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Yusuf – 4B:

 

Didn’t she take all precautions so as not to be found out? Didn’t she lock all the doors? Just to let you all know; if you are determined to do something wrong and this determination comes from the belief that no one will find out, then you are most likely to be found out!

 

She did what she did in belief that her husband was not home and she was sure that she had locked all the doors. Allah (SWT) made sure that she was found out. Whoever thinks that he or she can hide their actions from Allah (SWT) should know that it is Allah (SWT) who exposes or hides actions. If one intentionally disobeys Allah (SWT) and thinks that their worldly status is enough to cover their shame, then they are mistaken.  It is only Allah (SWT) who either covers or exposes. My advice to such people is that if you do not fear Allah (SWT), then fear the fact that your actions will be exposed! A righteous person once said, “If your soul contemplates doing a sin, remind it of Allah (SWT). If it rejects this counsel, remind it of the good conduct worthy of a good person. If it rejects this too, remind it of the shame it will experience if it is exposed. Then if it still does not listen, know that you have become like an animal”, which is what happened to the wife of the Aziz..

 

When she saw her husband, she quickly said what can be translated as, “What is the (fitting) punishment for one who formed an evil design against thy wife, but prison or a grievous chastisement?” (TMQ, 12:25)[1].  She displays all the characteristics of evil and ignobleness. This is because she lacked modesty from the start.

We must remember that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was extremely modest, even more so than a virgin on her wedding night. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Faith (iman) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Haya is a part of faith” (This term "Haya" covers a large number of concepts including: self-respect, modesty, bashfulness, etc.). (Sahih Muslim: Book 001, Number 0055).  Scholars suggest that the reason why the Prophet (PBUH) did not mention the remaining parts of faith is that because whoever can always be modest will also have the remaining parts of faith in their personality without them even realizing it.

To the young men who get frustrated because they lack the ability to talk sweetly with young women and girls, I say, “You are modest; be proud of it and do not try to change yourself”. Look at the Aziz’s wife’s lack of modesty; not only did she lie about what happened but she accused Yusuf (PBUH) of harassing her. She suggested how he should be punished, “… but prison or a grievous chastisement?” (TMQ, 12:25).  Surprisingly, she still hoped to get what she desired from Yusuf; otherwise, she would have asked for his death in retribution for what he did and to hide her crime for ever, but she only asked for him to be punished or imprisoned.

In verse 25, although her words seem to be addressed to her husband, she is mainly talking to Yusuf in a threatening manner. She starts off by threatening him with prison before mentioning torture because prison is a softer option than torture.

How low could she stoop? Did she not claim to love him? Where is that love? Why did she ask the Aziz to put him in prison or to torture him if she loved him? She did not love him; it was merely lust.

This is the same story we see everyday. A young woman is showered with sweet words and promises of love for a long time just so that she can be persuaded into committing a sin (not necessarily adultery or fornication).  Once her admirer gets what he wants, everything changes and he is no longer the sweet person he once was. He denies all his promises and takes back his words. She might have thought he loved her but if that was true and he did love her, then he would have gone the straight way and proposed to her.

When the wife of the Aziz said what can be translated as, “…What is the (fitting) punishment for one who formed an evil design against thy wife, but prison or a grievous chastisement?” (TMQ, 12:25), Yusuf (PBUH) could only say, “she seduced me”. We notice here that the word “my (true) self” is mentioned several times in the story, in what can be translated as:

1.      “I did seek to seduce him from his true self but he did firmly save himself guiltless” (TMQ, 12:32).

2.      “But she in whose house he was, sought to seduce him from his (true) self” (TMQ, 12:23).

3.      “He said: "It was she that sought to seduce me from my (true) self” (TMQ, 12:26).

Do you see how he stopped his “nafs” (self or soul) from committing sin? He tried hard indeed! There are many people who are easily led by Satan as if they are camels being led by their owners. He leads them to different sins and they follow him obediently.

Yusuf (PBUH) said what can be translated as, “it was she that sought to seduce me from my (true) self” and the verse continues “And one of her household saw (this) and bore witness, (thus): - "If it be that his shirt is torn from the front, then is her tale true, and he is a liar!” (TMQ, 12:26).  This witness did not actually see what happened. This means that it was the Aziz who called for a witness. This is an indication of a very sophisticated science called criminology. It seems that the ancient Egyptians were experts in this field and there was someone employed by the Aziz whose job was to analyze the case and judge accordingly. This man also happened to be a relative of the Aziz’s wife.

Abu-Bakr (RA) said, “If I lost the rope that I use to tie my camel, I would find it in the book of Allah (the Qur’an)”, meaning that everything originates from the Qur’an, even criminology.

The criminologist employed by the Aziz asked for any evidence that could be provided about the case and he was presented with Yusuf’s shirt, about which he quickly said (his well known statement), “But if it be that his shirt is torn from the back, then is she the liar, and he is telling the truth!” (TMQ, 12:27). We know that when he said this he had not yet seen the shirt as the following verse (28) says what can be translated as, “So when he saw his shirt…” (TMQ, 12:28).

It is obvious that this man was an expert and knew exactly what he was doing. Before seeing the shirt, he suggested that if it were torn from the front, the fighting would have been from the front. This would’ve meant that he was trying to assault her because only then she could have torn his shirt from the front. However, if the shirt were torn from the back, it would mean that he was running away from her and she had torn it from the back, which would mean that she was lying.

After the case was presented to the expert, he found that the shirt was torn from the back.  “So when he saw his shirt, - that it was torn at the back, - (her husband) said: "Behold! It is a snare of you women! Truly, mighty is your snare!” (TMQ, 12:28). These words could have been said by either the expert or the Aziz, both possibilities are logical, however, it is more likely that the Aziz said it.

What does “truly, mighty is your snare!” mean, especially when we compare it to Allah’s words that can be translated as, “the snare of Satan was weak”? It means that women have a store of ruses. If they obey Allah (SWT), this store disappears but if they let it control them, it changes into a power that oppresses and destroys everything. Men have physical power whereas women have the power of deception. The power to deceive is very strong in women. When they use it for revenge and forget Allah (SWT), this trickery becomes an illness. (But a person who depends on Allah (SWT), and whose self-discipline keeps him away from sin should not fear anyone’s deception).

The Aziz's reaction to this incident was very strange. After learning what the expert had to say, he suggested very strange things. Up until this point, there were only four people who knew what has happened between the Aziz's wife and Yusuf (PBUH). They were the Aziz, his wife, Yusuf (PBUH) and the witness. The Aziz then says to Yusuf (PBUH) what can be translated as, “O Joseph, pass this over!” (12:29), meaning do not talk about this matter (i.e. forget about it). Then he turned to his wife and said what can be translated as, “(O wife), ask forgiveness for thy sin, for truly thou hast been at fault!” (TMQ, 12:29).

This was how he dealt with the situation! He was afraid to loose his social stature; he was more afraid of that than the sin that has been committed in his house. He did not even ask Yusuf (PBUH) to leave the house! “..and she said (to Joseph), "Come out before them." When they saw him, they did extol him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands: they said, "(Allah) preserve us! no mortal is this! this is none other than a noble angel!” (TMQ, 12:31) i.e. he was still in the house.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that there are three people who Allah (SWT) will not look at on the Day of Judgment and will not sanctify them and theirs will be a painful penalty: the person who is disobedient to his parents, the woman who acts like a man and the person who does not act or say anything when he sees his family committing a sin.

    

Is it possible that a man would sacrifice his honor for a high social standard? Is it possible that ethics can be destroyed for the sake of money, employment and social status?  Some people, in their youth, would not even imagine taking such stance. However, when they are faced with worldly temptations, such stances become the norm to them and they sink to the lowest stage of decline. Never be such a person!

Notice that the person who lied in this story ended up being exposed and the one who concealed the sin also was exposed. Those who lied in this story were Yusuf’s brothers and the wife of the Aziz and they were all exposed.

The Aziz was exposed because he tried to conceal the sin. We know this because the in the next verse Allah says what can be translated as, “Ladies said in the City: "The wife of the (great) 'Aziz is seeking to seduce her slave from his (true) self: Truly hath he inspired her with violent love: we see she is evidently going astray.” (TMQ, 12:30). The Aziz asked Yusuf (PBUH) not to mention the incident to anyone but the matter reached the people anyway. Do you see how he was exposed because he was keeping silent in a criminal matter? All this to maintain his high social stature!

Do not let go of your ethics and morals at any time just because you need to get a good job or because people will respect you more. Also, do not harm a friend or stab him in the back just to get his position or his job because no matter what, you will be exposed!

When life is hard on a person and he has little money and lives in unfavorable conditions, he sometimes would let go of his values and morals. It starts when greed tempts him to look for a better social stature or to get some more money. Remember that Allah (SWT) is watching over you no matter what conditions you are facing. So lose everything (if you must) but do not lose your values and do not justify your actions by saying that everyone else is doing wrong so I might as well do it. Remember that it is Allah (SWT) who decides what your income and social status is going to be.

In this story, everybody loses except Yusuf (PBUH) who was steadfast in his faith. You too can be like him and be steadfast in your faith.

   

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