A Timeless Tale

A Timeless Tale: Lessons from the Life of Prophet Yusuf

Opening Praise and Salutations

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I pray and submit to the One who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and those who were guided by his guidance and followed his Sunnah until the Day of Judgment and beyond.

Allah, the Exalted, said in His Glorious Book and His Praiseworthy Chapter:

"(It was not a narration invented, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and guidance and mercy for a people who believe)"

صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ (Allah the Almighty has spoken the truth).

The Beginning Point: Total Ignorance

Brothers and Sisters, it is a well-known fact that the beginning point of every human is total ignorance.

"(And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing) - Quran 16:78. And you exited the womb of your mother, Allah brought you into this world لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا (knowing absolutely nothing). So we all begin at a point of total ignorance.

And furthermore Allah reminds us that prior to death

"(Allah created you) ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ (and ultimately He causes your death) - Quran 16:70 وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَى أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ (And among you is he who is reversed to the most decrepit [old] age) - Quran 16:70. And some amongst you are returned to the wicked age, to the evil age, to the unpleasant age.

The word return, يُرَدُّ is suggestive of the fact that we previously were there. يُرَدُّ - Allah says you'll be returned. Meaning when we were born and our faculties had not developed and evolved, and we didn't have all the abilities and resources. And many a times Allah returns that condition to a person in the latter part of his life.

And then what does the Quran say?

"(So that he knows nothing after having acquired knowledge) - Quran 16:70. So that he knows nothing after having acquired a great deal of knowledge. So the beginning point was ignorance. The ending in many instances is a point of ignorance.

"(Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Competent) - Quran 16:70. Allah concludes the verse, it is the 16th chapter verse 70. Verily Allah is Most Knowledgeable and Most Mighty.

The Context of Allah's Attributes

The scholars of Tafsir tell us that wherever the attributes of the Almighty feature in the Quran, the translation remains the same but the connotations differ. So the translation of Aleem is all-knowing. The translation of Qadeer is all-powerful. But the connotations in the context of which it appears differs. So in the context of the ayah preceding this, Allah says prior to your death I can take away that knowledge from you. And I have the knowledge hence I know why I do what I do. And I have the power that I could bring about that condition

where a young man in his youth and his prime can lose his faculties. And I also have the power that I could preserve it for an old man despite his old age.

Imam Shafi'i said, (فَلَيْسَ الْمَرْءُ يُولَدُ عَالِمًا وَلَيْسَ أَخُو عِلْمٍ كَمَنْ هُوَ جَاهِلٌ - A) person is not born learned, and the one who has knowledge is not like the one who is ignorant). Dedicate yourself to acquiring knowledge. Because no human is born learned.

وَإِنَّ صَغِيرَ الْقَوْمِ إِنْ كَانَ عَالِمًا كَبِيرٌ إِذَا رُدَّتِ الْمَحَافِلُ إِلَيْهِ (And) a person might be junior by age, but if he possesses knowledge, then at the crunch and challenge you will realize that he is the actual senior despite the junior nature of his age). So it is upon us that we constantly educate ourselves.

The Fountain of Knowledge

In English there is a very profound proverb. They say some people drink at the fountain of knowledge and others only gargle. Some people drink at the fountain of knowledge and others only come and rinse their mouth. And today if you go on to social media and this forum and that forum and connections and links, by and large people are only gargling. Knowledge is something else. It's beyond my understanding and your comprehension.

In (صَبْرُ الْعُلَمَاءِ عَلَى شَدَائِدِ الْعِلْمِ - The patience of scholars upon the hardships of knowledge), Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah (رحمه الله - may Allah have mercy on him) has written that (قِيلَ لِلشَّعْبِي - Imam Sha'bi was asked) (مِنْ أَيْنَ لَكَ هُذَا الْعِلْمُ كُلُّهُ - How did you acquire all this knowledge)? He said with four things:

(بِنَفْي الاعْتِمَادِ وَالسَّيْرِ فِي الْبِلَادِ وَصَبْرِ الْحِمَارِ وَبُكُورِ الْغُرَابِ - By removing reliance [on people], and traveling in lands, and the perseverance of a donkey, and the early rising of a crow).

(بِنَفْي الاعْتِمَادِ - The first thing I did was I stopped relying on people). This is the problem we have in life. Constant dependence on this one, on that one. In fact many people say: People don't disappoint us. Our hopes in them disappoint us. We put in too many hopes. How many a marriage is turbulent? Why? There's no issues. It's just that you had raised the bar of hopes too high. That the day I get married I will never be sad, I will never be depressed, I will never be distraught. All will be hunky-dory. So you've raised the expectation too much.

(بِنَفْي الاعْتِمَادِ - I stopped relying on people). (وَالسَّيْرِ فِي الْبِلَادِ - And traveling in lands). Because travel itself is a journey. It teaches you. It empowers you. It broadens your horizon. And we can speak about that, you know, as a separate dedicated topic.

(وَصَبْرِ الْحِمَارِ - And the perseverance of a donkey وَإِنَّمَا ضَرَبَ الْمَثَلَ بِصَبْرِ الْحِمَارِ لِصَبْرِهِ عَلَى الْخَصْفِ - That why has the analogy been given with a donkey). A donkey would suffice on basic needs. Nobody recognizes the presence of a donkey. When you go on a safari and then you see a predator or you see a leopard or you see a lion, people stop, people pause. You go tour safaris and see about it. Or you see the great migration in the Masai Mara and the crossing of the wild beasts. It's a spectacular sight. But nobody says, Oh stop stop there's a donkey. In fact if you spot it, it makes of wisdom that you're silent about it.

So that's the nature. You committed to your cause whether the spotlight is on you or not. You committed, you dedicated. May Allah give us that sincerity in our endeavors.

(سُرْعَةُ إِيَابِهِ وَسُرْعَةُ ذَهَابِهِ وَصَبْرِ الْحِمَارِ وَبُكُورِ الْغُرَابِ - The speed of its return and the speed of its departure, and the perseverance of a donkey, and the early rising of a crow). It departs early and it returns early. So for a learner and a seeker, he has a timetable. He's committed, he's diligent.

Learning from the Tales of the Prophets

Imam Suyuti (رحمة الله عليه - may Allah have mercy on him) has written, and I'm just saying this as a forward and then inshallah address the aspect that I really want to speak on: How we could empower our lives from anecdotes of the Quran. And that's the verse that I recited (لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ - Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson) - Quran 12:111. Indeed in the tales of the prophets there is great reflection and introspection. If you study the life of any prophet (عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ مِنَ اللَّهِ - peace be upon him), it will bring a meaningful reformation in your life. And the Quran is replete with the tales of the prophets, peace be upon them all.

Five Qualities of Children

Imam Suyuti (رحمة الله عليه - may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned, and recently I came across this and I was blown away. And these were the great thinkers and these were the great scholars of the past. He said (خَمْسُ خِصَالٍ فِي الصِّغَارِ لَوْ كَانَتْ فِي الْكِبَارِ مَعَ رَبِّهِمْ لَكَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ - Five qualities in children - if the adults were to adopt these traits with their Lord, they would be the saints of the era).

What did Imam Suyuti (رحمة الله عليه - may Allah have mercy on him) say? (خَمْسُ خِصَالٍ فِي الصِّغَارِ - The kid, the toddler, the child, the junior, the juvenile, the youngster, kids - they have five qualities). (لَوْ كَانَتْ فِي الْكِبَارِ - If these five could be found in the seniors) (لَكَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ - they would become a sage of the age).

First Quality: Not Worrying About Provision

Number one : (لَا يَهْتَمُّونَ بِالرِّزْقِ - They don't concern themselves about sustenance). You would find a kid. He's never anxious or concerned or perturbed about the volatility of the market or the prediction of the economists or how precarious the political climate is or when would he increase and generate more revenue. A kid is not concerned about it.

And the average human, some because of business stress have become insomniac. They cannot sleep. And others, they cannot get up. Some are drowning their sorrow by sleeping extended hours.

(سَهِرَتْ أَعْيُنٌ وَنَامَتْ عُيُونٌ فِي أُمُورٍ تَكُونُ أَوْ لَا تَكُونُ - Some eyes stayed awake and some eyes slept over matters that may or may not happen). If you'll know what I'm saying here, my brother. Really (عُيُونُ سَهِرَتْ - some eyes cannot sleep) (وَنَامَتْ أَعْيُنٌ - and some eyes cannot get up) (فِي أُمُورٍ تَكُونُ أَوْ لَا تَكُونُ - fearing the instability of the world). It's volatile, it's precarious, it's uncertain.

فَأَذْهِبْ عَنِ النَّفْسِ هَمَّهَا - Just shrug your shoulders and take away that depression and that anxiety and that stress and that concern. The Allah who has nurtured you and taken care of you till today, do you think He will abandon you?

Look at the child. Sometimes we want to teach a child life, but the child teaches us a natural life. Children live a free life. They live a pure life. They don't know boundaries and parameters and prejudice and all these other things.

The first thing we learn from a child, Imam Suyuti said adopt it and you will be the sage of the age, you will be the saint of all times. (لَا يَهْتَمُّونَ بِالرِّزْقِ - They don't concern themselves about sustenance). And when will I eat and how will I eat.

The Arabic poet said (وَمِنَ الدَّلِيلِ عَلَى الْقَضَاءِ وَحُكْمِهِ بُؤْسُ اللَّبِيبِ وَطِيبُ عَيْشِ الْأَحْمَقِ - And from the evidence of destiny and its decree is the misery of the intelligent and the pleasant life of the fool). What is decreed by the Almighty - often in life you will find an unskilled man owning an empire and a competent skilled person looking for employment. That's the irony of life.

Is that not a loud message that your intellect is not the sheer vehicle to generate revenue? (فَلَوْ أَنَّ الْعُقُولَ تَسُوقُ رِزْقًا - If it was only intellect and how calculated and how methodical you are and you know which buttons to press, then well every wealthy man would have had an empire like Qarun). But the truth is otherwise. So that's the first thing.

Second Quality: Not Complaining to Allah When Sick

The second quality of kids is : (إِذَا مَرِضُوا لَا يَشْكُونَ مِنْ خَالِقِهِمْ - When kids are sick, they don't complain to their Creator). When kids are sick, you never hear them questioning the authority of Allah. Why has Allah inflicted this condition upon them? Wow, really? I think I'm wise, I think I'm intelligent. A child in his innocent, simple, naive nature. But why has Allah tested me? Why is this falling in my lap?

(لَا يَشْكُونَ مِنْ خَالِقِهِمْ - A child would never question). The patience, the perseverance, the tolerance, the innocence of a child teaches us a great lesson of life.

The Story of Qadi Shuraykh

Qadi Shuraykh was one of the great judges in the annals of Islamic history. He was a judge even during the (رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين - may Allah be pleased with them all) period of Sahaba. (سَمِعَنِي شُرَيْحٌ وَأَنَا أَشْتَكِي بَعْضَ مَا هَمَّنِي لِصَدِيقٍ - Somebody says . I was complaining and I was moaning and groaning to one of my friends). The times are tough, the challenges are tough. So Qadi Shuraykh heard me. He said (إِيَّاكَ وَالشَّكْوَى لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - Listen brother, how dare you complain to anyone besides Allah? How dare you tell other people about your issues)?

(فَإِنَّ مَنْ تَشْكُوهُ لَا يَخْلُو أَنْ يَكُونَ صَدِيقًا أَوْ عَدُوًّا - Because the person to whom you complain is either an ally or a foe. He is either a friend or an enemy). If it's your friend, you're going to bring grief to him, because he's going to know that my friend is going through challenges in his life. And if it's your enemy, he's going to clap hands. Probably he's going to express condolences and empathy and sympathy, but behind your back, he's like, good luck, you deserved it earlier.

And then he said (انْظُرْ إِلَى عَيْنِي هَذِهِ - Look at this eye of mine). (وَأَشَارَ إِلَى إِحْدَى عَيْنَيْهِ - And then he pointed to one of his eyes). He said (مَا أَخْبَرْتُ بِهَا أَحَدًا فِي هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا أَنْتَ - For 15 years I've had no vision in this eye, but I have never divulged this to anyone in that 15 years but you, and that is today, to teach you a lesson). Don't complain about what Allah has put in your lap.

Complaining To Allah, Not About Allah

I often say, it's perfectly fine to complain to Allah, but not to complain about Allah. Complain to Allah, that's fine. Oh my Allah, these are my issues, these are my challenges. A young man surrounded with temptation. I marvel at the choice of words of Amir ibn Abdullah al-Tamimi:

O my (اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ خَلَقْتَنِي بِأَمْرِكَ وَأَقَمْتَنِي فِي بَلَايَا هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا بِمَشِيئَتِكَ ثُمَّ قُلْتَ لِي اسْتَمْسِكْ وَلَكِنْ كَيْفَ أَسْتَمْسِكُ إِنْ لَمْ تُمْسِكْنِي بِلُطْفِكَ يَا قَوِيُّ يَا مَتِينُ - Lord, You created me because You've decreed my existence. Then You subjected me to temptation. By my nature, my anatomy, it's intrinsic to me, I have so many inclinations and passions. And then You impressed upon me to restrain myself. I implore You and I ask You respectfully: If You're not going to hold me, O my Lord, how am I going to resist temptation)?

Imagine this dialogue of this young man with Allah. And that was the munajat that the pious enjoyed:

(إِلَهِي كَيْفَ أَدْعُوكَ وَأَنَا عَاصٍ وَكَيْفَ لَا أَدْعُوكَ وَأَنْتَ كَرِيمٌ - my Lord, I cannot master the courage to supplicate You given my sins. And at the same time, I cannot forego the opportunity to supplicate You given Your clemency, given Your pardon).

So that's the second amazing quality of kids. The first thing is (لَا يَهْتَمُّونَ بِالرِّزْقِ - they don't concern themselves, they move on with life, they live naturally). The second thing is (إِذَا مَرِضُوا - when they're sick) (لَا يَشْكُونَ مِنْ خَالِقِهِمْ - they don't complain to the Almighty).

Third Quality: Eating Together

The third thing about children: (يَأْكُلُونَ مُجْتَمِعِينَ - They eat together). (يَأْكُلُونَ مُجْتَمِعِينَ - Children eat together, they share what they have). They're not in seclusion, they're not in isolation. They don't hoard, their hearts are too clean.

There was a friend of mine, his son was admitted, a child in a pediatric ward in a hospital. The parents came to visit, the mom hugs the child, kisses the child. As she's about to leave, the child from the rear holds on to mom. Mom, but that's not fair. Why my baby? You need to kiss all the children in this ward. Oh really? Wow!

When I grow up, I only kiss my color. I only salute my ethnicity. I only pay tribute to my own nationality. But the child teaches me there's no color, there's no boundary, there's no limits.

(يَأْكُلُونَ مُجْتَمِعِينَ - Children eat together openly). They don't have issues, they don't have gripes.

The sahaba complained to the Prophet, our food is running short. The Messenger didn't ask which pot you're cooking in, what spices you're using. Perhaps you're eating individually. (لَعَلَّكُمْ تَأْكُلُونَ مُتَفَرِّقِينَ - Perhaps you're eating individually). You're eating individually, eat collectively, sit together and eat - Sunan Abu Dawud 3764.

Back in the days, the entire family would sit together and eat from a common platter. Those days are gone, today people don't eat on a common time. The times have differed. Just for the entire family to assemble on a common time sometimes like you're sitting down after Jummah and you're eating and it almost feels like unique, oh wow! Why? Because everybody has their own schedule.

Homes have become like hotels. Not in its palatial nature, but everybody checks in and checks out at their own time. You don't know what's happening to the neighbour next door in your hotel. He comes in at his time and he

leaves. And that is what has happened with us. (يَأْكُلُونَ مُجْتَمِعِينَ

Fourth Quality: They Cry When They Fear

Number four - kids : (وَإِذَا خَافُوا جَارَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ بِالدُّمُوعِ - When they fear, they tear). When they fear, they tear. Kids are innocent, they cry. Allah loves crying.

My brother, my sister, when last did you cry in your supplication? You and I have to cry over the fact that we cannot cry. We need to cry that we cannot cry.

Look at the carnage happening around the globe. Look at the catastrophe that has rocked the planet. Look at the appalling status. Look at the poverty in the Muslim world. You can just see and it continues.

Prior to Ramadan, I was gone on the borders of Turkey and Syria to give out some aid to some orphans. And we're giving out some basic rice a day prior to Ramadan. And as we reach out to this little house and this mum who had come across and had to flee her native land by circumstances, she stands out. We offer the bag of rice. It's given to me as I'm the guest of the organisation. And she comes out with her 10 year old son.

Oh man, he just pierces a sword in my heart. And the little boy comes forward and the mum takes the bag of rice. She acknowledges us and she says, a moment, can I have a word? And I'm like, fine, please just talk. And so is the host that is part of organising the entire arrangement and the tour.

And the mum then indicates to us that the boy has a prosthetic right hand and an artificial left leg. And I'm seeing this with my own eyes in front of me. And my son is busy on his gadget. He's busy on his fidget spinner. He's busy perusing the wrong things. His hands are roaming around.

She then takes out the prosthetic hand and she explains that he's grown now so it needs to be modified for functionality to be restored. And the same applies to his foot. And I couldn't hold myself and I just break down in tears and