Tafsir of Surah Yusuf - Verse 100

Yusuf welcomes His Parents - His Dream comes True

Allah states that Ya`qub went to Yusuf in Egypt. Yusuf had asked his brothers to bring all of their family, and they all departed their area and left Kana`an to Egypt. When Yusuf received news of their approach to Egypt, he went out to receive them. The king ordered the princes and notable people to go out in the receiving party with Yusuf to meet Allah's Prophet Ya`qub, peace be upon him. It is said that the king also went out with them to meet Ya`qub. Yusuf said to his family, after they entered unto him and he took them to himself,

وَقَالَ ادْخُلُواْ مِصْرَ إِن شَآءَ اللَّهُ ءَامِنِينَ

(and said: "Enter Egypt, if Allah wills, in security.") He said to them, `enter Egypt', meaning, `reside in Egypt', and added, `if Allah wills, in security', in reference to the hardship and famine that they suffered. Allah said next,

ءَاوَى إِلَيْهِ أَبَوَيْهِ

(and he took his parents to himself) As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that his parents were his father and maternal aunt, as his mother had died long ago. Muhammad bin Ishaq and Ibn Jarir At-Tabari said, "His father and mother were both alive." Ibn Jarir added, "There is no evidence that his mother had died before then. Rather, the apparent words of the Qur'an testify that she was alive." This opinion has the apparent and suitable meaning that this story testifies to. Allah said next,

وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ

(And he raised his parents to Al-'Arsh) he raised them to his bedstead where he sat, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and several others. Allah said,

وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدَا

(and they fell down before him prostrate.) Yusuf's parents and brothers prostrated before him, and they were eleven men,

وَقَالَ يأَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَـى مِن قَبْلُ

(And he said: "O my father! This is the Ta'wil (interpretation) of my dream aforetime..."), in reference to the dream that he narrated to his father before,

إِنِّى رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا

(I saw (in a dream) eleven stars...) In the laws of these and previous Prophets, it was allowed for the people to prostrate before the men of authority, when they met them. This practice was allowed in the law of Adam until the law of `Isa, peace be upon them, but was later prohibited in our law. Islam made prostration exclusively for Allah Alone, the Exalted and Most Honored. The implication of this statement was collected from Qatadah and other scholars. When Mu`adh bin Jabal visited the Sham area, he found them prostrating before their priests. When he returned (to Al-Madinah), he prostrated before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who asked him,

«مَا هَذَا يَا مُعَاذُ؟»

(What is this, O, Mu`adh) Mu`adh said, "I saw that they prostrate before their priests. However, you, O Messenger of Allah, deserve more to be prostrated before." The Messenger ﷺ said,

«لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لِأَحَدٍ، لَأَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأَةَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوْجِهَا لِعِظَمِ حَقِّهِ عَلَيْهَا»

(If I were to order anyone to prostrate before anyone else (among the creation), I would have ordered the wife to prostrate before her husband because of the enormity of his right on her.) Therefore, this practice was allowed in previous laws, as we stated. This is why they (Ya`qub and his wife and eleven sons) prostrated before Yusuf, who said at that time,

يأَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَـى مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّى حَقًّا

(O my father! This is the Ta'wil of my dream aforetime! My Lord has made it come true!) using the word, `Ta'wil', to describe what became of the matter, later on. Allah said in another Ayah,

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ تَأْوِيلَهُ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُ

(Await they just for its Ta'wil On the Day the event is finally fulfilled...), meaning, on the Day of Judgement what they were promised of good or evil will surely come to them. Yusuf said,

قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّى حَقًّا

(My Lord has made it come true!) mentioning that Allah blessed him by making his dream come true,

وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بَى إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِى مِنَ السِّجْنِ وَجَآءَ بِكُمْ مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ

(He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison, and brought you (all here) out of the bedouin life,) out of the desert, for they lived a bedouin life and raised cattle, according to Ibn Jurayj and others. He also said that they used to live in the Arava, Ghur area of Palestine, in Greater Syria. Yusuf said next,

مِن بَعْدِ أَن نَّزغَ الشَّيْطَـنُ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِى إِنَّ رَبِّى لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَآءُ

(after Shaytan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Certainly, my Lord is the Most Courteous and Kind unto whom He wills.) for when Allah wills something, He brings forth its reasons and elements of existence, then wills it into existence and makes it easy to attain,

إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ

(Truly, He! Only He is the All-Knowing.) what benefits His servants,

الْحَكِيمُ

(the All-Wise.) in His statements, actions, decrees, preordain- ment and what He chooses and wills.

Verse 100 opens with the words: وَرَ‌فَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْ‌شِ (And he raised his parents up on the throne), that is, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) had his parents sit with him on the royal throne.

After that it was said: وَخَرُّ‌وا لَهُ سُجَّدًا (and they all fell before him in prostration), that is, the parents, and all brothers did sajdah before Sayyidna Yusuf I. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said that this prostration of gratitude was for Allah Ta` ala, and not for Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . Others have said that a Sajdah or Sujud (prostration) as part of ` Ibadah (worship) when done for anyone other than Allah has always been forbidden in the Shari'ah of every prophet. But, the Sajdah of Ta` zim (veneration) was permissible in the religious codes of past prophets - which has been prohibited in the Shari’ ah of Islam on the basis that it is a source of Shirk. This is confirmed by Hadith reports from Al-Bukhari and Muslim that Sajdah (prostration) for anyone other than Allah is not Halal.

And when both his father and mother, and eleven of his brothers, prostrated before him simultaneously, he remembered the dream he had seen in his childhood, and he said: وَقَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَـٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُ‌ؤْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَ‌بِّي حَقًّا : ` My father, here is the fulfillment of my early dream,' that 'the sun and the moon and eleven stars are prostrating to me,' and I am grateful that ` my Lord has made it come true.'

Rules and Points of Guidance

1\. When his sons requested Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) to pray to Allah for their forgiveness, he said, ` I shall (soon) pray to my Lord to forgive you.' He did not make that du'a instantly. He delayed it.

One of the reasons given by commentators for this delay is that he first wanted to check with Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) whether or not he has forgiven them - because, unless the victim of injustice forgives, there is no forgiveness from Allah either. So, this being the state of affairs, the making of a prayer for forgiveness was not appropriate.

Pointed to here is a matter of sound principle - that no violation of the rights of the servants of Allah (Huquq al-ibad) gets to be forgiven unless the holder of the right receives his right back, or forgives it - only verbal repentance for it is not enough.

2\. According to a narration of Sufyan al-Thawri (رح) when Yahuda brought in the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and put it over the face of his father, he asked: How is Yusuf? Yahuda told him that he was the king of Egypt. Sayyidna Yaqub (علیہ السلام) said: I am not asking if he is a prince or a pauper. I am asking how is he in his faith and deed. Then he told him about the qualities of his character and how God-fearing and chaste in conduct he was. This is how the noble prophets love and relate to their children. They are more concerned about the state of their spiritual life than they are with the state of their physical comfort. This is the model every Muslim should follow.

3\. According to Hadrat Hasan (رح) ، when the carrier of the good news arrived with the shirt of his separated son, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) wished to give him something in reward. But, life was hard, therefore, he apologized that there was no bread baked in the house for seven days and he could not give a material reward. However, he prayed that Allah Ta` ala makes the agony of death easy on him. Al-Qurtubi has said that this prayer was the best reward for him.

4\. This event also tells us that the giving of a reward to someone who brings a good news is a practice of the blessed prophets. An event relating to Sayyidna Ka'b ibn Malik ؓ from among the noble Sahabah is well known. He had not participated in the battle of Taber for which he was reproached and punished - though his repentance was later ac-cepted. When the man with the good news of this acceptance came to him, he gave the dress he was wearing to him.

In addition to that, it also proves that inviting friends over meals on occasions of happiness is Sunnah. Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ when he completed his reading of Surah al-Baqarah, shared his happiness with others by inviting them to eat with him for which he slaughtered a camel.

5\. The sons of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) once the truth had come out in the open, asked for the forgiveness of their father and brother. This tells us that a person who has caused pain to someone, by word or action, or remains responsible for returning any right owed to him, then, it is obligatory on that person that he must pay back that right immediately, or have it forgiven by him.

Based on a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ there is a report in the Sahib of Al-Bukhari that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: A person who has someone's financial right due against him, or may have caused pain to him, by word or action, then, he must pay it back today, or get it off his shoulders by seeking forgiveness - before comes the day of Qiyamah where no one would have any property or wealth from which rights could be paid back. Therefore, his good deeds will be given to the victim of injustice and he will be left empty-handed. And if, he has no good deeds in his account, the sins of the other person will be put on his shoulders. May Allah protect us all from this.

Patience and Gratitude:

The Dignified Station of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام)

To pick up the thread of the story, we see that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) starts telling his parents things which happened to him. This is a point where it would be useful to stop for a while and think. Had someone in our day been subjected to go through all those hardships which were faced by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and had he been enabled to meet his parents after such a long trial of separation and disappointment, just imagine where would he begin his tale of woes, how would he cry and make others do the same, and how many days and nights would he spend in recounting the hardships faced by him? But, the two parties, the teller and the listener, are both no less than two messengers and prophets of Allah. Worth observing is their conduct in this matter. Here is the very dear separated son of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، when he meets his father after having gone through the long period of so many hardships, see what he says:

وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِي إِذْ أَخْرَ‌جَنِي مِنَ السِّجْنِ وَجَاءَ بِكُم مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ مِن بَعْدِ أَن نَّزَغَ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِي

He favoured me when He released me from the prison and brought you from the countryside after the Satan had caused a rift between me and my brothers - 100.

The hardships faced by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) can be divided over three stages respectively: (1) The injustices of his brothers; (2) the separation from his parents; (3) the pain of the prison. What this great prophet of Allah has done is that, in his statement, he has changed the order of events as they had happened. He started from the prison. Then, he said nothing about how he had entered the prison and how he had suffered there. Rather, talked about how he was released from the prison and mentioned that too with words of gratitude for Allah Ta` ala. As a corollary of his release from the prison and his gratitude to Allah for it, he also told them that he has been in the prison for a certain time.

Worth noticing here is that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has mentioned his release from the prison. But, he has not said anything about the prison of the well in which his brothers had thrown him. He did not mention it even functionally, as in ` He released me from the prison - 100.' The reason is that he had already forgiven the mistake made by his brothers, and had said: لَا تَثْرِ‌يبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ (No reproach upon you today - 92). There-fore, he did not consider it proper to mention the incident of the well in any form whatsoever, so that his brothers may not be put to shame. (Qurtubi)

After that, he was supposed to dwell on the long and trying separation from his parents, and talk about how they had affected him. But, he set all these things aside. He took up the last part of it and mentioned his meeting with the parents and said so by thanking Allah for it: ` and brought you from the countryside (al-badw) ' to this city of Egypt. There is a hint here to the blessing of Allah that He brought Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) from his home in the countryside, where conveniences of living are scarce, to a city with royal honours.

The first stage of the trials of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has not been mentioned yet. This concerns the injustices inflicted by his brothers on him. It is interesting that he sweeps the whole thing away as a handiwork of Satan and makes things come easy even by suggesting that his brothers were not of the kind who would do something like that. It was Satan who deceived them and caused this rift between them.

This is the elegance of prophets. Not only that they would be patient against pain and hardship, but that they would invariably find the occasion to be grateful to Allah under all conditions. Therefore, with prophets, there is no state of being in which they are not grateful to Allah Ta’ ala. This is contrary to what ordinary human beings would do. In their state of being, they would have thousands of blessings of Allah Ta’ ala being showered over them, yet they would not talk about them to anyone. And when they have some hardship overtake them at some time, they would go about crying over it all their lives. The Qur'an has complained about this human mind-set when it says:إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لِرَ‌بِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ (that is, human beings are, to their Rabb, very ungrateful -100:6).

After having reduced the tale of his trials in three words, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) said:إِنَّ رَ‌بِّي لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ (Surely, my Lord does what He wills, in a subtle way. Surely, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise - 12:100).

Here the ‘couch’ does not mean a royal throne but the seat where Joseph used to sit and discharge the duties of his post; here prostration (sajdah) does not mean lying face down in the usual sense but bowing down and kneeling (ruku‘). This form of obeisance to a great man was prevalent in ancient times.