As salaam alaikum Reader,

I pray this message finds you well.

Just a few weeks ago I started a plant buying stint that entailed me waking up early in the morning and driving way out of my way to buy some new calatheas and other gorgeous plants to brighten up my space Alhamdulillah. One Wednesday morning I got up and out of the house around 6am and invited my young daughter to come with me for some much needed , and hard to come by, Mommy and me alone time. We chatted for a bit, and then she asked if we could listen to a story, so I began to play Bowing of the Stars, a retelling of the life story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) by Maryam Sinclair.

As we drove around engrossed in the retelling, it hit me how incredibly loving and merciful Allah was to Zulaykha. This woman was the center of a scandal. A married woman in love with her servant, and actually throwing herself at him on more than one occasion! This was a scandal that would make the headlines in any time and place. It's so unbecoming and so risky, and shameful; and yet, there is this strange tone of tenderness and compassion about this story. It struck me that as foul as many would deem this type of scenario, Allah never talks about Zulaykha in a disparaging way. It is clear she attempted a shameful thing, but we don't get anger or wrath or shunning in response to it. How strange I thought...how completely and absolutely peculiar. And then, how marvelous, how compassionate, how loving.

SubhanAllah. There is no doubt that the actions exhibited by Zulaykha in this story are not ok or justifiable. Even if Yusuf is the most handsome man in all the world at the time, still...she's a married woman who tries to force herself on him, and then accuses him of being the one who tried to seduce her...it's a whole hot mess... And at the same time the level of compassion shown for her in her moments of weakness are remarkable. Really, she is having a human moment. She is overcome with passion - right or wrong- and she acts out of character.

Allah is so merciful and compassionate to us. Allah is more understanding of our humanity and human weakness than we are.

Can we be human?

I mean really..can we mess up sometimes, and can we not BE our mistakes?

I've heard it said that to be human is to sin. And sometimes I feel that we think to be human is a sin.

I've seen in my own life and in my service as a coach, that sometimes we condemn people for their humanity.

Someone hurt our feelings, someone didn't pay us the attention we wanted or deserved, someone wronged us, lied to us, betrayed us even; and we throw them out, or swear to never forgive them, or hold their misteps against them forever. But really...can we all just be human beings with ups and downs, faults, shortcomings and sometimes act out of character, and be looked upon with an eye of compassion and forgiveness? I don't mean that forgiveness has to come with a particular relationship, maybe relationships need to change...but can we see ourselves and our own weakness in others and have compassion evenif there is also hurt.

Some scholars say that much later in life Yusuf and Zulaykha married, some say her husband was a Eunuch (as to explain away her feelings for Yusuf)... I dont know that any of that matters neccesarily.

I see a woman who could have been shamed for what she did. A woman who became the talk of the town and the subject of gossip. A woman who slipped up and was overcome by her feelings. I see a merciful Lord that didn't shame her as a person. A Lord that understands that sometimes our emotions get the best of us. A Lord that knows that even the noble among us can get caught up and forget ourselves in a state of passion. That too is on the spectrum of humanity. Yusuf humself says that it is only by his Lord that he too does not wrong himself.

I see a love story of God and His servants. His love for the one who remains constant in His remembrance, and His love for the one who slips up and forgets themselves, His love that sometimes pulls us from the brink of fire and doesn't forever chastise us for going there, but redirects us to a better path.

May Allah strengthen us on the path to Him and not leave us to ourselves for even a moment. May Allah allow us to be steadfast and firm on His path and to be loving, merciful, and compassionate to our fellow travelers even when they(and we) stumble, trip, or fall.

Wa salaam alaikum

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