God plans and we plan... - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 11]

Living The Quran Through The Living Quran - A podcast by QAIM Institute

On Day 11 of Ramadhan, we review the theme of God planning and we, human beings, also plan, but guess who prevails?? -----  (Remember the time) when Yusuf said to his father, ‘My dear father! I have seen (in a vision) eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them falling down prostrate (before Allah) because of me.’  Commentary NUMBER 11: The story of Prophet Yūsuf, as the late ʿAllāmah Ṭabāʾṭabāʾī states in Tafsīr al-Mizān is a story that starts with his dream in which he was given the good news of a bright future, and this instilled hope within him such that through this, he was able to forge ahead on the path of Divine training with patience. Although for us, dreams do not impose any duty that we must fulfill – meaning that Allah does not instruct us through our dreams – however for the Prophets and the Awliyāʾ of Allah, the dreams are ONE WAY for them to be given guidance or instructions, and we see this numerous times in the Quran – for example: [Remember, O Muḥammad], when Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many, you [believers] would have lost courage and would have disputed in the matter [about whether to fight], but Allah saved [you from that]. Indeed, He is Knowing of that which is within the chests. (7:43) In addition, the Quran tells us: And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, “O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said, “O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the steadfast. (37:102) Although dreams which we see may actually come true in our lives, however we must be careful not to over interpret them, or run to just anyone and ask them to elucidate what we have seen. What Prophet Yūsuf saw in this vision of eleven stars, the sun and the moon entering into submission (sajdah) before him or because of him is something unique - since celestial bodies such as these do not engage in prayers and certainly can not go into a state of sajdah like we do; so commentators of the Quran state that this indicates their total humility and submission to the decree of Almighty became manifest.  In any case, the actual interpretation of the dream of Yūsuf became clear to him many years later when he took over the reins of Egypt and his brothers and family journeyed to Egypt to see him. As the Quran tells us: And he raised his parents upon the throne, and they bowed to him in prostration. And he said, “O my father, this is the explanation of my vision of before. My Lord has made it reality. And He was certainly good to me when He took me out of prison, and brought you [here] from the bedouin life after Shaytan had induced [estrangement] between me and my brothers. Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise. (12:100) Point of Reflection Allah has a plan for everyone, and sometimes He makes that plan known to us in unique ways, however the aim in life should be to continuously work for His pleasure and do things which will get us closer to Him, and leave it up to Allah to do what is best for each and every one of us. -----  Quran audio files courtesy of: http://everyayah.com  -----  SUPPORT out videos by pledging a monthly amount at https://www.patreon.com/TheIPH  FACEBOOK: TheIPH  TWITTER: The_IPH  WEB: www.iph.ca & www.al-mubin.org