"I heard Abu 'Abd Allah (A) say, 'A free human being is free in all circumstances. Should a misfortune befall him he bears it with patience (sabr). If calamities strike him, they don't shatter him. If taken captive and subdued; he turns hardship into ease, as was the case of Joseph, the truthful and trustworthy (may God's benedictions be upon him). His freedom saved him from harm, although he was enslaved, subdued, and imprisoned. The darkness of the pit, the dread and whatever befell him did him no harm, until God favoured him and made the insolent tyrant, who had been his master, his slave. Then God made him His apostle and through him was merciful to a people. In this way patience is followed by good. So be patient and reconcile yourself to patience in order to be rewarded: "
What I like about this hadith is that it put's a perspective of which a human can be dignified in every situation he faces. People can't take away your ability to chose who you are. And patience in the worse oppression is a choice we make to remain dignified.
I further like the perspective that "it did him no harm". We can look at from one perspective, and he was harmed, he was enslaved. We can look it from his long term soul perspective, and it wasn't harmed really. Even in that moment, he wasn't harmed despite being harmed in a different sense. Yusuf is Joseph though I don't know how similar the story is in Quran to the Bible.
What I like about this hadith is that it put's a perspective of which a human can be dignified in every situation he faces. People can't take away your ability to chose who you are. And patience in the worse oppression is a choice we make to remain dignified.
I further like the perspective that "it did him no harm". We can look at from one perspective, and he was harmed, he was enslaved. We can look it from his long term soul perspective, and it wasn't harmed really. Even in that moment, he wasn't harmed despite being harmed in a different sense. Yusuf is Joseph though I don't know how similar the story is in Quran to the Bible.
