![A Tale of Attempted Seduction - The Story of Zulekha & Prophet Yusuf aliyhis salam It was an amazing tale of attempted seduction. Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) lived for years in the house of Zulekha, a woman of beauty, power and influence. Day in and day out, Zulekha was exposed to his physical allure, a composition so stunning that the Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him and his family] said "Yusuf has been given half of all beauty" [Muslim]. Zulekha suppressed her desire for Yusuf aliyhis salam until she could no longer control it. She waited until her husband left the home. Alone with Yusuf (Aliyhis salam) she locked the doors and called him to fulfill her lust. Imam Muhammad Al Qurtubi, the great Quranic commentator, recounts the story: [After locking the doors] Zulekha attempts to seduce Yusuf A.S. She beautifies herself in the most attractive of ways and says:“Oh Yusuf! You have the most handsome of faces.” Yusuf A.S sensing what Zulekha is attempting to do, replies, “This is how my Lord fashioned me in the womb.”“Oh Yusuf!" she says, “You have the finest of hair!” "It will be the first portion of me to wither in my grave," he replies. Undeterred, Zulekha presses on. “Oh Yusuf! Your eyes are so beautiful.” “I use them to look at my Lord,” he retorts.“Yusuf, raise your sight and gaze at my face,” she responds. “I fear [if I do so] that I will be resurrected blind in the afterlife,” Yusuf A.S answers. She tries to press herself close to Yusuf A.S but he moves away. “I come close to you, yet you distance yourself from me?” she asks. “I desire, by that, the closeness of my Lord,” he says.“ Yusuf, I have prepared my bed for you so enter under its sheets with me,” she says. Yusuf A.S replies, “Your sheets will not shield me from my Lord.” “Yusuf, I have prepared the finest of silk covers, so I order you to fulfill my desires!” she exclaims. “If I do so,” he says, “My portion of paradise will be lost.” Her attempt to seduce him was fruitless, and his desire to remind her of Allah was falling on a deaf heart. Allah recounts the story Himself:َنيِصَلْخُمْلااَنِداَبِع ْنِم ُ هَّنِإَءاَشْحَفْلاَو َءوُّسلا ُهْنَع َفِرْصَنِلَكِلَذَك ِهِّبَر َناَهْرُب ىَأَر ْنَأاَلْوَل اَهِبَّمَهَو ِهِب ْتَّمَه ْدَقَلَوAnd she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord. And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our chosen servants. [ 12:24] Yusuf aliyhis salam was a prophet of Allah who was in control of his desires. Zulekha, like you and I, was not. She allowed her desires to overcome her love for Allah. She found herself to be living with the object of her want, Yusuf A.S. Zulekha eventually diagnoses the root cause of her disease when she says:ٌميِحَرٌروُفَغ يِّبَر َّنِإ يِّبَر َمِحَراَم اَّلِإِءوُّسلاِب ٌةَراَّمَأَل َسْفَّنلا َّنِإ يِسْفَن ُئِّرَبُأاَمَوYet I claim not that my soul [nafs] was innocent -- surely the soul of man incites to evil -- except inasmuch as my Lord had mercy; truly my Lord is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.' {12:53} Her Nafs. Our Nafs. A beast inside each and every one of us that we must tame. An unbridled nafs will lead us to prefer all carnal desires over the love of what Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) call us to. Doing so will cause us ruin in this world, and in the next. Yet a nafs that has been tamed will learn to prefer Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) over all else, causing happiness in this world and in the next, as Allah tells us:اَهاَّسَد ْنَمَباَخ ْدَقَو )(اَهاَّكَزْنَم َحَلْفَأ ْدَق )( اَهاَوْقَتَواَهَروُجُفاَهَمَهْلَأَف )( اَهاَّوَساَمَو ٍسْفَنَوBy the soul, and That which shaped it. and inspired it to lewdness and Godfearing! Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who seduces it.-- When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by the opposite sex on the street, office or school, Shaitaan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Shaitaan is probably excitedly saying, with a big smile, 'Yes, yes, yes!' when we steer into the bait he is setting. During these situations, we should immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glance we are obeying Satan. "O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil" {24:21}. By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Shaitaan, we are giving him a "one-two" punch in the face 👊 :) leaving him frustrated and accursed. Shaitaan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let's all rebel against Shaitaan and expel him from our hearts.. In sha Allah. Shaitaan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let's gather our forces behind the Qur'an and the Sunnah and defeat him. Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Day of Ressurection and not an atom's worth of deeds will remain unexamined. Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise, we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah An-Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly:"Say to the believing, men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. O you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah that you may attain success" (24:30-31) The Messengers of Allah [Peace and blessings be upon them] taught us the cognizance of our souls, and gave us the tools to control our caprice, while reminding us that success can only come by the mercy of Allah [May He be glorified]. The story of Yusuf aliyhis salam and Zulekha explores the nature of desire, temptation, and envy that occupies space in all of our souls and leads many of us astray. [Big B]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbyccxv9EMRCJV-7PQpQlvL6QC7a-IM6emKyvFhQxgrUvnj4N2egp73bG1uoOpweayWDYK_erUPMMENDRRPiOGI9Hz2WeVB39NVHi3OI97L5IWpXtswcO7kHmhgpWvnFqgBNouZCCCug/s1600/The+Story+of+fulfilled.png)
A Tale of Attempted Seduction - The Story of Zulekha & Prophet Yusuf aliyhis salam
It was an amazing tale of attempted seduction. Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) lived for years in the house of Zulekha, a woman of beauty, power and influence. Day in and day out, Zulekha was exposed to his physical allure, a composition so stunning that the Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him and his family] said "Yusuf has been given half of all beauty" [Muslim].
Zulekha suppressed her desire for Yusuf aliyhis salam until she could no longer control it. She waited until her husband left the home. Alone with Yusuf (Aliyhis salam) she locked the doors and called him to fulfill her lust. Imam Muhammad Al Qurtubi, the great Quranic commentator, recounts the story:
[After locking the doors] Zulekha attempts to seduce Yusuf A.S. She beautifies herself in the most attractive of ways and says:“Oh Yusuf! You have the most handsome of faces.” Yusuf A.S sensing what Zulekha is attempting to do, replies, “This is how my Lord fashioned me in the womb.”“Oh Yusuf!" she says, “You have the finest of hair!” "It will be the first portion of me to wither in my grave," he replies.
Undeterred, Zulekha presses on. “Oh Yusuf! Your eyes are so beautiful.” “I use them to look at my Lord,” he retorts.“Yusuf, raise your sight and gaze at my face,” she responds. “I fear [if I do so] that I will be resurrected blind in the afterlife,” Yusuf A.S answers.
She tries to press herself close to Yusuf A.S but he moves away. “I come close to you, yet you distance yourself from me?” she asks. “I desire, by that, the closeness of my Lord,” he says.“ Yusuf, I have prepared my bed for you so enter under its sheets with me,” she says. Yusuf A.S replies, “Your sheets will not shield me from my Lord.”
“Yusuf, I have prepared the finest of silk covers, so I order you to fulfill my desires!” she exclaims. “If I do so,” he says, “My portion of paradise will be lost.”
Her attempt to seduce him was fruitless, and his desire to remind her of Allah was falling on a deaf heart. Allah recounts the story Himself:َنيِصَلْخُمْلااَنِداَبِع ْنِم ُ
هَّنِإَءاَشْحَفْلاَو َءوُّسلا ُهْنَع َفِرْصَنِلَكِلَذَك ِهِّبَر َناَهْرُب ىَأَر ْنَأاَلْوَل اَهِبَّمَهَو ِهِب ْتَّمَه ْدَقَلَوAnd she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord. And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our chosen servants. [ 12:24]
Yusuf aliyhis salam was a prophet of Allah who was in control of his desires. Zulekha, like you and I, was not. She allowed her desires to overcome her love for Allah. She found herself to be living with the object of her want, Yusuf A.S.
Zulekha eventually diagnoses the root cause of her disease when she says:ٌميِحَرٌروُفَغ يِّبَر َّنِإ يِّبَر َمِحَراَم اَّلِإِءوُّسلاِب ٌةَراَّمَأَل َسْفَّنلا َّنِإ يِسْفَن ُئِّرَبُأاَمَوYet I claim not that my soul [nafs] was innocent -- surely the soul of man incites to evil -- except inasmuch as my Lord had mercy; truly my Lord is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.' {12:53}
Her Nafs. Our Nafs. A beast inside each and every one of us that we must tame. An unbridled nafs will lead us to prefer all carnal desires over the love of what Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) call us to. Doing so will cause us ruin in this world, and in the next. Yet a nafs that has been tamed will learn to prefer Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) over all else, causing happiness in this world and in the next, as Allah tells us:اَهاَّسَد ْنَمَباَخ ْدَقَو )(اَهاَّكَزْنَم َحَلْفَأ ْدَق )( اَهاَوْقَتَواَهَروُجُفاَهَمَهْلَأَف )( اَهاَّوَساَمَو ٍسْفَنَوBy the soul, and That which shaped it. and inspired it to lewdness and Godfearing! Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who seduces it.--
When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by the opposite sex on the street, office or school, Shaitaan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Shaitaan is probably excitedly saying, with a big smile, 'Yes, yes, yes!' when we steer into the bait he is setting.
During these situations, we should immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glance we are obeying Satan. "O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil" {24:21}.
By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Shaitaan, we are giving him a "one-two" punch in the face 👊 :) leaving him frustrated and accursed. Shaitaan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let's all rebel against Shaitaan and expel him from our hearts.. In sha Allah.
Shaitaan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let's gather our forces behind the Qur'an and the Sunnah and defeat him.
Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Day of Ressurection and not an atom's worth of deeds will remain unexamined.
Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise, we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah An-Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly:"Say to the believing, men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. O you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah that you may attain success" (24:30-31)
The Messengers of Allah [Peace and blessings be upon them] taught us the cognizance of our souls, and gave us the tools to control our caprice, while reminding us that success can only come by the mercy of Allah [May He be glorified].
The story of Yusuf aliyhis salam and Zulekha explores the nature of desire, temptation, and envy that occupies space in all of our souls and leads many of us astray. [Big B]
![Righteousness is a must in transactions: Transactional worship implies being honest. It is treachery to say something to a brother of yours, trying to make him believe it is true while in fact it is a lie. A believer never lies. It was narrated by Abu Umama that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: The believer is naturally exposed to all traits except betrayal and lying. [Ahmad] You should be truthful, and being truthful is not a grey but a black and white concept, as much as that of gold and soil (being entirely unlike), or that of one dollar and a billion dollars (being thoroughly different). The believer is honest, straight, and spotless; he doesn't violate other people's integrity, always lowers his gaze; he is compassionate, fair to others, and humble. The belief is a set of rules of good conduct: “I have been sent by Allah (SWT) to be an educator, I have been sent to perfect noble conduct”. Believing is giving not taking, so the right way is to give not to take. A book was written once about the Prophet and the author wrote there: "To him who came to this life to give not to take, consecrate the whole existence, take care of man's cause, cultivate the ascendancy of reason, and alleviate the herd instinct. To him whose excellence, nominated him to be the best of all people, so he was singular among the others. To him whose clemency was his core, fairness was his law, compassion was his nature, and solving people's problems was his worship." The reality of transactional ibadat is to be righteous, honest, faithful, virtous, fair, humble, patient, and compassionate, “I have been sent by Allah to perfect noble conduct.” Faith is behaviour, so it follows that he who excels in behaviour, excels in faith. To be continued... In Sha Allah May Allah Bless us and guide us in all our affairs Aameen](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrJGBbTIZFIcNEW97GUA_m-RUjTLYUW-s9sEAD56SyJDzdHIak3TiOLLAp9DbqQ7U-JzBHTV8y7HgTKDk4l7xKYWCszhnjYkmHAxbwx0e8aTJ992IlCAwGyIeVdgheuiWqBVlbJuMrw/s640/The+Best+Life+Quotes.png "Ibadat (Worship) is the reason behind man’s existence")
![ISTIGHFAR (asking forgiveness ) ►Istighfar removes anxiety and duas are answered. ►Istighfar opens the door of sustenance ►Istighfar opens the door of mercy. ►Istighfar opens the door of knowledge ►Istighfar is also gateway of productivity ! ►Istighfar relieves you .. when you feel that sadness within you ..when you are disturbed and frustrated ..when anxiety surrounds you ..say Astaghfirullah Astaghfirullah .. Don’t leave Istighfar A man once came to al-Hasan al-Basri and complained to him: “The sky does not shower us with rain.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness (i.e. say أستغفر ألله).” Then another person came to him and said, “I complain of poverty.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness.” Then another person came to him and complained, “My wife is barren; she cannot bear children.” He replied: “Seek Allah’s forgiveness.” The people who were present, said to al-Hasan: “Everytime a person came to you complaining, you instructed them to seek Allah’s forgiveness?” Al-Hasan al-Basri said, “Have you not read the statement of Allah? ‘I said “Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance; increase you in wealth and children; grant you gardens and bestow on you rivers.”‘” [Nuh (71):10-12] There are two things in the earth that give a person safety and security from the punishment of Allah. The first has been removed, whilst the second still remains. As for the first, it was the Messenger of Allah (صلي ألله عليه و سلم).“Allah would not punish them while you were among them.” [al-Anfal (8):33] As for the second, it is istighfar. “Allah would not punish them as long as they sought forgiveness.” [al-Anfal (8):33]أستغفر ألله… أستغفر ألله… أستغفر ألله… Do not ever leave istighfar!](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FXvnyHnpEQ3xHoBM1j39A0KZM4tH1Aqi8WS7knIFEviocrorQACGTlQAM1lvEsQ0xW7Qhwnyu5d8OLVqtlqGDehyGqAsAhcbBSqyJkXv1_Cph-Wo2lQdkG1eOKmvUIfcf641oEO3pw/s640/ISTIGHFAR.png "ISTIGHFAR (asking forgiveness )")
![The Prophet said: “And follow up a bad deed with a good deed and it will wipe it out.” This part of the hadith illustrates that even those with taqwa, or fear of Allah (swt) may still slip and make mistakes. No one is perfect, but those who are from the mutaqeen or people of taqwa, do not persist in their sins. When they remember Allah (swt) they immediately perform a good deed to outweigh the negative effects of a bad one. Allah (swt) speaks of these people in the Qur’an: “And be quick in the race for forgiveness from Your Lord and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the mutaqeen, Those who spend [for Allah’s cause] in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men. Verily, Allah loves the doers of good. And for those who, when they have committed some evil or wronged themselves, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah – and who do not persist in what [wrong] they have done, while they know. For such, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing amidst them, wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers [of taqwa].” (Q. 3:133-136). SubhanAllah, may Allah make us of the muttaqeen, Aameen.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIHzXlgepQ4fbVHy4P4J-8O4iJiQ3TuWVhbvSRhDBEGpCrvBfimVtlJmF15mnrz1RVLViB8YRPtM4WqEO4RcoYi7KOu_Zz1a0FEA4WMLmbEzq_KE0HA4vn3OoYVCnxA67BHMvrVP4Ng/s640/Taqwa.png "“And follow up a bad deed with a good deed and it will wipe it out.”")
