comes and you stand outside the city and say that there is a madman, a sāḥir, a majnūn.  What is his motivation?  Do you think he wants money?  He is not asking you for money.

This is one of the Sunan of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Allāh has Sunan and Rasūl has sunan.  Allāh's Sunan are mentioned in the Qur'ān.  Allāh has Sunan.  What is the Sunan of Allāh?  It is the custom of Allāh and the manner of Allāh.  Allāh has a custom that He shows in humanity.  A part of the custom of Allāh is that the messengers never get any reward in this world.  They don't get money.  They don't get any reward in this world, and, therefore, every prophet comes and says the same message:  “I am not asking you for money.  I am not asking you for power.  I am not asking you for any reward.”  Because their motivation has been negated except for sincerity – in other words, any possible motivation has been negated.  “I'm not asking you for anything other than this message and call.”

There is no question that when a person has no monetary motivation and he does something, you feel better about it and feel, “Oh man, this guy must believe in his cause.”  There is no question about this.  Therefore, the prophets of Allāh, to demonstrate the perfection of their sincerity, have been refused to get any money, so much so that it is ḥarām for Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) to be given zakāh and for the descendants of Rasūlullāh to receive zakāh because this is not befitting the messengers that anybody doubt their intention for this reason.  It is not allowed for them to do so.

Here Allāh 'azza wa jall is saying, “I am not asking you for any reward to do so.”  I find this personally fascinating as a person who studies in academia and the Western study of Islam.  As you know, I am specializing in this.  This has always fascinated researchers from the medieval times that why did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) do this.  In medieval times, they would give the most ludicrous of excuses:  power, fame, and sensuality.  This was propaganda.  In the last 100 years when people have tried to be a little bit fairer and a little bit more honest, they realized the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did not benefit even when he became the “king” of the Arabs.  Even when he became the leader of the Arabs, his lifestyle did not move up.  He still lived in the exact same house, slept in the exact same bed, and did not own any extra camels.

SubḥānAllāh, when we get a pay raise, the first thing we do is upgrade our status of living.  We earn 10% more and khalās, the car comes in, the house gets expanded, we build the room.  Here Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) starts his life literally as a shepherd, which is the lowest, if you like, menial labor that he can have, and when he passes away, his standard of living has not increased at all significantly.

You all know the famous ḥadīth of 'Umar b. Al-Khaṭṭab.  He walks in and finds the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) does not even have a mattress, meaning a soft cloth, to lie on.  They had soft cloths and mattresses, and he began to cry and said, “Ya Rasūlullāh, surely you deserve better than the kings of Rome and Persia.  At least have a comfortable living.”  He (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was sleeping on basically what we would call the frame of the bed.  This is in our vernacular.  He is sleeping on the palm tree leaves and the fibers of the palm tree.  This is the frame and not the mattress on the frame, and he is sleeping on that.  'Umar begins to cry because when the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) gets up, you see the marks of the frame.  He says, “Ya Rasūlullāh, at least look at the kings of Persia and Rome.”  Instead of saying, “You know, you're right, maybe just get me a soft cloth,” what does he say?  You all know.  He says, “O 'Umar, what is the matter with you?  Aren't you thinking straight?  Don't you want to have the ākhirah and let them have this world?”

It is clear that he doesn't desire money.  The day he is gifted a new cloth and the reason somebody gave him the cloth is that they saw patches and spots here and there and felt sorry that how could the Rasūl (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) be dressed like this, so they gave him a brand new cloth.  For the first time he (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is coming out wearing this cloth.  A ṣaḥābi came and said, “O Messenger of Allāh, gift me this cloth.”  He literally wore it for two minutes and is walking outside and somebody comes and says, “Ya Rasūlullāh, give me this cloth.  Gift it to me.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “I will do it.”  It is the only cloth he is wearing.  He goes back home and dresses in the patched garments again and comes out again and leads the ṣalāh.  When he goes back, all of the ṣaḥābah get angry with this person.  “Are you crazy?  Are you out of your mind?  Have you no shame?  You know that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) never refuses a request.  How could you have asked him for the cloth that he was gifted?”  So he says, “I didn't do it for my dunya.  I wanted to be buried in this garment so that I can plead with Allāh 'azza wa jall about the generosity of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) that he gave this to me.  I wanted this to be my kaffan, and that is why I asked it from him.”

The point being that it is clear that he has no worldly motivation.  He doesn't have a motivation for dunya, power, or prestige. This is what the āyah is saying.  As I said, I find it fascinating that to this day, there is not a solid excuse that they have managed to discover.  They have long ago stopped saying things like he wants power or he wants greed.  Now they try to be fair in our times.  A hundred years ago you didn't have to be fair and could smear the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  In our times, you cannot say any of this.  By and large, most people think he had worked himself up into the belief that he is a prophet.  In other words – astaghfirullāh – he is delusional that he is a prophet and sincerely thinks he is a prophet.  Basically this goes back to the claim in the Qur'ān that the Quryash said that he is majnūn.  They cannot outsmart the Qur'ān.  They cannot go outside what Allāh said.  They use the same excuses.  Some of them said he is a fancy poet.  Some of them said he is a sāḥir.  Some of them said he is a magician and some of them said he is majnūn.  These are the classical excuses, and the Qur'ān mentions all of them and refutes all of them.

My point is that modern researchers cannot go outside of these few excuses.  Every one of them Allāh has explicitly mentioned and refuted.  Also, for the claim that he is delusional, really you are claiming that a man has lived the sanest life in every field – he has been a commander, a military leader, and family person – and yet you think that in one aspect that he is a messenger of God he has somehow become delusional.  Wallāhi, this doesn't make any sense.  Even non-Muslim biographers and analysts have to conclude that he thought he was sincere.  Nothing else explains his lifestyle other than the claim that he genuinely believed himself to be a prophet.  Of course for us, he genuinely believed himself to be a prophet because he was a prophet.

This is why Allāh is saying, “You are not even asking even money from them.”  This is a powerful tool that we can use when we talk about Islam:  go study the life of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and go see for yourself why he would preach this.  What did he gain?  The message is simple, powerful, and rational.  The messenger is flawless.  What can you say?

“This is only a dhikr for all of the world.”

'Ālam generally is translated as world and means every community, every group.  In one sense, 'ālam means the world of men, the world of jinn, the world of animals.  In another sense, 'ālam means the world of nations – the nations of the Romans, the nations of the Persians, the nations of the Chinese.  'Ālam literally means a genus or category of people.  Allāh is saying that this Qur'ān is a dhikr for any category, whether it is humanity versus the jinn or even within humanity there are many different groups.

This Qur'ān is a dhikr.  What does dhikr mean?  Dhikr means a remembrance or a reminder.  This is one of the most common names of the Qur'ān.  The Qur'ān has many names.  The most common names are the Qur'ān and the Kitāb – these two are the most common names in the Book of Allāh.  Alḥamdulillāhi'lladhi anzala 'ala 'abdihi'l-kitāb [18:1] — so Kitāb is mentioned.  Qur'ān is mentioned.  Both of these are mentioned around 75 times.

The two names are complementary.  Qur'ān means that which is recited, and Kitāb means that which is written.  The Qur'ān and the Kitāb are complementary because Allāh has promised to preserve the recitation along with preserving the writing.  You always need the recitation along with the Book.  The ḥāfiẓ has the Qur'ān and uses the kitāb.  Both are complementary names.  One is the recitation and the other is the speech.

The third most common name of the Qur'ān is Dhikr.  This is what is used over here.  Dhikr here means that it is meant to remind and meant to bring about something that you already know.  This is a powerful message that the message of the Qur'ān is not unique and you should know it.

I repeat – what I said is so simple, but I want you to understand the implications.  What is Allāh saying by using the word dhikr?  By using the word dhikr, Allāh is implying that the basic message of the Qur'ān you should know, and when the Qur'ān comes down, it should remind you of that basic message.  You guys are following this point, right?  The Qur'ān is a dhikr, meaning that it is nothing new.

What is not new?  The basic message that there is One God who is All-Perfect and worthy of being worshipped.  This is a message you don't need to be taught; you know it already.  How does mankind know this message?  Because we believe as Muslims that Allāh ingrained in every human being the inherent capacity to know God and to believe in God.  That is why even the most primitive societies were religious.  I don't know if you know this or not – atheism is a very, very modern phenomenon.  In fact, the first devout atheist is actually in the 19^th century – 150-200 years ago.  Atheism was unknown in humanity because it is in your nature to affirm a God.  It is in your nature to believe that this world came out of something.  It is nonsensical to claim that this world came out of nothing.  Therefore, atheism is a very modern trend.  Allāh created mankind to know the truth.  What is the truth?  There is only One God.  Most of mankind had deviated from this truth by believing in multiple gods, and so the thrust of the Qur'ān is use your fiṭrah and your intelligence and understand that there is not multiple but there is one God.  This is why the Qur'ān is called Dhikr because dhikr means it is reminding you of a message you should know.

Of course, dhikr also means that it is going to remind you over and over and over again.  It is always going to be a reminder and is never going to go away.  It is here to stay.  Yet a third meaning of dhikr is a matter of prestige, it will bring about your remembrance.  That is not the meaning in this verse, but it is the meaning in another verse.  Allāh says in the Qur'ān:  “This Qur'ān shall be a dhikr for you and your nation.”  What is the meaning here of dhikr?  One of the meanings is:  “This Qur'ān will take you places.  You will become remembered in the world.  You will have an 'izzah because of this Qur'ān.”  This is exactly what happened.  The Arabs used to be the mockery of the Romans and the Persians and used to be considered the most backward civilization at the time and were so barbaric and Bedouin.  As I said, they didn't have a unified government, language, script, or civilization. They were so backward the Romans and Persians didn't even see the need to conquer them.  It is like the people living in the jungles – why should we go and conquer them?  Who cares?  The mighty empires of Rome and Persia have no need to descend down and conquer the warring Arabs.  They didn't care about oil back then, so what is the purpose of invading Arabia?  There was nothing for them to gain.

Yet this nation managed to destroy the Persian Empire in 20 miracles.  Wallāhi, this is miracle we don't understand.  The Sasanid Empire collapsed.  Also within 20 years half of the Roman Empire was carved up.  Muslims conquered the seats of Christianity, and that is Damascus and North Africa.  Alexandria is where Christian theologians met.  The Council of Nicaea, where Christianity was invented, was in Turkey.  Within another 500, 600, 800 years, there was more and more expansion until finally it conquered the seat of the Byzantine Empire and that is Constantinople, which is Istanbul.

This civilization of backward nomads who did not even have a culture, language, or script became the leader of civilizations.  Europeans would come to Andalus to study medicine, engineering, optics, and physics and then go back and began the Renaissance in the 17^th century.

Allāh is saying, “This book will take you places.”  That is one of the meanings of dhikr.  Dhikr in that context means:  you will be remembered and you will leave a legacy because of this book.  These are some of the meanings of dhikr, and Allāh 'azza wa jall here is saying “This is a dhikr for all of humanity.”

The fourth most common name is Furqān.  You should memorize these names:  Qur'ān, Kitāb, Dhikr, and Furqān.  These are the four most common names of the Qur'ān in the Qur'ān.  Furqān means the criterion.  Furqān means that which separates good from evil, truth from falsehood, īmān from kufr.

In this verse, once again, the concluding verses all mean to prove the truthfulness of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the religion of Islam.  Allāh then says,

Āyah 105

“How numerous are the signs in the heavens and the earth that they continually pass by and they are oblivious to these signs and don't think about these signs.”

Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) is saying, “Ya Rasūlullāh, you have clear signs.  You are truthful, have miracles, and have no motivation.  You are not the only sign.  They have plenty of other signs.  If they are ignoring you, ya Rasūlullāh, get some consolation that they have been ignoring other signs long before you came on the scene.  You are not the only sign.  How many are the miracles in the heaven and the earth.”

The miracles of the heavens are the sun, the moon, the stars, and the creation.  On this earth you have the natural and the man-made.  Of the natural [miracles is], of course, the beauty of the oceans and the mountains and valleys and irrigation and cultivation. When it comes to man-made, you have the remnants of the nations of old.  The Arabs had plenty of ancient civilizations, which to this day are marvels to humanity.  The people of 'Ād, the people of Thamūd, those who carved things into the mountains.  To this day, we have no idea how they built palaces.  Have you ever seen pictures of the Nabiteans, the people of Thamūd?  There are pictures you can see online and maybe some of you have been there and visited.  They literally have palaces carved into the mountains.  Their house is in the mountain.  They have bunk beds carved into the mountains.  They have rooms carved inside the mountains.  The Arabs were very familiar with these cultures.  To this day we have no idea how this happened just like the pyramids in Egypt.

Allāh is saying, “Look at these signs.  You are not the first civilization, and you are not going to be the last.  How many are the signs they have walked by and they don't even think about it.”

Notice the beautiful choice of verb here:  yamurrūn.  Murūr literally in Arabic today means traffic.  Yamurrūn means they are walking without thinking.  Marra means just to pass by.  Allāh 'azza wa jall uses a very precise word.  They walk by it without even thinking about it.  They are completely turned away from it even though they are walking by it.  While they are walking by, it is as if they have turned away.  While they go right by it, they don't even see it.  This, of course, is the reality of humanity.  We see the beautiful signs around us – natural signs and miracles – and we don't think about it.

Then Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) consoles the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) once again.

Āyah 106

“Most of them don't believe in Allāh 'azza wa jall properly.  They commit shirk along with this belief.”

This again is a very profound verse.  For the majority of the Quraysh, their problem was that they believed in Allāh but along with Allāh they believed in multiple gods.  Here Allāh 'azza wa jall is pointing out a fundamental fact of our religion:  to believe in Allāh is not the essence of īmān.  The Quraysh also believed in Allāh.  The Quraysh believed Allāh created them and will resurrect them and Allāh is All-Powerful, but that did not make them Muslims.  This is a very important point in our times.  There are people who do believe in all of these things, but they are guilty of very grave crimes of shirk.  By explaining to them that the Quraysh believed in Allāh but committed shirk, we can explain to some of our fellow Muslims who have gone to excessive practices.

So, for example, common practices that we find sometimes is that people are invoking the dead and making du'ā' to those whom they call the 'awliyah.  They go to the grave and say, “Ya Fulān…  Ya AbdulQadir….  Ya Chistie…, forgive me, give me a child, grant me this and that.”  They make du'ā' to this person.  If you were to ask them, “Akhi, how could you make du'ā' to this person?  Aren't you a Muslim?”  He would say, “Of course I am a Muslim.  Astaghfirullāh.  I believe in Allāh and I believe Allāh created me and will resurrect me.”  All that he has just said is exactly what they Quraysh would say, and this verse clearly shows it.  Most of them believe in Allāh and Allāh says, “They have īmān in Allāh but they do shirk along with that belief.”

Ibn 'Abbās explained this verse.  He said, “This verse means if you ask them, 'Who created you?'  They would say, 'Allāh,' but when it comes to what they need, they ask other than Allāh.”  The sad reality is that we find the exact same attitude letter for letter, word for word, dot for dot in some minority segments of our fellow Muslims.  They say, “I am too sinful.  I cannot approach Allāh directly.  I have to go through the wali.  I believe in Allāh.  I am a Muslim.”

Even Iblīs believes in Allāh.  Does Iblīs deny Allāh exists?  Is he an atheist?  No.  Didn't Iblīs make a du'ā' to Allāh “Qāla Rabbi…”?  What does “qāla Rabbi” mean?  My Rabb.  Iblīs is saying, “Allāh is my Rabb.  Allāh is my Lord.  Allāh is my Creator.”  Iblīs even makes du'ā' to Allāh, “O my Lord, allow me to live until the Day of Judgment.”  Does that make Iblīs a mu'min because he believes in Allāh?  Of course not.

A lot of us Muslims don't know our own religion and think that if we believe in Allāh then we are a Muslim.  Iblīs believes in Allāh.  Abu Lahab believed in Allāh.  By the time testimony of the Qur'ān:  “They have īmān in Allāh.”  What did they do?  They would ask others besides Allāh for what they need.  They would go to their idols and say, “O idol, save me.  O idol, give me a child.  O idol, forgive my sins.”  They thought that these idols would then take their requests up to Allāh.  They used these idols as stepping stones and as intermediaries.  SubḥānAllāh, the exact same mentality 100% is found in those people who go to the graves and the saints.  They say the exact same thing:  “We believe in Allāh, but we need to go through [them].”

This is the beauty of Islam.  There is a direct channel.  You don't go through the operator.  There is a direct line between you and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  Going through individuals is the essence of shirk.  This is a beautiful verse that we can use to prove that believing in Allāh is not sufficient to be a Muslim.  You can have īmān in Allāh and still be a mushrik.  Allāh says, “They have īmān and they do shirk.”  When you have īmān and do shirk, the shirk cancels the īmān and it is not accepted by Allāh 'azza wa jall.

Allāh 'azza wa jall is saying, “Their problem is that they worship others besides Allāh.”

Āyah 107

“Do they feel secure that a ghāshiyah will not come to them from the punishment of Allāh?”

What is ghāshiyah?  Ghāshiyah is that which covers up and that which envelops.  Every single punishment is called ghāshiyah because you are enveloped in it.  SubḥānAllāh we seek Allāh's refuge from all of Allāh's punishments.  Look at what is happening now with the tsunami and earthquakes and what not.  This is a type of ghāshiyah because you are overwhelmed and everything is neglected other than this. Ghāshiyah means you are covered up in it and you cannot think of anything else.  Look at these people now.  May Allāh make the situation easy and protect us from any fitan.  This is exactly what a ghāshiyah is.

Allāh is now threatening the Quraysh.  “The signs are so clear, the truth of the Prophet is manifest, I've given you so many miracles.  What is left?  Do you not worry that a punishment from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) will come that will overwhelm you?”

“Or the Day of Judgment will come and you are not even expecting it.”

“If I don't punish you in this world immediately, then the only other alternative is the Day of Judgment.  Between these two there is no third alternative.  Either you are going to get a punishment that will destroy you and immerse you in it, or you will have to face the wrath of Allāh 'azza wa jall in the Day of Judgment.”

The Day of Judgment will come suddenly.  The primary meaning is the real Day of Judgment.  However, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Death is the minor Day of Judgment.”  It is the individual Day of Judgment.  There is a reference here that: “If you don't correct your act, I will either punish you with a punishment that will destroy you or you will die a death you weren't prepared for and will have to face Me.  Choose which one of these you want.  Are you not worried?”  Afa' aminu means do you feel safe that Allāh is not going to harm you?

This clearly shows us, brothers and sisters – and I have to say this honestly – in our times, when we give da'wah to people, we ignore this tangent of the Qur'ān.  The Qur'ān has a carrot, but it also has a stick.  The Qur'ān entices with bashīr, reward, Jannah, and mercy, but it also has punishment.  If you reject, you are going to have to face your Lord.  The fact of the matter is that in our times, we consider it politically incorrect to talk about the fire of Hell.  We say when we give da'wah let's not talk about “if you refuse, you have to face the wrath of your Creator,” whereas the Qur'ān has both.  Human beings need both.  You need the carrot and you need the stick.  If you concentrate on one to the exclusion of the other, you get problems.  By always mentioning the carrot and no stick, people will say, “Okay fine, I'll think about it.”  Tell a person directly, “Are you prepared to meet your Lord?”  This type of question:  “Are you ready to die and meet your God?”

By the way, there is nothing wrong with using the term “God.”  I think I mentioned this before.  We should have no problem, and when we speak to non-Muslims it is in fact better to use “God” for them because “God” means the Creator.  Amongst ourselves of course we use “Allāh,” but when we speak to non-Muslims, in the beginning we talk about God because we believe in God.   Allay says, “Our God and your God is one.”  Ilah is “God” and Allāh calls Himself ilah.  There is no problem using the term “God.”  Some Muslims are a little bit sensitive about this.

We tell them, “Are you prepared to meet your God?  Are you prepared to meet your Creator?  Are you willing to defend your beliefs and your lifestyle?”  Wallāhi I have tried this in my da'wah with people, and so many times you see the faces of people change because you are not threatening him but you are threatening him with his Creator.  You are saying, “Are you prepared to meet your Lord?”  This really throws a person into shock.  A lot of people have never been asked this question, and this is exactly the question Allāh is asking directly.  “Are you not worried that a punishment of Allāh will come or death will come and you are not even ready for it?”  If Allāh 'azza wa jall can ask this question directly, it is our job to spread this āyah as well.  Of course we change it in a manner that befits them and say, for example, “Are you ready to meet your Lord?  Are you ready for death and resurrection?  Your Lord will ask you, 'What did you do with your life?  What did you do with the blessings I gave you?'”  Leave it at that.  Say, “Don't answer me.  I'm not going to judge you, but are you ready?”  Leave the question at that.  I have tried this myself a number of times, and I've seen the effect.  The effect that this has is a very different effect than debate and quoting verses of theology.  That has its place but this also has its place, and the Qur'ān uses both of them.

After mentioning the carrot and the stick, if you like, and after mentioning so many miracles of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and creation, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is then told to say:

Āyah 108

“Say:  This is my path.  I am calling to Allāh.”

The path of Islam is a path that links you to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  The path of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the job of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is to call people to this path.  How does he do this call?  'Ala baṣīrah means upon a clear knowledge.  “I'm not calling you based upon ignorance.  I'm not jāhil.   I know what I'm calling you to.”

Baṣīrah is from baṣarah, which is to see.  Baṣīrah means it is crystal clear.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said in one ḥadīth, “I have left you upon the shining path.  Its night is like its day.  No one can deviate from this path except that he wishes destruction.”  The path is clear.

“I am doing this [calling upon baṣīrah] and those who truly follow me also call.”

This is a beautiful message here.  Whoever claims to be a follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) had better be calling to his path because this āyah demonstrates and characterizes the followers of Rasūlullāh (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) as being of those who call to this path.

“I and all those who follow me all call to this path upon knowledge.”  This shows us that on some level, calling others to Islam (da'wah) is on some level farḍ 'ayn.  What do I mean by 'some level'?  Our biggest problem when it comes to da'wah is that we don't know what da'wah is.  We think that da'wah is always intellectual debate and basically being a Zakir Naik or Ahmed Deedat.  This is the biggest misconception of da'wah.  Da'wah, or calling others to Islam, is not only about intellectual arguments and debates.  Throughout this story we have always been mentioning the number one stepping stone to da'wah is manners.  The number one stepping stone to people's heart is: “We have seen you from the ṣāliḥīn.  Tell us the interpretation of the dream.  We think you to be a good man.”  The king says this, the interpreter says this, everybody says this:  “We see you to be a righteous person, help us out.”  This is the primary way of da'wah.  Every one of us has to give da'wah simply by being a good Muslim in our characteristics and manners.  This is the best da'wah and far better than intellectual debate and argumentation.

Some people can go to the intellectual side and debate side and talk about theology and what Christianity and Judaism says.  This is for the educated in the sciences of religion.  On some level, every Muslim has to call others to Islam not by the tongue and not by knocking on the door and giving pamphlets – this, in my opinion, is not the best da'wah – but simply by humanizing yourself to your neighbors and to your coworkers and showing them that your life is the meaning of Islam.  This is the best da'wah.  Your relationship with Allāh 'azza wa jall, your religiosity, your akhlāq.  And when you do so, you are opening up doors that arguments can never open up.

Also notice that Allāh 'azza wa jall mentions the path to Allāh in the singular.  Qul hādhihi sabīl.  Ihdinas ṣirāṭ'l-mustaqīm.  The path to Allāh is one.  Whatever opposes it is in the plural.  “Don't follow the paths because then you will be misguided from the one path.”  “Allāh takes them out of the darknesses to nūr.”  Allāh takes them out from multiple darknesses to the one light.  Notice truth is one.  Falsehood is many.  This is a clear point in our religion.  These days people don't like to say truth is one and instead say truth is relative – you have your truth and I have my truth.  No, this is not the Qur'ānic message.  Truth is one.  Allāh is the Truth.  The way to Allāh 'azza wa jall is one and is the ṣirāṭ and the sabīl.

Once the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) sat down in the sand and drew a straight line and said, “This is the straight path of Allāh 'azza wa jall and leads to Allāh.”  Then he drew lines that go out in the sand.  By the way, this shows us that it is of the Sunnah and the methodology of teaching to employ diagrams and charts.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is the greatest teacher, and you can go into a tangent about how he used to teach.  He would draw diagrams and charts.  He is drawing diagrams and saying, “These are the paths that lead away from the one path.”  The path to Allāh is a straight path and one path.  All that opposes it are multiple paths.

“I am upon a knowledge.”

This shows you that if you want to be a true follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam), you have to have knowledge.  If you are a jāhil, you can never get to that level of following.  A true follower of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) knows his religion.

“I do this, and all those who follow me.  And all exaltation is due to Allāh 'azza wa jall, and I am not of the idol worshippers.”

In other words, “this is my path; I am calling to Allāh.”  By saying, “subḥānAllāh,” it is as if he is saying, “And while I am on this path, I praise and glorify Allāh.”  That is what it means here.  “As I am on this path, and as I am calling to Allāh, I make it a ritual to praise Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) as well, and I am never going to be of those who worship others besides Him.

Āyah 109

“There has never come before you prophets except that they have been men whom We have inspired from the towns/cities.”

The characteristics of the prophets are that they have been men that have been inspired from the cities.  What does this mean?  The point of saying this is to say the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) has all of the characteristics the previous prophets had as well.  “You have the exact same characteristics.  You are not alone.”

This is a message to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) to console him.  Remember this sūrah was revealed at a relatively depressing point in the life of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  He is being reminded:  “You are not the only person that has suffered.  Many are the prophets before you that We have sent.”  SubḥānAllāh, it is human nature that when you find somebody who has suffered the same calamity as you, you feel a little bit of relief that you are not alone.  Our Rasūl (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is being reminded, “You are not alone.  There have been many prophets before you that have come.”

His people are being reminded, “Why are you so shocked?  What are you amazed at?  The characteristics of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) are the exact same as the prophets before him.”

This also shows us some theological points.  All prophets have been men.  This is the standard position of ahl'l-sunnah wa'l-jamā'ah.  There have been no female prophets.  We firmly believe this even though there is a small minority opinion that Maryam ('alayhi'l-salām) was a prophet, but it doesn't appear to be the case.  Rather, she saw an angel, and angel communicated with her, but she did not receive waḥy.  She did not receive a book from Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Angels can come to women and can appear in front of women, but this does not make them prophets.  Prophets means you get a revelation from Allāh, waḥy, and the dominant opinion has always been [all prophets have been male], and it is quite clear from this verse.  This is because for a woman to become a prophet, it would be more difficult for her to be accepted in any society, especially a patriarchal societies of old.  Also, a woman has her own issues – such as if a man is attracted to her.  It is not going to be the same as a man being a prophet.

No doubt, in our society it is politically incorrect to say that men and women are slightly different.  We believe that they are different and spiritually equal.  We don't believe that men and women are equal physiologically or emotionally.  It doesn't mean that men are better or women are better.  It is that Allāh has created each one for a role and a purpose, and Allāh 'azza wa jall has made prophecy amongst men.  By the way, if any Christian or Jew argues with you, you can ask them to look at the Old Testament, which is full of male prophets.  There is no female prophetess over there either.

This is something that we firmly believe:  they have been men.  And they have been men who live in cities.  There have been no bedouin prophets.  Bedouins (people who don't live in the cities) are, generally speaking, more uncouth and harsher and more gruff.  They don't have manners and don't know how to talk.  You all know the ḥadīth of the bedouin who walked into the masjid and lifted his pants in front of all the other men and urinated.  This is what a bedouin does because he doesn't live amongst other men, so he is not used to interacting with other men.

Of the characteristics of the prophets is that they come from cultures of the cities.  They have manners, akhlāq and morals.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) came from the Quraysh, and the Quraysh were the most noble of all the Arabs.

“Haven't they traveled in the land and seen the fate of those who were before them?”

Of course the Arabs knew the fate of the people of Ṣāliḥ, and in our times we have the pyramids and Petra in Jordan and the Herculaneum of Rome and Pompeii.  We have so many signs and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) is asking, “Haven't they seen these signs?  Haven't they gone through the earth and seen the fate of the people of before?”  SubḥānAllāh, it is the Sunnah of Allāh that every nation and society thinks that it is the pinnacle.  Every nation believes they are the most powerful and they think that they have reached the pinnacle of civilization.  Such was the case of the people of Pompeii.  Such was the case of the people of Rome and the emperors of Persia.  Such was the case of the pharaohs of Egypt.  Every single civilization and society said, “We are the lasting legacy.  We have achieved what no other society achieved.”

We still the same sentiment in our time as well, yet Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) is telling the Quraysh and people around them you are not the first, and you are not going to be the last.  Stop being so arrogant.  Allāh 'azza wa jall has created so many different societies and nations.  Learns from the lessons of those before.  Where are they now?  Where is their power now?  Where is their fame?  Where is their might?  All of it has now gone.  You don't even see except for the remnants you visit in museums and see one house out of thousands that used to stand.  Don't you learn that your civilization one day will also be the same?  It will be a lesson for other societies, so take advantage and benefit before the end comes to you.

“Surely the house and the abode of the Hereafter is better.  Don't you think and understand this?”

You are seeing the abodes of the people before and marveling at them.  The pyramids, the people of Ṣāliḥ and Thamūd and the grand palaces of Petra.  You marvel at that.

The meaning here is that after setting up the stage for the miracles of the prophets, the sincerity of the prophets that most of the people have rejected that the prophets have been preaching, all of these verses when you read them initially you think every verse is different, but when you actually study it, you see a beautiful message is in the background.  You just need to understand it.  What is that message?

“Ya Rasūlullāh, you are not the first prophet.  You have a message, you have a methodology, you have miracles.  Many people before you had the same miracles, and they were all rejected.”  What was the end result?

Āyah 110

“Until finally when the messengers gave up hope (of their people believing), and the messengers thought that they had been rejected.”

Kadhaba means to reject.  Kudhiba means they have been rejected.  Depending on how you recite the verse, kudhibu or kudhdhibu.

Khudhibu means the people thought that the promises of the prophets were false.  The people thought that here is a man telling us that Allāh is going to punish us if we don't believe, but we haven't believed, so where is the punishment?  He must be lying.  The people thought that the prophets are telling lies.  When the people thought that the prophet was telling lies, that was when Allāh's safety came to save the people of the faith and punishment came for the disbelievers.

In the other qirā'a, “and they thought that their nations had rejected them.”  The prophets came to the realization that their nations would not believe.

These are the two meanings.  Who is the one doing the thinking and doing the assuming?  If it is the people, then the people have assumed that the prophets are telling lies.  If it is the prophets, then the prophets have realized that the people will not believe.

SubḥānAllāh, both of them are correct.  One of the principles of Qur'ānic recitation is that all of them are equally valid and both of them are correct.  When both have become exasperated, when the prophets are fed up of their people and the people are fed up of their prophets – basically it is a two-way street.  They are allowed to preach until this exasperation is reached.  What happens then?

“The prophets receive Our Aid.  They are saved.”

Once again there are two qirā'a:  nujjiya and nunji, and both of them are authentic.  Both of them add complementary meanings?  Why?  Again, not to go into too much detail, one of them is in the past tense, and one of them is in the future tense.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) is saying that the people of the past when Allāh's Command came, We saved them, and as for the ẓālimīn, they will get there punishment.  In the other recitation, which is in the future, it is a reference to our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) that a time will come when We will save you and you will be saved from the clutches of them, and they shall be punished by the punishment of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

Both the past tense and the future tense play in perfectly.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was saved multiple times.  He was saved on the night of hijrah and the assassination attempt.  He was saved in the battle of Badr when there was very little hope otherwise.  He was saved in the battles of Aḥzāb and Uḥud.  Every single one of these battle situations became very tense.  “We will save (or We had saved – meaning the previous prophets).”  Once again, it is the perfect choice of two qirā'at here.  Allāh is saying, “We saved the people of the past.  Surely We will save you as well.”

“Our punishment will never be averted from the wrongdoers.”

No one has the power to come between Allāh and the decree of Allāh.  Now we get to the final verse.

Āyah 111

“Indeed, in their stories there is an 'ibrah for those of intelligence.”

'Ibrah comes from 'abara which means to cross over.  You cross over the bridge, let's say.  'Ibrah is a benefit you derive at a deeper level.  You cross over to the hidden or inner meaning.  You think about it, cross into an inner meaning, and get an 'ibrah, a piece of wisdom.  Here Allāh is saying, “In their stories, indeed…”

Laqad always means an emphasis.  I have said this ten times, and I will say it again.  The whole chapter of emphasis in Arabic is lost in English because we don't have this chapter in English.  When we say it, it sounds ridiculous.  Indeed, surely, verily.  It doesn't sound modern, whereas in the Arabic language there is a whole chapter of tawqīd and emphasis.  There are ways to emphasize.  When you emphasize, it adds elegance and you pay attention.  Laqad means indeed, for sure.  But again in English it is not something we use.

Notice here – this is the last verse of the sūrah – how beautifully the beginning and the end are linked together.  What does Allāh 'azza wa jall say in the very beginning of the sūrah?  Naḥnu naquṣṣu 'alayka aḥsan'l-qaṣaṣ.  “We are going to narrate to you the best of all qaṣaṣ.”  Then the ending is:  laqad kāna fi qaṣaṣihim.  “Indeed in their stories…”  The [third āyah] has the present tense and here is the past tense because now the story has finished, so Allāh is saying, “In their stories there was…”  Kana is like a type of past.  In the beginning, Allāh is saying, “Pay attention!  You are about to hear some good stories.”  Then it is concluding.  Allāh is saying, “In these stories you just heard.”

This is beautiful.  Human beings cannot construct such eloquence.  This is a divine eloquence that only when you think about it you see it, otherwise if you tried to, you could not bring about such a beauty.

Another beauty here – and wallāhi this is just amazing; think about this – in the beginning Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) says, “In the story of Yūsuf and his brothers, there are āyāt for those who ask.”  Here we are being told “In their stories there is 'ibrah for those of intelligence.”  Now surely Allāh is doing this for a reason.  Why is there āyātu li'l-sā'ilīn in the beginning and then 'ibrah li'uli'l-bāb in the end.  Which one is a higher level?  Uli'l-bāb.  The one who thinks, the one who ponders.  The one who is asking shows that he is interested and paying attention and has an open heart and open mind.  If you have that attitude of wanting to benefit, you will find miracles, āyāt, points, but when you really think about the story, you will go beyond āyāt and will go to 'ibrah – morals, wisdoms, lessons.

Notice in the beginning Allāh mentions the lower level because it is human nature that the first reading is a cursory reading.  You are paying attention and want to know the story, the plot, and the ending.  In the beginning, Allāh 'azza wa jall says just be interested, sā'il, and you will get a lot of benefit.  In the very last āyah, Allāh says, “Now you have read the story.  If you really want to benefit, you have to ponder over it āyah by āyah, verse by verse, and you will discover 'ibrah.”  Beautiful.  In the beginning, you will benefit if you just pay attention.  In the end, now that the story is over (in the past tense) Allāh is saying laqad kāna, meaning there was indeed and now that you have done it you should go back.  There is an incentive being given now.  That is what I am trying to get at here.  There is a strong incentive being given.  Now that you have finished the story, now is the time to go back and try to do 'ibrah if you truly are a person of contemplative intelligence.

This is really the beauty of the ending here that it links up directly to he beginning and tells you, “You haven't come to the end.  This is just the beginning.  You need to now go back.”  Notice Allāh says qaṣaṣihim, which is plural, because there are lots of stories.  It is not just one story.  We call it the story of Yūsuf, but the fact of the matter is it is composed of multiple stories all put together.  Allāh 'azza wa jall is telling you, this is just the beginning, and now the real journey begins to go back and find these 'ibrah and to derive these benefits and wisdoms.  Therefore, inshā'Allāh ta'āla, next week we will obey Allāh's command and go back to the beginning, not āyah by āyah, but we will summarize perhaps fifty fawā'Īd, let's say, overall holistically.  I am not going to recite āyah by āyah – I have done that at a basic level.  We will summarize as many as we can do, but it is going to be different from what we have done.  So we will say “of the benefits of the sūrah is this,” and I will mention where we get the benefit from.  This is what Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) commands us to do, and He concludes this by saying,

“These stories are not fabricated fairy tales.”

When we hear a fairy tale, we listen to it from a very different perspective.  When we hear a real story, psychologically and subconsciously we listen and hear with a different mind.  SubḥānAllāh we all understand.  When we watch a Hollywood movie versus a documentary, what is our attitude?  Hollywood movie:  entertainment.  Documentary:  it affects you, and you are seeing real images and this is not acting.  Sorry for being so crude, but we understand now.

Allāh is saying this isn't a Hollywood movie and isn't a fairy tale.  These are real stories.  Look at it as you would the way you would look at a real story and a documentary.

“These stories prove all that has come before and is a clarification for all you need to know.  It is a guidance and mercy for those of īmān and faith.”

May Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) make us amongst the people of īmān and faith.  May He make us amongst those who follow the footsteps of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) as he calls people to the path of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  May He make us amongst those who contemplate this sūrah in particular and extract the wisdoms and benefits and finds the 'ibrah and make us of the uli'l-bāb.  May Allāh 'azza wa jall make us benefit from the wisdom of Ya'qūb and the patience of Yūsuf and the tawbah of the brothers of Yūsuf.  May Allāh 'azza wa jall make us of the people of the Qur'ān.

Everything I have said that is correct and authentic of the interpretation of this sūrah is all from the blessings of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Anything I have said that was incorrect, a mistake, an incorrect judgment, all of this is from my whisperings and the whisperings of Shayṭān.  Allāh and His Messenger have nothing to do with those mistakes.

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 13 of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

In our last halaqah, we were just concluding the very final passages of Sūrah Yūsuf.  We had actually finished the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) except for the one du'ā' that he makes at the end.  This du'ā' is what we are going to start off with today and finish up half a paragraph and hopefully inshā'Allāh by the next halaqah we will completely finish Sūrah Yūsuf and summarize some of the main points in Sūrah Yūsuf.

After he had raised his parents on the throne and after they had fallen down in sajdah, he then makes a du'ā'.  He mentions the blessings that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) has given him.  He mentions the blessings without ever mentioning anything to do with his brothers because he has told his brothers “there is no criticism on you after today.”  All of the blessings that he mentions – to be saved from the prison and to be saved from fitnah – he doesn't mention anything to do with being in the well or anything to do with his brothers.  He praises Allāh 'azza wa jall for having guided his parents and bringing his parents from the bedouin livelihood into the cities.

Then he makes a private du'ā' to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  The first paragraph was public.  He says:

Āyah 101

“O my Rabb…”

We clarified in the last halaqah the meaning of Rabb.  Rabb has three meanings to it.  The first meaning is the Owner.  You call out to the One who owns you because ownership necessitates responsibility.  When you own your car, you have to take care of it.  When you own something, you are the one who is in charge of it.

The second meaning of Rabb is Nourisher / Sustainer, and from this we get the word tarbiyyah, which is a spiritual nourishment.  When you call out to Rabb, you are saying, “O the One who takes care of me.  O the One who will nourish me.”

The third meaning of Rabb is Lord and Master, meaning the One who is obeyed.

This is why the Name of Allāh Al-Rabb is one of the most comprehensive Names of Allāh.  This is why it is the most common Name that is ever used in any du'ā'.  Rabbi zidni 'ilma.  Rabbana ātina fi'l-dunya ḥasanatan wa fi'l-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qina 'adāb'l-nār. All of these use Rabb – why?  Because when you call your Rabb, you are calling your Owner, Master, Nourisher.  Therefore, Has to nourish and sustain you.  Anything you ask for your Owner, Nourisher, and Sustainer has to give it to you; therefore, you invoke your Rabb.

He mentions two things:

“You have given me something of power and something of the knowledge of interpreting dreams.”

Why does he say 'something'?  Because he is invoking Al-Mālik and the One who is Al-'Alīm.  He is saying, “O Al-Mālik, You have given me some mulk.  O Al-' Alīm, You have given me some 'ilm.”  In contrast to Allāh 'azza wa jall, who is he and what is his power and what is his knowledge?  In contrast to everybody on earth, there is no doubt he has the most knowledge, but now he is invoking Allāh 'azza wa jall and saying, “O Allāh, You have given me a little bit of Your Power.”

Min here means a little bit.  He is trivializing the knowledge that he has with 'min' because in comparison to Allāh that knowledge is trivial and in comparison to Allāh that power is nothing even though at this point in time he is the most powerful man on earth, even more powerful than the king, because he controls food and people are starving.  He is the minister of food, and people need food more than they need anything else.

He is also the most knowledgeable people on earth.  It is very rare in the history of humanity that power and knowledge have been combined to perfection.  Perfection of knowledge is prophethood.  It is very rare that the prophets have also been rulers, and that is why our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is no doubt the most successful of all of Allāh's messengers even though they were all successful in their own way.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was the most successful because he combined al-mulk and al-'ilm.

Very few people before him had combined these two, and of those who combined partially was Mūsa ('alayhi'l-salām) in that he was given some dominion, but he still did not ever see the Holy Land.  Mūsa died in the exodus when they were wandering around, but nonetheless he did have some political power.  'Īsa ('alayhi'l-salām) did not have any political power, and he led a different life.  Ibrāhīm ('alayhi'l-salām) did not have that type of political power.  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) and a few other prophets – of course Dāwūd and Sulaymān ('alayhi'l-salām) are the best examples in this regard – were given mulk and 'ilm, and there is no doubt that this is the perfection.

What is the most prized possession of any human being?  Power.  When you have power, everything else follows – fame, prestige, money, all of your lustful desires can be satisfied whether it is food, drink or sensual pleasures.  When you are king or prime minister, everything else follows.  All of the other pleasures of this dunya cannot compete with the pleasure of power because when you have power, everything else is subservient to that.

The greatest blessing of this world, if it is used properly is power.  The greatest blessing of the spiritual realm is knowledge.  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is, therefore, mentioning the two blessings that Allāh has given and perfected.

And of the knowledge, he mentions the most rare type of knowledge, and that is the knowledge of the interpretation of the dreams.  As we have said over and over again, most knowledge is learned from books, and you can memorize the Qurʾān, study tafsīr, study fiqh and ḥadīth.  This knowledge is difficult to obtain, but nonetheless it is available.  There are a few types of knowledge that you cannot study and learn.  It is a pure blessing from Allāh 'azza wa jall.  You can study for years and years and never master a particular type of science unless Allāh has bestowed it upon you.  Of the most important of these sciences is the interpretation of dreams.  As I have said over and over again, these booklets, encyclopedias and websites that you find are not worth the ink they are printed on, by and large, because dream interpretation is a gift Allāh blesses you with.  It is not something that you learn.

I gave some examples that the same dream can be interpreted differently based on the culture you are in and based on who is seeing the dream.  The same symbol for one person will symbolize one thing and will symbolize something else for another person, so you cannot just look it up in a book.  It is something that is a God-given gift.

Yūsuf mentions the two most prized blessings he has been given.  He begins the du'ā' by mentioning these special blessings for a number of reasons.  Firstly, to acknowledge his gratitude.  Of the best ways to acknowledge gratitude is to mention.  We do this all the time in our lives and say, “I appreciate the favor you have done for me.”  We thank verbally when someone has done something.  Of the ways you acknowledge Allāh's gratitude is that you say it.  “O my Lord, I know that you have given me x, y, z.  O my Lord, I know that you have given me wealth and given me status.”  You begin the du'ā' by acknowledging Allāh's favors upon you.

The second point is that by acknowledging Allāh's favors, it is as if you are saying, “O Allāh, You have given me this much, also give me this now.  You are the One who has been so generous…” Again, we find this in our world as well.  If somebody has been helpful and there is a donor to the masjid, then the first person we go to when we need help is the donor and we say, “Akhi, you already gave $50,000 last year māshā'Allāh, and this year we need this.”  His generosity has now been established, so we go to the people who we know what their character is like.

To Allāh belongs the more perfect example.  By mentioning these favors, it is as if Yūsuf is saying, “O Allāh You gave me this, I know You will give me this.”  This is how you begin the du'ā'.  That is why one of the ways that we should make du'ā' as well is by acknowledging Allāh's Favors on us.  This is how we should begin du'ā'.  The best du'ā' for istighfār (sayyid'l-istighfār) – the du'ā' that is the queen or master of all of the du'ā's of istighfār – begins with “O Allāh I acknowledge all of the blessings You have given me…”  The du'ā' is for istighfār, and this is going to come later on, but before you begin the du'ā', you acknowledge and say, “O Allāh I acknowledge all of the favors You have given me, and I acknowledge my sins; therefore, O Allāh, forgive me.”

“…Fāṭira'l-samawāti wa'l-arḍ …”

Fāṭir is one of the Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  When the Name occurs, it is almost always followed by “al-samawāti wa'l-arḍ.”  We rarely find Al-Fāṭir, but we find “Fāṭira'l-samawāti wa'l-arḍ.”  What does fāṭir mean?  It means the originator, the one who extracts and creates out of nothing.  The verb faṭara literally means to carve in half and to split open.  It is as if the person who created extracted from nothing – he opened and cracked open the seed or the egg and took out what was needed.  The actual meaning of faṭara is to crack open and to put a split.

Fāṭir is as if Allāh has cracked open, if you like.  This is metaphorical meaning.  Allāh created from nothing.  The meaning is as if He originated – this is the proper word in English – the heavens and the earth.

By mentioning the specific blessings – “You have given me power, You have given me knowledge” – he then moves on to the general characteristic of Allāh:  You are the Originator of the heavens and the earth.  He begins by mentioning specific blessings and then general blessings.  The specific blessings:  You have given me something You have given nobody else.  The general blessing:  You are the Creator and Originator of the heavens and earth.

“You are my Wali in this world and the next.”

He mentions two Names in this verse:  Fāṭir and Wali – after of course mentioning Rabb, which is already mentioned in the beginning of the du'ā'.  What does Wali mean?  Al-Wali is of the Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall as well.  Al-Wali and Al-Mawla are sister names.  By [the term] sister names, I mean there are Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall that are overlapping and similar and derived from the same root.  For example:  Al-Ghāfir, Al-Ghafūr, Al-Ghaffār.  For example:  Al-'Alīm, 'Allāmu'l-ghuyūb,  There are Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall that are very similar and have minor differences.  Of them are Al-Wali and Al-Mawla.

Al-Wali and Al-Mawla are from the same verb yali, which means to be right next to.  Al-Wali, therefore, literally and originally means the one who is in your proximity and around you.  Therefore, your supporters and your comforters and your family and your protectors are all in Arabic called your wali.  The Qurʾān uses the terminology wali to talk about the one who takes care of the orphans because he is the one who is monitoring and caring for them.  The Qurʾān and Sunnah use the term wali to talk about the wali in the case of a nikāḥ (marriage) – the young woman who has never been married needs a wali.  A wali is a guardian and somebody who will care for her and protect her interests.  Because he is protecting her interests, he is a wali.

Allāh 'azza wa jall is not just a wali but Al-Wali, which means He is the One who is protecting and caring and in close proximity to the believers.  He is the wali of the believers only.  “Allāh is the wali of those who have īmān.”  In the Qurʾān in Sūrat'l-An'ām:  “Should I take any wali other than Allāh?  Fāṭira'l-samawāti wa'l-arḍ.” Wali and Fāṭara are mentioned in the same āyah just like in Sūrah Yūsuf.  Why?  Al-Fāṭiris the Originator and Creator of the physical world, and Al-Wali is your guide and protector in the spiritual.  He has created the world around you and is the physical Owner, Master, Originator, and then He has to take care of you and nourish you spiritually; therefore, He is your Wali.

Also, the Name of Allāh 'azza wa jall Al-Mawla is mentioned many times.  “Allāh is a sufficient Mawla, and Allāh is a sufficient Protector.”  Nasīr and Mawla are paired together to show you what the meaning of Mawla is.  In the end of Sūrat'l-Baqarah:  “Anta Mawlana (You are our Mawla) fanṣurna 'ala qawm'l-kāfirīn.”  It is the job of the Mawla.  The Wali is around you and in your proximity and caring for you and protecting you just like the wali in the nikāḥ and the wali of the orphan isn't caring for himself but is caring for the one he is protecting.  The meaning of wali in the nikāḥ and for the orphan is that his interests are the interests of the other party.  He is going to protect the other party; therefore, when you are the wali in someone's nikāḥ, you will look at her interests and what will protect her.  To Allāh belongs the better example.  When Allāh is our Wali, everything that happens He is doing for our own good because He is our Wali.

At the end of the story, Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is saying, “I know, O Allāh, that all that has happened You were protecting me and You had a plan.  You are my Wali in this world and in the next.”  By acknowledging Allāh as his Wali, there are two meanings here.  The first is that it is a statement of fact that Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is acknowledging that he has īmān that Allāh is his Wali.  The second is that it is a du'ā' implicit in the statement of fact:  “O Allāh, continue to remain my Wali.”

Let me repeat.  By saying “anta waliyy fi'l-dunya wa'l-ākhirah,” Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is acknowledging two things. The first of them is that he is making a statement of fact and expressing his īmān.  “O Allāh, I know You are my Wali.”  By expressing his īmān, he is affirming his faith in Allāh.  The second is that he is implicitly extracting a du'ā' from Allāh:  “O Allāh, because You are my Wali, protect me in this world and the next.”  So there is both a statement of fact and an implicit du'ā' mentioned.

SubḥānAllāh, look at what a beautiful Name Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) has chosen in light of his own story.  Again, he is a prophet of Allāh and will choose the best Name. He could have chosen Al-Khabīr or Al-Ghafār, and all of these are appropriate, but by choosing Al-Wali, he is indicating “O Allāh, I know you protected me.”  That is what a wali does: protect.  “O Allāh, I know You protected me throughout all of my trials.  Because you protected me in this world, also protect me in the next.”

By acknowledging Allāh's wilāyah, and by praising Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) in this manner, the whole paragraph as of yet has been praise after praise after praise.  “You have given me the kingdom.  You have taught me the knowledge of dreams.  The Originator of the heavens and the earth, You are my Wali in this world and the next.”  Now comes the du'ā'.  After all of this praise, now his request comes.  This shows us, once again, the appropriate manner of making a du'ā'.

Once the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was passing by somebody who was making du'ā' who raised his hands and said, “O Allāh, give me this and give me that.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “The man has been hasty.  He didn't do his job properly.”  They said, “What should he have done?”  He mentioned a du'ā', and from it we derive that he should have praised Allāh and made taḥmīd and begun by expressing glory to Allāh 'azza wa jall and then worked his way to the du'ā'.

It is a hasty du'ā' – we are not saying it is wrong.  To fulfill a real du'ā' and the proper etiquettes of du'ā', you raise your hands up to Allāh and begin by praising Allāh and by acknowledging what Allāh has given you.  You begin by praising Allāh a general praise and a specific praise.  What is a general phrase?  Fāṭira'l-samawāti wa'l-arḍ.  What is a specific praise?  In our case, you think of what blessing Allāh has given you, and you say, “O Allāh, You have blessed me with a beautiful family.  O Allāh, You have given me this.   O Allāh, You have given me that.”  Acknowledge Allāh's blessings and praise Allāh in a general manner and then you get to your du'ā'.

What is the du'ā'?

“Cause me to die as a Muslim, and allow me to join those who are righteous.”

Some people have misunderstood this verse to mean that Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) was asking for his own death and that he is raising his hands to Allāh and asking Allāh to give him death.  One of the scholars of past said, “No one of the righteous ever wished for death other than Yūsuf” because he is saying “tawaffani musliman (cause me to die).”

The majority refuted this and said that this is a misunderstanding.  Why?  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “None of you should wish for death because the life of the believer is nothing but good.”  When you die, your good deeds are closed, and you are not going to get the amount of good that you are getting when you are alive.  The life of the believer only brings about more good and, therefore, how can a prophet of Allāh wish for death when his life is nothing but good?  And, therefore, the majority interpretation and opinion is that he is saying, “O Allāh, when death comes to me, let me be in the state of Islam.”  This is clearly what Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is intending, and even Allāh 'azza wa jall says, “Do not die except in a state of Islam.”  This doesn't mean that we should rush to death but that we should be persistent in our Islam.

This du'ā' at the end after all of this praise is very profound.  Why?  After all of these blessings that he mentioned, there is a blessing that is more precious to Yūsuf than the kingdom and knowledge, and that is Islam.  The blessing of Islam is something that is more important to him than anything else.  Wallāhi this is something that we should really think about.  We take Islam for granted so much.  I ask myself this and I ask you:  When was the last time you genuinely praised Allāh and thanked Him for being a Muslim?  When was the last time you raised your hands up to Him and said, “O Allāh, allow me to live as a Muslim and die as a Muslim.”

This is what is on the mind of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).  He has been given the kingdom and the knowledge, which is very rare even amongst the prophets, and yet there is a blessing that outshines and excels all of these blessings, and that is the blessing of Islam.  It is something so simple and we take it for granted, but Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) understands how precious it is.  He says, “Allow me to die in the state of Islam.”

The meaning of this is:  allow me to persist in being a good Muslim until death comes to me.  Nobody knows when death will come, so whenever death comes “allow me to be in that perfect state of Islam.”

“…and cause me to join the righteous.”

Once again, there is a profundity here.  He is worried about his companions in the next life and who he will be hanging around in the next life.  Why?  In the next life, there are only two categories and camps – there is no middle camp.  In this world there is a middle camp and we can pick and choose, but in the next, everything is sifted.  Therefore, he wants to be in the camp of the winners and not of the losers, and he says, “O Allāh, cause me to join the righteous.”

As a prophet of Allāh, he obviously is righteous, and he is asking Allāh to be amongst the righteous.  There is an implicit du'ā' “allow me to be with my forefathers who are also prophets and my brothers who are now also prophets.”  Either they [the brothers] became prophets now or later.  By making du'ā' to Allāh to be with the ṣāliḥīn, he is making du'ā' to be with his own father and grandfather.

It is said in the books of history that Ya'qūb ('alayhi'l-salām) died, and Yūsuf was grief-stricken by his death and died shortly two or three years after.  Ya'qūb lived a very long life.  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) died shortly after his death even though he might have lived much longer for that time period, but Allāh 'azza wa jall willed that he die shortly after his father.  This du'ā' becomes even more meaningful.  “O Allāh cause me to be amongst the righteous.”  No doubt who comes to mind will be his own father.

Also the concept here is that you will be with those whom you love and hang around.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said that man will follow the methodology of his friends, so be careful who your friends are.  If you are with the ṣāliḥīn in this world, chances are you will be with the ṣāliḥīn in the next.  If you avoid the ṣāliḥīn in this world, then chances are that you will not get to the ṣāliḥīn in the next.

Of the most important benefits that we derive from this paragraph is:  how to make du'ā', the etiquettes of du'ā', the sincerity of du'ā', and what to make du'ā' about.  As I said when I was giving the halaqah two days ago, when you reach a high level of īmān, your mind does not think about “O Allāh give me a million bucks.  O Allāh give me a fancy car.”  Your mind transcends such petty things.

Here is Yūsuf asking what we would consider the lowest common denominator amongst everything and that is Islam.  For us this is the lowest common denominator.  Wallāhi, I ask myself and you again:  when was the last time you asked Allāh for Islam?  We take it for granted, isn't it?  We ask Allāh for this world and we ask Allāh for matters that might not be as important, but Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) understands what is most important.

This paragraph and this du'ā' is a very profound paragraph that summarizes the gist of the story and the īmān of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) and what he is thinking about.  He wants Islam in this world and he wants Jannah and the ṣāliḥīn in the next.

Another point here:  Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) was a prophet.  There is no question that he would remain a prophet until he died.  In other words, there is no question that he would ever lose Islam.  A prophet of Allāh can never commit shirk or kufr or else he wouldn't be a prophet.  Prophets are sinless, meaning they cannot commit major sins, yet Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) is asking for that which is guaranteed for him.  Islam is guaranteed for him and he has no fear of losing it in the real sense.  There is no way that he can ever not be a Muslim and yet what is on his mind is giving him Islam.

This reminds us of 'Umar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb, which is one of the most interesting stories of īmān.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) told Umar that he is of the people of Jannah, yet 15 years later, he is begging Hudhayfah, “Tell me if I am one of the munāfiq the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) told you about.”  Do you see the contradiction here?  If he truly believes in the Rasul (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam), then he must also believe that he is going to Jannah because the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) told him he is going to Jannah, but because his īmān is at a level beyond what we can understand, he is overzealous and over concerned more than he needs to be that he doesn't have the one thing he has been guaranteed by the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  He is worried about the impossible because of his own īmān.  We see this in the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).  Yūsuf is making a du'ā' for something that in reality he doesn't need, but he is so eager for it because he knows that this is all that he needs.

A du'ā' in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri:  “O the One who changes the hearts, make my heart firm in worshipping you.”  Once again, can our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) ever not be firming in worshipping Allāh?  Can that ever happen?  It is not even possible, yet this is the du'ā' that he is making.  It is not even conceivable that our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) would not be upon the dīn of Allāh, but his du'ā' is “O Allāh, make my heart firm in your dīn.”  Once again it is that level of īmān.

The same in the story of Ibrahim ('alayhi'l-salām).  The worst sin is the worship of idols, and it is not conceivable that a prophet of Allāh can worship an idol.  Yet when is standing in front of the Ka'bah after he has finished building it with his son Ismā'īl and he is filled with awe, the du'ā' on his mind is:  “Make me of Your worshippers, and save me from worshipping an idol.”  Once again, the impossible, but when you get to that level of īmān, this is what you are worried about.

The moral of all of this is that if this is the du'ā' of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām), our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam), and Ibrahim ('alayhi'l-salām) and they are guaranteed, then where do you think I am and you are?  How much sincerely do you think we, who have absolutely no guarantee at all, should be making du'ā'?  Should we not be making this du'ā' with so much zeal and vigor?  Yet, as I say, when was the last time we made a du'ā' for what we consider to be the lowest common denominator?

In this beautiful du'ā' of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām), we have the affirmation of tawḥīd, the perfection of Allāh's Names and Attributes, and the pure submission to Allāh 'azza wa jall when he says, “Make me of those who submit to You.”  We see that his dying wish is to die as a submitter or worshipper of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  With this comprehensive du'ā', the actual story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) finishes, and the story goes on for a page or so.  Today we will do a little bit and then next week we will try to finish up inshā'Allāh.

Just to finish up some loose ends here:

Realize that Ya'qūb was living in the land of Canaan which is now called Filistine.  He had been promised this land, but he had not cultivated it.  He was living in the wilderness and in a barren valley.  He had been promised this land but had not taken over it and was living as a bedouin.  When the drought happened and when people are dying, Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) calls them to Egypt and gives them a luscious, beautiful life, but they know that this is a temporary phase and they have to eventually go back to the Promised Land.

We find in our books – and Allāh knows how true this is or not – that Ya'qūb ('alayhi'l-salām) gives the wasiyyah to bury him as close as possible to the Promised Land in Egypt.  As for Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām), he made an even stricter wasiyyah and this is from an authentic ḥadīth, so we know this for sure.  When Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) was on his deathbed, he took a covenant with his children that: “whenever Allāh tells you to return to the Holy Land, you must take my body and my corpse and travel with it and bury me in the Holy Land.”  He made a promise with his children to do this.

Hundreds of years went by between Yūsuf and Mūsa.  When Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) came, they were 75 people and by the time Mūsa came, there were probably a quarter of a million or something.  We don't know exactly, but at least a quarter to half a million.  We have a huge number of people in the actual exodus.

Hundreds of years go by and our ḥadīth tell us that when Mūsa ('alayhi'l-salām) tried to leave, he was physically prevented from doing so.  He could not go and he knew this was from Allāh 'azza wa jall, so he asked his people, “What is going on?”  Somebody tells them that there is a legend that they know and a story that they heard that Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) made a promise with his progeny that they could not leave the land except with his body.  Mūsa ('alayhi'l-salām) said, “Where is he buried?”  They said, “We don't know.  It has been hundreds of years.”  They went through every single house and every single person of the children of Isrā'īl until they came across a very old lady from of the descendants of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).  She said, “I remember my forefathers telling me that he was buried in this location.”  They went to that location and dug up the body and carried it with them for over forty years in the wilderness until finally they arrived in the Holy Land and he was buried there.  Mūsa ('alayhi'l-salām) was not alive when they entered the Holy Land because of the forty-year exodus that they were given.  Mūsa ('alayhi'l-salām) was wandering in the wilderness and died in the wilderness, but Allāh 'azza wa jall told Mūsa that he was about to die, so he told the angel of death to take his soul in an area where he could at least see the Holy Land.  He climbed up a hill and overlooking them was the Holy Land.  He died there and was buried there.  There is clearly this concept and notion that the people of Isrā'īl knew that they would return to the Holy Land.  Our Prophet Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) also knew this, which is why he told his progeny to take his body to the Holy Land.

This is the conclusion of the actual story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).  The sūrah goes on, and the next verse says:

Āyah 102

“This is of the news of the ghayb…”

I think I already mentioned in the first class that the difference between hādha and dhālik is the distance.  Hādha is over here, and dhālik is over there.  By using the word dhālik, Allāh 'azza wa jall is elevating the story.  The story is right here, and we just finished it.  Technically to say hādha may be more precise to say linguistically in the sense that we have just finished the story, but by saying dhālik, Allāh 'azza wa jall is showing the majesty of the story and elevating the rank.  It is connecting the verse, yet Allāh uses dhālik to indicate how exalted the story is.

“All of this is from the knowledge of the ghayb that We have inspired to you.”  The word min is 'from.'

“And you were not with them when they gathered together to plot against Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).”

Allāh 'azza wa jall mentions one incident in the whole story:  when they gathered together to plot against Yūsuf.  Why does He mention this one instance?  He doesn't say that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was not with them in the palace of the king or that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was not with him when he was in the well or that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was not with them when they went to Egypt.  Why doesn't He mention all of these?  Why does He mention the one point that he was not with them when they gathered to plot against Yūsuf?  It was the most secret point of the whole story.  Nobody knew it.  They intended to make a secret out of it, and they hid from everybody else, and nobody could have ever told him the conversation in the beginning of the surah other than Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Allāh 'azza wa jall is saying, “You weren't there when they gathered together while they were plotting and planning against Yūsuf.”  Allāh signifies the most secretive of all of the gatherings in the whole story.

What is the purpose of saying, “You weren't there?”  Of course the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) knows he wasn't there.  Why is Allāh addressing him by saying, “You weren't there”?  Allāh 'azza wa jall is addressing the world through him and is asking mankind to think.  Where do you think these stories come from?  Of the greatest miracles of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is the fact that the Qurʾān mentions these stories.

I need to impress upon all of you the society at the time of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  The world at the time of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is a world that many of us would not understand.  We are living in a very modern world now.  The best I can say is imagine in the jungles of Africa that are still in our times cut off from electricity and the internet or in places in Australia where maybe the aborigines are still living – I don't know if they still live like that, but I am just saying.

Imagine if somebody lived like that and came forth in our times.  He was discovered in the middle of the desert having no education, not speaking the languages of the people around, having no library and having no access to books and yet he is a computer programmer or a doctor.  I'm just giving you a ridiculous example.  How is it possible?  One would be amazed.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did something infinitely more miraculous.

We need to understand that Arabia was literally a barbaric society and it wasn't even civilized.  There was no government.  One of the signs of the most uncivilized people is that there is no government.  Isn't that true?  Government is the basic level of civilization.  The Arabs didn't even have a government.  Every tribe was warring against another.  There was no unified government and no law and no order.  They don't have a script with which to write.  Basic Arabic was so confusing, even Arab experts now cannot read that Arabic.  In Makkah, we can estimate roughly from the sources that there were around ten people in the whole city of at least a thousand who knew how to read and write.  There was not a single library in the whole of the Arabian peninsula.  There was no book written in Arabic at this time – not one book written in Arabic.  They only wrote mu'āllaqāt.  They did not have volumes at the time.  They didn't even have two-story houses.  It was such a primitive society and within a hundred years would become the leaders of the world, but that is a separate story.

This primitive society has no connection with Judaism and Christianity.  In Makkah, there were no Jews and Christians unlike Khaybar and unlike Yemen.  The people of Makkah are not growing up on the stories of Joseph and Jacob and Mary and Jesus. It's not their culture.  That's the culture of the Romans and other societies.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) has been raised and born in Makkah, yet here he comes forth with a book the likes of which beats any eloquence their poets have.  The language is beyond this world, literally.  The power and beauty and profundity and, for the purposes of this āyah, the content.  Where did he get it from?  Allāh says, “You never used to write books before this.  You never used to recite poetry before this.  If you had done so, perhaps those who doubt would have a reason to doubt.”  This is another point here.  For forty years, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) never once gave a line of poetry.  He never once was known for literature.  He was known for honesty, character, and bravery, but he wasn't known for literature.  Instantaneously overnight – and this again is something that is not humanly possible; you cannot become a doctor, computer programmer, or expert in anything without experience.  Even to drive a car or do anything, you need experience.

Allāh is telling us that overnight our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) begins to spread a revelation, teach a message, recite stories.  “Neither you nor your people before you had access to these stories.”  What is really amazing is that many of the details of these stories are not even found in the Old Testament and are only found in the Qurʾān.  This is even more amazing because if there was complete parallel, then you could have said – and this is a theory that used to be popular a hundred years ago – that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) copied from the Bible.  Now no serious researcher says this because there are so many differences in the stories, the details, and the format.  There is clearly no direct copying going on at all.

More impressive than this was that there was no access.  The first Arabic translation of the Bible was around 180 AH, which is very much later on and way after Islam came.  Before this time there wasn't even an Arabic translation of the Bible, so the question is where then did an illiterate unschooled man in the middle of a peninsula that was wild and far from the cultures of Rome and Persia get this from?  This is what Allāh is saying in the Qu'ran.  “This is of the knowledge of the ghayb.  We are the Ones who inspire you.”  This is a miracle of Allāh 'azza wa jall by telling us the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).

If you remember many months ago when we started this story, I said one of the reasons that is given for why this surah is revealed is that the Quraysh sent a delegation to the ahl'l-kitāb of Madinah saying, “We have someone amongst us who claims to be a prophet.  What can we do to prove that he is not a prophet?”  The ahl'l-kitāb there said, “Test him with a number of questions.”  They gave a number of questions.  One of them was:  “Test him to tell if he can tell the story of Yūsuf and the strange things that happened to him.”  The ahl'l-kitāb knew that nobody knew this except for them, and they themselves did not have their libraries in Madinah.  It was oral tradition and secret; only they knew it.  It was another city two weeks journey away from Makkah, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) had never been to Madinah as an adult.  They go to the Quraysh and say, “Ask him the story of Yūsuf.”  They asked him the story of Yūsuf and what happens?  Allāh reveals Surah Yūsuf.

Then Allāh concludes the story by saying, “This is of the knowledge of the ghayb that We inspired to you.  You weren't there.”  What is going to happen?  The next verse:

Āyah 103

“And most of mankind will not believe even if you are eager for their belief.”

In other words, Allāh 'azza wa jall is concluding this story by talking about its miraculous aspects.  How did you get this story?  It came from Us.  “This is a clear sign that you are a truthful prophet, yet most of mankind will not accept it.”  To this day, by the way, the same challenge applies.  As you know, I've studied in academia as well.  I find it very interesting how various people try to interpret the life of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and how the non-Muslims who reject the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) explain his lifestyle and his reasons and mannerisms.  To be honest, there is no feasible explanation that they have.  There is nothing that is sensible.  To this day there are a lot of theories.  People say that he might have gone to Syria, but all of this is conjecture.  They are not willing to acknowledge the most logical and rational possibility that is it came to him from the Ultimate Source, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

Allāh is saying, “Even though it is so clear that this Qurʾān is from Allāh and even though it is so clear that you are getting waḥy, most of mankind will not believe despite the fact that you want them to believe.”  This clearly shows us the mentality of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  He wanted good (khayr) for his ummah.  Ḥariṣ means to be extra eager and extra passionate about something.  Allāh 'azza wa jall uses this word for our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) in Sūrah Tawbah:  “There has come to you a prophet amongst you.  He finds it difficult to see your pain.  He is ever protective, ever careful, ever loving towards you.  'Alaykum bi'l-mu'minīn ra'ūfu raḥīm.” Al-Ra'ūf and Al-Raḥīm are two Attributes of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Take the alif-lām out and our Lord ascribed them to our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  The Rasūl is extra merciful and extra compassionate as much as humanly possible.

Allāh 'azza wa jall Himself calls our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) ever eager to help you and guide you.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also explained in one ḥadīth:  “My example with my nation and my people is that I see them trying to jump into the fire, and I'm holding onto their belt trying to drag them out, and they want to try to disobey me and jump into the fire.”  He is describing his relationship with the people.  He doesn't care if they are acting foolishly, he has to try to save them.  This is what Allāh 'azza wa jall is saying:  “I know you are eager for your people.  I know you want to guide your people, but it is not your job.  Your job is to convey.  Our job is to judge.”

In Sūrat'l-Kahf, Allāh uses a very blunt and frank verse.  Baqi' means – and this is a very harsh word – that you may die of frustration.  You might literally die of anguish if they don't accept īmān.  In other words, Allāh 'azza wa jall is saying to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) to calm down because he is so worried and thinking about and loving and caring for his people that he may kill himself in his grief.  His grief will drive him almost to death because they don't accept īmān.  The eagerness of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is clearly mentioned in the Qurʾān and Sunnah.

Another benefit of this verse here is that most of mankind will not believe.  I want us to think about this profoundly, especially in the times that we live in.  Many of us have a very naïve understanding of da'wah.  Many of us really think, “Let me just give him a few Deedat cassettes or Zakir Naik CDs or I might practice myself at home a little bit and try and quote a few verses and he is going to convert.”  Ya akhi, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) preached for 23 years and for the first 13 of those years, most of mankind rejected him.  Most of mankind who lived with him, walked with him, and saw the miracles did not accept him.  Do you think that you and I will be more effective than he was?  This is the Sunnah of Allāh 'azza wa jall.  Look at the history of all of the prophets.  'Īsa's ('alayhi'l-salām) own people rejected him.  Yaḥya's ('alayhi'l-salām) own people killed him.  Mūsa's ('alayhi'l-salām) own people mocked him – forget about the outsiders.  How about then our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the other prophets?

The point being Allāh has given us the general rule that people want to live animalistic and hedonistic lifestyles.  Allāh is saying that most of these people are worried about is their animalistic desires.  They just want to eat and drink and have a good time.  When you come to them with the truth, it is too difficult to follow the truth and live.  And wallāhi we talk about non-Muslims, how about Muslims?  For every one of us sitting in this masjid in this city, there are at least forty or fifty who we never see in the masjid.  Why should we talk about non-Muslims when we have Muslims we know – our friends, relatives, acquaintances, and even ourselves.  How many of us know the truth and yet we find it difficult to follow.

Allāh 'azza wa jall is just giving us the status quo that “no matter how eager you are, ya Rasūlullāh, and no matter how much you want to guide them, the majority of people, even if you want, are not going to be guided.”  This shows us that the truth does not necessarily lie in the majority.  The majority can say something, within Islam or outside of Islam; the truth is independent of numbers and quantity.  The truth is quality.  Sometimes it has quantity, such as the time of the sahabah, and sometimes it doesn't.  This is a verse that clearly shows us that if 20 people or 50 people want to propagate something, it doesn't necessarily make it the truth.  The truth is different than what the majority might say.

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

[The following is the video and transcript of part 12 of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's lecture series "The Best of Stories: Pearls from Surah Yusuf."  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are now on the last phase of the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) and what is left after this is the conclusion of the sūrah.  We actually finish the story of Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) today.  As we were talking about last week, we had finished where Ya'qūb ('alayhi'l-salām) told his children, “Go forth and search for Yūsuf, and don't give up hope of the Mercy of Allāh [and] don't give up hope of the Help of Allāh.  The only people who can become pessimistic and can lose hope of the Mercy of Allāh are those who don't believe in Him.”  From there, the story then begins today.

Āyah 88

“So then when they entered in upon him…”

This is the third time they are undertaking the same journey from Canaan, the ancient name of Filistine, to the land of Egypt.  This is the third time they are visiting Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām).

“They said, 'O noble minister, our families and ourselves are in a severe crisis.  A hard time has hit us.  A calamity has hit us, and we have only managed to come with merchandise that is second-rate (not very good, poor quality of merchandise).  So give us what is worthy of this merchandise, and give us extra charity.  Verily, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) will reward those who are charitable.'”

The brothers now enter in and they have dwindled down now to ten because Yūsuf is the twelfth and Binyamin is the eleventh, and both of them are now stuck.  The tenth one is remaining in Egypt, and now the nine come back and the ten of them enter into the palace for one more time.  They say, “O 'Azīz, our family was struck by a calamity.”  They demonstrate their poverty, and they excuse the poor quality of merchandise.

The meaning of muzjāt is something that is second-rate or poor in quality.  They are saying, “We are bringing merchandise that we are embarrassed about.”  It is not the top-notch goods.  What was it?  We don't know.  Maybe it was poor quality leather because this was primarily what they had back then.  Maybe it was other types of merchandise that was not of a high price.

Notice here, subḥānAllāh, that by now we are entering in close to the seventh year of drought.  Every single time the brothers are coming again and again and again.  Look at the surplus of Egypt that over and over again people from neighboring lands have to come to Egypt.  Egypt gave so much produce.  To be more precise, Yūsuf managed to save the produce and guard it to such an extent that he can export in times of drought.

So now, once again, the brothers come, and they ask in such a beautiful manner.  It is human psychology here.  They firstly mention that they are in a distressing situation.  Massana, [meaning] they are in a bad situation.  Then they mention the families because it is human nature that when you bring in wife and children, the person's heart becomes softer, so they beg in their own situation and then their family situation.

Then they say, “We are not coming for free handouts.  We brought something.  It is not as if we are coming as beggars, and we have brought something, but this thing is second-rate.  And our excuse is that we don't have money right now.  We purchased something, so give us what is worthy of this.  Give us the full measure of this second-rate merchandise, but then give us more as well.”

They are not asking for free handouts, but they are asking for generosity.  Generally speaking, generosity is easier than begging and asking for free handouts.  To be extra generous is easier than to come with nothing.  They lay the situation and present their case and plead and beg and conclude by being spiritual and religious.  There is an irony here that the brothers of Yūsuf are reminding Yūsuf about Islam and the benefits of remembering Allāh.  There is a little bit of irony here.  “If you are good, Allāh will reward you.”  As if Yūsuf needed this reminder.  But they conclude by reminding them that anybody who is generous, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) will respond and give them that back.

Āyah 89

Now is the time in the story when Yūsuf reveals himself to the brothers.  The translation here would be:

“He said, 'Do you remember / recall what you did with Yūsuf and his brother while you were jāhill?”

The question arises:  Why is he revealing himself at this stage in the story?  Why so late, and why not before?  As I said and hinted at before, there are two scenarios that we can derive.  The first scenario is that there is no known reason other than Allāh telling him so.  We simply say that this was the point in time [when] Allāh told him, “You are allowed to reveal your identity.”  We need to understand that the lives of the prophets of Allāh are not like our lives.  The prophets of Allāh are not allowed to undertake any major decision without getting permission from Allāh.  It is not like me and you who can just commit sins and do this and that.  Because the prophets of Allāh are role models, they are not allowed to do anything without asking Allāh.  So one scenario would be that Yūsuf is always asking Allāh, “Can I reveal my identity?  Can I tell them?” and he is not being given permission until now.

The other scenario is that there is a worldly reason.  What is this worldly reason?  There seems to be something mentioned in some of the ancient books of tafsīr and that is that when Yūsuf came to power, the king at the time was the senior king and the elder of the family.  By this time in the story, seven years later, that king has died, and his younger child has now taken over.  As is commonly the case, when the youngster takes over, the senior ministers actually have more power than the new king because the senior ministers know how to run the country and have expertise.  This is the law of the earth that when people don't know how to do things, they will give precedence to those who are in power already.

So by this time, Yūsuf has the upper hand over the king, and the king is giving him deference.  The story in the Old Testament supports this version of reading.  By now, Yūsuf can tell the king, “I want my family to come,” whereas seven years ago, he doesn't have that power.  As we said already, this is a small land and country, and they don't want seventy, eighty, ninety foreigners to come populate it.  This is a big number for them, and they don't want a foreigner population to come, but now Yūsuf has more power and more clout, so he can dictate the demands to the king.  This is an interpretation that has a worldly understanding, and there is no problem in combining both of them and saying there is an element of truth to both of them.

So now Yūsuf reveals himself, and he says, “Do you not remember what you did with Yūsuf and his brother when you were ignorant?”  Some books of tafsīr mention that he took off his robe, and he was wearing the garments of his people underneath, and he showed them other signs at this time.  Some 'ulemā' even said that he smiled at them in a friendly manner for the first time being brotherly and not being kingly and ministerly, showing them who he was.

When he did this, for the first time it clicked because nobody in the world other than Yūsuf and the brothers knew what they did to Yūsuf.  For him to ask the blunt question “Do you remember what you did to Yūsuf?”, there is only one person other than those ten who would know that, and that is Yūsuf himself.  Nobody else in the world – not even Binyamin because he was a baby at that time – would know what they did to Yūsuf, so by asking the question and by then revealing something more personal and friendlier, it is clear now.  The age would match and the characteristics would match.

At the end of the day, Yūsuf is not an Egyptian.  He is a Canaanite (Filistini).   His ethnic features and facial features, and maybe he even spoke to them in their language, according to one opinion.  He gave signs away.  This is not the minister that they thought.  This is their blood brother.  Finally it clicks, and they say:

Āyah 90

The Arabic here is very beautiful.  In English, it would be:  “Are you really, really that Yūsuf?”  There is a triple emphasis here that cannot be translated into English.  They are shocked now that this is really Yūsuf.

One point I forgot to mention:  Notice Yūsuf says, “Do you remember what you did to Yūsuf and his brother while you were jāhill?”  Some scholars have said that it is as if he is criticizing them that they were jāhill and did this, but the stronger opinion is that he is actually giving them a way out even before he begins the story.  He is actually making an excuse for them because he says, “while you were (in the past) jāhill (ignorant),” meaning that now they are not jāhill and now they know better.  It is like we say now, “You were a kid back then.”  That type of attitude is being demonstrated.  Even before Yūsuf moves on, in the very first sentence he opens up the excuse for them.  In the very first phrase he allows some laxity and leeway.  “You were jāhill at that time.”  It is not as if he is saying it in a harsh manner.  He is actually saying it in an excusing manner.  This is of the perfection, which is just beginning. In these lines we will see Yūsuf never directly criticizes his brothers.

Notice he didn't even say, “Do you remember that you kidnapped me, threw me in the well, and left me to die?”  No – he leaves it vague.  “Do you remember what you did to Yūsuf?”  He doesn't mention details.  This is of the perfection of Yūsuf's character that never once does he explicitly mention what happened and never once does he explicitly criticize them.  Wallāhi, this takes a real man to do this because he has the power and upper hand and there is nothing to prevent him from even throwing in one jab – as we say in English – or one criticism.  Not even the slightest 'uff in these words.

“Do you remember what you did to Yūsuf and his brother?”  Notice he says 'Yūsuf' and not even 'me' because when you say 'me' here, it is more personal.  It makes you feel guiltier.  He uses the third person to even try to minimize that.  “Do you remember what you did to Yūsuf and his brother back in those days when you were jāhill?”

They say, “Are you really that Yūsuf?”  There is no other person that could know, and the signs have been shown.  Of course by now it must have dawned on them that the characteristics, the ethnicity, the looks, and maybe the language, as we said, and the age as well because they know how old Yūsuf was and how old he would be now, so everything clicks in, and they say, “Are you really that Yūsuf?”  He said, “I am Yūsuf, and this is my brother.”  He called him to come out at that time, which means he was hiding behind the curtains in the other room and when this conversation takes place, he calls Binyamin out.  “I am Yūsuf, and this is my brother.”

Qad mann Allāhu 'alayna. Immediately he attributes all good to Allāh.  “This is not my power.  I didn't do this.  I'm not gloating that I have the upper hand.  I am not showing you who is richer and more powerful.”  As soon as he acknowledges that he is Yūsuf, the very next phrase is:  “This is not from me.  Allāh has given us all of this.”  Manna – it is a gift.  It is not even earned or deserved but something that He gifted because of His Generosity.

“Verily, whoever has taqwa and patience, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) will never cause to go to waste the rewards of those who are good.”

Notice here that he ascribes the blessings directly to himself from Allāh.  “Allāh blessed us.”  Then he says in the third person, “Whoever is righteous and patient, Allāh will reward that person.”  He doesn't say, “I was righteous and patient so Allāh rewarded me.”  Wallāhi, each word and each phrase shows the humility of Yūsuf.  You could not think of a more humble paragraph than this.

He says, “Allāh blessed me without anything deserving” because manna means to give without recompense – there is no reason to give and it is just giving from generosity.  You didn't earn it; it is a gift.  He is acknowledging:  “Allāh has gifted this to me.”

Then he says, “Verily, whoever (third person, generic) has righteousness and patience, Allāh will reward the efforts of those who are good.”  The understanding is that Yūsuf was muttaqi and was patient, but it wouldn't be humble of him to say this.  Also, this is tazqiyyat'l-nafs and ascribing piety to yourself, which is not the way the Muslim talks.  So he makes it generic and he says, “Whoever has taqwa and ṣabr, Allāh will never cause that good to go to waste.”  Notice he ascribes two characteristics that he truly had because the only thing that will protect you from zina in the case of Yūsuf and in that scenario when there is temptation and a woman is there and calling and beckoning you and nobody is watching, the only thing that will possibly save you is taqwa.  What saved him from the well and caused him to stay in prison for so long, so much so that when the crier came, he says, “Go back to your master and ask what happened to those women.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “May Allāh have mercy on the ṣabr of Yūsuf.  Had I been in his case, I wouldn't have lasted and would have immediately rushed out.”

He mentions ṣabr because it was ṣabr that allowed him by the blessings of Allāh to remain in the well and to remain a slave and to remain in jail until finally Allāh rewarded him with becoming the minister.  He mentions taqwa and ṣabr because these two are the two Islamic principles that have characterized him throughout the entire story.  The whole message of the story is summarized right here.  “Whoever truly has taqwa of Allāh” – and we talked about taqwa many times before in these series of lectures, and it means that you build a protection against Allāh's punishment through Allāh's commandments.  Taqwa means you protect yourself from Allāh through Allāh.  You turn to Allāh to protect yourself against Allāh.  Only Allāh can protect you from Allāh.  This is what taqwa means.

Ṣabr of course is to control yourself and be patient.  The theme of the whole sūrah is this line:  “Whoever has taqwa and is patient, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) will give them all that they desire and more.”  Of course, there is a subtle message here as well.

Notice that all of the message to the brothers is not direct and not in your face and not gloating.  It is for them to benefit and not for them to feel bad.  The message is:  You tried to gain what you wanted through ḥarām and didn't get what you wanted.  You tried to get what you wanted by disobeying Allāh, which is why you didn't get what you wanted.  As for me, I was patient and put my trust in Allāh and had taqwa and Allāh gave me more than anyone could even imagine.

This is the subliminal message, which is not flouted in their face; it is for them to ponder and become better and more righteous.  Also realize that, subḥānAllāh, it is as if Yūsuf is giving them a khuṭbah.  It is as if he is giving them religious advice.  Instead of going into the story of what happened and how he got there, the first thing on his mind is:  I need to benefit my brothers religiously and bring them closer to Allāh and cause them to repent from that sin and be better people.  This is always on the mind of every righteous person that any opportunity he sees to bring about religious feelings and to bring about love of Allāh, fear of Allāh, and religious remembrance, he will take that opportunity.

He is giving them a khuṭbah at the family reunion.  He is giving them a reminder at the family reunion because what better place for that reminder to sink in.  When they see the effects of piety and the effects of sins in their own lives, what better place to remind them?  Notice what is on his mind is to remind them of Allāh.

Āyah 91

They said, “By Allāh! Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) has preferred you over us and chosen you over us.  And we certainly have been sinners.”

Tallāhi is one of the ways that you give an oath or swear.  The in here is zā'ida – even though some scholars don't like calling anything zā'ida in the Qur'ān – it is for emphasis.

Notice now that this khuṭbah and religious advice has had the desired effect of making them feel guilty and cause them to repent to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  That is exactly what has happened.

Āyah 92

He said, “There shall be no blame on you today.”

Tathrīb means to be reminded of one's sins and to feel guilty over it.  It means to humiliate and to basically flout it in your face and make you feel guilty by remembering the sin over and over again.

He doesn't even say, “I will not blame you.”  He makes it third person and neutral and removes himself from the picture.  Saying “I will not blame you” would make them feel extra guilty.  He makes it generic and says, “There shall be no blame on you.”  This is completely neutral.

You can stop on two different places here. The first is to say:  “Qāla la tathrība 'alaykumu'l-yawm. Yaghfirullāhu lakum.”  This translates as:  “Today there shall be no blame on you.  Allāh will forgive you.”  Today your sins have been made manifest.  If you are not going to be blamed today, then you will not be blamed afterwards.

The second way is:  “Qāla la tathrība 'alaykum.  Al-yawma yaghfirullāhu lakum.”  This means:  “There shall be no blame on you.  Today Allāh will forgive your sins.”  Both are valid.  From today you shall not be blamed anymore.  Why?  Because today Allāh has forgiven your sins.

Both meanings are complementary, which shows us some of the beauty of Arabic.  As I said many times, simply analyzing the Arabic phrases and the Arabic words and the structure of the Qur'ān shows us that this is not the speech of a man and it is a divine speech.  Every single precise wording, letters and ḥarakahs are miracles in and of themselves.

Yūsuf is saying, “Today there shall be no blame on you.  Allāh will forgive you.”  How can Yūsuf say, “Allāh will forgive you”?  What right does Yūsuf have to say this?  There are two responses to this.  Firstly, because the wrong was done to Yūsuf, when he forgives, then they are forgiven because the ẓulm or injustice was done to Yūsuf.  As we know in our religion, when you commit a crime against a human being – when you steal someone's money, dishonor them, backbite – then forgiveness is in the hands upon whom ẓulm (injustice) has been done, and until he forgives you, you will not be forgiven.  Allāh's Forgiveness is easier than the forgiveness of this person because Allāh is Merciful and Al- Raḥīm.  When Yūsuf has forgiven them and they have repented, he can be certain that Allāh will forgive them because he has forgiven them.

The second interpretation is: “I hope inshā'Allāh that Allāh will forgive you.”  There is a missing phrase and the meaning is:  “I'm optimistic that Allāh will forgive you.”  Both of these interpretations are valid, and there is no contradiction in them.

“And He is the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy.”

Remember that Sūrah Yūsuf was revealed when our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was undergoing the most difficult period of his life:  the year of sorrow.  It was the year when Abu Ṭālib died, Khadījah died, and the incident of Ṭā'if took place.  This is the lowest of the low.  Allāh revealed to him Sūrah Yūsuf in order to make him optimistic and encourage him.  SubḥānAllāh, at the pinnacle of his career and prophethood when he marched into Makkah, finally conquering the city that expelled him, he was reciting Sūrah Yūsuf.  When he stood on the Ka'bah and called the people around and asked them, “What do you think I will do to you today after all that you have done to me and after persecuting and killing so many of my followers and after expelling me and my people from this land?”  They are all begging and pleading for mercy and saying, “You are our noble brother and son of our noble brother.  You are our relative.”

What does he do?  He recites this very verse of Sūrah Yūsuf.  This was the purpose of Sūrah Yūsuf – to cheer him up and give him optimism and hope and to make him realize that:  You are not the only one whose people have persecuted him and you are not the only one whose relatives and blood brothers have expelled him from their homes.   The brothers of Yūsuf expelled him and threw him into the well.  Your people are not the first and they are not going to be the last.

When it was the turn of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and he was sitting on the symbolic throne of the Ka'bah, he now has the upper hand.  The people are now around him.  He cannot help but remember the exact same sūrah because of which Allāh revealed this sūrah.  He recited this very verse to them.  “There shall be no blame on you today.  Allāh will forgive you.  And He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.”

By this, Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) once again is showing his perfection by not mentioning any crime by name and by not saying, “I am not going to blame you anymore.”  When we forgive somebody, we say, “I forgive you.”  What did Yūsuf say?  He didn't even mention the 'I' because in this there is ego.  He said, “There shall be no blame on you.  Allāh will forgive you.  He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Āyah 93

“Go with this shirt of mine and throw it on the face of my father and he will gain his vision back.  Bring me all of your family.”

Now they shall leave the valley of Canaan and immigrate to the land of Egypt.  He tells his brothers, “Go with this shirt of mine.”  SubḥānAllāh, once again notice the theme of the shirt, which is a common theme in this story.  It has been mentioned three times.  The first time the shirt is mentioned when it comes to the story of the wolf.  The second time the shirt is mentioned is when it comes to the seducing in the palace.  Now [for] the third time the shirt is mentioned.

Every time the shirt is a sign of life.  The shirt is what gives hope to Ya'qūb that his son is alive. When the brothers came to Ya'qūb with the bloody shirt, he looked at it and said, “What a merciful wolf this is that it eats up my son but doesn't scratch the shirt!”  The shirt gave the plot away that the brothers had plotted something.

In the seduction story, the shirt saves Yūsuf, and it makes him innocent.  Now the shirt once again is a sign that Yūsuf is alive and well and the brothers are coming back with the truth.  Scholars say it was the sight of the bloody shirt that caused Ya'qūb to go blind and now seeing the beautiful shirt that Yūsuf was wearing will bring the sight back to him because the cure and the disease are always opposites.  It was the sight of the shirt that caused him to go blind, and it will be the shirt, by the blessings of Allāh, that will bring his eyesight back to him.

Āyah 94

“When the caravan departed [from Egypt] their father said, 'I can smell the smell of Yūsuf, but only the fact that you will think that I am a senile old man I would tell you even more or I would walk out to meet him.'”

There is a missing phrase here:  'otherwise I would do even more.'  Notice he smelled it when the caravan left Egypt.  They are still a thousand miles away.  When it leaves Egypt and he is in Canaan, he smelled the scent of Yūsuf.  SubḥānAllāh, there is no doubt this is a miracle from Allāh 'azza wa jall that He has given to Ya'qūb; otherwise, it is not even humanly possible to smell the smell at that distance.  Allāh has given him a miracle, an optimistic sign, and a hope that something is changing.  He remembers the smell of his son Yūsuf.  SubḥānAllāh, it has been forty or fifty years, and he remembers how Yūsuf smells.  Look at the love that he had for his son.  When he smelled that smell, he knew that this was the smell of Yūsuf.

Āyah 95

They [the grandchildren and great grandchildren] said, 'You are still in your ways of old.'”

Āyah 96

“When the bearer of glad tidings came…”

Many scholars say Allāh calls him bashīr here, and he was the same one who came with the bloody shirt in the beginning.  Once again, Allāh mentions the good and ignores or neglects the bad.  As we said, this is a standard motif.  When the praise is due, Allāh mentions specifically, but when there is criticism, Allāh tries to cover it up unless there is a need to mention it.  Here Allāh praises him, and most of the scholars say he was the same one.  He insisted and said, “Since I am the one who caused the harm, I am now going to bring the shirt back.”  Allāh calls him the bearer of good tidings and the one who came with the good news.

“…he threw the shirt into his face, and he regained his eyesight.  He said, 'Didn't I tell you after all these years that Yūsuf is alive?  I told you go find him.  I told you don't lose hope in Allāh, but you kept on trying to deny this.  Didn't I tell you that Allāh has told me that I know something that you don't know?'”

Āyah 97

“They said, 'O our father, ask Allāh to forgive us.  We have committed an evil sin.'”

Here they say the exact same thing for a second time.  They said it once to Yūsuf and now they say it to their father.  Clearly they are repentant.  SubḥānAllāh, the number one stepping stone to repentance is acknowledgement of guilt.  You cannot repent until you acknowledge guilt.  This is why the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Feeling guilty is the essence of repenting.”  Unless you feel guilty and acknowledge the sin, there is no repentance.  If you simply say “I'm sorry” but there is no genuine guilt, this is not tawbah.  We can clearly see the brothers are feeling guilty.  They have asked Yūsuf to forgive, they have asked their father to forgive, and they have admitted they made a mistake.  Until you admit to making a mistake, you are not repenting to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

That is why the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “The best du'ā' for seeking forgiveness…”  It is a long du'ā' and you should all memorize it.  There are two phrases that relate to us:  'O Allāh, I acknowledge all of your favors upon me, and I acknowledge that I have committed a sin.'  This is sayyid'l-istighfār and the pinnacle of seeking forgiveness.  How do you do that?  The first phrase in it is: “I acknowledge my mistake.”  Without acknowledging the mistake, there is no tawbah.  Here we have the brothers of Yūsuf going to Yūsuf and their father and they say, “O our father, ask Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) to forgive us for our sins.  Verily, we have been sinners.”  They are asking Ya'qūb because Ya'qūb is the senior prophet.  Yūsuf is still their younger brother even though he is a prophet.  They seek forgiveness directly from Yūsuf because he is the main person they have done wrong to.

As for Ya'qūb, because he is the older prophet, they say, “O our father, ask Allāh to forgive us.”  There is a difference here.  For Yūsuf, they ask directly because they committed the wrong to him.  They also committed a wrong to their father, but their father isn't just their father but is also the prophet of Allāh on earth, so his status is very high up.  They are feeling guilty and want Allāh to forgive them, so by asking their father to ask Allāh to forgive, they are getting forgiveness from both because their father would not ask unless he has forgiven.  They could say, “O our father, forgive us,” but it is more eloquent and more powerful to say, “O our father, ask Allāh to forgive us” because they are getting both the forgiveness from their father and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

They say, “O our father, ask Allāh to forgive us.  Verily, we have committed a grievous sin.”

Āyah 98

“He says, 'I shall ask Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) to forgive you.  Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'”

“I shall” means that he will in a while but not right now.  Why did he delay?  Pretty much all of the scholars say that he delayed the du'ā' until the last third of the night in his tahajjud prayer.  This seems to be the unanimous opinion of all of the scholars, and this is how they understood this.  Ya'qūb ('alayhi'l-salām) wanted to delay the du'ā' to the most blessed time.  He wanted to ask Allāh in the best state, which is sajdah, and at the holiest time, which is the last third of the night, and many scholars add that it was on the Friday as well, the holiest day of the week.  We know that our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said that Allāh 'azza wa jall descends down to the lowest heavens in the last third of the night in a ḥadīth in Bukhāri and Muslim.  He descends down to the lowest heavens in the last third of the night and says, “Who amongst My servants is asking Me, so I shall give him what he wants.  Who amongst My servants is seeking refuge in Me, so I shall protect him.  Who amongst My servants wants his sins forgiven, so I shall forgive them.”  Making du'ā' in the last third of the night is the most blessed time to make du'ā'.  There is no time that is more blessed than this in our 24-hour cycle.

When Ya'qūb is saying “I shall do it,” meaning in a while, he is simply delaying it to a time that is more conducive because he wants them to be forgiven.

One of the scholars of the past, 'Ata (the student of Ibn 'Abbās), said, “It is easier to ask a young man for something than to ask an old man because when they asked Yūsuf to forgive them, he immediately said he had forgiven them, but when they asked Ya'qūb, he said wait a while and he would do it in a bit.”  This is a little bit tongue-in-cheek and humorous, but there is an element of truth to it that generally speaking youngsters are more easy going whereas elders are more set in their ways and accustomed to how they want to live their lives.

One of the main lessons of the whole story for us is that a person's final status is dependent upon how he ends his life and not how he begins it.  This is a huge optimism for us sinners.  A person's status in the eyes of Allāh is dependent upon his end and not the beginning.  Here are the brothers of Yūsuf who are basically would-be murderers almost.  In a court of law in our times, they might be accused of manslaughter, attempted murder, and kidnapping.  In this story, the end result is that they are forgiven and not just forgiven, but according to the majority opinion, they even become minor prophets in their own rights – not to the level of Yūsuf and Ya'qūb but minor prophets.  That is why in the dream, Yūsuf compares all of them to the stars in the sky because they are literally stars – they are not as high as the sun and the moon, but nonetheless they become stars.

As one of the scholars of the past said, if this story will not give sinners hope, then what story will give hope?  Have you ever attempted to kill your brother or kidnap your brother or thrown your brother in a well?  I hope not.  If Allāh can forgive them, then surely my sins and your sins are more worthy of being forgiven.  If Allāh can allow them to become prophets after they have done this crime, then how about forgiving me and you?  But what is the condition?  Turning over a new leaf and having a new beginning and having a sincere intention and new relationship with Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

They return now to Yūsuf, and this is the fourth time the brothers have made the journey.  It shall be the last time for over 500 years that they make this journey.  They will make it once again in the opposite direction in the exodus.  Now they are leaving the Holy Land of Canaan or Palestine, and they are making their way to Egypt.

Āyah 99

“So when they entered upon Yūsuf, he took his parents to himself / sheltered his parents / gave his parents comfort.”

The scholars say that he led a procession of the cavalry or army to greet them and there was celebration and a lot of jubilation.  Of course this is well deserved at this point in time.  He himself led the delegation to welcome them.  He led the delegation outside of the city to greet his parents, as any dutiful son should do.

“He said, 'Enter into Egypt.  With the permission of Allāh, all of you will be safe.'”

The meaning of 'inshā'Allāh' here is 'in the Name of Allāh, you shall be safe.'  This is difficult to translate into English.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “When you make du'ā', don't say 'inshā'Allāh' at the end” because you don't make du'ā' by assigning it to Allāh.  Let me give you an example.  You don't say, “O Allāh, forgive me inshā'Allāh” because Allāh will forgive you if He wants to, and your saying 'inshā'Allāh' won't change anything.  You have to beg and plead because you need Allāh's forgiveness.  You say, “O Allāh, I need your forgiveness, forgive me.”  You don't need to add 'inshā'Allāh' because Allāh will forgive you inshā'Allāh.  If Allāh wills, He will forgive you.  You do not relegate it to Allāh's Will.  You say, “O Allāh, I need this.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “When you make a du'ā', be firm in your request.”  Don't be wishy washy and add the inshā'Allāh because Allāh will not change the decree because of your inshā'Allāh.  Nobody can force Allāh.  Allāh will give you if He wants, inshā'Allāh.

The reason I'm saying all of this is because some people may ask why Yūsuf made a du'ā' and said “inshā'Allāh.”  The response is, to put it simply, that this “inshā'Allāh” is not that “inshā'Allāh.”  This “inshā'Allāh” is “with the blessings of Allāh” and “in the Name of Allāh.”  Yūsuf promised them safety, and they were safe, but their descendants were not safe, and that is what happens centuries later when Fir'awn comes and starts persecuting the children of Israel, which is a story taken up later in the Qur'ān.  Now he says, “You will be safe.”

When you go to the Egypt airport and get out of customs, you find a big sign there saying “Udhkulu miṣra inshā'Allāhu āminīn.”  That is the only country in the world that can cut and paste from the Qur'ān and say “let us enter Egypt inshā'Allāh āminīn.”

Yūsuf ('alayhi'l-salām) tells his father and his brothers that they shall enter into Egypt inshā'Allāh and will be safe and secure.

Āyah 100

“And he put his parents on the throne…”

What throne?  Perhaps he had a throne or perhaps, as we already said, he actually has more power than the ruling king and has access to the palace and can also visit the palace at will, and so this is more likely he actually put his parents on the throne of Egypt to symbolically show them that this is the respect he gives them.  He put his parents on the throne of Egypt.  Being bedouins and peasants in a barren land, overnight he is putting them on the throne of the mightiest kingdom at the time to show them respect as his parents.  When he did that, they came off the throne and prostrated to him, and the brothers all fell into prostration.

Some scholars say they actually fell onto their faces, and some scholars say that they bowed down (i.e. rukū'), but the meaning of sujjada in Arabic can mean both.  Even if you lower your head to a great extent, you also call that sājid even though for us when we say sājid we mean on the ground, but the Arabic term sujjada or sājid can also imply lowering the head.  Whatever they did, they are showing respect.

We have to mention here that lowering the head for respect was something that was allowed in the previous legislations if you did it to show respect.  In our Sharī'ah, in our legislation, this has been made forbidden.  We are not allowed to lower our head in front of any created object out of respect.  Lowering your head out of worship has always been forbidden except for Allāh.  Even in the previous Sharī'ahs, you couldn't lower your head out of worship.  You had to lower it out of worship only to Allāh.  When Allāh told the angels to prostrate to Adam, what type of sajdah is this?  This is the sajdah of respect.  In this sūrah as well, the brothers of Yūsuf and the parents of Yūsuf fall into a prostration of respect.  In our Sharī'ah, this is forbidden.  We are not allowed to bow down in respect, and if we do so, this is not shirk, but it is a sin and ḥarām.

There is a beautiful ḥadīth in the Sunan of Abu Dāwūd in which Mu'ādh ibn Jabal, the famous companion, came back from Syria and entered the masjid, and the first thing he did was fall down in front of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) in prostration.  He fell down facing the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) in prostration.  Can you imagine the scene?  He is literally falling in prostration in front of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) became shocked and amazed and said, “Ya Mu'ādh, who told you to do this?  Where did you get this from?”  Mu'ādh ibn Jabal said, “I just came back from Syria (the Roman Empire), and I saw that the Romans would prostrate to their priests and leaders, so I felt that you have more right to be respected than they did.  I felt that I should respect you more than they respect their elders.”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not ever do this again!”  It is not allowed for any human being to prostrate or to lower his head in front of another human being.”  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) made it forbidden.  It is now ḥarām in our Sharī'ah to do this.

It was allowed in the previous Sharī'ahs, which is why to this day – although I think now the custom has gone – but once upon a time when a fair lady passed by, a man would bow his head down as a sign of respect.  This type of bowing down was something that the previous Sharī'ahs allowed.  For us, our Sharī'ah has not allowed this.  We only lower our head to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  Allāh says in the Qur'ān, “Don't prostrate to the sun or to the moon or to anything created.  Prostrate only to Allāh who has created them.”

Ya'qūb and the brothers all fall down.  A quick point here – the āyah says that he put his parents on the throne.  We already said that the strongest opinion is that his mother had already died and that his father had married Yūsuf's maternal aunt (i.e. his wife's sister).  Allāh calls them “parents” even though she is actually his khālah (mother's sister).  This shows us that the mother's sister has the same rights and equivalent status of the mother because Allāh called them “parents.”  In fact, our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said in a ḥadīth in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad that the mother's sister has the same rank as the mother.  SubḥānAllāh, it is amazing – and all of us who have maternal and paternal aunts – and we know that the love that a maternal aunt shows is different than the love that the paternal aunt shows.  The love of the mother's sister is different and more motherly than the love of the father's sister even though both have their own types of love.  This is something that the Qur'ān clearly indicates that our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) explicitly said.  The khālah is at the same level as the mother.

“Yūsuf says, 'O my father, this is the actualization of my dream that I saw so many years ago.'”

The word ta'wīl here means actualization.  How many years has it been?  We have no idea but some scholars say forty-five years have gone by.  A lifetime has gone by.

“My Lord made it a certainty.”

As we said, the dreams of the prophets are all true.

“And how generous He has been to me.”

Once again he is ascribing the blessings to Allāh.  When they are showing him so much respect, he feels awkward and ascribes all of this to Allāh.  When they prostrate to him, he reminds them of Allāh and says, “Allāh has been so generous to me when He caused me to be saved from the prison and caused you to come from the barren lifestyle after Shayṭān caused some problems between me and my brothers.”

SubḥānAllāh, once again amazing phrases.  He is saying, “How generous Allāh has been to me when He caused me to leave the prison.”  Notice he doesn't mention when He caused him to be saved from the well even though to be saved from the well is a bigger blessing than to leave the prison because you are going to die in the well but you are not going to die in the prison.  You are going to starve in the well but you are not going to starve in the prison.  In the prison there is humanity around you and light and air.  In the well it is much different.  In the prison he was an adult, and in the well he was a child.

Why doesn't he mention the well?  By mentioning the well, he is reminding his brothers of what they have done, so he completely glosses over it.  He had said, “You are not going to be blamed.”  So when he is recounting the favors of Allāh, he doesn't even mention that because if he were to do so, it is as if he is putting some salt on their wound, and he is not going to mention that.  He says, “How generous was Allāh to me when He caused me to be saved from the prison.  How generous Allāh has been to you when He has caused you to leave this bedouin lifestyle…”  The bedouin lifestyle is much harsher and more difficult than the lifestyle of the city and the villages.  That is why, by the way, our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) forbade a bedouin who has settled in the city from returning to the bedouin lifestyle.  It is actually a fiqh ruling.  Once you move into the city, your lifestyle, mannerisms, and culture increase.  Once a person comes to the city, he should remain there.

Also, Allāh 'azza wa jall tells us in the Qur'ān that:  “We only sent before you prophets who were from the cities.”  All the prophets of Allāh were city-dwelling folk, and there were no bedouin prophets.  Therefore, when Allāh sent prophets to the bedouins, they were from the cities.  Why?  Because when you live in the city, your level of civilization and mannerism is much higher and more refined.  When you live in the plains and the deserts, you don't have that lifestyle.  You all know what the bedouin did when he came to the Prophet's (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) masjid – that is his lifestyle and his way of looking at the world.  The people who live in the cities are at a higher level.

By causing Ya'qūb and the children of Ya'qūb to be saved from the harsh lifestyle of the desert and enter into Egypt is a blessing.

“After Shayṭān caused problems between me and my brothers.”

Notice once again you cannot think of phrases that are more beautiful.  It is not even humanly possible.  He is recounting the favors of Allāh, and of the biggest favors is that they are all one family together after they were split up and after Shayṭān caused problems.  Notice he didn't say his brothers caused the problems.  It was all Shayṭān.  All evil is his fault and not his brothers.  He says, “between me [sharing the blame 50-50] and my brothers.”  What did he do that he has to mention his name?  He didn't do anything, and he mentions himself first.  Isn't this amazing?  He doesn't even say “after Shayṭān threw some evil into my brothers.”  It is as if he has something to share in the blame even though he has zero.

SubḥānAllāh when you phrase it this way, there is no reminding of the evil that they have done.  It is as if they get of scot-free because that is the promise to them that they are not going to be criticized after that.

“My Lord is Laṭīf to whomever He pleases.”

What does Laṭīf mean?  Laṭīf, as you know, is one of the Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall, and it is a beautiful Name to use here.  Yūsuf is saying, “My Lord is Laṭīf to whomever He pleases.”  Laṭīf actually means 'the One who is aware of the most intricate and hidden secrets.'  From this, there is a secondary to meaning to Laṭīf, which is to have a protective care, a nourishing care around somebody because you are very familiar with their faults, weaknesses, and problems.  Because you know it, you will protect them.  The original meaning of Laṭīf or the 'aṣl of Laṭīf is to know the hidden, secret, and ghayb of something.  It is stronger than khabīr, which means you know, because laṭīf means you know the hidden.  Khabīr means you know the open, and laṭīf means you know the secret.

Because you know the secret and know that which is hidden, you are able to fill in any gaps, protect any weaknesses, take care of any issues.  People think you are okay; Al-Laṭīf knows you are not okay and because He knows this, He will take care of you.  This is a beautiful Name to use.  Laṭīf means because Allāh knew his state, He took care of him.  Because Allāh knew what was going on, He was nourishing and guarding over him.

“He is Laṭīf to whomever He please.  Verily He is Al-'Alīm Al-Ḥakīm.”

He is the One who knows everything and the One who is All-Wise.  Once again two Names of Allāh 'azza wa jall that are very relevant.  He knew all along what was happening.  He was Ḥakīm.  He had a wisdom – Yūsuf didn't know it, they didn't know it, but now we see that wisdom.  Ḥakīm means there is a wisdom of why He is doing all of this.  Allāh knew everything that is happening to all of them.  He was doing everything for a wisdom, and now we see that wisdom in front of us.

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

Today we are reciting Sūrat'l-Mā'idah, which is the last of the big sūrahs to be revealed.  The large sūrahs of the Qur'ān are the first nine up until Sūrah Tawbah.  Of these sūrahs, Sūrat'l-Mā'idah is the last to be revealed, so much so that one of the final verses to be revealed, which we are going to comment on, occurs in Sūrat'l-Mā'idah.

Sūrat'l-Mā'idah is called Sūrat'l-Mā'idah from the story of the last supper.  The Christians have a version, and we have our version in the Qur'ān.  Sūrat'l-Mā'idah finishes with it.  It is the request of the disciples of Jesus Christ when they asked Jesus Christ, “O Jesus Christ, why don't you ask your Lord to send down a supper for us?  We will all have a festival, and it will be a sign from God to us.”  This is where the name Mā'idah comes on, which is on the last page of the sūrah.

Sūrat'l-Mā'idah has also been called Surat'l-Mīthāq (the Sūrah of Covenants) and Surat'l- 'Ahd.  These are names given by Ibn ʿAbbās, 'Ā'ishah, and Ibn Mas'ūd.  Most of the names of sūrahs come from the ṣaḥābah; therefore, you will differences in the earliest books of tafsīr about the names of the sūrahs, and by and large one name has stuck, and so in our time we know it as Sūrat'l-Mā'idah.

This shows us that the names of the sūrahs are just a label.  The scholars and classical 'ulemā' and ṣaḥābah attached them to recognize the sūrahs. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) only named a handful of sūrahs, and the rest were named by the ṣaḥābah.

'Ahd and mīthāq mean the promise or covenant.  The reason why Ibn ʿAbbās called it the Sūrah of Covenants or the Sūrah of Promises is that this sūrah has the most number of covenants ('ahd) that Allāh has taken with mankind.  The sūrah begins with:  “O you who believe, fulfill your covenants or treaties.”  The sūrah has over 20 covenants.  “When Allāh took the mīthāq …”

The treaties mentioned include the commandments Allāh gives to mankind.  One of the famous scholars of the past said regarding the first verse of “O you who believe, fulfill your covenants…” that there are three types of covenants.  A covenant is a strict promise or treaty.

1. The first type of covenant is between Allāh and mankind.  When Allāh is saying “fulfill your treaties,” the number one promise is to Allāh.  What is our promise to Allāh?  Our Shari'ah, obligation, 'ibādāt, rituals, and how to be a good Muslim.  This is the first.
2. The second type of covenant is between the Muslim ummah and other nations.  If you as a community have a treaty with other people – Muslim or non-Muslim – you must fulfill those covenants as a nation and ummah.
3. The third type of covenant is the individual treaties or business contracts that we write between ourselves.  If have a business contract and write a treaty, “O you who believe, fulfill your covenants.”  Even our marriages are a type of covenant and mīthāq.  Even interacting in society comes under “O you who believe, fulfill your covenants…”

The āyah I want to shed some light on in my short khātirah is the very famous āyah that all of us are familiar with, which is the third āyah of Sūrat'l-Mā'idah and a common āyah we hear all the time.  Allāh says, “Today those who have rejected Islam (the kuffār) have given up hope of harming your religion.”

When was this sūrah revealed?  Some scholars say that this portion of the verse was revealed on the day of the conquest of Makkah.  “Today the disbelievers have given up hope of ever harming your religion (i.e. victory is yours).”

The next phrase “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum” was revealed two years later on the famous Ḥajj that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did on the day of 'Arafah when the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was delivering his sermon in front of the largest number of ṣaḥābah ever.  One hundred thousand people had gathered there.

Some scholars say that the first phrase came down at the conquest of Makkah, and the second phrase came down two years later in the Ḥajj.  Other scholars say the whole phrase came down at the Ḥajj.

What does this second phrase “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum…” mean?  “Today I have completed your religion for you, and I have perfected my blessings upon you, and I have chosen / am pleased with Islam as your way of life.”  These verses are significant for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) says “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum.  (Today your dīn has been made kāmil).”  This has so many benefits for us.  It shows us that our religion is not in need of change and is not in need of updating.  Why do we have change and different versions?  Because each previous version had some flaws, errors, and issues with it, so we keep on updating, tinkering, and changing.  Allāh is saying your religion is kāmil, and something that is kāmil and complete and perfect is not in need of being updated and changed.  This shows us that our Shari'ah is a perfect Shari'ah as it is.

This also shows us that when Allāh says, “Today I have made your religion kāmil,” that before this time, it was being built up to make it until today.  The Shari'ah was gradually revealed and was not revealed instantaneously but built up.  When this verse came down, it was the final revelation that had Shari'ah in it.  There were other revelations after this.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) lived for three months after this verse came down.  “Idha jā' naṣrullāhi wa'l-fatḥ” came down in those three months.  Also, the last verse of the Qur'ān to be revealed in Sūrat'l-Baqarah “wattaqu yawman turja'ūna fīhi ilallāh” also came down.  Ibn ʿAbbās said that no ḥarām or ḥalāl came down after Mā'idah.  The Shari'ah is complete.  Allāh is saying, “Today I have perfected,” which means that before today it was being perfected.  This is something we clearly find.

A small point in Sūrat'l-Mā'idah compared to Sūrat'l-Nisā'.  In Sūrat'l-Nisā', Allāh says, “O you who believe, don't come and pray when you are drunk.”  From this verse, we understand that you can get drunk outside of the prayer timings, and this is what the ṣaḥābah understood.  In Sūrat'l-Mā'idah, Allāh says, “Khamr and gambling and…are evil abominations; avoid them completely.”  Notice the difference.  In Sūrat'l-Nisā', there is some leeway, but in Sūrat'l-Mā'idah, it is end of story.

A third point we derive from this verse is that Allāh is saying that the Shari'ah is kāmil and “wa raḍītu lakumu'l-islāma dīna.”  It is a phrase we hear since we are kids:  Islam is not just a religion but a way of life (dīn).  This is a phrase that originates from the Qur'ān.  This is something that we need to be very, very clear about.  Our religion is not just how to pray and how to fast.  Our religion is not just how to say “Allāhu akbar” and how to make wuḍū' and how to give charity to the poor.  Our religion teaches us how to live our lives, how to marry and divorce, how to write our inheritance, how to live in this world in the masjid and outside the masjid.  This is something we have to be very clear and unashamed about.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) says in the Qur'ān, “Did mankind think that he would be left without any laws?  Did mankind think that We would create you and then let you go without telling you how to live your life?”

People make fun of our religion and say that our religion tells us what to do outside the mosque, and we say of course it does.  What type of religion is there except that it is a way of life from our Lord and our Creator?  Isn't the One who created you most knowledgeable to tell you what to do?  Therefore, we have no shame and are not embarrassed to say that our Shari'ah is an entire way of life.  This is exactly what Allāh is saying.  “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum wa raḍītu lakumu'l-islāma dīna.”

Another point is that if our Shari'ah is complete and if today it has been perfected and if there are no more prophets after the Prophet Muḥammad (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam), then it means that this shall forever remain protected until the Day of Judgment.  Allāh says, “Today I have perfected your religion,” so we know that when this verse came down, it was perfected.  What was the reason why Allāh sent previous prophets?  Because the message of the earlier prophets was distorted.  Every prophet came to remind the people of the message of the previous prophets.  We know that we have no more prophets after the Prophet Muḥammad (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).  So from this verse “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum,” we can derive a beautiful fact:  our religion shall remain uncorrupted and totally preserved, pristine, pure and in its original form.  Our books, scripture, and revelation shall remain protected until the Day of Judgment because Allāh said He has perfected it and He said it is what He ahs chosen for us, and we know that there is not going to be another prophet.

From this, we derive that the Qur'ān and the Sunnah and every single knowledge we require of our religion shall remain protected.  A lot of people say, for example, how do we know that hadith has been preserved?  Ḥadīth is so complicated and confusing, so how do we know?  Even from this verse we derive that ḥadīth will be preserved because Allāh is saying, “Today your religion is kāmil,” and we don't have a religion without the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).

Because our religion is kāmil and is going to remain kāmil until the Day of Judgment, this means that whatever is a part of this dīn shall remain protected until the Day of Judgment.  This also means that Muslim always takes his guidance from the Shari'ah of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).

“wa raḍītu lakumu'l-islāma dīna.”  Dīn here, which is a correct translation, is not just religion.  Dīn means a methodology and how you live your live.  In the same sūrah, Allāh says, “To all of you We have given a Shari'ah and a way of living.”  This is the Qur'ān.  We have no problems and are unabashedly and unashamedly saying that we have a Shari'ah that we are going to abide by, even if people make fun of it or read in threats that don't exist.  We will say that our Shari'ah teaches us how to be good people on earth and this is the purpose of the Shari'ah.

Side Tangent:  As you all know, in our times there is a huge brouhaha being created about the Shari'ah and they say, “These Moslems are coming with their Shari'ah wanting to overtake America.”  SubḥānAllāh, firstly this is completely ridiculous and nobody is saying this.  Secondly, a part of our Shari'ah says “O you who believe, fulfill your treaties.”  Our Shari'ah tells us that when we have a treaty with any nation, country, or state, then we must fulfill that treaty as long as it does not instruct us to do kufr or shirk.  A part of being a citizen in this land is to uphold the laws of this land.  This is a part of the treaty that we have living here.  For those of us who have sworn the oath or for those of us who were born here, this is the treaty that we have.

Once I was teaching to a group of people who were worried about the Shari'ah threat, and I said, “If you ban the Shari'ah, you will ban our loyalty to this constitution.”  It is our Shari'ah that tells us to be upholding of our covenants.  A part of the covenant that we have is to be loyal citizens.  The irony here is that they are worried that the Shari'ah is going to be a threat to them, and wallāhi, the Shari'ah is the greatest source of stability not just to them but to us in our daily lives and for us as American citizens.  It is the Shari'ah that tells us to be law-abiding and fulfill the treaties and covenants that we have.  As I said, the scholars said the second type of 'aqd is that which the Muslims have even with the non-Muslims.

The final point I will mention about this very deep and profound verse is that Allāh says “al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum wa atmamtu 'alaykum ni'mati (Today, I have perfected your religion, and I have completed My Favors upon you.”  The two are separate blessings.  The perfection of the religion is different than the completion of the favors.  What is the completion of the favors?  When this verse came down, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) had effectively conquered all of Arabia.  There was no persecution in the lands, and there were no Muslims being tortured, and there was no threat to any Muslim in the entire Arabian Peninsula.  Compare that to twenty years earlier when Islam began.  Compare that to the stories of Bilāl and Ammār and Yāsir and Sumiyyah.  Compare that to the Muslims not being able to pray in Makkah.  Compare that to the treaty of Hudhaybiyah and to the battle of Uhud.  Now Allāh is saying that all of that is the past.  You now have 'izzah, peace, security, and rule the land.

Notice that this is a separate and distinct blessing from completing the religion because the ruling of the land and the power can come and go.  Sometimes in the course of our history the Muslims had the upper hand and sometimes they had the lower hand, but that blessing is independent of the other blessing which is your religion being perfect.  Political power comes and goes, and ruling in the land comes and goes.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) had it at that time; however, 50 and 100 years later, wars happened.  That perfection will not remain until the Day of Judgment.

“al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum wa atmamtu 'alaykum ni'mati wa raḍītu lakumu'l-islāma dīna.”  That shall remain until the Day of Judgment and will not change even if power comes and goes and even if the ummah has periods of 'izzah and periods of ẓulm.  What will never go is that this religion will be preserved, and the people of this religion will always have their religion to practice.

As the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “There will always be a group of my ummah – the truth will be clear upon them.”  This group might have power or might not have power, but the truth of the Qur'ān and the truth of Islam will always be open and never be corrupted until the very day the Dajjal comes out.  This is the beauty of this ayah.

We conclude by pointing out that once a Jew came to 'Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb and said, “There is an āyah in your holy book, and if this āyah had been revealed in the Tawrah, we would have taken that day as a holy day and a day of celebration.”  'Umar said, “What āyah is that?”  The Jew said, “It is this āyah:  al-yawm akmaltu lakum dīnakum wa atmamtu 'alaykum ni'mati wa raḍītu lakumu'l-islāma dīna.  This verse makes us jealous, and if we had it, we would have taken that day as a day of joyous celebration.”  'Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb said, “Wallāhi, I know exactly when that verse came down and when it was revealed and the situation and circumstance.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was giving the khuṭbah in the Farewell Ḥajj on the day of 'Arafah, and that was when this verse came down.”  This means that it is already a day of celebration for us, and we don't need to take an extra day because it is in the days of Ḥajj.

So, O Muslims, we should think about this verse, rejoice, and thank Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) that He has given us the manifest truth and clear ḥaqq and that He has chosen for us Islam as a way of life.

May Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) cause us to live as Muslims and to die as Muslims and to be resurrected as Muslims.  Amīn.

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

We are reciting Sūrah Āle-'Imrān which is the third sūrah in the Qur'ān and the second longest sūrah in the Qur'ān.  Our Prophet Muhammad (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) has paired this sūrah with Sūrat'l-Baqarah.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Recite Baqarah and Āle-'Imrān because they will intercede on the Day of Judgment for those who recite them.”  He (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “When you recite Baqarah and Āle-'Imrān, they will come on the Day of Judgment as if they are two large clouds and intercede.”  Clouds here mean that which is full of good and full of benefit.

Baqarah and Āle-'Imrān are very similar to one another.  The reason for this is because Āle-'Imrān was also revealed in the same period as Baqarah.  Āle-'Imrān was revealed in the second and third year of the hijrah, and most of Baqarah was revealed in the first and second year of the hijrah.  The stories, themes and styles are very similar except that in Baqarah the primary emphasis in stories is on Bani Isrā'īl, and in Āle-'Imrān the primary emphasis in stories is on Jesus Christ and his disciples.  Otherwise, the motifs and themes are very similar.  Baqarah deals a little bit with Badr, and Āle-'Imrān deals with Uhud.  There are a lot of other parallels between the two.

The name Āle-'Imrān comes from the family of 'Imrān.  This phrase occurs in the second page of Sūrah Āle-'Imrān.  Allāh says, “Allāh has chosen Ādam, Nūḥ, the family of Ibrāhīm, and the family of 'Imrān over all of the world.”  These four individuals have been chosen by Allāh.  Ādam is the father of all prophets.  Nūḥ is called the second Ādam because all of humanity after Nūḥ comes from Nūḥ.  Allāh destroyed everybody in the flood except for Nūḥ and his daughters and sons-in-law and from them, man regenerated.  Ibrāhīm was the father of all future prophets.  No prophet came except that he came from his progeny.  'Imrān is the maternal grandfather of 'Īsa ibn Maryam.  Maryam is the daughter of 'Imrān.  Allāh says the family of 'Imrān, meaning Maryam and Jesus.  Allāh has chosen these four above humanity.  This shows us that the family of 'Imrān is indeed a family that rivals the others who have been mentioned.

In today's short khātirah, I want to shed a little bit of light on three lines that our shaykh recited in one rak'ah, which are a beautiful summary of what it means to be a believer.  Allāh said in the Qur'ān, “Race with one another to forgiveness that your Lord has prepared and a Paradise whose width is equivalent to the heavens and the earth.  It has been prepared for those who are righteous.”  In this verse, Allāh tells us a number of things.  First and foremost, Jannah and Allāh's maghfirah are waiting at the end as a prize.  They are already there; Jannah is not something that has to be created.  As we speak, there is Jannah, and it is there for the taking by whoever wins the race.

“All of you should race one another to get this Paradise whose width is equivalent to the distance between the heavens and the earth.”  Some scholars ask, “Why is Allāh describing Jannah by its width?”  When you generally describe something, you describe it by its length.  The scholars say that its length is beyond human comprehension, so Allāh tells its width as being the greatest distance that the average mind thinks of, which is between the heavens and the earth.  When Allāh says that its width is as long as you can imagine, then its length will be longer than you can imagine.

In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “The lowest person in Jannah will be told by Allāh to wish, so he will wish.  Allāh will tell him to wish again, and he will wish.  Allāh will keep asking him to wish until he runs out of wishes.  Then Allāh says, 'I will give you all of this and ten times what you have wished.'”  Imagine if a person says he wants everything in this world and keeps on wishing – this is the lowest person in Jannah.  What do you think will be the case of people higher than him?

Also we learn from a number of traditions that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) gave us an idea of the dimensions of the ākhirah as being beyond comprehension.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “If you were to compare all of the heavens and earth and all of the creation around us to the Kursi of Allāh, they would be like some silver coins thrown into the desert.”  The silver coins are our creation and the desert is the Kursi of Allāh.  Then the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “The relation of the Kursi to the 'Arsh is the same as another coin thrown into the desert.”  This is mindboggling and we can't even imagine this.

The point here is that Allāh is saying every person will get in Jannah more than you can imagine.  Who are the people who will get this?  “They are those who continually give of their money when things are easy and when things are difficult.”  Ibn ʿAbbās said this is when you are poor and when you are rich.  It is easy to give when you are rich, but when they are poor, they also give.  Another scholar said that this is when you are healthy versus when you are sick.  When you are healthy and young, it is easy to give, but when you get sick and old, then you get stingier.  The point is that consistency in worship is a characteristic of the believer.

“And they control their anger.”  One of the characteristics of the muttaqīn is that they control their anger, which means that something causes you to be legitimately angry but your controlling is where piety comes in.  Many of the scholars of the past, when explaining this verse, said the number of characteristic of controlling the anger is to control it in your household (i.e. to your wife, children, and servants) because these are the ones where nobody outside is monitoring you, and your anger can reach its limit and nobody knows.  You have the power to get the anger out on your wife or children.  If you can control your anger inside of the household, then you can control it outside of the household.

Of the characteristics of the believers is that they control their anger and they forgive people.  This is forgiveness based upon a legitimate fault.  We are not talking about inventing faults, but somebody has done wrong, and then you forgive them.

“And Allāh loves those who go beyond this.”  One of the very famous scholars of the past, Ahmed ibn Al-Qays, had a slave and was sitting in an audience of many people.  The slave came with hot coffee or tea and tripped and it fell on him.  He became so angry and people could see the anger come.  The slaves of those times were very intelligent people, and he said, “My dear master, haven't you read what Allāh says in the Qur'ān that of the characteristics of the muttaqīn is that they control their anger?”  He said, “You are right, I will control my anger.”  The slave went on, “And they forgive.”  He said, “I have forgiven you.”  The slave said, “Allāh loves the muḥsinīn.”  Al-Ahnaf said, “You won, you have been set free for the sake of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).”

This shows that this is exactly what the verse is talking about.  You keep on striving for excellence.  “The muttaqīn who will be given Jannah are those who when they commit a very evil mistake…”  Ibn ʿAbbās said this is zina.  Notice that Allāh says the muttaqīn might do a fāḥishah.

“…or they do some wrong.”  Other scholars said fāḥishah means a major sin and ẓalamu anfusahum means a minor sin.  What is the result of whatever sin they do?   Dhakarullāh.  They remember Allāh.  This is a beautiful verse.  To become a muttaqi does not mean that you become sinless.  The angels are sinless.  To be a muttaqi means that when you commit a mistake, you remember.

“And they ask Allāh for forgiveness.”  This is a beautiful verse that gives us hope.  If you make a mistake, it does not disqualify you from being a muttaqi, and it doesn't disqualify you from Jannah as long as you remember Allāh and ask Allāh to forgive you.

Allāh makes a magnificent point here:  Who else is the forgiver of sins other than Allāh?  Then Allāh says, “And they don't persist in that sin.”  Notice that this is another characteristic of the muttaqi.  You don't drink and say astaghfirullāh and drink and say astaghfirullāh – that is a joke!  You don't do that.

Iṣrār means that you make a genuine attempt to avoid.  This is an intention.  If you fall into the sin but had sincerely intended not to do it, then it does not disqualify this verse.  The point is that they don't intend to go back to it but intend to become better.  It is a sincere intention, but then you trip, but then you intend again and trip and intend again and trip.  One of the scholars of the past said that even if you committed the sin 70 times a day but every time were sincere to give it up, then the verse still applies to you.  What is required of you is the intention, and Allāh knows your intention.  Nobody is going to reach perfection, and nobody is going to become a walking angel.  What is desired is that you keep on striving.

“And they know that Allāh forgives their sins and is their Lord and Master.  These are the people who will get the forgiveness from their Lord and they will get Jannah as a result of what they have done.”

The bottom line is that taqwa and īmān are not mere theoretical belief in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  It is action-based and demonstrated in what you do and say and deal with your wife and children.  To summarize, the characteristics of the muttaqīn are those who give constantly regardless of the state that they are in – and Ramadan is the month of giving – and they control their anger and forgive people for the wrong that they have done and go beyond forgiveness and show good.  When they commit a sin or find a fault in themselves, they remember Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) and ask Allāh for forgiveness, realizing that only Allāh forgives the sins, and they make a decision to never return to that sin again, and they know and are conscious of who Allāh is and who they are.  These are the true muttaqīn.

May Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) make us amongst them.

Lecture by Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Sameera

This lecture is brought to you by the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC). For more information about MIC, please visit www.memphisislamiccenter.org

Our shaykh just finished reciting Sūrat'l-Baqarah, and as we know, the ending of Sūrat'l-Baqarah is a very blessed portion of the Qur'ān.  The Qur'ān is the most blessed of all speech.  “The most blessed of all speech is the Speech of Allāh.”  Within the Speech of Allāh, certain portions are more blessed than others.  For example, the greatest sūrah in the Qur'ān is Sūrat'l-Fātiḥah.  The greatest verse in the Qur'ān is āyat'l-kursi.  Sūrat'l-Ikhlāṣ equals one-third of the Qur'ān.  And so on and so forth.  Within the Qur'ān, certain phrases or certain āyāt are more powerful than others even though the whole Qur'ān is more powerful and more blessed than any other speech.  Therefore, of those blessings and extra special verses are the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah.

There are a number of traditions narrated about the blessings of these two verses.  Of them is the ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri in which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever recites these two verses before he goes to sleep, they will be sufficient for him.”  What does it mean that they will be sufficient for him?  Scholars have differed as to what it exactly means when he (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said “it will be sufficient for him.”  Some scholars said that if this person doesn't pray tahajjud, inshā'Allāh he will get enough reward to get by because the average ṣaḥābi would pray tahajjud, so the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said that if he reads the last two verses, alḥamdulillāh it is just sufficient.

Other scholars have said that they will protect him against Shayṭān.  Other scholars said that it will be enough of a blessing for him to protect him from the fire of Hell.  The interpretations go on, but the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) left it open and said, “Whoever reads these two verses before he goes to sleep, it will be enough for him.”  Therefore, it is of the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and it is of the sunnah of those who follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) that they recite these two verses every single night before they go to sleep.

Of the blessings narrated about these two verses is also the ḥadīth reported in Sunan Al-Nasā'i in which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “I have been given from the treasure (kanz) that is present under the Throne of Allāh these two verses.”  The ḥadīth says that there is a treasure (kanz) under the Throne of Allāh.  Allāh has a Throne, and Allāh has mentioned this Throne in many verses of the Qur'ān.  There is an 'Arsh and there is a Kursi.  Under this – which is 'ilm'l-ghayb and we'll never understand all of this – there is a treasure.  We know that the 'Arsh and the Kursi are the highest creation. Jannah itself is underneath the 'Arsh.  Under the 'Arsh there is a treasure (kanz).  What is in that kanz?  We have no idea.  All that we know is that we have one thing from there on this earth.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “I have been given from the treasure (kanz) that is present under the Throne of Allāh the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah.”

In a ḥadīth in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “When I went up on the journey of isrā' wa'l-mi'rāj, Allāh gave me three things:  He commanded me to pray five times a day, He gave me the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah, and He promised me that anybody from my ummah who didn't do any major sins would be forgiven and go to Jannah.”  The minor sins will be forgiven if you avoid the major sins.  These are the three things the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was given directly when he went up on the journey of isrā' wa'l-mi'rāj.  From this, some scholars have said – this is a theory and only Allāh knows if this is true or not – the entire Qur'ān was revealed through Jibrīl to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) except for the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah.

When he went up to isrā' wa'l-mi'rāj, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and Jibrīl were going together and Jibrīl said, “I don't have permission to go beyond this.  You have to proceed on your own.”  That is when Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) says the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was closer than two bows' length.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) went to a place where even Jibrīl was not allowed to go.  He went higher than any created being, and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) spoke to him directly from behind the veil as he spoke to Mūsa on this earth from behind a veil, but our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) went up and Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) spoke to him there whereas Allāh spoke to Mūsa on Mount Sinai.

The point is that no one was an intermediary between Allāh and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) when the prayer was legislated, and in the same ḥadīth, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “I was given the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah.  From this, many of the scholars of tafsīr and sciences of the Qur'ān have said that these two verses were given directly – i.e. Jibrīl was not an intermediary, Allāh recited these verses directly, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) came down with them directly.  This would of course, therefore, mean that this has a very special blessing.  These were the only two verses that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was given directly without the intermediary of Jibrīl.

What is the tafsīr of these verses?  Very briefly:

A lot of people get confused, and this is not the beginning of the last two verses, but it is the first of the last three verses.

“Āmana rasūlu…” to the end are the actual last two verses.  Don't get confused.  “Lillāhi mā fi'l-samāwāti wa mā fi'l-arḍ…” is so connected in meaning that every time you read them in ṣalāh, you actually begin with this āyah.

“Lillāhi mā fi'l-samāwāti wa mā fi'l-arḍ… (To Allāh belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth.)”

When Allāh says “to Allāh belongs,” ownership here implies many things.  Firstly, it implies creation because ultimate Ownership necessitates creation.  What do I mean by this?  None of us are truly owners of anything, and we simply transfer ownerships.  We don't actually 'own.'  When you buy your car, you don't make it, but you simply transfer the ownership to yourself.  Even if you make a house, you make it with material that you didn't create.  When Allāh says, “To Allāh belongs everything,” this means He doesn't owe a favor to anybody else.  This means the creation is completely coming from Him and His Speech and His qudra.  He doesn't owe anybody anything.  Allāh is the ultimate Creator.

When Allāh says “to Allāh belongs everything,” this also means that He has the right to do as He pleases and no one can interfere.  When Allāh says “to Allāh belongs everything,” this means that Allāh is the King of kings and whatever He decrees will take place and nobody can come between Him and His Decree.  When Allāh says “to Allāh belongs everything in the heavens and earth,” it means that His Knowledge encompasses everything.  How can the owner not be aware of the object that he owns?  When Allāh owns everything, then His Knowledge encompasses everything.  As Allāh says in the Qur'ān:  “Doesn't the Khāliq know?”  Allāh owns everything, so He has to know everything as well.

Allāh says, “Everything in the heavens and earth….”  We know that there are seven heavens.  Allāh has created seven heavens in layers over each other.  Many people get confused:  sab'ā samāwāt are not the Jannāt.  The heavens – meaning in English what we call Paradise – is different from the samāwāt.  The samāwāt and the Jannāt are different.  The Jannāt are in the highest heaven, and we live in the lowest heaven.  Everything around us is in the lowest heaven.  The furthest star we can see is in the lowest of these skies.  Beyond this is a world we have no idea about, which is the sixth heaven.  Beyond that is the fifth and then the fourth.  Mankind's knowledge will never encompass even the lowest heaven, so forget about the others.  The sab'ā samāwāt are not Jannāt but are literally skies, heavens one after the other.  Paradise is something else, which is in the highest of the heavens.

“…if you declare and make open what is inside of you, or you keep it hidden, Allāh will call you to account.”

Muḥāsiba, which is to call to account, and to make a check.  An accountant in Arabic is called a muḥāsib.  Ḥisāb means to know and be aware of and take account of.  Allāh is aware.  Allāh is saying that He knows our thoughts and will call muḥāsiba of them.

“Then, I will forgive whatever I want and I will punish whomever I want.  Allāh is capable of all things.”

Notice Allāh does not end the verse with “wallāhu'l-Ghafūr Al-Rahīm” because it doesn't make sense here.  Allāh is saying, “I am going to punish and I am going to forgive,” so what characteristic combines punishment and forgiveness?  Power.  Allāh says, “I am capable of doing anything.  If I want to punish, I can punish.  If I want to forgive, I can forgive.”

This verse came down before the last two.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) recited it to the ṣaḥābah.  In Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri, we learn that the ṣaḥābah must have had a meeting and talked about this verse, and then they came back to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and said, “Ya Rasūlullāh, now with this verse Allāh has told us to do something we cannot do.  Allāh told us to pray, and we prayed.  Allāh told us to fast, and we fasted.  Allāh told us to give zakāh, and we gave.  Allāh told us to go for jihād, and we went.  Now Allāh is saying that even our thoughts are going to be called into account?  We cannot do this, ya Rasūlullāh!”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do you wish to say like the people of Mūsa said to him that they cannot do this and reject the commandment of Allāh?  Do not say this.  This is not the attitude of the believer.  Rather, say 'sami'na wa aṭ'ana.  Ghufrānaka rabbana wa ilayka'l-maṣīr.'”  Notice that the last two verses have not come down yet.  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is telling them that their attitude is wrong and that they have just heard Allāh say something and they said they cannot do it, which is wrong.

Rather, their attitude should be:  We hear and we obey.  We ask your maghfirah, O Allāh, and to You we return.  After the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said this, then Allāh revealed these two verses literally quoting the Prophet's (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) statement and making it part of the Qur'ān.  Initially this phrase was not part of the Qur'ān, but this comes from the īmān of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) that this is the attitude of the believer, and that which came from him actually came from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla).  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) then reaffirmed that spirit and attitude and the next two verses were revealed which are the blessed verses.

“The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) himself believes…”

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) did not know how to explain the verse and told them not to have this attitude, but he didn't offer the actual meaning.   He told them that this is not the right level of īmān.  When he demonstrated real īmān, Allāh praised him:  “The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) has believed in whatever Allāh has revealed.”  This is the reality of īmān.  “We hear and we obey.”  The real believers will also have this attitude, and they will have īmān.

“The Prophet and the believers believe in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla), the angels, the books, the messengers…”

The reason why Sūrat'l-Baqarah is finishing with this is because the whole sūrah talks about Mūsa, 'Īsa, and Ibrāhīm.  Many different prophets are mentioned.  At the end, Allāh is saying:  “The attitude of the believer is that we don't make tafrīq (reject some and accept others).”  Notice the verb here is farq and not fadl because there is fadl.  Allāh says in the Qur'ān that there is tafdīl between the prophets but there is no tafrīq.  This is a fundamental principle of ahl'l-sunnah wa'l-jamā'ah.  Our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) is the best prophet and has the fadl, and Ibrāhīm, Mūsa, 'Īsa, and Nūḥ have the highest ranks.  The other prophets are not to their level.  There is tafdīl but there is no tafrīq.  They are all prophets of Allāh, and Allāh is saying that all prophets are the same when it comes to the message that they are preaching.

Notice that our religion is based on two pillars:  'ilm and 'amal.  Knowledge and action.  As for the 'ilm, sami'na.  As for the action, aṭ'ana.

Let me translate that for those who don't understand the Arabic phrases.  Our religion is based upon two pillars:  knowledge and action.  These two pillars are fundamental for the believer and you cannot have Islam without them.  You have to know the truth and then act upon it.  This is what the last two verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah say.  “We hear the 'ilm and obey with our bodies and our actions.”

Ghufrānaka is the verbal noun and is in some ways more powerful than saying ighfirlana because it means “Your forgiveness, O Allāh,” and it doesn't mean “Forgive me, O Allāh.”  Ighfir means 'forgive me.'  Ghufrānak means 'Your forgiveness.'  It is as if we are invoking: “O Allāh, we want Your forgiveness.”  Therefore – without making it too complicated – it is tangible and something that is close by and something that we want.  This is more powerful than saying “Forgive us, O Allāh.”  It is as if you are invoking the forgiveness that is right there, and you want it.

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said this phrase, and Allāh confirmed and affirmed it.  From a ḥadīth, it was upgraded to the Qur'ān.  The Prophet's (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) attitude was embodied in the Qur'ān.

Allāh then confirms that what the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said was correct and says, “la yukallifullāhu nafsan illa wus'aha (Allāh will not put more on you than you can bear).”  No soul will be burdened with more than it can bear.

Notice that the first verse says “yuḥāsibkum billāh” and muḥāsiba means Allāh takes account of it.  This verse was not abrogated, and Allāh will still take account of it.  Allāh knows your thoughts.  Then Allāh says:  “Allāh will forgive whomever He wants.”  The verse later on clarifies and the ḥadīth clarifies that anything that is in your soul of a thought will be forgiven.  When you think of something bad and don't act upon it, Allāh will forgive it.  The verse has not been abrogated, but the ṣaḥābah misunderstood it.  In their attitude, they were saying that they could not do this, which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said was not the right attitude.

The bottom line:  the verse is as it is.  Muḥāsiba does not mean punishment.  Muḥāsiba means to take into account and that Allāh knows about it.  Just because Allāh knows about it doesn't mean that you will be punished.  For example, if you have an opportunity to steal money or you see some evil in the street and felt something bad in your heart, then that thought will be forgiven.  If you acted upon it, then you will get the sin.

Allāh says, “Every soul will bear what it can, nothing more than that.  For every soul, will be that which it has earned, and against it will be that which it has earned.”

There is a duality here.  Laha means 'for you' and 'alayha means 'against you.'  Therefore, Allāh is saying:  “I am not going to punish you for something I have done but rather for something you have done.  I will not put you in circumstances that are not of your doing.  You have done this yourself.  For you will be all that you earn.”  Kasaba means 'to earn.'

“…and against you will be that which you have earned.”  Kasaba and iktasaba are not the same structure.  You can see the difference when you read it.  Iktasaba has an added effort because there is an extra letter there.  Kasaba has no such effort.  What Allāh is saying is:  “For you will be the good which is easy to earn.  You have to struggle and fight to do sin.”  Getting sin is more difficult than getting good.  Therefore, Allāh is saying that the basic nature of human beings is to want to do good.  The paths for good are easy and many.  Against the soul is that which it strove to attain and had to fight to get.  To do sin is not easy; to do good is easy.  There are more paths to good than there are to sin.

Every time there is a Qur'ānic du'ā', our īmān should boost up to the skies because Allāh is telling us how to make du'ā'.  Allāh is telling us what we should say to Him in order to get our goal.  Therefore, the Qur'ānic du'ā's are the most powerful du'ā's.

Mu'ākhadah and muḥāsaba are two separate things.  Mu'ākhadah means punishment.  Here Allāh is saying:  “O Allāh, don't punish us.”  The first verb was yuḥāsibkum (Allāh will make ḥisāb).  This is a contrast.  Allāh is not going to punish you for your thoughts even though ḥisāb will be made of your thoughts.  Ḥisāb hear means that Allāh knows them but will not punish for them.  “O our Lord, do not punish us.”

There are two ways of committing a fault:  unintentionally and intentionally.  Nasīna here means that you forgot.  For example, if it was time to pray and you forgot to pray.  Akhṭā'na is making a mistake and you knew it was a mistake.  We ask Allāh for both intentional and unintentional.

“O our Lord, don't put on us iṣra…”  Iṣr means a very strict treaty or law.  Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) says that our Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) came to remove their iṣr.  What is iṣr?  Scholars said that this is the strict laws that were placed upon the previous nations.  If you compare our Shari'ah to the Shari'ah of the previous generations such as the Orthodox Jews, theirs is such a difficult and complicated Shari'ah.  We ask Allāh to not make our lives difficult with that burden.  Our Shari'ah is the easiest Shari'ah.  The Christians and Jews used to fast around 22 hours and only had two or three hours to eat.  Allāh made it easier for us.

“O our Lord, do not place upon us that which we don't have the power to bear.”   Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Every time you make this du'ā', Allāh says, 'I have done so, and I will do so.'”

There are three specific verbs.  We ask Allāh's mu'afaf for our sins.  We ask Allāh's maghfirah for our shortcomings in our obligatory deeds.  We ask Allāh's raḥmah for whatever is left of this life and in death in the qabr.  Wa fu'anna is for our sins.  We shouldn't have done thinks and ask Allāh's 'afuww.  Waghfirlana is for falling short in our duties.  We didn't pray as we were supposed to.  We didn't fast as we were supposed to.  We didn't read the Qur'ān as we were supposed to.  Warḥamna is for all that is left in our lives.  Other scholars have said wa fu'anna is what is between us and our Lord – our private sins.  Waghfirlana is our sins between us and other people of humanity.  Warḥamna is for the remainder of our lives.  All of these are correct interpretations.  We ask Allāh for his 'afuww and His maghfirah and His raḥmah.

“You are our Mawla…”  Mawla is one who is closest to us.  The actual meaning of wali is the one who is close to you.  Allāh says:  “Allāh is the wali of the true believers.”  The mawla is the one who is closest to you, and the meaning of closeness here is love, protection, and taking care of.

“You are our Master who loves us.  You are our Owner who will protect us.”  This is the mawla.  This is why the freed slave calls his master mawlaya because his master protects him and owns him and nourishes him and protects him.

“You are the Ultimate Mawla, O Allāh.”  In the famous incident in the battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the ṣaḥābah were having a shouting match at the end of the battle.  The last thing Abu Sufyan said was, “We have the famous idol of 'Uzzah.  You have no 'Uzzah.”  Umar (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) said, “What should we say, ya Rasūlullāh?”  The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, “Say to him, 'Allāh is our Mawla; you have no mawla.”  Because Allāh is our Mawla, it means that Allāh will take care of us.  Allāh will provide for us.  Allāh will protect us.  That is what a wali does.

“Those people who have not taken You as a Mawla and don't have Your wilāyah, we need your help, O Allāh, against all of those enemies.”

This is a short tafsīr of these last verses of Sūrat'l-Baqarah.  Let us make it a habit inshā'Allāh to recite it regularly and frequently, especially every single night before going to sleep as was the Sunnah of our Prophet Muḥammad (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam).

An abridged translation of the work of Shaykh Umar Badahdah:  Part I

1. The Beginning Steps


2. Memorizing


3. Revising


4. Tying It All Together


5. Differences

I.  The Beginning Steps

There are a number of steps that must be taken at the onset of memorizing, and it may be that one cannot be successful without fulfilling these requirements:

1.     Pure intention.

A pure intention is the key to the acceptance of our deeds. If the intention is lacking then the actions will not bear the desired fruits, even if they do bring forth some of the fruits.

2.     Minimalize sins.

Allāh says:

“Fear Allāh; and Allāh teaches you” [Al-Baqarah: 282]

Ibn Mas'ūd raḍyAllāhu 'anhu said: “A man may lose knowledge due to a sin that he had committed.”

Sins extinguish the light of the heart and cause a person to be prevented from success. Therefore to fear Allāh and have Allāh teach you is a practical approach. The heart  is then filled with the light of īmān, the soul is at ease with what Allāh loves, and the person prepares for this great affair of memorizing the Qurʾān.

3.     Sincere commitment.

A person who is not fully committed and lazy will not be able to memorize the Qurʾān. This matter requires strong commitment and a person will no doubt have to exchange old habits for new ones, such as decreasing the amount of sleep and increasing in good deeds. Most importantly, a person must equip himself with a will never to give up, so that when encountering the first obstacle, surrender is not an option.

4.   Correct methodology.

More shall be explored regarding this topic, inshā'Allāh. Some who set out to memorize the Qurʾān begin with great energy but go about it in the wrong way. Their energy is soon extinguished and, in many cases, they become incapable of continuing. An example of this is the one who starts by memorizing a sūrah from one part of the Qurʾān and another from some other part. A further example is someone who memorizes juz after juz but not in the original order of sequence. The problem with this method is that a juz that stands alone does not encourage the person to retain it as well as two that are connected (one juz before it or the one after it). Of course, it is beneficial to memorize any Sūrah; however, this is not the most beneficial way for the one who wishes to memorize the entire Qurʾān. Also, one should have a set program for memorizing. Going about it 'on the fly' will, in most cases, not bring about the desired outcome. Furthermore, one should consult those who have memorized and those who are currently engaged in memorizing and/or teaching regarding additional strategies and tips. In short, this is not a solitary effort.

5. A continuous effort.

Keep in mind that memorizing the Qurʾān is a great task that requires a lengthy commitment. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  was asked what actions were most beloved to Allāh. He said the ones that are most consistent, even if they are small. Remember: a little that is consistent is better than a great deal that is cut off!

II. Memorization

The method of memorization and its necessary preconditions will be expounded upon below.

1.     One page at a time.
Firstly, there is the method of memorizing by looking at the 'whole page', in which the individual reads the page that he wants to memorize three or five times, with focus and full awareness as to what is being read, so that when he has read the page a number of times, he is able to close the Book and recite from memory. Most likely, he will be unable to recite the entire page flawlessly and will pause often, at which point he is to open the Book and carry on from where he stopped. This step-by-step process will prevent the memorizer from making the same mistakes: the place that he stopped the first time, he will not stop the second time. This is to be repeated until the memorizer is able to recite the entire page without stopping, so that after he has read the page five times and recited from memory, without impediment, he will have read the page approximately eight or more times. When this occurs, the page should be recited three times in totality, from memory, without error or visual aid from the Book. If the page is read three or five times with attentiveness, and then recited (from memory) between three and five times, then tied it all together three times, the page will be ingrained in your memory in a firm fashion, inshā'Allāh.
The benefit of this method is that you will not stop or stumble when you are continuing from page to page. Instead of memorizing disconnected verses and being unable to recall what comes next, you will see the entire page in your mind's eye. This will help you not only in memorizing but also in future recollection.

2.    One verse at a time.
The second method is that of memorizing one verse at a time.
The memorizer reads one verse a number of times before trying to recite it, and, once successful, moves on to the next verse. When the second verse is memorized correctly, the first and the second are read together, and so on with the third verse until the end of the page, at which point the entire page is recited from memory three times. It is very important to connect all of the verses on a page together. Do not memorize the second half of the page without linking it to the first, as this will cause your memory to stumble later when reciting that page.
The difference between the first method and the second is that the second method generally takes longer and is weaker if one does not link all of the verses together.

Prerequisites for memorization

1) Reading correctly- and in this alone are a number of issues.

a) Correcting the makharij- if Ramaḍān to you is Ramazaan, if الذين is read Allazeena then correct your pronunciation of the letters before you start.

b) Correcting the harakat- the symbols of I'rab (the damma, fatha, kasra, sukoon) are all very important and it is imperative to learn them correctly. A change in I'rab can change the meaning and thus is worthy of a great deal of attention. Also one must pay attention to the similar sounding words and 'seemingly' similar ending verses.

2) Strong Memorization- whatever is newly memorized must have been done so in the strongest manner, free from any mistakes, with the ability to be recited without stopping or stumbling. What is newly memorized is like a foundation on which you build, and if the foundation is faulty or weak than the building will collapse. Just think of how you recite Al-Fātiḥah and set that as the standard for which to compare everything else that you memorize.

3) Reciting to others- very important. This is what will cause you to discover mistakes that you may have not been aware of in your memorization. If you memorize three to four pages without reciting it to someone than that's not a problem, however after five pages you should. Do not wait until you have memorized 10 Juz' filled with mistakes that will be extremely difficult for you to correct!

4) Repetition- doing all of the above will not help you unless you continuously repeat what you have memorized. If you memorize after fajr and wait till the next fajr you will find that you have already forgotten a portion or struggle to recall the ayahs. If you memorize the pages how they were mentioned earlier i.e. 3 times each, you still need to repeat what you have memorized another 5 times throughout the day which will be elaborated on..

5) Connecting with what was previously memorized- this will be discussed later.
6) Helpful activities

a. Reciting in superogatory prayers- instead of reciting Sūrat'l-Nās, Kawthar and Ikhlāṣ, recite from what you have memorized that day. If you have memorized a page, divide it into two and repeat it in your nafl prayers throughout the day.

b. Reciting at all times- think of all the times in your day where you are waiting for something: your at the bus stop waiting, your on the train waiting, your meeting a friend and your waiting, if you kept a Qurʾān

c. Leading people in prayer- the ultimate test. This is what will show whether what you have memorized is deeply embedded in your mind, easily recalled, or whether it isn't.

d. Listening to Qurʾānic recitations with tajweed- use this as much as you can and have a set schedule. For example, say you have this much to memorize in a week, or this much to revise. Sometimes you will have heard a recitation so much that when you come to memorize you'll find that you've already memorized it.

e. Using the same muṣḥaf- if you are going to start memorizing try to keep the same muṣḥaf and don't change. This is because you picture the page in front of you in your mind, you visualize this ayah being at the top of this page and this Sūrah starting in the middle of that page. If you start memorizing from another muṣḥaf it is likely to cause confusion.

f. Engaging as many senses as possible- it is known scientifically that if you use two senses to memorize, your recollection of it will be stronger than if you use only one. And if you use three it is stronger still, and if you use four…etc. How do you use more? Instead of just reading silently, read out loud. While reading out loud raise your voice so that your ears hear what you are reciting. Now if you can (and this is somewhat difficult) but if you are able to write out what you wish to memorize, this will exponentially increase your memory of it. The sheikh mentions when he went to West Africa he visited some countries like Morocco and Mauritania and others. He found them to still be writing on Alwah (tablets) to memorize Quran. They would write on them and then read what they had written until they had memorized it and then would dunk the tablet in water and erase it, fully confident that what they had memorized would not leave them.

Ever been in love? Stayed up nights thinking about the object of your adoration? Ever felt the helplessness, the vulnerability of falling in love? Ever felt your life was on a standstill, revolving as though in a strange cacophony of thoughts, emotions and words around the one you love? I’m talking about the feeling, which when unrequited can tear your heart into a million little pieces. The feeling that overpowers you, envelops you and controls you in such a way that defeat in its game is too unspeakable an option to even think about, for it can annihilate you thoroughly — almost without hope of a rebirth.

The above may not be an ideal opening paragraph, but you know why I felt compelled to begin this way? Well, because in all age-groups, especially in that of teenage and young adulthood, this phenomenon called ‘love’ creates waves. If we look at college life, the workplace, the TV-shows we follow, the movies we watch, to books we peruse we learn that love seems to be on everyone’s mind. So coming to my original question: Have you ever been in love?

If you have, you’ve probably been through profound grief as well. You know that the one thing that can bring pleasure and pain in equal quantities is in fact: love. Just about everyone around us seems to be yearning for ‘love’ yet few around us have found that proverbially ‘happy ending’.

So what is this elusive entity anyway? My mind is a cauldron of thoughts which only confuse me more than before. I look to the perfect deen of Allāh to find some answers. And then I realize the solution, the answer to my question, has been there all along – I just didn’t look hard enough.

It is narrated in Al-Bukhari in a Hadith Qudsi:

“When Allāh loves a slave, He says to Jibreel (Alayhis Salam)l, 'I love so-and-so, so love him,' so Jibreel (AS) loves him and then calls out to the people of heaven, 'Allāh loves so-and-so, so love him,' and the people of heaven love him, and then acceptance is placed in the Earth for him.”

Take a moment to read the last part again – ‘acceptance is placed in the Earth for him’. So that’s how it works! The acceptance, the love we sometimes crave from people comes from – Allāh’s love? Does this mean that if Allāh begins to love us, the whole world will follow suit? Actually, it means more than only that (although it does mean that too!).

When a believer is blessed by the love of Allāh, life suddenly begins to look better – indeed the fixation with the love of others is finally given a rest. Imagine, a person who is so close to Allāh that Allāh becomes the eyes which he sees with, and the hand with which he strikes, and the tongue with which he speaks, wouldn’t the contentment of the entire universe be at his feet? Would a person so spiritually elevated even crave the recognition and love that we sometimes do from the dunya? To quote the words of another hadith qudsi:

“….When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.

[Bukhari 6502]

But how does one get Allāh’s love? This ayah of the Quran puts things in perspective:

“Say (O Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam to mankind): If you (really) love Allāh, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quran and the Sunnah), Allāh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allāh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:31]

Allāh-and-His-Messenger1-300x225.jpg">Allāh-and-His-Messenger1-300x225" src="http://muslimmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Love-of-Allāh-and-His-Messenger1-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />As we are all aware, Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu alayhi Wa Sallam) was the most perfect man ever to tread on the earth and by following him we are making Allāh love us. It’s that simple! Following the sunnah of our blessed Prophet (Sallallahu Alyhi wa Sallam) is not only good for us in deen, but also dunya. After all, who doesn’t like an honest, humble, trustworthy and pure person? Truly, like Ayesha (Radi Allahu Anha) once commented, his conduct was the Quran.

Remember Allāh says in the first part of the above hadith al-qudsi:

My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him.

So that is one way to gain Allāh’s love. Perform the religious duties (fard) and supererogatory (nafl) ibadahs until Allāh begins to love us. However, that is not the only way – far from it. Concealed inside the pages of the Quran are myriad ways of soliciting the Creator’s love. Below are only a few glimpses of it.

Patience

“And Allāh LOVES as-Sabirun (the patient).” (Quran: 3:146)

Putting Trust in Allāh

“Certainly, Allāh LOVES those who put their trust (in Him).” (Quran: 3:159)

Repentance

“Truly, Allāh LOVES those who turn unto him in repentance.” (Quran: 2:222)

Piety

“Verily, then Allāh LOVES those who are al-Muttaqun (the pious).”

(Quran: 3:76)

Doing Good

“Truly, Allāh LOVES Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).” (Quran: 2:195)

Purification of the Body

“And Allāh LOVES those who make themselves clean…..” (Quran: 9:108)

Ahadiths to show us how to earn Allāh's love:

Kindliness

“Aisha narrated:

The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said: “Allāh LOVES kindliness in all matters.” (Bukhari)

Honour

The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said:

“Allāh LOVES the slave-believer who is poor but virtuous enough to refrain from begging though he has many children.” (Muslim and Ahmed)

Love for the Sake of Allāh

Al-Tabarani, Ibn Ya'la, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim narrated: Allāh's Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

“If two men LOVE each other for the sake of Allāh, the stronger in love to his brother will be more loved by Allāh.”

I think the above is pretty self-explanatory. There is another aspect of love without discussing which, this article, or indeed our lives and our Eman, would be incomplete.

It is narrated in Al-Bukhari that Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:

“None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves his children, his parents, and all people.”

When was the last time you and I made Allāh and His beloved Prophet, the epicentre and the focal point of all our love? Take a moment to go back the first paragraph, and ask yourself – have I ever been in love with God?

Why are we lost in the love of this dunya when the real love we should yearn for – the only one that can bring us true solace, both in this world and the next, is all that we need? And for someone who gains this sublime, Supreme love, is anything else in the world sweeter and more beautiful?

May Allāh create love for Him and for His beloved Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) in our hearts, and may it grow therein forever.