53. “And I do not free myself, surely the soul commands to do evil, except on whom my Lord has had mercy on. Surely My Lord is Forgiving Merciful”.
In this ayah, the scholars have differed as to whether it is Yusuf (AS) or the wife of the Aziz who is speaking. However, if we study the ayah, we can see that the meaning, in fact, fits for both of them. So it could very well be possible that they both said this and Allah (swt) Knows best. In fact, the meaning of this ayah is not only applicable to Yusuf (AS) and Zulaykha, but it is, in fact, true for all human beings. All of us should speak the words of this ayah and realize how true it is for us. This ayah describes for us the nature of the human being.
LESSONS
1. In this ayah Allah (swt) teaches us to say “And I do not free myself.” This means that do not say that you are free from blame. Do not declare yourself to be free from the blame that all people have. We all commit sins and so we are all worthy of blame. As mentioned above, this part of the ayah was even true for Yusuf (AS). This noble prophet who did not commit any sins. This noble prophet who spent every moment in worship and servitude to Allah (swt). Even he (AS) did not declare himself to be free of blame. Yusuf (AS) knew that he (AS) had the desire to be with Zulaykha and he (AS) knew that he would have fallen if Allah (swt) had not saved him. So even he (AS) spoke these words and declared that he was not free from blame. Life is nothing but the constant struggle to come closer to Allah (swt). It is realizing how we are nothing and how Allah (swt) is everything. How can we come to this realization unless we see our weaknesses?
2. In the next part of the ayah, Allah tells us to say “surely the soul commands to do evil”. This also is something that we must always realize. We as human beings are prone to sin. We human beings are prone to do that which is displeasing to our Lord and Master. We can see that the human being has certain instincts and needs. These include the desire for power and domination, the lusts for sexual gratification, the greed for wealth and material things and other wants that the human self has. Now if we do not have guidance from Allah (swt) then we will always follow these needs. We will not care about the consequences of satisfying these needs. Often times we will also not care if we have to hurt others in order to get these needs. This push of the instincts to do that which is displeasing to Allah is what He (swt) refers to here as the soul that commands to do evil.
3. Then Allah tells us to say “except on whom my Lord has had mercy on.” So the only ones who are free from their souls commanding them to do evil are those whom Allah (swt) has had mercy on. Now this mercy of Allah (swt) can be in several different ways. For us today this mercy is the Quran and Sunnah. Here Allah (swt) shows us what is good and what is evil. So if we make a resolve in our lives that we will try our best to follow Allah's guidance, then Insha Allah we can be safe from the evil inclinations of our souls. Insha Allah, we will realize that the right course of action is not always what our souls incline us to do but rather it is what Allah (swt) has legislated for us in the Quran and Sunnah. So whenever your instincts push you towards a certain action you must first ask yourself if Allah (swt) would be pleased with you doing that action. Only if you are certain that He (swt) will be can you then do that action.
4. Another form of the mercy of Allah (swt) that saves people from the evil of their souls is a desire that He (swt) places in their hearts to do good. Our Lord has mercy on some people by placing in their hearts a desire to do good, and this desire to do good saves these people from the evil that their souls command them to do. Now the question to be asked is how does one receive this mercy from Allah (swt)? How can we be among those for whom doing good has been made easy and doing evil has been made difficult? As we can see from the ayah, this mercy is also from Allah (swt), so we have to ask Him (swt) to grant this mercy to us. We have to be among those that Allah (swt) is pleased with. If Allah (swt) is pleased with us, if Allah (swt) likes what He (swt) Sees from us, then He (swt) will place in us this desire to do good.
5. In the final part of this ayah Allah (swt) teaches us to say “Surely My Lord is Forgiving Merciful”. So we learned from this ayah that for those of us who have obeyed our souls when they commanded us to evil there is still hope for this mercy from Allah (swt). Here Allah (swt) reminds us that surely and definitely He is Forgiving Merciful. Notice that even the word “and” is missing in between these two Names of our Lord. This is to show us how the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allah are linked closely together. Allah is Forgiving because He is Merciful and He is Merciful because He is Forgiving. This is what you must always remember about your Lord. Both His (swt)’s Forgiveness and Mercy know no limits.