Speaker: Hasan as-Somali 

Category: Aqeedah

Date: 21st May, 2018

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Brief Notes From The Lecture

• Ramaḍān is the month of the Qur’ān.
• Allāh says,

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ

• The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'ān (Sūrah al-Baqarah; 2:185)
• Allāh also says,

وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ    

• And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things and as guidance and mercy and good tidings for the Muslims. (Sūrah al-Nahl; 16:89)
• This brief lesson is about a supplication of the Prophet Yūsuf, which is found in the Book of Allāh in Sūrah Yūsuf
• This is beneficial for every Muslim because it directs us to one of the greatest means to escape sins and disobedience and to remain upon istiqāmah (uprightness and piety).
• The supplication is as follows:

قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ                 

• He said, "My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and [thus] be of the ignorant." (Sūrah Yūsuf; 12:33)
• “And that which they invite me to” – because they tried to seduce him and lower him to the disobedience of Allāh.
• In this āyah we find one of the greatest means in safeguarding oneself from disobeying Allāh and falling into sins and falling prey to the plots of those who may want evil for us.
• Al-'Allāmah al-Si’dī (May Allāh have mercy on him), compiled a beneficial treaty entitled “Benefits Derived From The Story Of Yūsuf”.
• Points of Benefits:
• It is upon the servant to turn to Allāh (Tabāraka wa Ta’ālà) when fearing falling into the trials of disobedience and sin, while being patient and striving to stay far away from them as was done by Yūsuf when he supplicated to his Lord.
• There is no might, no power, no protection except with Allāh.”
• The servant is commanded to perform the obligations, stay away from the prohibitions and be patient upon what was decreed while seeking the aid of Allāh.
• Allāh answered his supplication and protected him from the plot of these women who tried to lead him astray. Verily Allāh is The All-Hearer and The All-Knower:

فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ فَصَرَفَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

•  “So his Lord responded to him and averted from him their plan. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” (Sūrah Yūsuf: 12:34)
•  Look how Allāh closes this āyah with two of His Beautiful Names: Al-Samī’ and Al-'Alīm.
•  If you supplicate to Allāh in difficulty, weakness, [and] sincerity, and you fear you may fall into disobedience, Allāh is the All-Hearer.
•  Allāh says,

ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

• "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." (Sūrah Ghāfir; 40:60)
• Allāh knows our situation and what’s in our heart, what is hidden and apparent. This is one of the beauties of knowing the Names of Allāh.
• “And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and [thus] be of the ignorant."
• Ibn Kathīr (May Allāh have mercy on him) said that Yūsuf is saying that if he is left to himself, the only thing he is left with is weakness and incapability. He is saying he doesn’t have the ability to benefit himself nor harm himself except with what Allāh wills; with the strength and protection Allāh affords him.
• Yūsuf was a Prophet of Allāh so what about us?!
• No doubt, if Allāh leaves us in the blink of an eye, what destruction we would face. For this reason, when someone is trying to lead us astray, remember the du'ā' of Yūsuf (‘alayhis-salām)