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[THROWN IN A WELL TAFSEER SURAT YUSUF] Ustadh Asim Khan

Thrown in a Well | Lesson 8 Ayaat 22-24


We have reached the point where Yusuf was sold in the slave market in Egypt, and Allah told us
about the person who bought him and also a bit about his wife as well. That was, if you like, the end of one
stage that stage where he was a boy, the waarid that found him in the well said ya bushra haaza ghulam,
identifying him as a young child. So as a young child, that is what he had to go through. Now the next stage is
when he is at a different age. He is not much older than he was. But with that new age came a new trial as well,
and this is the trial of seduction, a trial of temptation as well, and Allah talked to us about this
particular fitnah that took place in his life where he was seduced or when the lady of Aziz tried to seduce him.
Remember here that Allah ended the previous passage by informing us that He has established
Yusuf on this earth and in order to serve a purpose, and that purpose was in order to teach him the
interpretation of dreams, or the interpretation of revelation and the prophetic ways. So that is now the end of
that chapter.

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22. And then when he became a full-grown man, We gave him knowledge and right
judgement too. That is how We reward all doers of good.
This part of Surat Yusuf is a very unique passage in the Quran. It speaks about temptation, it speaks about
shahwah, about sexual desire, and the scene as well is a little explicit. And with regard to that, Ibn Taymiyyah
said those people that have a bit of a disease in their heart, sometimes we find that they like to read this
portion of the Quran, or to have it recited, in order to capture the ishq, this fantasizing over a loved one. Many
a time, that is not the husband, not the wife it is someone haraam. And some people, he said, it was a
practice happening at that time, or maybe even before that time that people liked to listen to this passage of
the Quran for a not so good reason, and in order to almost to entice them and to think about having
temptation for a particular person that they shouldnt be having. And so he said that those types of people
should be reading from Juz Amma about an-Naar.
The passage is a very unique passage in the Quran. Before the story is mentioned as to what happens, this
ayah is brought.

( his ashuddh), then Allah gave him 2 things. What 2 things did
( and when) ( he reached)
He give him? ( prophecy so at this age, Yusuf now becomes a prophet. According to most
scholars, this is what means) and ( that Allah granted him knowledge and some scholars say that this
means knowledge of religion, fiqh of the deen. Others said it is more general, just that He gave him abundance
of knowledge, he became very, very knowledgeable).

this is how Allah defined his age (8 views)


What age was this, that Yusuf had now reached? Even before that, look how the ayah began - . Ibn
Ashur said this lamma indicates tarteeb, which means sequence that this is now another stage from the
stages of his life. So the first thing we are told is that he reached a particular age. And the way that age is
( his ashuddh). There are 8 opinions as to what this age was. Ibn al-Jawzee
described, is ( he reached)
mentions all of those 8 opinions, however, what it seems like this is now the age where he has reached full
strength as a man. And that full strength as a man is reached when you reach your late teens. They say shabb,
for example is like a teenager.
What is interesting is that this ayah is coming just before the story of temptation. So Allah is
mentioning that before I tell you the temptation that came to him, think about his age. What age was he? Was
he really old, that if he saw an attractive woman, he would say, I am too old anyway. Or is it so young, he is not
really sure, he doesnt really have the hormones to be attracted, or is it somewhere in the middle, or is it at the
peak?
One of the tabieen Ash-Shabi said that this is his buloogh (when he reached his puberty, but not just
when he reached his puberty, but when it kicked in fully, when hormones are at a peak, full capacity as a man).

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Thrown in a Well | Lesson 8 Ayaat 22-24 | Sirat Initiative

[THROWN IN A WELL TAFSEER SURAT YUSUF] Ustadh Asim Khan

new stage comes with new gifts. Why?


When that happened, Allah gave him 2 things: prophecy and knowledge. Prophecy was said by using the word
. Ibn Ashur said that the word carries 2 meanings:
1.
2.

Hikmah (wisdom)
Qadhaa (being able to make good decision, judge). Which is quite interesting, because He is just going
to tell us about him having to make a tough decision in that house with that woman.

But before He gave him or put him into that trial, Allah gave him 2 things, hikmah and knowledge.

HUKM first and then ILM

Which one came first, knowledge or wisdom? represents prophecy. Prophecy is much more significant
than knowledge. But linguistically speaking, it means, or can refer to wisdom, then wisdom is being brought
before knowledge. Why is wisdom being brought before knowledge? Isnt knowledge enough? What does
wisdom give that knowledge doesnt? The ability to use the knowledge in its proper place is wisdom. So Allah
gave him the complete package wisdom and knowledge. Someone may be very knowledgeable, but when he
speaks, he doesnt say the right thing. So he needs the wisdom as well as the knowledge. And if you have both
together, at the highest level, then for sure, you have reached a perfection. Allah gave him hukm and ilm.



(and that is the way We reward the good-doers). The first part of the ayah spoke specifically about Yusuf
but this second part is not just speaking about him, it is speaking about any person who does good. It is
more general, broader.
So what kind of message is that giving us? You dont have to be a prophet of Allah in order for Allah to gift you
something of knowledge and wisdom. It encourages us all. Yusuf has just shown some ihsaan
(excellence) in something. If we think Allah gave all this and it is only for Yusuf , then it is not really
right. In fact, He is ready to give these things to anyone who shows ihsaan.
What thing did Yusuf show excellence in just before this? He showed excellence in sabr. He was
thrown into the bottom of the well, thrown into slavery, and no moaning, no whining, no whinging, he is just
having sabr. So he has shown ihsaan in his sabr.
Building on top of that, thinking about when this was revealed to the Prophet , which is towards the end
of the Makkan era, where life had become really tough, what kind of message is that sending to the Prophet

?Ibn al-Jawzee mentioned that this is sending a message to the Prophet that just around the corner
there is going to be ease. Just as Yusuf was tried, dont worry, your jaza is coming, and then things
will start to turn for the better.
If this was revealed in the 10th year of prophecy, how many years after did they actually make hijrah, become an
Islamic state and start to conquer Arabia? 3 years. 10 years have already gone by, 3 more years, and things are
going to start to develop and take on another stage.

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ILM is not enough to be a leader


The other thing it shows us is that in order to be a very effective leader, which is what Yusuf will
eventually be, 2 qualities are key wisdom and knowledge.

Ibn Taymiyyah commented on the last part



Ibn Taymiyyah: This shows that Allah will give the light, knowledge, and wisdom to any Muhsin

It is like a general message given to anyone that if you excel for Allahs sake, Allah is ready to grant you things,
gifts.

Key Lesson
A Believers Life Should Be In Stages [Sh. Haytham]
There is one key lesson which we should learn from the life of Yusuf which is that the life of a believer
should be in stages. Shaykh Haytham gave Imam Asim this advice. Imam Asim was thinking of doing a big project.
And he wasnt sure if he should do it or not, because it would mean a lot of change in his life. He asked Shaykh
Haytham what he thought. Shaykh Haytham said, the life of a believer should be in stages. And what Imam Asim
understood is, dont live in your comfort zone. Just because you become comfortable doing certain things, you
become very good at them, it is very easy to say I am just going to do these things now. I dont want to move out
of my comfort zone, because that is uncomfortable and difficult. On the contrary, the life of a believer should be in
stages. And the next stage should be one of greater closeness to Allah, more worship, more knowledge; every
good thing should be increased. And so a person should think about his life. Just like Yusuf is going to go
from stage to another, that is symbolic of how the life of a believer should be - from one stage to another. It is not
just the fact that years are going on by. The fact is that you need to assess your relationship with Allah and you
should to be thinking one Ramadan to another Ramadan, how was my life better? How has it changed? Have I
reached another stage in my life?

My Reflections

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Thrown in a Well | Lesson 8 Ayaat 22-24 | Sirat Initiative

[THROWN IN A WELL TAFSEER SURAT YUSUF] Ustadh Asim Khan





23. The woman whose house it was solicited him. She barred the doors and said,
Come over here! He said, Allah is my refuge! He is my lord and has been good to me
with where I live. Those who do wrong will surely not succeed.
Now the scene cuts to this particular scenario which is very, very interesting the way Allah described it.

RAAWADA from RAWD or RAADA

The woman whose house it was solicited him. What does that mean? A more simpler translation is, the woman
in whose house he was tried to seduce him. But look how it is mentioned. The word was used. Raawada
is a very interesting word. Shawkaani says it has 2 roots. One is Rawd and the other is Raada.

As for rawd, the meaning is to seek something by way of showing kindness or gentleness. She (she is
his master and he is her slave) is trying to seduce him. And how is she doing that? She is trying to be
kind and gentle towards him, basically showing him kindness in order to try and tempt him.

However, the other root word, raada has a different connotation. Raada means to go back and forth.
So from raada you get raawada. Raawada is very similar to another word which we know, which is
iraada. Iraada is very similar to raawada, isnt it? Iraada means to intend. What do you do when you
intend? You think about doing something. Raawada is to get somebody else to decide as you decide.
They have an iraada, you have an iraada. Raawada is to try and get their iraada to be like your iraada.
And it also has a connotation of trying over time. So this word, so rich, we are being told that the case
was that Yusuf was being harassed by this lady for a long time. And not just this one
occasion. And she was trying hard to make him like her. She wanted him. But he didnt want her.
Because his iraada was different to her iraada. But she was trying to get his iraada to be like hers.
Thats why it is mentioned from his own soul, meaning he has his own iraada, she is trying to
take that away and make it like her iraada.

In the middle of that statement, we are told there is one thing we should know he was inside her
home.
And who is her exactly? Has she been mentioned already? Was she referred to before this and after this?
Imraat ul-Aziz, the wife of Aziz. Here, Allah did not mention Imraat ul-Aziz, rather the ayah says allati. Why?
Because when you say she was trying to seduce him, instead of saying the Lady of Aziz was trying to seduce
him, it has this element of distancing yourself from her. So it is a bit rude. Allah is showing ibaad, distancing us
from her, as if to show she is despicable, no one even mention her by name.
What do we learn by the fact that the ayah mentions she tries to seduce him and he is in her house? What extra
meaning does this give us? She is the one in control, it is her house. Consider the example of when you do
something silly and your parent says, as long as youre living under my roof, youre not going to be doing that.
So extending it to this situation, it is her house. He has to follow her rules. He is living in her house, so he should
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really comply with everything. Is he living as a guest? He is living as a slave. So Allah is showing us how difficult
the situation is. First of all, she is trying for a while. And he is inside her home as a slave. And it is her home. And
on top of that,
she locks all the doors.
How many doors are there? It doesnt say ghallaqatil baab, it says ghallaqatil abwaab. The plural. There are
many doors. Which house has many doors? A mansion. A castle. This is a massive castle. A big palace.

not or > many locks and locking them tightly


Ghallaqat, instead of saying aghlaqat or ghalaqat. Ghalaqat and aghlaqat mean locked. What does ghallaqa
give us that the other 2 dont? Ghallaqa gives us 2 extra meanings. It means that 1. she locked all of the doors,
every single one of them, and 2. locked them properly. She locked all of them. There is no way out.

Hayta, most of the scholars say it means taal, halum, means come here. Come here. Now she is giving
him an order. Who is he? Her slave. What do slaves usually do when there is an order? Obey. That is their job. So
she is giving him an order, hayta, come here. Lak, meaning, who am I saying come here to? You! Hayta lak is an
uncommon Arabic expression and it carries with it a flirtatious meaning, and it also carries with it a lewd
meaning as well. It is a lewd type of speech that she is using. Hayta lak, she is commanding him, come over
here.

At that, Yusuf has got nowhere to go. She has given him a point blank instruction, come here. What
does he do? He says, loosely translated as I seek refuge in Allah. However, it is different to saying
which means I seek refuge in Allah. So what does
mean? Ibn Ashur says, is what is known as
masdar meemi. What that means is you are asking Allah to give you a place of refuge. He is not saying
Allah I seek refuge in You, here, right now, where I am. O Allah, get me out of here! Some place other than this!
Some place of refuge with You O Allah! It is quie amazing. He is a prophet of Allah. You would think that a
prophet of Allah would be quite confident in this situation. Its okay, Ive got it under control. No problem. The
one thing he says is get me out of here! A prophet of Allah in that situation is saying, Allah get me out
of here, please. Anywhere but here. A safe place away from here.

Double-meanings
Indeed, my master has made my mathwa (place of stay) very good. What is he referring to? Who is his master
who has made his place of stay very nice and hospitable and been very generous to him? Aziz is the rabb here,
or does he mean somebody else? Allah! Both opinions are there. Yusuf speaking says, I cant do this. he. Who
he? My master has made my place here so good. How could I do such a thing?
Ibn Taymiyyah says the more accurate of the 2 views is the master Aziz himself. She is in his face. She is after
get him to do zina. What does he say to her? How can I do this when
him. She wants to seduce him,
my master, yeah your husband, has been so good to me? I cant do that! How can I do that to him?
If you say the Aziz is the rabb, then what he says next also follows, which is
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meaning the Aziz wont let the oppressive person succeed, he is not going to let it go.
However, what seems to be the case is that he is using double meaning. He has got this woman in front of him.
She is a mushrikah. She is following the religion of the people and they are all mushriks. We will find this out
later on. So she doesnt have belief in Allah. So when he reasons with her, he is not going to say fear Allah, he is
going to say something which makes sense to her. What is going to make sense to her? We are talking about
her husband. What are you doing? What about your husband? Back off. What is your husband going to think
about this? Your husband, my master. I cant do this.
When he says my master, he can mean both things. He can mean my rabb, ultimately is Allah who gave it all to
me, through the Aziz. But what will she understand? The husband.
Ibn Ashur mentions about like this anyway, but later on when Yusuf comes up with his very
ingenious plan to get the the brothers to bring the rest of the family back to Egypt, what does he do? He takes
Binyameen to one side, says look, Ive got a plan, we are going to take the kings cup, put it in your sack. Then
were going to say that somebody stole. We are going to take it out, and it is going to be you, we are going to
keep you here, and you know the plan. However, what do the brothers say when they find, to their shock and
horror that little old Binyameen has been thieving? They say to Yusuf thinking that he is the Aziz,
dont take him, take one of us instead, why? Becaue he has gone old, dad and this is basically going to finish
him off. What does Yusuf say in his response? He says how can we take in his place other than the
one upon whom we found the cup? He never said except the one who stole it, when in reality that is what they
framed him as. He says, except the one we found it on. Because if he said the one who stole it, thats a bit of a
lie, isnt it? He didnt steal it. So he is using words of double meaning there. So he is saying the one on whom
we found it, but they think except the one who stole it. It seems like the same thing is here.
The reason Imam Asim is suggesting this is because, how could a prophet of Allah say I am not going to do a sin
because this person is going to get offended. Surely a prophet of Allah would only refrain from doing
something because Allah would become displeased. And of course, Yusuf is doing it for that reason.
But the question how do we understand the words if that is the case? The way we understand the words is
double meaning. So again, Allah will never let the oppressor succeed.
And again, when he says Allah wont let the oppressor succeed, why is he referring to that type of person as a
zaalim? Why is he referring to the zaani and the zaaniyah as zaalimoon? Why didnt he say Allah wont let the
adulterer succeed? Why did he say Allah wont let the oppresser succeed? She is married. Her husband has
rights over her, and one of the main rights is that she is not unfaithful to him. So if she does this act, she is
doing zulm to him. And the same can be said about Yusuf . If a person in that position, a slave, was to
do that act, then he would have been doing zulm to his master. So it is a very accurate word to use in this
place.

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Activity
How was this fitnah (temptation) compounded and made worse for Yusuf ?

From these ayaat and a bit background from the previous part of the story, how is Allah showing us that this
fitnah was no ordinary fitnah, in fact it was very difficult. It was compounded by many other factors.
1.

His age already means he will find it extra difficult because he is at the peak of his manhood.

2.

It is inside her house, so she has got control.

3.

The whole palace is locked.

4.

He is her slave, he is not a free man.

5.

She is not an ordinary woman, she is from the political class, rich and famous, the celebrities, the
sought after, with qualities that any many would seek and from that worldly perspective, out of his
league.

6.

She is talking to him in a flirtatious way.

7.

They were alone at the time of the incident. There was khalwah.

8.

It wasnt the first time; she had been trying for a while.

9.

He is a foreigner. He is living in Egypt, he is from Palestine. His family is in Palestine. Ibn Taymiyyah
mentioned this point.

10. He is not married. He doesnt have a wife with whom he could fulfill his desires. He has no other way
to fulfill his desires.
11. When Aziz brought him home he said to his wife, we should treat him well, he may become a good
slave, or we may be able to take him as a son. Why did he mention taking him as a son. Aziz wasnt
able to fulfill her desires. So she has a husband but he cannot satisfy her desires.
What we are being taught here is that this wasnt an ordinary temptation, it was an extraordinary temptation.
Not just an ordinary one. And then we are being told that a prophet of Allah is going to experience that. Why?
To show us that if we ever came to a situation like this or even close to it, think about who came before you,
Yusuf and how he dealt with it, and dont say my situation is so bad because it was never as bad as
that situation.
It is amazing how this story is unravelling itself.

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Key Lessons
Zin Only Occurs in Khalwa

may Allah save us from it, it happens most often in khalwah. In fact, most of the time it happens
Zina
in this khalwah.
What is khawah? It is translated as seclusion. And without getting into too much detail, this sin of having illicit
relations with an unrelated person has its circumstances. Certain things come together which lead to this final
act, one of them, for example is consent, another one is the time and place. The desires might be there, there
might be consent, but if people are around, they might not be able to. However, when people are alone, when
a man and woman are alone, then this is that key situation where this sin can happen. And that is what that
situation of khalwah is to be avoided.
People always ask, how do you define khalwah? The shariah never defined khalwah in the first place. Allah and
His prophet never defined that this is seclusion. By defining it, you restrict the meaning. And moreover,
khalwah is actually about avoiding the spirit. What do you mean avoid the spirit? We are being told to avoid
situations that are khalwah, and that might be khalwah for you, but not for the next person.
For example, one of Imam Asims teachers said, it was in Sudan and he was on a train. He got into one of the
back carriages and the train was so crowded and he wanted to find a seat. And the only seat he found was in
one small carriage where there was a lady. So he entered the carriage, and he sat down, and he said, this lady, I
am not attracted to her at all, this is not khalwah for me. Then he thought, what about for her?
So by defining it, that it is like this and not like this, then the spirit is lost, and that is that dont be in the time of
privacy with an unrelated woman. Once you are, then that situation of khalwah can arise. And one of the most
dangerous things about that situation is that it can lead to zina. And this is a huge problem that is
happening in our community at the moment.
For example, ruqyah is a big thing. And one of the ills that are coming out of that is that these raaqis, usually
brothers, end up falling into zina with people they are treating. How comes? When Imam Asim was in Egypt,
there was a sister who was possessed. They called a raaqi. The raaqi would come and he said this will take time.
So he said he would come every night. He used to come with a brother and one night the brother couldnt
come. And he was there by himself, treating the sister, reading Quran. But then he said we need to do hijamah
(cupping). This is a practice in ruqyah. But how could he do hijamah on a sister? He should have asked a sister
to do that. And the hijamah was being done on her belly. When Imam Asim found out, he called his teacher and
the teacher approached the person and said this is not allowed. And they got into an argument over it.
There are cases of zina being brought to the shariah council. There are sisters being taken advantage of by
these raaqis. They say they need to do the treatment in a hotel room. The sister is already vulnerable,
possessed by a jinn, not thinking straight. They go to a hotel room and fall into zina. And this is happening in a
religious perspective, imagine outside of a religious context.
Yusuf was forced into a situation where he was alone with her. However, what did he ask Allah for in
that situation? He asked Allah maaz Allah, take me out of this situation, take me out of this khalwah with this
lady. So from this we learn the dangers of khalwah.

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Sabr is Essentially Two Types [al-Sadi]


Sabr is of 2 types. This was mentioned by Imam as-Sadi . In this situation, Yusuf showed sabr.
Before this, he also showed sabr. When it came to his brothers throwing him in a well, being sold into slavery,
he showed sabr. But this type of sabr was different. What was the main difference? Imam As-Sadi said that
sabr is of 2 types, ibtiraari and ikhtiyaari.
Ibtiraari means that you have no choice except to have sabr. Yusuf was thrown into a well and he
didnt have a choice. Have sabr in that situation. Dont resist, and dont become agitated, anxious, worried and
the rest of it, rather, try to exercise patience. The situation however is ibtiraari meaning you have no control
and you have no way out.
This situation is different. It is ikhriyaari. You could resist, or you could go along with it. You have got the
or he could choose to have sabr in this situation and hold back.
choice. He could keel to the pressure
So this is another type of patience.
Which one is more rewarded for by Allah? Ibn Taymiyyah spoke about this as well, that this is essentially more
rewarded for by Allah because of the element of choice, whereas in the previous time they dont have the
element of choice.

Dont Rely on Yourself, Be Suspicious of Yourself [al-Sadi]


This lesson is coming because Yusuf when he was tempted, immediately he turns to Allah and says
maaaz Allah, get me out of here. I seek a place of refuge with You away from here. And thats expressive of a
man who says, I cant handle this situation by myself, I need You, Allah. Allah I need You to help me in this
situation. I am not relying on myself. Whom did he ask for? Immediately he asked upon Allah. This is a prophet
of Allah saying, I dont trust myself, I need You, O Allah, in this situation. What then about us? Dont you see
that we do this sometimes where we put ourselves in a situation sometimes where there is temptation? But
then we think we can handle it. How can you say it is okay? Take guidance from the prophet of Allah, Yusuf
.

A Persons Achieves Perfection by Controlling His Desires [Rashd Rida]


Yusuf here is being tested in a very, very tough way. And it is all about desire. When he or any man is
able to control his desires, then he develops and perfects his character. When a person is in control of his
desires, that is the state where he reaches perfection of his character. He is disciplined, his desires dont
overwhelm or control him, what he does rather is he controls his desires.

If You Have to Expose Be Discrete [Abu Hayyn]


This is a very subtle point that Abu Hayyaan mentioned. Here Allah spoke about the sin of imraat ul-Aziz,
exposing her. But how did he expose her? He never mentioned her name. Allati huwa fi baytiha. He mentioned
her as her, trying to omit her name. And this shows us that if a person tries to expose another person, then
they should try to minimize of that person. For example if you found out two people are in a haraam
relationship and he is in ISOC. He cannot be part of ISOC anymore because thats not going to set a good
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example. Its going to give the wrong message out because he is not qualified for this position. It means you
have to expose him. So how do you expose him? Do you go into the maximum amount of detail as possible, or
do you try to keep it on the minimum? Here, we are being taught a lesson. If you have to expose someone, say
the minimum amount of detail. Only those details that really matter, and try to minimize the amount of
exposure of that person. That is one of the other reasons why Allah omitted the name of the lady.

My Reflections
When Yusuf was tempted by the glamorous lady his instinct was to think of Allah, ask Him for help
and run in the opposite direction. Follow these 3 steps and you can be pure even when surrounded by
temptation...
#Fitnah #Purity #PropheticGuidance
[Posted by Imam Asim Khan on Facebook, August 2, 2016]

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24. She wanted him and he would have wanted her, had he not seen the Clear Proof of
his Lord. That happened so We might avert from him all evil and lust. He was Our
chosen slave.
Ibn Taymiyyah will discuss how do we understand the fact that Allah mentioned that Yusuf had
hamm (desire) for the wife of Aziz. And he brings 7 points in order to clarify how do we understand this hamm.
Because here, in this next ayah, ayah 24, indeed she had hamm for him and he had hamm for her. Her hamm is
quite evident and clear. But he also had hamm for her. Had it not been that he saw the burhan of his master.
What does it mean had he not seen the burhan of his Lord? This refers to his eemaan. Meaning, in the heart of
Yusuf was an incredible amount of eemaan. Now that eemaan is something that he became very
much aware of at the point where he was having desire for her. And because of that burhan, his eemaan, he
left it.
And that is the way Allah averted him from soo and fahsha. Indeed he was from the sincere/ chosen slaves.
Allah is mentioning the temptation of fahsha, of shameful acts (zina). Yusuf had hamm for her and he
remembered his eemaan and that overcame him, and because of that he was steered away, not just from
fahsha, but from soo and fahsha. It would have been enough to mention fahsha, because fahsha refers to zina
and that is what is happening here. Here it mentions soo, meaning sin and fahsha. Ibn Taymiyyah says that soo
refers to ishq (infatuation) and fahsha refers to zina.
Then he said in a very nice way that how many times does somebody fantacize over another person but he
does zina with someone and he
never gets to have zina with that person. And sometimes a person
has no desire for that person whatsoever. So both are things connected to zina the infatuation as well as the
act itself.
Allah did not only save him from the act, but from the ishq (infatuation) as well as the act. Allah came to his aid
in the most complete way, saving him from both soo and fahsha.
Ibn Taymiyyah mentions this is the reason why Allah saved him. Why did Allah save him? Because he was Allahs
slaves who is from mukhlaseen (chosen people), or in another qiraah, mukhliseen5 (people that have ikhlas).
But both meanings come together because if Allah were to choose certain people he would choose them
because they have chosen Him. And whoever chooses Allah is a person with ikhlas. We learn that the reason
why he was saved from such a tremendous trial essentially boils down to this one thing here - that he, at that
moment, was thinking of Allah either his fear of Him, or his love for Him. Either one of those things was
preoccupying his mind it was overcoming his desire.

, , , , , , 5
,
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LI-NASRIFA AN-HU AL-SOO not LI-NASRIFAHU AN AL-SOO


Notice how Allah spoke about this, the ayah says anhu, that is the way We removed from him soo and fahsha.
Allah did not mention and that is the way we removed him from soo and fahsha. There is subtle difference
there. If the ayah mentioned removing him from the evil, it would give an address or portrayal of him as if he is
the one going towards the evil, and We removed him. The other way is that evil is coming to him and We
removed him from it. This way honours Yusuf far more than the other way.

What is the sin here? and why first?


How come Allah mentions 2 things here? The sin being referred to in this scenario is that of zina, and in another
way Allah refers to zina in the Quran is fahsha. Allah mentions We turned him away from soo and fahsha. Soo
being something other than fahsha. Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it was ishq (infatuation). There is a precursor to
this act. What is that precurdor usually? It is infatuation. A person first gets infatuated, then they pursue and
then it leads to the shameful deed. Here we see he was saved so he never had infatuation towards her like she
had towards him, and moreover, he didnt do the deed either. Allah turned him away from both those things.

7 Point Analysis of Ibn Taymiyyah


There is something problematic in the tafaseer that you come across and that is, how did the scholars explain
the statement of Allah,



The first part is easy that she had hamm for him. She had desire for him. Thats obvious. Nothing problematic
there. The problem is, and he had hamm for her. How do we understand this?
There are 2 extremes people have gone to to try and explain this. This is how Ibn Taymiyyah approaches this.
One extreme is to say, he never had any hamm. The way you read the ayah is, wa hamma biha law la... he
would have had hamm for her had he not seen the burhan from his Lord. So he never had hamm. The reason
they say that is because one cannot portray a prophet in that way, to say that he had hamm for a woman is
something bad and we cant say that about a prophet of Allah.

he
The other extreme is far worse. The other extreme is that he not only had real desire for her, but
began to engage at some level. That is another extreme.
Now Ibn Taymiyyah analyses.
1. Where is the Tawbah of Yusuf ?
The first point he brings, is that look here, Allah never mentioned the tawbah of Yusuf . Allah
never mentioned that later on, after this, that Yusuf makes tawbah. After this, we see both made a
run for the door, Aziz is there, his shirt is torn, and that shirt comes as a piece of evidence for him so that he
was innocent. End of that chapter. Later on, the women even confess, it is true, he never did anything.
he undressed or engaged in
However the hamm that was there, if you go for that interpretation that
foreplay, then that is a sin!

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And the thing is, in the Quran, wherever the mistake of a prophet is mentioned, their tawbah is mentioned
afterwards.

Allah mentioned
Aadam . He made a mistake.

explicitly, and he said O Our Lord, we wronged ourselves. Younus said

. Clear, explicit, I shouldnt have done that, and I want you to forgive me. Moosa ,

. Moosa smacks the man and kits him so hard, he dies. It was a mistake, it wasnt intended to kill, yet

he still struck him a blow. He made a mistake, what did he say? He asked Allah to forgive him. Every single time
in the Quran a mistake of a prophet is mentioned, their tawbah follows. Even Dawood in Surah Saad.
He bowed down to Allah and turned back in repentence.
What about Yusuf ? His tawbah is not mentioned. What does that mean? It means he never
committed a sin. That other interpretation is clearly wrong. Because, had he done anything of that nature, his
tawbah would have definitely been mentioned.

2. HAMM of two types- khaart & irr


Then he goes into the word analysis hamm, loosely translated as desire. He said, it has 2 meanings. Imam
Ahmad said this. It has 2 meanings, khataraat and israr. Khataraat refers to hamm without any action.
So internally, somebody wants to do something, but he doesnt do it. As for israr, somebody wants to, and he
does it. So the word can take 2 similar meanings, but there is a difference between the 2.

4. His HAMM was clearly different from her HAMM


And look, , does the ayah say they had hamm for one another, or does it say she had hamm and he had
hamm? Separating between the 2 hamm. It is separated. As if to show her hamm is very different to his hamm.
So he said that 1. There is a difference in the meaning and 2. If you look at the ayah, there is a separation of the
hamm of the woman and the hamm of Yusuf , showing that they are different.
Look at the hamm of the woman. Not only did she desire him, she spoke out her desire (qaalat hayta lak), she
acted on the desire (ghallaqatil abwab) and then on top of that, she lied to Aziz (I didnt do anything, he was
the one who did it, he was the one trying it on me). On top of that, she tried to imprison him because of that.
So her hamm is very different to the hamm of Yusuf .

3. He did have HAMM- and a real HAMM at that- but


Did Yusuf speak out the hamm? No he didnt. Did he act on the hamm? no he didnt. In fact, he did the
opposite.
And Ibn Taymiyyah said this is like the hadith of the Prophet mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim,
when he said that if somebody intends to do a good and he doesnt do it, he getsd one reward. And if he
6
intends to do a good and he does it, he gets 10 to 700 fold. And then, , if a person has hamm to do a
6

Sahih Muslim, 40 Hadith Nawawi, Riyad us Saaliheen, 40 Hadith Qudsi, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Muslim, and
others.

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sin but doesnt do it, then a hasanah is written for him in that place. So the Prophet mentioned the word
hamm there. And he said the hamm was in fact the cause of reward.
So what we are saying is that if Yusuf never had any hamm, he would have not got any reward.
Thats amazing. If we said he never had hamm, its kind of like saying he is a superman. Even in that situation,
no desire whatsoever. The finest woman comes to him and says you know what, I am going to seduce you. And
everything is geared towards him being seduced. And he still feels nothing.
If we were to think that, and read it like that, would we have any connection with Yusuf ? We would
think, thats Yusuf , he doesnt feel anything. If I were in that situation, it would be a different story.
So it has become more humanized now. That Yusuf did have hamm, and he never acted upon it. So
that is where he got reward. And that is how I can appreciate what happened to him because he wasnt in that
situation thinking it was a piece of cake. He was thinking this is difficult this temptation is getting to me, wa
hamma biha. But then he chose to act on the contrary.

5. These narrations that speak of Yusuf AS undressing


undressing, their source goes back not to Allah or the
These narrations that speak of Yusuf
messenger of Allah . All of these narrations that you find in a lot of the books of tafseer, they dont go
back to the Quran not the tongue of the Prophet . They can be traced to narrations from the Jews.
Jewish scriptures. And he said that Jews are known to be the worst liars when it comes to the prophets of
Allah. And that is very true. Even up to today, people who have conversations with Rabbis about past
prophets, then the only prophets they have reverence for are Moosa and Ibraheem . But
even when they speak about them, they say horrible things, fabricated things. They have no problem
whatsoever in saying really questionable things about them. So those people are the ones that narrated this
about Yusuf . How could you take those narrations and accept them?

6. The reality is that the fear of Allah can overpower ones desire..
The reality is that the fear of Allah can overtake ones desire. Meaning, he said that Yusuf , Allah knew
what was happening in his heart. He did feel the temptation. But at the same time, he overcame that
temptation by thinking about Allah, and he had fear of Allah. Or he said that his love for Allah overcame and
overpowered the feelings he had for the lady. He had some inclication, but that was overpowered by his love
for Allah and Allah knew that and because of that Allah turned him away from that sin.
It is amazing. And it shows us that this could be any one of us. We all have situations where there is
temptation. Feeling the temptation is not a sin. Acting upon it is where the sin comes. But there is something in
between. Fantacizing is another problem. There is a difference between having a desire and entertaining that
desire.
A person finds someone attractive. They looked once, and said, I find that person attractive, I shouldnt be
looking at that person. End of story. They controlled their desire. They got a reward. Another person looked,
had a glance, attraction. I wonder what it would be like to go out with that person. I wonder what their
personality is like. I wonder if they are like this. I wonder what job they have. Fantacizing. This is wrong.
Sometimes, this can be a sin. Because we saw ishq is called soo (a sin).
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Like, for example, a brother comes and says I have homosexual tendencies. Many people would say, this is a
fitnah for you, and as long as you dont act on those, then khalas, this is your advice. However uncomfortable
this is, or however despicable it is, the reality is someone would say, as long as you dont act on it, its okay.
However, is that really accurate? If that brother, for example has an attraction to the same gender, and he
doesnt just have that attraction, but he entertains that thought, and he thinks about it often, and he speaks
about it, writes about it in his diary. Hes not acting on it. Is that right though? Its not right. Though some
thoughts are evil, and those types of thoughts are evil. And when they become sinful, is when you start to
entertain those thoughts.
And the Prophet spoke about this in a hadith authentic. He said that my ummah will be overlooked for

( the passing thoughts that cross their mind) except when they speak about them or act on them7.
That is when they become problematic. But look how the Prophet spoke about it. He said hadith nafs.
Hadith is just a passing thought, it comes and goes.
If you go to the extent where you are thinking and fantacizing, then thats a problem. So the advice to that
brother is not just if you dont act on it then youre okay, the advice is, you need to control your thoughts.
Dont be thinking like that. Recognize that those thoughts are evil and you should not be thinking like this. You
need to control it, not just so you dont act on it, but you need to control the very thoughts themselves.

7. The ILLAH of the SARF was IKHLAAS


The illah of the sarf. This is an amazing point. He said the reason why Allahs sarf turned Yusuf away
from this zina and these sins that were coming to him is because he was from the mukhliseen (the chosen
ones/ the sincere ones). That is a very specific type of description to mention. Because he was from the sincere
slaves, that is the reason why we saved him from zina.
And he said that Allah mentioned in Quran about shaytan. Shaytan said I am going to
come to man and try to divert him. I will wait for him and try to whisper to him and misguide him. Except
whom? Except those servants of yours that are mukhlis, that have ikhlas. Shaytan confesses himself that I have
power over a lot of Your creation, except those people that have ikhlas. Those people I dont have any control
over.
8

And in fact, in Surah an-Nahl , ash-Shaytan declares who he has real control over as well.


Shaytan has control over those who give him wilayah. Ibn Taymiyyah said the root of wilayah is mahabbah.
Those who love those things that shaytan loves are the ones that shaytan has control over. So you yourself like
zina. You yourself like to do these shameful things. You love it yourself. Shaytan has control over this

person. You yourself have love of this sin, shaytan comes and he is able to control you. However, the one that
he doesnt have control over is the one, not who doesnt have love for the sin it is the one who has ikhlas. So
the one he doesnt have control over is not the one who doesnt love the sin. It is the one who has ikhlas.

7
8

Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sahih Muslim, and others.


An-Nahl 16:100

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And this is telling us what ikhlas means here. A person may have desires for things which are wrong. But when
the desires come to him, what overtake the desire? His love of Allah. If someones love of Allah takes over his
desire and suppresses it, that person, in his heart, there and then, there is nothing save Allah. And a heart that
has nothing save Allah is a heart that is sincere to Allah. That type of heart, shaytan has no control whatsoever.

MAJOR LESSONS
Allh Looks for the Mujhada in Us
And this leads us to the final point which is that all of this teaches us that what Allah looks for in us is mujaahadah.
Strive and struggle. When Allah sees strive and struggle taking place in our hearts, that is what pleases Him, and
that is what He rewards for.
And that is why Allah mentioned the hamm of Yusuf. Because once we know that he was having desire, it
shows us that he was struggling. And that struggle that he went through, is what pleased Allah. And what
shows the greatness of Yusuf . That even in such a difficult circumstance, he was able to overcome
that fitnah.
There are some ayat that show this as well.
9

You wil not attain al-birr up until you spend from that which you love. Allah knows we have love for this. And
that is why, you are going to get somethng so great if you give it up in Allahs cause. It is not because you have
it. It is because of your love for it. That could be a hundred pounds to one person and a million pounds to
somebody else. The fact is that you love it and then you give it up for Allah, thats a struggle. The struggle is
what Allah looks for. If you are able to struggle for His sake, that is where the reward lies.
10

And he gives his wealth despite his love for it.


11

The Abrar feed others food despite their love of it. Meaning, it is difficult for them. But that is what Allah loves
to see. The struggle. Not that a person is a superman, and doesnt feel the desire at all, and not the one who
gives in to his temptation and desire. But the one who struggles for His sake.

My Reflections

Aal-Imraan 3:92
Al-Baqarah 2:177
11
Al-Insaan 76:8
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