Page 18 - The School of Yusuf (as)

THE SCHOOL OF YUSUF

subjected to this sort of treatment. Another fact believers learn
from the Qur’an is that all sincere believers who have experienced
such difficulties and hardship have confronted it with patience,
faith and submission.
For instance, when Prophet Muhammad (saas) was forced by

the idolaters to leave Mecca with his friend, and sought refuge in
the cave, he said: “Do not be despondent, Allah is with us” (Surat
at-Tawba, 40), thereby showing his faith and devotion. Therefore,
when encountering the same kind of difficulties, Muslims must re-
member to show similar devotion, not forgetting that Allah is with
them.
Prophet Shu‘ayb (as) called his people to believe in Allah, and

warned them against His punishment. However, out of both arro-
gance and ignorance, the leaders of his nation responded by threat-
ening him and those who followed him. The discussion that took
place between Shu‘ayb (as) and these leaders was revealed in the
Qur’an:
The ruling circle of those of his people who were arrogant
said, “We will drive you out of our city, Shu‘ayb, you and
those who believe along with you, unless you return to our
religion.” He said, “What, even though we detest it? We

would be inventing lies against Allah if we returned to your
religion after Allah has saved us from it. We could never re-
turn to it unless Allah our Lord so willed. Our Lord encom-
passes everything in His knowledge. We have put our trust
in Allah. Our Lord, judge between us and our people with
truth. You are the best of judges.” (Surat al-A‘raf, 88-89)
Shu‘ayb’s (as) determination, despite the threats and aggres-

sion issued against him, is another quality Muslims need to learn

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