Q: In the Quran, we find an example of Prophet Yusuf (a.s.), a youth besieged by his instinctual needs, yet resisting temptation and refraining from committing any sins. How hard is it for our youth to follow the example of Yusuf?
A: When studying the position of Yusuf in his difficult trial, and comparing it with the experience of our youth nowadays, we realize that Yusuf’s experience was far more difficult than that of our youth nowadays. In contemporary times, the atmosphere of incitement is more common than in old times, and our youth have the choice of being drawn to it. On the other hand, Yusuf was not given the freedom of choice since he was a slave bought by the husband of the woman with whom he resided night and day before discovering the tempting side of his personality. We find that Yusuf was not attracted to this woman in any normal sense; he was not attracted to her sexually nor to her beauty. This means that Yusuf possessed a sense of infallibility against this temptation.
Q: In the Quran, we find an example of Prophet Yusuf (a.s.), a youth besieged by his instinctual needs, yet resisting temptation and refraining from committing any sins. How hard is it for our youth to follow the example of Yusuf?
A: When studying the position of Yusuf in his difficult trial, and comparing it with the experience of our youth nowadays, we realize that Yusuf’s experience was far more difficult than that of our youth nowadays. In contemporary times, the atmosphere of incitement is more common than in old times, and our youth have the choice of being drawn to it. On the other hand, Yusuf was not given the freedom of choice since he was a slave bought by the husband of the woman with whom he resided night and day before discovering the tempting side of his personality. We find that Yusuf was not attracted to this woman in any normal sense; he was not attracted to her sexually nor to her beauty. This means that Yusuf possessed a sense of infallibility against this temptation.