A Tale of Attempted Seduction – The Story of Zulekha

It was an amazing tale of attempted seduction. Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) lived for years in the house of Zulekha, a woman of beauty, power and influence. Day in and day out, Zulekha was exposed to his physical allure, a composition so stunning that the Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him and his family] said “Yusuf has been given half of all beauty” [Muslim]. Zulekha suppressed her desire for Yusuf until she could no longer control it. She waited until her husband left the home. Alone with Yusuf (Aliyhis salam) she locked the doors and called him to fulfill her lust. Imam Muhammad Al Qurtubi, the great Quranic commentator, recounts the story:

[After locking the doors] Zulekha attempts to seduce Yusuf. She beautifies herself in the most attractive of ways and says:

“Oh Yusuf! You have the most handsome of faces.” Yusuf, sensing what Zulekha is attempting to do, replies, “This is how my Lord fashioned me in the womb.”

“Oh Yusuf!”she says, “You have the finest of hair!” “It will be the first portion of me to wither in my grave,” he replies.

Undeterred, Zulekha presses on. “Oh Yusuf! Your eyes are so beautiful.” “I use them to look at my Lord,” he retorts.

“Yusuf, raise your sight and gaze at my face,” she responds. “I fear [if I do so] that I will be resurrected blind in the afterlife,” Yusuf answers.

She tries to press herself close to Yusuf, but he moves away. “I come close to you, yet you distance yourself from me?” she asks. “ I desire, by that, the closeness of my Lord,” he says.

“Yusuf, I have prepared my bed for you so enter under its sheets with me,” she says. Yusuf replies, “Your sheets will not shield me from my Lord.”

“Yusuf, I have prepared the finest of silk covers, so I order you to fulfill my desires!” she exclaims. “If I do so,” he says, “My portion of paradise will be lost.”

Her attempt to seduce him was fruitless, and his desire to remind her of Allah was falling on a deaf heart. Allah recounts the story Himself:

َنيِصَلْخُمْلااَنِداَبِع ْنِم ُهَّنِإَءاَشْحَفْلاَو َءوُّسلا ُهْنَع َفِرْصَنِلَكِلَذَك ِهِّبَر َناَهْرُب ىَأَر ْنَأاَلْوَل اَهِبَّمَهَو ِهِب ْتَّمَه ْدَقَلَو

And she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord. And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our chosen servants. {12:24}

Yusuf [alayhi as’salam] was a prophet of Allah who was in control of his desires. Zulekha, like you and I, was not. She allowed her desires to overcome her love for Allah. She found herself to be living with the object of her want, Yusuf (alayhi as’salam). Zulekha eventually diagnoses the root cause of her disease when she says:

ٌميِحَرٌروُفَغ يِّبَر َّنِإ يِّبَر َمِحَراَم اَّلِإِءوُّسلاِب ٌةَراَّمَأَل َسْفَّنلا َّنِإ يِسْفَن ُئِّرَبُأاَمَو

Yet I claim not that my soul [nafs] was innocent — surely the soul of man incites to evil — except inasmuch as my Lord had mercy; truly my Lord is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.’ {12:53}

Her Nafs. Our Nafs. A beast inside each and every one of us that we must tame. An unbridled nafs will lead us to prefer all carnal desires over the love of what Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) call us to. Doing so will cause us ruin in this world, and in the next. Yet a nafs that has been tamed will learn to prefer Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) over all else, causing happiness in this world and in the next, as Allah tells us:

اَهاَّسَد ْنَمَباَخ ْدَقَو )(اَهاَّكَزْنَم َحَلْفَأ ْدَق )( اَهاَوْقَتَواَهَروُجُفاَهَمَهْلَأَف )( اَهاَّوَساَمَو ٍسْفَنَو

By the soul, and That which shaped it. and inspired it to lewdness and Godfearing! Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who seduces it.

— When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by the opposite sex on the street, office or school, Shaitaan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Shaitan is probably excitedly saying, with a big smile, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ when we steer into the bait he is setting. During these situations, we should immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glance we are obeying Satan. “O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil” (24:21). By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Shaitaan, we are giving him a “one-two” punch 👊 in the face leaving him frustrated and accursed 😉

Shaitaan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let’s all rebel against Shaitaan and expel him from our hearts.. In sha Allah. Shaitaan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let’s gather our forces behind the Qur’an and the Sunnah and defeat him. Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Day of Ressurection and not an atom’s worth of deeds will remain unexamined.
Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise, we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah An-Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly:

“Say to the believing, men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. O you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah that you may attain success” (24:30-31)

The Messengers of Allah [Peace and blessings be upon them] taught us the cognizance of our souls, and gave us the tools to control our caprice, while reminding us that success can only come by the mercy of Allah [May He be glorified]. The story of Yusuf aliyhis salam and Zulekha explores the nature of desire, temptation, and envy that occupies space in all of our souls and leads many of us astray.