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Last week we briefly introduced you to some of the ways emphasis is applied in the Qur’aan. The question posed was regarding two verses from Soorat Yoosuf, both taken from the speech of the wife of al-‘Azeez. Let us begin answering this question by looking at the second aayah first:

وَاسُتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَاء مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوَءًا إِلاَّ أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

So they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back. They both found her lord (i.e. her husband) at the door. She said: “What is the recompense (punishment) for him who intended an evil design against your wife, except that he be put in prison or a painful torment?” (Yoosuf 12:25)

This aayah is referring to the incident when the wife of al-‘Azeez tried to seduce Yoosuf by closing the door in the room where they were in and trying to tempt him towards her. As Yoosuf tried to run for the door and escape, her husband was standing on the other side. The wife of al-‘Azeez lied at this moment and blamed Yoosuf, saying that it was he, not her, who tried to force himself on her. What is the state of the wife of al-‘Azeez with regards to her feelings for Yoosuf here? Obviously she was at the height of her desire for him and so when she suggested he be imprisoned, she did not use any means of emphasis when making this suggestion because she was so in love with him and didn’t want him to be imprisoned at all. Rather, she was only saying this to appear innocent and not bring shame upon herself.

As for the first aayah:

قَالَتْ فَذَلِكُنَّ الَّذِي لُمْتُنَّنِي فِيهِ وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ فَاسَتَعْصَمَ وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ

She said: “This is he (the young man) about whom you did blame me (for his love), and I did seek to seduce him, but he refused. And now if he refuses to obey my order, he shall certainly be cast into prison, and will be one of those who are disgraced.” (Yoosuf 12:32)

This is at the dinner party where she invited the women who were gossiping about her after hearing what happened with her and Yoosuf in the room. She invited them to her home and called Yoosuf out into the room so they could see for themselves the beauty of Yoosuf that drove her to do such a drastic act. At this point, she still desires Yoosuf and wants to try to seduce him again but as a woman of beauty and power herself, her pride does not allow her to accept that Yoosuf would turn her down. Therefore, she says if he were to refuse her yet again, she will surely get him imprisoned and she uses two means of emphasising this to show her determination in this promise and this is due to her pride and anger at the thought of being rejected by Yoosuf again. Yet even if she does get him imprisoned, she will not cease to love him, and so she cannot think of him in a lowly manner and therefore she used the lesser form of emphasis when saying he will be of those disgraced.

Subhaanallaah! Allaahu akbar! This is from one of the greatest examples of the accuracy and precision of the Qur’aan. Even its letters on their own are a sign to its miracle.

This week’s question

Today’s question is somewhat easier than many of those we have posed before. Read the following two aayaat and focus on the highlighted parts:

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ وَلَكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَإِذَا جَاء أَجَلُهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

And if Allaah were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment). (An-Nahl 16:61)

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ وَلَكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَإِذَا جَاء أَجَلُهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ بَصِيرًا

And if Allaah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving (living) creature on the surface of the earth, but He gives them respite to an appointed term, and when their term comes, then verily, Allaah is Ever All­Seer of His slaves. (Faatir 35:45)

Both these aayaat are very similar but we want you to focus just on the two parts highlighted in each aayah. We often mention how every word, indeed every letter, is carefully and precisely placed in the Qur’aan the way it is for a reason. If we try to swap the first highlighted parts in both aayaat, we would have the following:

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا

Read the above two out loud and think why Allaah did not combine the two highlighted parts in this manner.

We asked you last week about why Ya’qoob, ‘alayhis-salaam, used a word that is used for blind people to address his sons who are not blind. The answer to this is that the use of this word is significant because the sons of Ya’qoob may not have been physically blind, but indeed their hearts were blind. So Allaah wants to convey this to us and has selected this word whilst referring to their act of searching for Yoosuf and Binyameen.

This week’s question

This week’s question is yet again from Soorat Yoosuf and this time we go back to the wife of al-‘Azeez and her desire for Yoosuf, ‘alayhis-salaam. Before we mention the aayaat, we need to give you a little background on ways of showing emphasis (tawkeed) in the Arabic language. When reading the translation of the verses of the Qur’aan, you often come across the words Surely, Verily and Indeed. These are the English subtitutes for conveying the emphasis in the Arabic origin. In Arabic, there are many ways of showing emphasis. From the most common are the use of the words Inna (إِنَّ), qad (قَدْ) and laqad (لَقَدْ) as well as a specific use of the letters laam and noon known as laam/ noon of emphasis. The laam of emphasis is simply implemented by adding the letter laam to the beginning of a verb. The letter noon on the other hand is added at the end of the verb and can either be noon saakin (lesser emphasis) or noon mushaddad (greater emphasis). So consider the following aayah:

قَالَتْ فَذَلِكُنَّ الَّذِي لُمْتُنَّنِي فِيهِ وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ فَاسَتَعْصَمَ وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ

She said: “This is he (the young man) about whom you did blame me (for his love), and I did seek to seduce him, but he refused. And now if he refuses to obey my order, he shall certainly be cast into prison, and will be one of those who are disgraced.” (Yoosuf 12:32)

The first highlighted word is originally yusjana and has had both laam tawkeed added at the beginning of it and noon tawkeed (mushaddad) added at the end. So therefore this is a very strongly emphasised word (i.e. that Yoosuf will be imprisoned). The second word was originally yakoona and has had laam tawkeed added at the beginning and noon tawkeed (saakin) added at the end. So we know right away that this second word is emphasised less than the first.

Compare this aayah to the ayah below:

وَاسُتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَاء مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوَءًا إِلاَّ أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

So they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back. They both found her lord (i.e. her husband) at the door. She said: “What is the recompense (punishment) for him who intended an evil design against your wife, except that he be put in prison or a painful torment?” (Yoosuf 12:25)

In this second aayah, there is no emphasis applied and the verb is as it is in its original form. In both verses, it is the wife of al-‘Azeez who is speaking. Contemplate on these three verbs and ponder over the context in which they are used. Why do you think she has chosen to emphasise her speech in one place more than the other and then not to emphasise at all in the second aayah?