Dua: The final wish……………

HOW TO ADRESS YOUR FATHER? Surah Yusuf 12: 4 and 11-12

The child with the cap is Hafiz e Quran mashallah!

Yusuf (AS) addresses his father with affectionate respect. Ya abatti which is an endearing and respectful manner.

He values and respects his father’s wisdom and thus approaches him to ask his advice about a dream.

Contrast that to the etiquette of Yusuf AS brothers.  They begin by saying “ O Father “ no affectionate term attached to it, and then go on to accuse him and I paraphrase “you are not going to trust us no matter what we do”.

Behind his back they remark that their father is ignorant and is unaware of reality and of their abilities and strength. They address him with a very basic “father” no affectionate manner and bare bones respect.

Dedicated to my niece who addresses her father as  AbaaT, without being prompted. Alhamdollilah!

May Allah Subhanawataala bless her and her parents.

STATES OF THE HEART: Surah Yusuf12: 13

LONESOME

TAFSEER BY DR FARHAT HASHMI

Yaqub AS expressed two states of the heart on being asked to release Yusuf AS to his brothers who bode ill of him:

AFTER THE FACT: Huzn (GHAM): A pain in the heart, which is from either loss of a loved one, or a painful happening. This is a state of the heart.

BEFORE THE FACT ABOUT SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE: Khouf is when one has a feeling of sadness in the heart of the possibility of losing a loved one in the future or the possibility of a painful happening

UNVEILING THE CHARACTER OF A MUSLIM MAN………SURAH YUSUF 12: 1-42

He was handsome………..Prophet Muhammad said that when he saw him in Mairaaj that if you collected half the beauty of this world, it would not suffice to make up the beauty of Yusuf AS.

He was respectful to his father ……as is reflected by the way he addressed him …….Ya abbatee, clearly in a different vein of tone than his brothers.

He sought the wisdom of his father ……….he approached him with the dream he had seen to seek an understanding of it from his father

He was handsome in face and body and beautiful in manners and thus was liked by all who came in contact with him, but he never used his assets that Allah Subhanawataala had given him to denigrate those who were not as fortunate in form or face as he.

He at the age of age twelve, when thrown into a dark well……….listened to Allah Subhanawataala and had tawakul, complete trust in Him Subhanawataala as to his outcome.

Sold as a slave in a remote land, he worked hard and honestly to earn the respect of his master, mistress and all around him. Thus in adversarial times as a slave he still practiced his adaab or manners (Muslim etiquette) irrespective of adversarial circumstances.

As a handsome adolescent, and eventually as a young man when exposed to the tempting beauty of the women around him, he protected his chastity as commanded by Allah Subhanawataala. How often football players and other sportsmen misuse their charm and the beauty of their body callously and without fear of consequences.

In the face of the society that accepted non-conjugal union of men and women as a norm, Yusuf (AS) refused to do so in the face of the possibility of a major backlash.

How often we make excuses for the errors of our youth by blaming the society we live in which freely allows and actually encourages promiscuity.

When faced with the choice of succumbing to the sexual advances of His masters wife or going to prison, he prays to Allah Subhanawataala to send him to prison to keep him away from the fitna of adultery.

In the prison, where the rooms are small, the men are many, tempers are high, food is scare, his adaab and etiquette earn him the name of “Mohsin” one who looks out and genuinely cares for others.

IN PRISON: ETIQUETTE, DAWAH & DREAM INTERPRETATION……..Surah Yusuf 36:42

وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ ٱلسِّجۡنَ فَتَيَانِ‌ۖ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَآ إِنِّىٓ أَرَٮٰنِىٓ أَعۡصِرُ خَمۡرً۬ا‌ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلۡأَخَرُ إِنِّىٓ أَرَٮٰنِىٓ أَحۡمِلُ فَوۡقَ رَأۡسِى خُبۡزً۬ا تَأۡكُلُ ٱلطَّيۡرُ مِنۡهُ‌ۖ نَبِّئۡنَا بِتَأۡوِيلِهِۦۤ‌ۖ إِنَّا نَرَٮٰكَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ (٣٦) قَالَ لَا يَأۡتِيكُمَا طَعَامٌ۬ تُرۡزَقَانِهِۦۤ إِلَّا نَبَّأۡتُكُمَا بِتَأۡوِيلِهِۦ قَبۡلَ أَن يَأۡتِيَكُمَا‌ۚ ذَٲلِكُمَا مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِى رَبِّىٓ‌ۚ إِنِّى تَرَكۡتُ مِلَّةَ قَوۡمٍ۬ لَّا يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَهُم بِٱلۡأَخِرَةِ هُمۡ كَـٰفِرُونَ (٣٧) وَٱتَّبَعۡتُ مِلَّةَ ءَابَآءِىٓ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ‌ۚ مَا كَانَ لَنَآ أَن نُّشۡرِكَ بِٱللَّهِ مِن شَىۡءٍ۬‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ مِن فَضۡلِ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡنَا وَعَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَڪۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَشۡكُرُونَ (٣٨) يَـٰصَٮٰحِبَىِ ٱلسِّجۡنِ ءَأَرۡبَابٌ۬ مُّتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيۡرٌ أَمِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡوَٲحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّارُ (٣٩) مَا تَعۡبُدُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦۤ إِلَّآ أَسۡمَآءً۬ سَمَّيۡتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمۡ وَءَابَآؤُڪُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ بِہَا مِن سُلۡطَـٰنٍ‌ۚ إِنِ ٱلۡحُكۡمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ‌ۚ أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلۡقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَڪۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ (٤٠) يَـٰصَٮٰحِبَىِ ٱلسِّجۡنِ أَمَّآ أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسۡقِى رَبَّهُ ۥ خَمۡرً۬ا‌ۖ وَأَمَّا ٱلۡأَخَرُ فَيُصۡلَبُ فَتَأۡڪُلُ ٱلطَّيۡرُ مِن رَّأۡسِهِۦ‌ۚ قُضِىَ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ ٱلَّذِى فِيهِ تَسۡتَفۡتِيَانِ (٤١) وَقَالَ لِلَّذِى ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ ۥ نَاجٍ۬ مِّنۡهُمَا ٱذۡڪُرۡنِى عِندَ رَبِّكَ فَأَنسَٮٰهُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ ذِڪۡرَ رَبِّهِۦ فَلَبِثَ فِى ٱلسِّجۡنِ بِضۡعَ سِنِينَ (٤٢)

This recitation starts at ayah 30 and goes on to 42:

Now with him there came into the prison two young men. Said one of them: “I see myself (in a dream) pressing wine.” Said the other: “I see myself (in a dream) carrying bread on my head, and birds are eating thereof.” “Tell us” (they said) “the truth and meaning thereof: for we see thou art one that doth good (to all).” (36) He said: “Before any food comes (in due course) to feed either of you I will surely reveal to you the truth and meaning of this ere it befall you. That is part of the (Duty) which my Lord hath taught me. I have (I assure you) abandoned the ways of a people that believe not in Allah and that (even) deny the Hereafter. (37) “And I follow the ways of my fathers― Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and never could we attribute any partners whatever to Allah: that (comes) of the grace of Allah to us and to mankind: yet most men are not grateful. (38) “O my two companions of the prison! (I ask you): are many lords differing among themselves better, or Allah, the One Supreme and Irresistible? (39) “If not Him ye worship nothing but names which ye have named― ye and your fathers― for which Allah hath sent down no authority: the Command is for none but Allah: He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him: that is the right religion, but Most men understand not… (40) “O my two companions of the prison! as to one of you he will pour out the wine for his lord to drink: as for the other, he will hang from the cross, and the birds will eat from off his head. (So) hath been decreed that matter whereof ye twain do enquire…” (41) And of the two, to that one whom he considered about to be saved, he said: “Mention me to thy lord.” but Satan made him forget to mention him to his lord: and (Joseph) lingered in prison a few (more) years. (42)

TAFSEER BY DR FARHAT HASHMI (translated)

In prison, when two prisoners seek out Yusuf (AS) to interpret their dreams…………he takes this opportunity to precede his interpretation with dawah with gentle humility. He begins with explaining that all he has as wisdom and knowledge of interpretation of dreams comes from Allah Subhanawataala.

INTRODUCING TAWHEED

He uses the method of asking simple questions, whereupon the answers lead the listeners to the correct answers of a complex subject by deduction.

He then in a series of questions shows them a scenario of many Gods fighting with each other for power and the Universe going berserk with their conflict, versus One powerful God orchestrating everything in the Universe and everything and everyone obeying Him, resulting in harmony.

He asks them: is it easier to have one God or several who may differ or may conflict with each other?  He says: isn’t it easier to have one God, undivided, and who dominates everything in the Universe

APPROACHES TO DAWAH

1. When asked a question, he precedes it with an introduction to where the answer of this question is coming from
2. He then explains how this world can only run smoothly by one hand, one God who dominates everything.
3. He explains how having different names of these numerous Gods are the product of a human mind.
4. He explains that any of these names of Gods have no power; all power is with Allah the only one.
5. Allah Subhanawataala, who is the only One God, has commanded us to worship none except him. Ask for anything that you need only for him. This is the true Deen.

PEARL FOR DAWAH: Thus, when one is asked a question regarding Deen, it is best not to give a yes or no answer without preceding it with an explanation.

Interpretation of the dreams of his (YUSUF AS) fellow prisoners.

He said “O my companions, One of you will give wine to his master, the other will be hanged and will hang for so long so that the birds will pick his brain”

Etiquette of answering the query of the fellow prisoners:

1. Preceded his interpretation with Dawaah
2. Addressing with politeness and equality, with no touch of arrogance for his  ability and knowledge of interpretation of dreams.
3. Succinct and simple explanation without adding his personal opinions to it

Yusuf (AS) asked one of the prisoner to say some good words to the king about him, but the prisoner after getting out of prison forgot.

QADAA WAL QADAR FOR A PROPHET:

Every happening in our life has a fixed time and so it was also for Yusuf (AS) thus his time in prison was fixed and not a day could he leave it earlier or later

End Tafseer

MY TAKE:

The three things that struck me that I need to practice repeatedly are:

1. Etiquette is not only for times of comfort but also for times in which one is angry, hungry, tired, irritated, frustrated, feeling unjustly imposed upon agitated and or sad. Ramadan being a great opportunity to practice this.

How to get to the point that Muslim etiquette becomes a seamless part of us?

Answer: Practice, Practice, Practice, till it becomes second nature!

2.                  The preamble to Dawaah and Dawaah itself:

1. 1. Practice, learn and practice again an opening statement……….I remember Shaykh Estes saying “Thank you for asking me that question” and then have a preamble ready that can be modulated depending on the circumstances.                   A basic body of verbal text must be ready, memorized, practiced so that it is delivered with equanimity, serenity and beauty. This sets the stage for the explanation of the beauty of the words of Allah
   2. For Dawaah someone once said  “ if you have nothing to offer, how can you invite someone in,” Nothing to offer here means, one has none or inaccurate knowledge of Deen, which derails whatever good, was going to come of it.
   3. Thus a regular diet of ilm is necessary, we can learn it in the car by CDs, by downloading tafseer of the Quran and listening to it on the IPOD while on the train or bus, or by picking the brain of another Muslim who knows more. Most of all by studying everyday consistently, the words of Allah and his Messenger, inshallah!
   4. If you know the preamble to the dawah well, then you can actually assess the recipient’s expression and fashion your dawah according to their readiness, level of interest, enthusiasm or hostility, while maintaining serenity in yourself.

Supplication: For ease of speech before you say the words of dawaah, make this dua that was invoked by Moses (AS) before he went to give the message of Tawheed to the Pharaoh:

O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness). And make my task easy for me. And loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue. That they may understand my speech. (TAHA: 25-28)

For the actual dua, its Urdu meaning and to listen to it CLICK HERE

3. Even Prophets have to bow their head to Qadaa wal Qadar, as Yusuf AS had to stay in the prison for the appointed time that Allah Subhanawataala had designated, but there is no harm in trying and making the effort to change circumstances as he did.

A beautiful explanation of the story in the prison by Shaykh Anwar Awlaki

THE SHIRT: A PROOF OF INNOCENCE 12:23-32

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED…………

Yusuf AS choosing prison over disobedience of Allah…………

THE SHIRT: LOSS OF A SON 12: 11-18

Surah Yusuf 12:11-18
قَالُواْ يَـأَبَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ  لَنَـصِحُونَ (١١) أَرسِلهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرتَع وَيَلعَب وَإِنَّا لَهُ  لَحَـفِظُونَ (١٢) قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذهَبُواْ بِهِ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَألَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَأَنتُم عَنهُ غَـفِلُونَ (١٣) قَالُواْ لَن أَلَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَنَحنُ عُصبَةٌ إِنَّآ إِذًا لَّخَـسِرُونَ (١٤) فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُواْ بِهِ وَأَجمَعُوٓاْ أَن يَجعَلُوهُ فِى غَيَـبَتِ ٱلجُبِّ وَأَوحَينَآ إِلَيهِ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُم بِأَمرِهِم هَـذَا وَهُم لَا يَشعُرُونَ (١٥) وَجَآءُوٓ أَبَاهُم عِشَآءً يَبكُونَ (١٦) قَالُواْ يَـأَبَانَآ إِنَّا ذَهَبنَا نَستَبِقُ وَتَرَنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَـعِنَا فَأَلَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَمَآ أَنتَ بِمُؤمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَو نَّا صَـدِقِينَ (١٧) وَجَآءُو عَلَى قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ قَالَ بَل سَوَّلَت لَكُم أَنفُسُكُم أَمرًا فَصَبرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلمُستَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ (١٨)
Transliteration:
11    Qaloo ya abana ma laka la tamanna AAala yoosufa wainna lahu lanasihoona
12    Arsilhu maAAana ghadan yartaAA wayalAAab wainna lahu lahafithoona
13    Qala innee layahzununee an thathhaboo bihi waakhafu an yakulahu alththibu waantum AAanhu ghafiloona
14    Qaloo lain akalahu alththibu wanahnu AAusbatun inna ithan lakhasiroona
15    Falamma thahaboo bihi waajmaAAoo an yajAAaloohu fee ghayabati aljubbi waawhayna ilayhi latunabiannahum biamrihim hatha wahum la yashAAuroona
16    Wajaoo abahum AAishaan yabkoona
17    Qaloo ya abana inna thahabna nastabiqu watarakna yoosufa AAinda mataAAina faakalahu alththibu wama anta bimuminin lana walaw kunna sadiqeena
18    Wajaoo AAala qameesihi bidamin kathibin qala bal sawwalat lakum anfusukum amran fasabrun jameelun waAllahu almustaAAanu AAala ma tasifoona

Translation (Pickthall)
They said: O our father! Why wilt thou not trust us with Joseph, when lo! we are good friends to him? (11) Send him with us to-morrow that he may enjoy himself and play. And lo! we shall take good care of him. (12) He said: Lo! in truth it saddens me that ye should take him with you, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him. (13) They said: If the wolf should devour him when we are (so strong) a band, then surely we should have already perished. (14) Then, when they led him off, and were of one mind that they should place him in the depth of the pit, We inspired in him: Thou wilt tell them of this deed of theirs when they know (thee) not. (15) And they came weeping to their father in the evening. (16) Saying: O our father! We went racing one with another, and left Joseph by our things, and the wolf devoured him, and thou believest not our saying even when we speak the truth. (17) And they came with false blood on his shirt. He said: Nay, but your minds have beguiled you into something. (My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought in that (predicament) which ye describe. (18)

TAFSEEER excerpted from Taleem ul Quran by Dr. Farhat Hashmi (with my take in italics from the retreat on Surah Yusuf with HY)

This is a 4000-year-old story…………a story of which Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had no knowledge. The Meccans. Both the Quraish and the Jews were bent on disproving prophet Muhammad’s Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)Prophet hood. Thus he was asked about Yusuf AS of which he had no knowledge. It is then that Allah Subhanawataala revealed this surah with the complete story of Yusuf in its entirety.

Here is how the story goes………………..

Yaqub (AS) was approached by his sons (the eleven brothers of Yusuf)……………..they started their conversation by making him feel guilty that he does not trust them with Yusuf.

They reminded him that they are a large, strong group, and nothing can overcome them. They asked him to let Yusuf go with them on a picnic and that they would guard him and bring him back safe and sound.  They of course had no intention of bringing him back period. Thus this falls into the earliest history of a premeditated crime.

What does a father do………….when one sibling is pitted against the other and is bent on mischief.

He appealed to them, and said, “ it fills my heart with sadness at the thought of Yusuf going away and I feel anxiety that something might happen to him like a wolf might devour him while you are busy……”

He watched as the brothers in a backhanded fashion accused him of not trusting them with Yusuf. They said that they were going for a picnic and did he not think that they were enough in number and strength to take care of one child and that being their own brother……?

The air was rife with treachery…….a murder had been planned and had been changed to abduction and disappearance.

The Nafs of the boys was riding rampant and its predatory tentacles had overcome their good sense. The whisperings of Shaitaan fanning their envy and jealousy for their younger sib.The mischief crystallized into a deliberate plan to get rid of their younger brother whom they believed to be the apple of their father’s eyes.

A parent can feel when something is amiss in his children. And so did Yaqub AS. He felt that the brothers were up to no good and yet………he submitted to Allah’s Divine Decree by making his fatherly anxiety and premonition yield to the will of God.

He let Yusuf go with them………..

Night had fallen. They came back with his shirt, stained with blood, which they said belonged to Yusuf…………The pain and anguish that he had spoken about when he was hesitant about sending Yusuf with them now filled his heart and overflowed through his eyes. Not a word of anger or complaint to anyone including Allah Subhanawataala escaped his lips………all he said was “ I will bear this sorrow with Sabr Jameel and only ask Allah for help” (a sabr that is beautified with perfection of the act).

The shirt……..covered with blood a reminder that Yusuf was lost, somewhere in the vast unending desert.  His dear sweet, handsome, agreeable, lovable, child Yusuf was lost and there was not a thing he could do except be patient, trust in God and seek His help. Sabr jameel! There was no end point to his anguish, but he had vowed to have Sabr Jameel and only ask Allah for help, but his anguish flowed from his heart to his eyes.

The shirt……….was the only thing left of Yusuf to remind him that he was gone, irrevocably. Somewhere in the back of his mind or from his instincts as a Nabi he knew that his lovely child was not dead……..and yet he was gone, lost in the vast desert and it is said that he cried his heart out till he became blind. A father blinded with grief.

The sorrows of a parent for a child…. dead or lost are unfathomable………it is only the mercy of Allah and trust in Him and Sabr, that keeps one sane and patient in the face of the incessant waves of sorrow that threaten to engulf and drown one into the fathomless sea of grief.

The shirt………….Yusuf’s (AS) shirt is symbolic through out this saga as it continues.

Yaqub (AS) grief and his promise of Sabr Jameel and asking only God for help, brings to us the human example of a grief stricken parent given strength to bear endless sadness.

Most of all it raises the bar for the level of trust in God that we can have and that of Sabr to Sabr Jameel.

Dedicated…………in memory of Nabeel

SIBLING RIVALRY: 12: 4-5

سُورَةُ یُوسُف
بِسمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحمَـنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

إِذ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَـأَبَتِ إِنِّى رَأَيتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوكَبًا وَٱلشَّمسَ وَٱلقَمَرَ رَأَيتُہُم لِى سَـجِدِينَ (٤) قَالَ يَـبُنَىَّ لَا تَقصُص رُءيَاكَ عَلَى إِخوَتِكَ فَيَكِيدُواْ لَكَ كَيدًا إِنَّ ٱلشَّيطَـنَ لِلإِنسَـنِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ (٥)

When Joseph said unto his father: O my father! Lo! I saw in a dream eleven planets and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves unto me. (4) He said: O my dear son! Tell not thy brethren of thy vision, lest they plot a plot against thee. Lo! Satan is for man an open foe. (5)

Tafseer by Dr. Farhat Hashmi (translated)

Yusuf (AS) was twelve when he had a dream and addressed his father Yaquoub AS very lovingly (Abbati) and related the dream to him. Yaqoub (AS) immediately realized the essence of the dream and its meaning (he had the gift to interpret dreams) and being a loving father of 12 sons recognized that this dream may arouse envy in the brothers, and thus instructed Yusuf (AS) not to relate it to his brothers.

But alas it was too late for that, and what ensued is riveting and heart rending…………..

MAKING PEACE BETWEEN SIBLINGS
Let us look at the concept of sibling rivalry and the role of Islam in bringing peace within brothers and sisters by prevention and treatment of the diseases of the heart as well as keeping the evil and treacherous forces at bay.

By nature siblings love each other, however at every moment in their lives Shaytaan waits in the wings to fan the envy in one against the other waiting for an opportune moment of stimulus. The prime moment is when one sibling is given a naimah from Allah, and the other is not.

HADITH: “Who ever has some naimah he or she is envied”

DEFINITION OF ENVY
Envy is to wish the destruction or loss of the other person’s naimah.

Adding my take to the tafseer from the “Purification of the heart”:

THE FORCES AROUSING ENVY & RIVALRY
Three forces act on a person when faced with observing the gift of naimah in a loved one:

1.   Shaytaan: on his promise to Allah that he will show the children of Adam to be weak and disobedient to Allah Subhanawataala therefore exposing the inferiority of Human beings to be inferior to Shaytaan.
Whisperings of Shaitaan, open the doors of our heart to let in envy, which rushes in full force overwhelming the person who did not get the naimah, against the loved one who got it.
Unless one actively recognizes it and seeks the refuge of Allah from the whisperings of Shaytaan, one succumbs to the whisperings of Shaytaan, and envy blooms in the heart like a parasitic vine and strangles it with its tentacles.

2.    Nafs: The arrogance in the Nafs rears its head and fans the flames of envy. The Shaytani Nafs steps in and wishes for the destruction of that naimah. In the eyes of the sibling denied the naimah it transforms the loved one with the naimah into an enemy. It blinds the person to the will of Allah.

3.    Companionship: Here the company we keep becomes a key factor in the direction we take. If our Suhba or companionship is with people of Taqwa, who are God fearing and who are also struggling to purify their heart of its diseases then we are given sound advice of how to get rid of the envy in our hearts and neutralize the influence of shaytaan by prayer, fasting and dhikr.

However if our companions are naïve of the commandments of Allah and try to make an assessment based on worldly gain they may be detrimental to us by giving us advice, which if acted upon may divide us from our loved ones forever as long as we live.

LEARNING THE TECHNIQUES FOR PREVENTION
It is crucial to be sensitive to these forces and to teach ourselves, our friends and our children to ward them off by adopting the methods taught by Prophet Muhammad pbuh for purifying the heart of the diseases including envy. Keeping Shaytaan at bay by salah and fasting and supplicating to Allah to reinforce within ourselves that nothing can come to us or be taken from us unless He wills it.
Therefore if someone else got a naimah and I did not, I can work towards it, but I can neither destroy it not take it away from another.

WHAT DOES THE ACT OF ENVY DENOTE?
In wishing to destroy another persons naimah, or being envious of another persons naimah with the thought that they were not worthy of it and that I was more worthy of it………………..we are making a grave mistake. We are actually challenging the wisdom and justice of:”The Just, The Wise and Knower of All”

If He in his infinite justice has deemed a naimah on someone and not on me…………..How can I have the audacity to challenge His decision?

BLINDED BY THE FORCES OF ENVY & ARROGANCE
……..and that is what envy does to us, it is a disease in our heart that makes us blind to his Will and Justice. We in the act of envy, invite our arrogance to challenge His decision in giving the naimah where He did and taking the naimah from whom He did.

Allah knows best!

THE BALM FOR SADNESS: Surah Yusuf 12:1-2

سُورَةُ یُوسُف
بِسمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحمَـنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
الٓر تِلكَ ءَايَـتُ ٱلكِتَـبِ ٱلمُبِينِ (١) إِنَّآ أَنزَلنَـهُ قُرءَنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُم تَعقِلُونَ (٢) نَحنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيكَ أَحسَنَ ٱلقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوحَينَآ إِلَيكَ هَـذَا ٱلقُرءَانَ وَإِن نتَ مِن قَبلِهِ لَمِنَ ٱلغَـفِلِينَ (٣)

Alif Lam Ra. These are the Symbols (or Verses) of the Perspicuous Book. (1) We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an in order that ye may learn wisdom. (2) We do relate unto thee the most beautiful of stories, in that We reveal to thee this (portion of the) Qur’an: before this, thou too wast among those who knew it not.

BACKGROUND TAFSEER: (translated from Dr. Farhat Hashmi taleem ul Quran)

Surah Yusuf revealed Mecca, in the 10th year of naboowat, the year of Huzn (grief). This year was marked by deep inner sadness for RasoolAllah pbuh as it was in this year that his beloved wife Hazrat Khadija (RA) died, and his dear grandfather, Abu Talib who was had loved and protected him from the harshness of the Quraish passed away.

After this the Quraish of Mecca increased the oppression of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, and thus he was enveloped with sadness from the inside and outside. At this time Allah Subhanawataala revealed Surah Yusuf to him.

THE WORD YUSUF
The word Yusuf comes from the word of Asaf which means afsoos or Ghaam, sadness

Surah Yusuf  has 111 verses and is a complete story (Qasas).

The Arabs of Mecca asked the Yahood (the jews) to tell them a story of the past that Muhammad pbuh does not know. The Arabs were aware of the stories of Ad and Thamud, from their travels but not of Yusuf AS.

Muhammad pbuh was not aware of this story until the revelation of Surah Yusuf came.

WHO IS YUSUF?
He (pbuh) was then asked who is Yusuf? And he replied:
Yusuf: Al Kareem,
Ibn Kareem ibn Kareem, ibn kareem,
Yusuf bin Yaquub, bin Ishaaq, bin Ibrahim

Prophet Muhammad pbuh was asked who is most revered by Allah?
He said one who has most taqwa? And fears Allah Subhanwataala.

Surah Yusuf is a story of sadness, taqwa and sabr.

THE BALM FOR SADNESS:
It is said (in a weak riwayah) If one is sad, one should read Surah Yusuf and one’s sadness will go away. It is an inspiring example of pure sabr and taqwa.