Page 59 - The School of Yusuf (as)

Education In The School Of Yusuf

For one who has spent years under such circumstances, even a
small improvement in living conditions can be a great source of
happiness. A clean and bright cell is a gift of Allah for someone who
has spent years in an unlit one. And cleanliness, healthy food, the
company of good people, the ability to move freely outside, or even

just a window, can evoke profound gratitude. One who has experi-
enced such a trial will be much more grateful towards Allah for all
that he has been granted than one who has not.
One of the most difficult trials to live in the School of Yusuf is the
inability to be with other believers. For a believer, to be with other
believers, to converse with them, to remember Allah with them, and
to serve Allah’s cause together with them, is that which is most en-

joyable. But, being in the School of Yusuf separates believers from
one another. This is a condition that requires the patience of the
Muslims inside the prison, as well as those on the outside.
However, this situation makes known to both parties their impor-
tance to one another, and helps them to understand that Allah has
created believers as a gift to one another. Believers evidently love
and respect each other before being confined in the School of Yusuf,
but times of hardship and their separation are factors that enhance
and strengthen their love and respect for one another. Under such

conditions, seeing the face of another believer becomes a great
source of happiness.
One of the problems encountered in the School of Yusuf by be-
lievers is lack of cleanliness. Bediuzzaman, when speaking of the
difficulties of the School of Yusuf, mentioned his illness, old age,
and the constraints upon him, because Muslims are as much physi-
cally hygienic people as they are spiritually pure. They are cleaner

in their homes, in the food they eat, the cloths they wear and their

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