:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful)
Great thread idea, Dan! I have many favorite stories from the Qur'an to be honest. I'll try to mention the ones that engage my heart as you asked in your post and explain why some of these are my favorite stories:
1) So, one of my favorite stories from the Qur'an is how Zulekha, the wife of the king, attempts to seduce Prophet Yusuf
(peace be upon him) as you've already witnessed in reading the Surah Yusuf. She is so completely obsessed with him that she's willing to betray her own status as the king's wife to acquire her desire as if he's an object which she can possess rather than a human being with a mind and feelings of his own. It is one of my favorite stories is because as a I find myself fascinated with the different elements in the story: 1) her unrequited love, 2) her misuse of her position and power to try to seduce him, 3) how his status and knowledge as a prophet did not prevent him from feeling tempted, but he resists her because of his God-consciousness 4) her falsely blaming him for forcible sexual assault/rape when it was she was who the aggressor.
In some commentaries (though there's disagreement on the issue), it is said that Zulekha in the end became a pious believer, and Allah as a reward of her piety fulfilled her earlier and most fervent desire of marrying Prophet Yusuf
(peace be upon him); Zulekha's love and passion for Allah in the end, if these commentates are to be believed, surpassed her love and passion for Prophet Yusuf
(peace be upon him). Some might regard Zulekha as a villain, but she represents to me a flawed human being who is the grip of a most painful unrequited love; I feel sorry for her as I see her a victim of her own passion and love, and yet I also see her as someone who's strong and intelligent as exhibited in the story when she conspires to invite the ladies gossiping about her lust for Prophet Yusuf
(peace be upon him) to bear witness to his beauty and then avenges in so doing when they cut their hands in a way that dares them to mock her further. Also, mostly, we hear of men abusing power in both historical and contemporary societies; and this story to me serves as a good reminder that both genders are not immune to misusing their power to oppress the opposite gender when in a position of authority and influence; though this type of power misuse has been written in feminist treatises as a gendered issue specific to men, I think it is not the correct reading of reality as defined by human nature that hinges on the aphorism "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
2) I like the story of the boy who was learning from both a sorcerer and monk and then he realized that the monk, practitioner of monotheism, was on the path of truth in a society and time that worshiped the king when he asked Allah to guide him on this matter in a specific incident. So, the boy, after learning the truth in that specific incident, thereafter became a
wali (friend) of Allah. The cruel king who did not like the existence of pure monotheists as he believed himself to be the lord of the people ordered his men to kill the boy; but every time the king's men tried to kill him, they failed. The boy said that there is only one way in which he could be killed and the king asked what way was that. The boy said you will only be able to kill me if you follow my instruction of saying ":bism:" "bismillah" ("In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful") before proceeding with the intent to kill. So, the king did and pronounced ":bism:" before attempting to kill the boy and then so succeeded in killing the boy at a gathering of his people. As a consequence of this, the people believed in Allah and not the king as the lord. What the king had not wanted to happen had happened, which is that pure monotheism spread among his people; and the people refused to forsake pure monotheism so that they too were tortured and put to death by the king who could not abide that his authority and power be questioned and his lordship denied. This story is referenced in Surah Burooj, which is the 85th Chapter of the Qur'an.
3) Then, the story that I find another favorite is the story of Prophet Suleiman
(peace be upon him) ordering an
ifrit jinn to bring to Prophet Suleiman
(peace be upon him) at the bottom of the ocean a dome. In that dome in the ocean, a young man was found to be residing, and he reveals that he'd acquired this felicity on account of serving his pious mother in her old age and needs, and how her righteous supplication for her son was granted when she'd asked that Allah make him a home not on soil nor in the skies. Parents make a lot of sacrifices for their children, and I doubt we can appreciate those sacrifices until we become parents ourselves. So, I am touched how both a young man's devotion to his mother garnered him Allah's Well-Earned Pleasure so that the mother's supplication for her son was not only granted but granted in such a way that all his needs and wants were met. This story is not precisely mentioned in the Qur'an but it is a story that is tied to the many verses in the Qur'an revealed about Prophet Suleiman
(peace be upon him) in which he was given power over jinn and a kingdom like no other.
I'll add more stories
InshaAllah (God-willing) as I think of them, though right now I'm already thinking of the story mentioned in the Qu'ran of Queen Bilqis who would become Propher Suleiman's
(peace be upon him) wife, Pharaoh's wife Asiya, and Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him) being comforted that he's not abandoned by Allah, and other stories mentioned in the Qur'an that directly are tied to incidents of Prophet Muhammad's
(peace and blessings be upon him) life.
format_quote Originally Posted by
DanEdge
Greetings All,
What is your favorite story from the Quran?
I ask because I just finished reading Surah Yusuf, and I found that this is my favorite Surah so far. It is very enjoyable and well-written, reminding me of the stories my grandma used to tell me when I was a yound child. It's got positive, well-illustrated messages about compassion, forgiveness, and family relations -- as well as an engaging storyline with emotional highs and lows.
What are some of your favorite stories? I don't necessraly mean ones that connect with you on an intellectual/philosophical level, but rather the ones that engage your heart? Thanks for any replies, because I'm sure they'll inspire to continue my journey of enlightenment through the Quran.
Sincerely,
--Dan Edge