Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 33

(Ayah 33) ➊ { قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ اَحَبُّ اِلَيَّ …:} This was a time of severe trial for Yusuf (peace be upon him). On one side, there was sin, that is, disobedience to Allah, which would result in every kind of pampering for him. On the other side, there was hardship in the form of imprisonment, and the wife of the Aziz of Egypt, swearing (the lam of emphasis and the noon of emphasis indicate an oath), was expressing her determination to have him imprisoned if he disobeyed her command. In such a trial, the special servants of Allah never prefer disobedience to Allah; rather, they accept hardship and entrust themselves to Allah. It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللّٰهُ فِيْ ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لَا ظِلَّ إِلَّا ظِلُّهُ : الْإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَ شَابٌّ نَشَأَ فِيْ عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ، وَ رَجُلٌ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ، وَرَجُلَانِ تَحَابَّا فِي اللّٰهِ اجْتَمَعَا عَلٰی ذٰلِكَ وَتَفَرَّقَا عَلَيْهِ، وَرَجُلٌ طَلَبَتْهُ امْرَأَةٌ ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وَ جَمَالٍ فَقَالَ اِنِّيْ أَخَافُ اللّٰهَ، وَرَجُلٌ تَصَدَّقَ أَخْفَی حَتّٰی لاَ تَعْلَمَ شِمَالُهُ مَا تُنْفِقُ يَمِيْنُهُ، وَرَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللّٰهَ خَالِيًا فَفَاضَتْ عَيْنَاهُ ] [بخاری، الأذان، باب من جلس فی المسجد ینتظر الصلاۃ… : ۶۶۰۔ مسلم : ۱۰۳۱ ] "There are seven people whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His shade: (1) a just ruler; (2) a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah; (3) a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; (4) two men who love each other for the sake of Allah, meeting for that and parting upon that; (5) a man whom a woman of status and beauty calls to herself, but he says: I fear Allah; (6) a man who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given; (7) a man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes overflow with tears." O Allah! By Your grace, include us among these fortunate ones. (Ameen)

➋ {’’ يَدْعُوْنَنِيْۤ ‘‘} and {’’ كَيْدَهُنَّ ‘‘} (the plural feminine forms) prove that the entire gathering was arranged to invite to sin, as has been detailed above. {’’ اَصْبُ ‘‘ ’’ صَبَا يَصْبُوْ‘‘} is from which means to incline. Originally it was {’’اَصْبُوْ‘‘}, but due to being the answer to {’’ وَ اِلَّا تَصْرِفْ‘‘ }, the waw was dropped. Two very important lessons are learned from this verse: first, that if Allah does not help and support, no one can save himself from sin, especially from the trial of women; second, that when a person does not act according to his knowledge, he and an ignorant person are the same. This is the prophetic character of Yusuf (peace be upon him): he did not at all claim purity and chastity for himself, but, declaring himself incapable of facing the circumstances, he said that steadfastness upon chastity and purity is only in the hand of Allah; if He does not grant success, then I will be deceived by the self and Satan and incline towards sin.

33. 1. Prophet Yusuf (علیہ السلام) made this supplication in his heart. This is because for a believer, supplication is also a weapon. It is mentioned in the hadith that on the Day of Resurrection, seven people will be granted the shade of the Throne, among whom is the person whom a woman possessing beauty and status invites to sin, but he responds by saying, "I fear Allah." (Sahih Bukhari)

33. Yusuf said: O my Lord! Prison is dearer to me than what they are calling me to [32]. And if You do not turn their plot away from me, I might incline towards them and become of the ignorant [33].

[32]
An Example of the Obscenity of Egyptian Civilization:

Reflect upon this. How great a trial this period was for Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him). At first, one woman was after him. Now, the beautiful wives of all the chiefs of the city were after him, who, verbally, were advising Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him) to accept Zulaikha’s proposal and save himself from imprisonment, but in reality, each one of them was trying to attract him towards herself. It had even become difficult for him to move about freely in the city. Now, only two paths remained before him: either to accept the words of these women, or to prefer being imprisoned. Incidentally, this incident also sheds considerable light on the moral condition of that era—how widespread indecency was, how much freedom and boldness women had in matters of obscenity, and how weak or shameless men were in comparison.

The Supplication of Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him) and His Preference for Imprisonment:

Seeing this situation, Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him) cried out to his Lord alone, that in this period of trial, only You can keep me steadfast and protect me from the cunning of these women, otherwise I do not have the strength to face these storms. In this filthy environment, I consider it better to endure the hardship of imprisonment.

[33]
The Unpracticing Scholar is Ignorant:

From this it is understood that a scholar who does not act according to his knowledge is, in terms of Shariah, ignorant, and the term “ignorant” can be applied to him.