Story Of Prophet Yusuf ✔

11.YUSUF WAS SEDUCED [Surah Yusuf 12:23]

23. And she in whose house he was living seduced him to herself, and she bolted the doors and said “Haytha”, he said “I seek refuge in Allah, surely He is my Lord, and He has made good my home. Surely those who are evil will never be successful”.

In this ayah Allah (swt) tells us about another trial that Yusuf (AS) had to face and this trial was even more severe than the previous one. As difficult as the previous trial was where Yusuf (AS) was separated from his father and put in a deep well by his own brothers, this trial was even greater. The reason why Allah (swt) tells us about these trials is to remind once again that this earth is a place of testing. So we should expect to face trials and we should expect to face difficulties in it. This world is only a place of testing and that the true abode is only in the Hereafter. So by telling us about these trials that Yusuf (AS) had to face Allah (swt) is telling us that we also have to expect the same.

Allah does not say ‘the wife of ‘Aziz seduced him.’  Allah says, “The one in whose house he was living” to emphasize that even though he was in the house of Aziz but she had complete authority over him. She had been kind and generous to him since he was a young boy and he was under her supervision i.e she was his boss.

Yusuf was the most handsome of all human beings to ever walk on the face of this earth, therefore, it was almost impossible for any woman to resist him. That's why Zulaykha, the wife of the minister, (according to Ibn Kathir, Zulaykha was her title and her real name was Ra‘eel and others say that her name was Zulaykha), was terribly attracted to Yusuf. And not only his beauty but his character and morals too. His nobility shined through even in the way that he (AS) acted and dealt with people. So she desired after Yusuf (AS) with the strongest of desire that any woman can possibly have for a man.

Many historians paint an awful picture of Zulaykha and say that she was a loose character woman. But I just would like to point out a few realities here: First, it is not right to say that the wife of 'Aziz was a characterless woman. Many scholars and well known imam of seerah and history, are of the opinion that she had turned to the religion of Yusuf AS and he married her after husband died and she bore him two sons: Afra’eem ibn Yusuf and Maysha ibn Yusuf. The son of Afra’eem was Noon, the father of Yusha‘ ibn Noon, and Rahmah, the wife of Prophet Ayyub (Job) PBUH. [Narrated by Ibn Abi Haatim in al-Tafseer, 7/2161; al-Tabari in Jaami‘ al-Bayaan, 16/151.]

Second, Zulaykha was a beautiful young woman, maybe 10-12 years older than Yusuf. It was said that her husband was old and impotent (and Yusuf found her to be virgin when he (AS) finally married her). She had no means of satisfying her desires and more over this noblest and the most handsome young man was living with her in her house. He was in front of her day and night. The temptation and test that she was going through should also not to be ignored.

Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah that she implicitly suggested to Yusuf that she had this desire for him. She hinted at the idea that they should go further with this thought. It was by no means an open invitation but merely a suggestion. But Yusuf was opposing all her advances. She was trying to come closer and closer to Yusuf, and he was taking himself further and further away from her. So for a long time Zulaykha was subtly trying to seduce Yusuf, and for a long time Yusuf was resisting her, and this must have been going on for months and if not years.

Yusuf (AS) was in the prime of his youth, and he did not have any other avenues with which to satisfy his desires. Yusuf (AS) had these feelings just like any other man. It must have been very difficult for Yusuf (AS) to resist Zulaykha and for her to resist him. She desired him with such a powerful desire that burnt Yusuf within. She must have presented her desire to him not once but on several occasions. So Yusuf (AS) had to resist her again and again for a sustained period of time. This is what true Sabr is. It does not simply mean that you fight your desires on one occasion or another, but it means that you constantly and repeatedly fight your desires. Again and again temptation will present itself to you, and again and again, you must fight it. This is what Sabr is, and this is what Yusuf (AS) had.

So this was not the average enticement. Thus we see so many factors pushing Yusuf (AS) to commit this forbidden act. Finally, she made a clear-cut move and not only closed the doors, but she locked them all. The rest we can understand.  She has been planning for days or months, and finally, the opportunity presents itself.  Her husband was out on a long trip, and there are no other servants. So she shut all the doors and arranged for him to come to present something or to do some work. Ibn Abbas says that she had prepared, perfumed and beautified herself.  These details are not mentioned in the Qur'an, but it is understood. And then she said ‘come to me’.  The very first words that Yusuf (AS) speaks at that moment of great trial and temptation are “I seek refuge in Allah”. Yusuf (AS) seeks the protection and help of Allah (swt).

He knows that only Allah can save him from this temptation. He knows that he by himself does not have the power to resist this temptation. So he calls out to Allah and he seeks refuge in Him (swt).

LESSONS

1. One lesson that we can take from this ayah is to see how pleasing it is to Allah (swt) for us to fight away our sexual desires and keep patience for Him (swt). The sexual desire is one of the strongest of desires that a human being can have. Although we will never die if this desire is not satiated, it still burns within us so strong. But when we know Allah (swt), when we live for Allah (swt), when we love and fear Allah (swt) more than anything else in this world then we have a feeling within us that is even stronger than this desire. This feeling is our Taqwa of Allah (swt). This was the high level that Yusuf (as) was at and Allah (swt) is telling us in this ayah that He (swt) likes for us to strive to reach that level as well.

2. Whenever any sin or temptation presents itself to us we should first and foremost remember Allah (swt). We have to realize that we ourselves are weak creatures and we do not have the power to save ourselves from sin. If ever we fail to remember Allah (swt) or if we ever think that we can fight our desires by ourselves then we have already lost. The desires of the human being are so strong and we ourselves are so weak. Only in Allah (swt) do we have any chance of salvation. So we should always be in the habit of remembering Allah (swt) and we should always be asking Him (swt) to save us from ourselves.

3. All the prophets of Allah faced the trials and they turn to Allah, therefore, we should take these prophets as examples and turn to Allah (swt) just like they did. We may or may not be successful, but we must try and seek help from Allah. It was only Allah (swt) that Yusuf (AS) turned to through these trials. As the trial became more and more severe, Yusuf (AS) only turned to his Lord more and more. We also must be turning to Allah to save us from all of the trials and hardships that we face. The greater the trial becomes the more that we should be turning to Allah. In Allah there is a solace that is unlike anything else.

4. Lastly, we learned from this verse that whenever we are tempted to commit sin or called towards sin; we should remember all of the favors and bounties that Allah (swt) has bestowed upon us.