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Remember, the wakeful believer is one who refuses to condemn himself to a fate of failure, every time a test presents itself, whether in the form of a smile in the mall, a conversation within a canteen, or a DM.
Below are a few luminous examples of those who refused that exact fate:
1 | Prophet Yusuf (ʿalayhi al-Salām)
Perhaps the most famous of them was the example of Prophet Yusuf (ʿalayhi al-Salām), who found himself in a room with an ill-intentioned woman.
Allah says,
وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ
“And she – in whose house he was in – sought to seduce him, and she closed the doors and said: ‘Come to me’.” [1]
This was not your usual temptation. Consider the sheer number of factors that facilitated the potential crime that was laid bare before Yusuf (ʿalayhi al-Salām):
- Yusuf was a young man, when desires rage more than other times;
- Yusuf was single without any other permissible channel to redirect his desire;
- Yusuf was a guest in Egypt – strangers are less fearful of exposure than natives;
- Yusuf was a slave; hence Yusuf could have argued a case for coercion;
- She was a beautiful woman;
- She was a high ranking woman who was perfectly able to cover up the sin;
- She ensured complete privacy, having fastened shut all doors;
- She was the one making the move, so there was no fear of rejection;
- It was not a casual invitation, but one that involved an aggressive chase;
- She threatened to punish him, should he fail to comply.
So, this was not your standard “I miss you” message from an ex, but a fierce crossroads in the life of Yusuf (ʿalayhi al-Salām), and an intensely trying moment. Yet despite these factors combined, Yusuf’s response was one for the ages, saying:
مَعَاذَ اللَّه
“Allah forbid…” [1]
2 | A young merchant
A young merchant by the name of Abu Bakr was once walking through the streets to sell his goods. A woman opened the door of her home and asked him to enter so as to see what he was selling. No sooner did he enter, than she shut the door and enticed him towards the forbidden.
He admonished her, but it was of no use. She threatened to scream out and accuse him of attacking her if he refused. He reminded her of Allah, but to no avail.
When he saw that there was no way of evading the situation, he told her that he needed the bathroom. There, he defecated and smeared his body with it. He then came out to her.
Upon seeing this, she screamed and kicked him out of the house. As he walked through the streets in this state, the children pointed at him and said “Mad man, mad man!” He arrived home and washed himself.
Thereafter, the fragrance of musk emanated from his body until the day he died. [2]
3 | An Arab Bedouin woman
A man found himself alone with an Arab Bedouin woman. He seduced her, but she refused his invitation and said to him,
ثكلتك أمك أمالك زاجر من كرم ؟ أمالك ناه من دين ؟
“What is wrong with you? Where is your honour? Where is your Dīn?!” [3]
He responded to her jokingly, saying,
والله لَ يرانا إلَ الكواكب
“No one can see us except the planets.” [3]
She replied back,
وأين مكوكبها ؟
“So where is the One who put them there?” [3]
Commonalities among the above
What do all these examples, along with all those until the end of time who endure similar tests, have in common?
They feared the standing before their Lord on the Day of Reckoning, having led their lives as if they could see Allah.
Speaking about this blessed group, Allah says,
وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَب هِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى (40) فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَ ى
“But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires and lusts, Then surely Paradise – that will be the home.” [4]
In their explanation of this ayah, Mujāhid and Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said,
هو الرجل يهم بالمعصية فيذكر مقامه بين يدي الله فيتركها خوفا من الله
“This is in reference to he who intends on committing a sin, then remembers his standing before his Lord, and so walks away from it, out of fear of Allah.” [5]
This is the meaning of freedom and liberalism in their truest sense; to be freed from the constant impulses of both jinn and human whisperings, not living as a slave to the next image, next text, or communication.
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Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] al-Qur’ān, 12:23
[2] al-Targhīb wa al-Tarhīb, al-Yāfi’i
[3] Shu’ab ul-Īmān by al-Bayhaqi’
[4] al-Qur’ān, 79:40-41
[5] Tafsīr al-Qurtubi
