|

The importance of clearing your reputation

ByShaykh Haytham Tamim

After all Yusuf (peace be on him)’s trials, he was finally released from prison when the king saw a dream that no one around him could interpret it. Someone who had been in prison with Yusuf (peace be on him) remembered that he could interpret dreams, and went to ask him about it.

Yusuf (peace be on him) could have refused to interpret the dream until he was released from prison, but he didn’t – he gave the explanation on the spot. His explanation impressed the king so much that he ordered Yusuf (peace be on him) to be brought out to see him.

Yusuf (peace be on him) could have said alhamdulillah and seized the chance to get out of prison, but he didn’t. He told the king to ask the Aziz about the situation with his wife and the women of the city. The Aziz asked his wife about the situation, and she admitted that Yusuf was innocent and it was her who had schemed against him.

فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُ ٱلرَّسُولُ قَالَ ٱرْجِعْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَسْـَٔلْهُ

مَا بَالُ ٱلنِّسْوَةِ ٱلَّـٰتِى قَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى بِكَيْدِهِنَّ عَلِيمٌۭ

When the messenger came to him, Yusuf said, “Go back to your master and ask him about the case of the women who cut their hands. Surely my Lord has ˹full˺ knowledge of their cunning.”

قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَٰوَدتُّنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ ۚ

قُلْنَ حَـٰشَ لِلَّهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِن سُوٓءٍۢ ۚ

قَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ حَصْحَصَ ٱلْحَقُّ

أَنَا۠ رَٰوَدتُّهُۥ عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ

The King asked ˹the women˺, “What did you get when you tried to seduce Joseph?” They replied, “Allah forbid! We know nothing indecent about him.” Then the Chief Minister’s wife admitted, “Now the truth has come to light. It was I who tried to seduce him, and he is surely truthful.

ذَٰلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّى لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى كَيْدَ ٱلْخَآئِنِينَ

(Then Yūsuf said), “That was so that he (the governor) may know that I did not betray him in his absence, and that Allah does not lead the guile of betrayers to success. [12:51-53]

Yusuf did this because he refused to come out of prison with a tarnished reputation. His reputation was more important than his freedom – because he had his eye on something else; ultimately he would replace the Aziz himself as the ruler of Egypt. Without having cleared his name, this could never have happened.

Be confident in your good qualities

Having had his name cleared, he initially asked the king to appoint him as treasurer. He told the king about his good qualities, using the word hafidh – protector.

قَالَ ٱجْعَلْنِى عَلَىٰ خَزَآئِنِ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنِّى حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌۭ

He said, “Appoint me to (supervise) the treasures of the land. I am indeed a knowledgeable keeper.” [12:55]

He was not boasting about himself, he was talking factually about the qualities Allah had given him. We should always do this in moderation, and without making things up that are not true, but sometimes we do need to be honest about what we can do. There is no point in being humble in a situation where humility will not be appreciated: although we should not be arrogant, we should be confident in the qualities Allah has given us.

We do not know if the Aziz was a person of iman and taqwa, but we do know that the governance at the time was not an Islamic system. Nevertheless, Yusuf asked to be part of the system and Allah facilitated him to be in position of leadership.

Yusuf put himself forward because he knew he could do good. The lesson for us to take away is that if you can offer something good, don’t stay behind: come forward to serve and use what Allah has given you. Be confident in your qualities so that they can get you into a position where you can better serve Allah. We ask Allah to enable us to understand the qualities given to us, and appreciate them.

Interpretation of dreams

The ability to interpret dreams is not something you can learn from a book. Allah gifted it to Yusuf (peace be on him), but this is not something that everyone can master. Do not simply appoint yourself a dream interpreter with no knowledge.

Note that there is a book called Great Book of Interpretation of Dreams which is attributed to the seventh century scholar Ibn Sirin – but this is entirely false. Ibn Sirin was a great muhaddith and there is no evidence that this book was written by him.

In particular, if you have a bad dream, do not mention it to anyone. Spit towards your left side and say a’udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ar-rajeem. Don’t attempt to interpret the dream, just bury it and forget about it. If you have a good dream, you may share it with those whom you trust and who have knowledge and sincerity to get the full meaning.

We ask Allah to give us good dreams and a good reality.

Based on the khutbah delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 28th March.

Latest Blogs