Tafsir of Surah Yusuf - Verse 7

There are Lessons to draw from the Story of Yusuf

Allah says that there are Ayat, lessons and wisdom to learn from the story of Yusuf and his brothers, for those who ask about their story and seek its knowledge. Surely, their story is unique and is worthy of being narrated.

إِذْ قَالُواْ لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا

(When they said: "Truly, Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we...") They swore, according to their false thoughts, that Yusuf and his brother Binyamin (Benjamin), Yusuf's full brother,

أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ

(dearer to our father than we, while we are `Usbah.) meaning, a group. Therefore, they thought, how can he love these two more than the group,

إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِى ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ

(Really, our father is in a plain error.) because he preferred them and loved them more than us.

اقْتُلُواْ يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ

(Kill Yusuf or cast him out to some (other) land, so that the favor of your father may be given to you alone,) They said, `Remove Yusuf, who competes with you for your father's love, from in front of your father's face so that his favor is yours alone. Either kill Yusuf or banish him to a distant land so that you are rid of his trouble and you alone enjoy the love of your father. '

وَتَكُونُواْ مِن بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَـلِحِينَ

(and after that you will be righteous folk.), thus intending repentance before committing the sin,

قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ

(One from among them said...) Qatadah and Muhammad bin Ishaq said that he was the oldest among them and his name was Rubil (Reuben). As-Suddi said that his name was Yahudha (Judah). Mujahid said that it was Sham`un (Simeon) who said,

لاَ تَقْتُلُواْ يُوسُفَ

(Kill not Yusuf,), do not let your enmity and hatred towards him reach this level, of murder. However, their plot to kill Yusuf would not have succeeded, because Allah the Exalted willed that Yusuf fulfill a mission that must be fulfilled and complete; he would receive Allah's revelation and become His Prophet. Allah willed Yusuf to be a powerful man in Egypt and govern it. Consequently, Allah did not allow them to persist in their intent against Yusuf, through Rubil's words and his advice to them that if they must do something, they should throw him down to the bottom of a well,

يَلْتَقِطْهُ بَعْضُ السَّيَّارَةِ

(he will be picked up by some caravan) of travelers passing by. This way, he said, you will rid yourselves of this bother without having to kill him,

إِن كُنتُمْ فَـعِلِينَ

(if you must do something,) meaning, if you still insist on getting rid of him. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar said, "They agreed to a particularly vicious crime that involved cutting the relation of the womb, undutiful treatment of parents, and harshness towards the young, helpless and sinless. It was also harsh towards the old and weak who have the rights of being respected, honored and appreciated, as well as, being honored with Allah and having parental rights on their offspring. They sought to separate the beloved father, who had reached old age and his bones became weak, yet had a high status with Allah, from his beloved young son, in spite of his weakness, tender age and his need of his father's compassion and kindness. May Allah forgive them, and indeed, He is the Most Merciful among those who have mercy, for they intended to carry out a "grave error." Ibn Abi Hatim collected this state- ment, from the route of Salamah bin Al-Fadl from Muhammad bin Ishaq.

Commentary

In the first of the fourteen verses cited above (7), a notice of warning has been served to the effect that the story of Yusuf, peace be on him, should not be taken as a common story - because, in it, there are great signs of the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala, and His instructions, both for those who have asked and for those who would seek guidance through it.

The statement made here could be explained by saying that the signs referred to here are for the Jews who had put the Holy Prophet ﷺ to test by asking him to relate this story to them. When, according to a narration, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was in Makkah al-Mu` azzamah, the news about him reached Madinah. The Jews living there sent a group of their men to Makkah to make investigations and test his claim to prophethood. Therefore, the question they asked of him was put in a somewhat vague manner, that is, ` if you are a true prophet of Allah, tell us about the prophet one of whose sons was taken from Syria to Egypt, an event which had caused his father to become blind due to constant weeping during his absence.

The Jews had chosen to ask about this event because it was not widely known, nor did anyone in Makkah was aware of it. That was a time when there was no member of the people of Book living in Makkah, one from whom some part of this story as appearing in the Torah and Injil could be ascertained. So, it was following this very question that the entire Surah Yusuf was revealed, a Surah which relates the whole story of Sayyidna Ya` qub and Yusuf (علیہما السلام) - and does it in such details as do not appear even in Torah and Injil. Therefore, when the Holy Prophet ﷺ described it, it was an open miracle shown at his blessed hands.

Alternately, this verse could also mean that this event in itself - aside from the question asked by the Jews - was full of great signs of the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala and that, in it, there were major elements of Divine guidance, and instructions and injunctions. One could imagine the destiny of a child who was thrown in a pit when the power of Allah took over, carried him from one stage to the other guarding him all along, from his childhood to his youth. Then, Allah Ta’ ala has blessed him with a divine colour as He would do with His special servants for he stood steadfast as His servant against trials which would make obedience difficult. It is all the more difficult when one is young and challenged by opportunities. But, here is he, armed with the fear of Allah. He holds his ground, controls his self from desiring the undesirable and walks out clean from the stranglehold of temptation. Then, the story tells us how Allah rewards a person who takes to righteousness and fear of Allah as his conscious and determined way of life, how He makes him rise higher than his adversaries in power and recognition, and how they stand subdued before him finally. These are lessons and truths, all pointing to the great signs of the Divine power which can be realized by anyone who would care to look and find out. (Qurtubi Mazhari)

This verse mentions the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . The reference is to the twelve sons of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، including Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . Every son from among them had their children. Their families prospered. Since the title by which Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) was known was Isra'il, therefore, all these twelve families were identified as Bani Isra'il (the children of Isra'il).

Out of these twelve sons, the eldest ten were from the first blessed wife of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، Sayyidah Layya, daughter of Layyan. After her death, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) married her sister, Rahil (See editorial note on page 156. ) (Rachel). She became the mother of his two sons, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and Benyamin (Benjamin). Therefore, Benyamin was the only real brother of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . The rest of the ten were his half-brothers from the father's side. Ralil, the mother of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، had died during his childhood at the time of the birth of Benyamin. (Qurtubi)

In the course of the last days of the Prophet Muhammad in Makkah, when Abu Talib and Khadijah had passed away, the people of Makkah intensified their opposition to him. In that period, some Makkans asked him about Joseph, whose name they had heard from some Jews during their travels. They asked him this question just to ridicule him, but God Almighty turned the thrust of this question against the interrogators themselves. By means of this story they were indirectly informed that they were treading in the footsteps of Joseph’s stepbrothers, while by the Grace of God, the prophet’s future would be like that of Joseph in Egypt. Jacob could see that among his children Joseph was the ablest and most pious. In him he could see the personality of a future prophet. For this reason, he was very much attached to Joseph. But his other ten sons looked at the matter from the worldly point of view. They thought that the most important in the eyes of their father should have been their collective group, because only that was capable of helping and supporting the family. In ancient tribal times the number (particularly male) of family members was of the utmost importance in defending and supporting the family. This one-sided view of theirs assumed such proportions that they thought that if they removed Joseph from the scene, they would have their father’s undivided attention. When they sat together to devise plans against Joseph, one of his brothers proposed that instead of killing Joseph, he should be pushed into some dry well. This was a special plan of God Almighty. It is the way of God, when a group is bent upon oppressing someone unjustly, that He makes them adopt such a moderate course as may open up new possibilities for their victim.