Day 122; Qur’an 12: 31-43, page 239 + 240

Welcome Friends:  Ahlan wa sahlan!

Please note that I’ve added important comments to yesterday’s Reading (in comment 5) and a footnote.

Yusuf Ali’s Translation of our new Chapter.

Muhammad Asad’s Translation of our new Chapter.

Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.

COMMENTS:

PAGE 239 Arabic Qur’an.

1.    As Verse 31 shows, Prophet Joseph’s seductress was no ordinary woman, but then again, he was no ordinary young man.  His virtue was incomparable; his handsomeness was such that the town-women couldn’t help but slice through their hands as they ate, referring their distraction to him not seeming to be mortal; he was ‘divine!’

Their cunning hostess responds in Verse 32, proving her point.  She also announces that she will continue to pursue him, despite his reluctance and choice of remaining chaste.  She also threatens him with prison.

2.     In Verse 33, Joseph calls upon his Lord to save him from these women’s guile (now they are ALL after him!) and announces his preference to prison than to fall prey to these lusting women.  He also acknowledges his weakness, in that he does not expect to be able to withhold himself from their advances.

In Verse 34 his Lord answers his prayer, but after a short while they decide to put him in prison (Verse 35).

3.     In prison, Joseph meets two slaves/servants who ask him about their dreams (Verse 36), to which he responds in Verse 37 by saying that his Lord had taught him how to read present events, and to project, or predict, what would ensue from them.  Then, he makes use of the occasion, as we see in the next verses, to guide them to faith in One God, and in the Hereafter.

PAGE 240 Arabic Qur’an.

4.      In Verse 38 he tells them of his heritage, as a Prophet following the ‘millahملّة- ’ or ‘ways/creed’ (Ali/Asad) of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Yusuf Ali also tells us of his modesty.

5.     In Verses 39- 40 Prophet Joseph continues, introducing his cell-mates to the Standard of Accountability which is upright/straight, and free of fault   الدين القيّم(for more info see April 5^th).  Ali and Asad translate this term as ‘right religion/ ever-true faith.’

It is important for us to learn from this story how to address people:  Notice the humbleness, the kindness, the endearing words such as ‘My Companions in Prison,’ the posing of questions to draw out listeners and get their response, even in silence!

 

6.     In Verse 41 he tells them in a few brief words what their dreams mean, while in Verse 42 he asks the cell-mate who is to be freed to mention him to his lord (meaning his king or master;  Ali’s comments say ‘pharaoh’ but there is no indication of that at all).  The freed person forgets, and only remembers a few years later when the king has a foreboding dream and seeks its interpretation.

It is interesting to note that our ‘forgetting of something important’ is attributed to ‘the Deviant/Sheytaan’ (HQ 6:68; 18:63; 58:19, which shows us quite clearly the mental limits of his ‘influence’ over us.  It also gives us one reason for seeking refuge in God:  Forgetfulness not only diminishes what we have- but could indeed cause us to lose everything!  

7.  In Verse 43 we learn the details of the king’s foreboding dream, and his urgency at having it interpreted.

Enough said!

 

Our next Reading is from HQ 12: 44-63.

Have a great Weekend.

Peace unto all!

Welcome Friends:  Ahlan wa sahlan!

Yusuf Ali’s Translation of our new Chapter.

Muhammad Asad’s Translation of our new Chapter.

Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.

COMMENTS:

PAGE 237 Arabic Qur’an.

1.  As the brothers put their plot to action and cast Joseph into the darkness of the well (Verse 15), God consoles the young lad, conveying to him that there will come a time when he will confront his brothers with their deed.

  

2.  In Verses 16- 17- 18 the brothers do their best to convince their father of their sincerity, but Jacob, peace upon him, does not believe them.  Trusting in God, he resigns himself to ‘exemplary forbearance’ (صبر جميل), so named in relation to the beautiful nature of his patience in adversity, a mental/spiritual/physical state he undertakes as he relies on Him.

It is important for us, as Believers, to train ourselves in the great virtue of Forbearance, or ‘sabr,’ which would help us interact with fellow humans in an exemplary manner.  We have already encountered this word 11 times since we began our Qur’anic studies, and we still remember the beautiful verses HQ 2:155 and 3: 142! (Copy + paste صابر in Tanzil.)

A HUGE incentive for us, to try harder to be among the Forbearing and Aware, is that these are the ONLY people whom the Qur’an actually says that ‘God IS WITH!’ 

When we put "إن الله مع" (with quotations) in Tanzil, we find mention of God being WITH the Aware 4 times, and WITH the Forbearing, twice.  And when we remember that ‘Taqwa’ or ‘Awareness’ IS, after all, the opposite of 'Udwaan' العدوان, or Aggression (Jan 1^st) , we realize THAT AWARENESS AND FORBEARANCE ARE INSEPERABLE, and one cannot exist without the other, just as in the story of the two sons of Adam (March 10^th).

Dear Reader:  Let us take it upon ourselves, as a self-challenge, to raise our level of Awareness and Forbearance, biting our tongues before we speak against people, or strike back at them.  Believers are people of virtue, and as such, we should attempt to behave in an exemplary manner!  Reread the story of the two sons of Adam mentioned above; remember how much we learnt from both the brother who was Aware, as well as the Aggressor.  It always helps to repeat the beautiful words of Prophet Jacob, peace upon him:

".......فصبر جميل والله المستعان على ما تصفون"

In Arberry’s explanation:

 “…….But come, sweet patience!

And God’s succour is ever there to seek, against that you describe.”

3.  Verses 19- 20 tell us how travelers who were passing by, found Joseph in the well…captured him, and sold him for a paltry price.

Verse 21 tells us of the nobleman who purchased Joseph, saying: “…..he may well benefit us, or we may take him as son….” which is similar to what the wife of Pharaoh had said when she found baby Moses in the river, as we can see in HQ 28:9! 

This nobleman treated Joseph well, helping him lead a life of stability.  In the meantime, Joseph learnt how to draw correct reference, foretelling upcoming events from the occurrences presented to him.

The word ‘Ta’weel –تأويل as defined on April 9^th, is from the root verb ‘awala’ which denotes both the first and the last; the beginning and end.  It is related to the culmination of things, in reference to their beginnings (the verb ‘aala, ya’oolu - آل- يؤول’ denotes returning to the first point of reference).

Verse 22 describes Joseph, peace upon him, as he grew into full manhood.

PAGE 238 Arabic Qur’an.

4.   Verses 23- 24 begin to describe the struggle between Temptation and Virtue.

Also, read Verse 24 in Yusuf Ali’s explanation.  

The woman’s primary designation being simply ‘she in whose house he was’ -as well as his reciprocal attraction towards her, and his resolve to be faithful to her husband and not to her, and the impersonal reference to her simply as ‘she’ in verse 26- ALL seem to imply that she was NOT the woman who had raised him as a child, but perhaps, a later wife of the man who, in fact, had raised him.

5.  Verses 25- 26- 27 are self-explanatory, and clearly illustrate her fierce advances versus his retreat, so that his shirt (qamees- قميص- ) was ripped from behind.  See footnote for Arabic Etymology.  (Interestingly, cut in Arabic is 'qad قد' which denotes a tall, vertical cut.  What a rich language!)

6.  In Verse 28 her husband makes the comment that indeed women’s ‘guile is great.’

In our next Reading we’ll see this comment corroborated by Prophet Joseph himself, after other women in his community ALSO use their guile and wile to entice him!

7.  In Verse 29 her husband advises both Joseph and his own wife, and seems to let the matter go at that, but things begin to get complicated (Verse 30) when the towns-women hear of the failed seduction!

Enough said! 

Our next Reading is from HQ 12: 31-43.

Peace unto all!
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‘Qameesقميص- ’ is the origin for the Spanish ‘camisa,’ and French ‘chemise,’ although there are those who say that this is not so, postulating that Arabs ‘did not wear shirts in Spain.’ But the word, which referred to an upper-body tunic IS in the Qur’an, which they would have to admit, IS a historic ‘document’ which dates back almost 1500 years!

Notice what it says on the Online Etymology Dictionary:

“late O.E., cemes "shirt," from O.Fr. chemise "shirt, undertunic, shift," from L.L. camisia "shirt, tunic" (c.400 C.E.; cf. It. camicia, Sp. camisa); originally a soldier's word, probably via Gaulish, from P.Gmc. *khamithjan (cf. Ger. hemd "shirt"), from PIE base *kem- "to cover, cloak" (cf. heaven). The French form took over after c.1200. Related: Chemisette.”

Notice what it says on Wiktionary:

Originally from Late Latin camisa, later reinforced or reborrowed from Anglo-Norman chemés, Middle French chemise, from the Latin.

Isn’t this incredulous?  Someone should get on this topic at once, and bring proper research (AND honesty) to the Etymology of European Languages- these people are losing integrity! 

Our Pakistani and Indian friends will be even more surprised to note that Wikepedia, after returning the word to Greek origins, incredulously states that the Urdu and Hindustani word ‘kameez’ was borrowed from Portuguese…!  What happened to the well-known FACT that both these languages are full of Arabic words, due to shared Islamic history!??

“For an alternative etymology from Persian via Arabic and ultimately Greek, rather than Latin roots, refer entry under Kameez.”

There can only be ONE reason for ‘scholars’ erasing all Arabic influence from world history- and that reason is NOT ignorance!

Now read the following, which IS scholarly, and even includes photographs:

"The shirt, kameez or qamiz, takes its name from the Arabic qamis. There are two main hypotheses regarding the origin of the Arabic word, namely:

1.that Arabic qamis is derived from the Latin camisia (shirt), which in its turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European kem (‘cloak’). ^[2]

2.that Mediaeval Latin camisia is a borrowing through Hellenistic Greek kamision from the Central Semitic root “qmṣ”, represented by Ugaritic qmṣ (‘garment’) and Arabic qamīṣ (‘shirt’).”

P.S: I will not get into the Etymology of 'cut'  from 'qad' at this point!