From the Twenty-First Discourse—page 432
in Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master, by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi, trans. Muhtar Holland. An Ashki Book of Amity House, Warwick: 1988.
…So much for [Nimrod’s] claim to divinity! Do not belittle the grave, where pride in wealth and power ends up. It is either one of the pits of Hell, or one of gardens of Paradise. The Messenger, on him be peace, has told us so.
For the venerable Abraham, Nimrod’s fire turned to light.
For friends of Allāh, the Fire becomes a rose garden.
Because he had been negligent toward his Beloved, the venerable Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his own son. But because of Ishael’s obedience to his father, the knife did not cut. Joseph’s brothers were envious of him, so they threw him down a well in the land of Canaan. When he was found there by a passing caravan, his brothers sold him on the slave market in Egypt. Because Joseph controlled his lower nature, he became mighty in Egypt. Because Zulaykha was controlled by her lower self, that mighty queen fell into degradation.
Be master of your lower self; you will then acquire great dignity! If you become the prisoner of your lower nature, you will be degraded! Zulaykha was delivered from this degradation through her “metaphorical” love of a noble Prophet. Even if they are captives of their lower selves, those who love the Prophets will one day be brought to salvation by their loved ones.