I used to be obsessed with Surah Yusuf... the surah has deep personal significance for me, for reasons too personal to explain here...
two verses that stick with me
He said: "O my Lord! the prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me: Unless Thou turn away their snare from me, I should (in my youthful folly) feel inclined towards them and join the ranks of the ignorant."
Surah Yusuf [12:33]
I love how the Quran treats deep wisdom in a way like how a billionaire might treat a $100 bill..... it seems to me as though the Quran simply reveals tons of wisdom in brief verses as though its nothing.... wisdom that might take a writer pages to explain..... just in one verse.... not just in one verse but in just part of one verse.... and then more such wisdom within the same verse....
I am struck... Yusuf (may peace be upon him) would prefer prison to that which he was he invited... he would rather go to prison... and the verse shows also... that even prophets (may peace be upon them) are subject to temptation and it seems that even he was worried about the temptation and worried about falling into it... temptation is something which has to be taken seriously... even prophets (may peace be upon them) can be tempted it seems... thirdly I think the verse illustrates how sin actually has an impact on our cognitive abilities.... I tried to explain that to someone and I don't think they understood.... sin can take away from our ability to reason and understand things... were he to fall into sin from what I understand from that verse... he would be in the ranks of the ignorant... and so I think it actually would have affected his mental capacities.... I think even secular psychology has confirmed how sin can take away from ability to think clearly... I think this is shown by Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance
moving on
https://quran.com/12/54?translations=22,20
"Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely my Lord is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
Surah Yusuf [12:53]
I picture this as such a plot twist! The woman who tried to seduce Yusuf (may peace be upon him).... she confesses and repents! This verse is so shocking to me. I imagine if it was a Hollywood movie... such dramatic music would appear in this scene as she (up to this point a villain) confesses and repents and turns to Allah.... imagine if Darth Vader told Luke in the middle of a Star Wars movie: "I have indeed made mischief in the galaxy!" and then repented and turned to Allah... what a plot twist that would be!
I am so shocked by that verse. It's amazing how the woman who tried to seduce Yusuf (may peace be upon him)- and then had him thrown him prison...
she went and repented and turned to Allah! Maybe that is why Allah makes lives very often so long. Our lives are nothing in the big scheme of things in terms of length... but Allah could have given humans life-spans of 20 years rather than life-spans like 60, 70, 80. If I understand corrrectly, I think we're given that time so that we can repent and turn to Allah.
I feel sad for the people who leave this world very young- particularly if they live as many young people who don't think about God. To leave this world and not turn to Allah and believe in al-tawheed... that is terrifying. Me and my best friend used to live and think like we were invincible. Now he is gone. I have trouble wrapping my head around it and I don't know that I completely comprehend it. My mom told me that tomorrow is not promised and it is very strange how a person can be there and just be a regular person- and then the next day you never see them again and you're being told stories about what happened. A lot of people I grew up with have left ad-Dunya. For me this reinforces the temporality of ad-Dunya.
I am happy I remembered this verse. As I meant to mention Surah Al-Kahf. Today is Jummah and this is the day to recite Surah Al-Kahf.
Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world: But the things that endure, good deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes.
-Surah Al-Kahf [18:46]
We can't take our material things with us. Our good deeds will go with us, though!
I think of this message:
This life is temporary.
Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time."
-Surah Al-Baqarah [2:36]