Yousef (Joseph) 6
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
- Modesty and innocence, the result of kindness
The holy Qur’an considers knowledge and wisdom as a reward given by God to the prophet Yousef, and it was because of his benevolence: وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ؛ When he came of age, We gave him judgement and [sacred] knowledge, and thus do We reward the virtuous (Yousef: 22). The following verse of this sura mentions the story of the sin that Yousef was invited to commit by the wife of the ruler of Egypt, and Yousef’s initial response was as follows:
وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ، وَقَالَتْ: هَيْتَ لَكَ؛ قَالَ: مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ، إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ؛
The woman in whose house he was, solicited him. She closed the doors and said, ‘Come!!’ He said, ‘God forbid! Indeed He is my Lord; He has given me a good abode. Indeed the wrongdoers are not felicitous.’ (Yousef: 23)
Yousef was naturally a young man with natural human lust, and when faced with such a call, his natural response could be positive.
The anger and lust of a man turns him from his way
It transforms the endurance of the soul
But Yousef responds negatively to this sinful call. The holy Qur’an considers this chastity and modesty of Yousef as the result of special divine attention and says:
وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلَا أَنْ رَأَى بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ، كَذَلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ، إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ؛
She certainly made for him; and he would have made for her [too] had he not beheld the proof of his Lord. So it was, that We might turn away from him all evil and indecency. He was indeed one of Our dedicated servants (Yousef: 24).
This is Yousef’s infallibility, which the Qur’an refers to as ” رَأَى بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ؛ He observed the opinion of the Lord’s”, it is the same as mentioned in the previous verses; آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا We gave him wisdom and knowledge; and it was considered the result of Yusuf’s benevolence and charity: وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ And this is how we reward the righteous.
From here we understand that the infallibility of prophets and imams is also a type of their knowledge of the truth of sins. All human beings are infallible in some matters. No normal person would drink a liquid that is deadly poisonous, even though he is very thirsty, or he would never walk across a bridge that is about to collapse, even though it is absolutely necessary for him to get to the other side of the bridge.
Doing good to others, in any way, leads to the salvation of a person in this world and the hereafter. Any person who helps to fulfill the needs of another person has done a moral act and will not be far from God’s observation. Benevolence is said to be something beyond the duty of each individual. A person who works hard for his family without reward has fulfilled his duty and should not consider this as charity. Or if he does something for someone else by receiving a reward, he has still fulfilled his duty against the wage he received; however, if he does a service for others without asking for or accepting a wage, that service will be benevolent and will bring many results and blessings of benevolence.
- Proper action of the assembly of sin
According to the report of the holy Qur’an, Yousef prayed and begged to the God, but even though he saw that the wife of the ruler of Egypt closed all the doors, وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ ; still he was not disappointed and ran towards the door to escape, while the wife of the ruler of Egypt was also running after him:
وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِنْ دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا إِلَّا أَنْ يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ؛
They raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind, and they ran into her husband at the door. She said, ‘What is to be the requital of him who has evil intentions for your wife except imprisonment or a painful punishment?’ (Yousef: 25)
This action of Yousef, which the holy Qur’an carefully mentions in detail, has several instructive lessons for humans:
- In facing the sin, one should not be satisfied with praying and asking God, but should take appropriate action to get saved from sin. Prayer not accompanied by movement is not the savior of man.
- It is not permissible to stay in the assembly of sin, because the temptations of the devil will lead a person to sin. If the person takes care of himself and does not become infected with sin, those who see him in the assembly of sin and do not know his intention of not sinning, will consider his sitting in the assembly of sin as the meaning of his acceptance and his company with sinners. However, they will consider him as a guilty person. It is an order from the holy prophet that: إتَّقُوا مَوَاضِعَ التُّهَم؛ Avoid places of slander” and Imam Ali, peace upon him, says: مَنْ وَضَعَ نَفْسَهُ مَوَاضِعَ التُّهَمَةِ فَلَا يَلُومَنَّ مَنْ أَسَاءَ بِهِ الظَّن؛ The one who places himself in the position of slander, should not blame who suspects him.”
- Don’t be disappointed that the roads are closed. Whoever starts something for God, if he finds the way closed, he should not despair, but should think, consult, and finally trust in God, and move. God will open the way for him. God Himself has promised that وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا; And whoever fears God, [God] will make a way out for him (Talaq: 2)
- In escaping from sin, one should not be ashamed of others. No matter how much a person is ashamed of the host or guests in the assembly, he must find a way to leave the assembly while maintaining the respect of the host.