Surah Yusuf

২২ শে সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০১০ রাত ৯:৪২

P

lease note that our Tafsir of Surah Yusuf is an outline form, which is different from the other tafsirs which are in the regular book form.



1. "In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful (of all hose who show mercy), the Merciful."

The Arabic letter 'ba' which is the first letter in the first ayah of all but one of the sur of

the Quran is the 'ba of istiniya'.

o In addition to meaning that one reads this Quran in the Name of Allah (swt), it

also gives the meaning that one seeks help from Allah (swt ) in the effort.

2. "Alif Lam Raa. These are the a yat of the Book Mobeen ".

None of the mufasir know the true meaning of the three Arabic letters that begin some surahs

of the Quran.

o Although many have proposed several meanings for this, they do not have any

concrete evidence from the text.

o As a consequnce these will be some of the ayahs for which we take only the general

meaning and do not dwelve into the deeper meaning.

The general meaning that we can derive from these three letters is that Allah

(swt) is telling the Arabs at the Prophet (saw)'s time that this is a Book in

their language.

Ayat linguistically means 'signs' but here it specifically refers to the verses of the Quran,

each of which is a sign that it is from Allah (swt).

o After telling the Arabs that this is an Arabic Book, Allah (swt) reminds them of the

Divine Challenge that it poses by emphasizing that the very verses of this Quran is a

Sign for them.

Something that proves the validity of the Prophet (saw).

Because it is something that none of them could replicate.

Allah (swt) also uses the word Mobeen which roughly translated means "clear". This is to

reiterate that there is no doubt in either the Quran or the Challenge that it brought to the

Arabs.

This is a Book which was easy for them to understand yet impossible for

them to replicate. Neither of these facts were in any way disputed by them.

"clear" can also be used to mean this is a Book that makes things clear in

that explains and clarifies both ideas and actions fro the Muslim community.

3. "We have revealed it-the Quran in Arabic- that you may understand".

This shows that the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (saw) were the ones who were

specifically being addressed.

There is no viable excuse the Arabs can give for not understanding the message or the

miracle of the Quran.

No one among the Arabs ever complained that the Quran was in any unclear or hard to

comprehend.

4. "We narrate to you the best narration by revealing to you this Quran. Although before this you

were among those who did not know."

There were many people at the time of the Prophet (saw) who claimed they had definite

knowledge of what happened in the stories of the previous prophets, especially among the

Jews and Christians.

This includes the story of Yusuf (as).

The enemies of the Prophet (saw) even use to have them challenge the

Prophet (saw) with this information.

However here Allah (swt) tells them that He (swt) is the One who has the knowledge of

those events because He (swt) was the only One who was a Witness to those events.

o So the best narration, the best recounting, the best track to those events are only with

the Words of Allah (swt).

What is found in all other books is only guesswork and conjecture.

In the remainder of the Surah, Allah (swt) gives a detailed account

of the story of Yusuf (as) to further prove the Truthfulness of the

Quran.

The Prophet (saw) who never associated with the

Jews and Christians could never have such

knowledge.

5. "When Yusuf (as) said to his father 'O my father, I saw in a dream eleven planets, the sun, and

the moon and to me they sajedeen."

The word sajedeen in this ayah does not mean prostration as one does in worship, but it

refers to an action (such as bowing) one does out of respect for someone.

The transition from Allah (swt) addressing the Prophet (saw) in the previous ayah to

begining the story of Yusuf is seamless.

Only Allah (swt) has the ability to suddenly switch both subject and setting

in the telling of a story without the transition seeming out of place or

interrupting the flow of the story.

The transition is transparent to the reader, he does not feel a break in

the story.

In normal Arabic prose, this can not be established by any human

writer.

There are two types of dreams that a human being can have.

o One is what Allah (swt) calls in this ayat as a ruiya. These are dreams that have a

meaning and a purpose.

However to find out this meaning, one still needs Wahiy (revelation) from

Allah (swt).

In addition to the story of Yusuf (as), further evidence that a human can

have a ruiya is the hadith of the Prophet (saw) "If one of you see me in a

dream, this is for real".

o The second type of dreams are called akhlam , these are dreams which have no

meaning and are merely images that the mind produces which are a mix of

imagination and experiences that one has had.

o Because we do not have revelation from Allah (swt) we can not distinguish which of

our own dreams fall into which of these categories.

The human being is unable to interpret any kind of dream without Wahiy from Allah (swt),

because the meaning of these dreams is an issue of then ghwaib (unseen).

So any fortune-teller or soothsayer who claims to have this ability is a liar.

6. "He (Yaqoob) said 'O my son, do not relate to your brothers the events in your dream, for if

you do they will make a plot against you. Surely Shaitan is to man a clear enemy".

The reason that the brothers will make this plot against Yusuf is because they have hassad

(jealousy) towards Yusuf.

This hassad makes one behave like Shaitan because it makes one act purely

on the instincts without using the mind to think about what is the correct

course of action.

Jeaslousy is one of the manifestations of pride which is a

manifestation of the survival instinct.

It makes a person think only of himself up and try

to bring himself up by bringing others down.

When a human being behaves this way, there is no difference

between him and an animal.

o He is not using thought but rather allowing himself to be

lead around by his instincts.

At-Tatababi notes that Yaqoob (as) warns Yusuf not to tell his brothers about the dream even

before he interprets the dream.

o This clearly shows how concerned Yaqoob (as) was about the brothers plotting

againt Yusuf.

7. "And it shall be as you have seen. Your Lord will choose you and teach you the interpretation

of things and perfect His favor upon you and upon the family of Yaqoob, as He perfected it upon

your forefathers- Ibrahim and Ishaq. Surely your Lord is Knowing, Wise".

After warning Yusuf in the previous ayat, Yaqoob (as) is consoling him here and telling him

not to fear or grieve.

Yaqoob (as) tells Yusuf that the contents of his dream will come true and one day he will

earn the respect of his brothers.

Which he did not have at that time. They were a strong group who were

much older than him, and he was only a child.

[Fatoohi] Notice the "min" (from) which precludes "tawlil ahadith" (interpretation of

things), meaning the interpretation of things is a huge realm of knowledge and Yusuf (as)

would be given a portion of that knowledge.

o The entirety of that knowledge is only with Allah (swt)

[Fatoohi] Note that Yaqoob (as) says Allah (swt) will bestow His (swt) favor on Yusuf

before He (swt) says the family of Yaqoob. This follows the chronology of events that will

unfold through the story.

o First the favor will come to Yusuf (as) before it comes to the family of Yaqoob (as).

Yaqoob (as) mentions the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah (swt) and the unending

wisdom of Allah (swt) to let Yusuf know that no matter what happens, justice will be served.

8. "Surely in the story of Yusuf and his brothers, there are signs for the saileen.

Here a transition happens again back to the original dialogue where Allah (swt) began with

in the beginning of the surah addressing the Prophet (saw).

These three ayahs can be considered a summary of the entire surah.

Because in the end, the true conflict in this story is between Yusuf and his

brothers.

All that happens to Yusuf in this story is a consequence of the plot that the

brothers contrive.

Saileen can be translated to mean the questioners or those who question.

o One opinion among the mufasir is that this refers to the Jews and Christians who

used to question the Prophet (saw) about the stories of the previous prophets in the

hope that they could trap him.

o Another opinion is that this refers to the people in Makkah who used to question the

Prophet (saw).

This is the stronger opinion because there are indications later on that this is

Makki surah.

And it was very well known that the Prophet (saw) did not mix with

the Jews and Christians.

In addition to it's style, the Quran is also a miracle in it's contents. One aspect of the miracle

in contents is that it gives information that could not possibly have been known by the

Prophet (saw) or anyone else living at that time.

An example of this is the detailed story of Yusuf (as) that Allah (swt)

presents in this Surah.

First Allah (swt) presents the summary that has been mentioned above. The

Makkans knew nothing more than this. Only Allah (swt) can fill in the

details to the story outlined above.

o They knew that the Prophet (saw) never mixed with the

Jews, so there was no source for him (saw) to get such

detailed accounts except from Allah (swt).

9. "When they said 'Surely Yusuf and his brother are more dear to our father than us, although we

are a strong party. Surely our father is in clear error."

Since Allah (swt) already told us that this story is about Yusuf (as) and his brothers, they in

this ayat refers to his brothers.

The brothers see Yusuf and Binyamin as a separate group from them. Even though they

have the same father, they view them as different.

The brothers think Yusuf and Binyamin have gained more of their father's

love than they have (including their share of his love).

Some mufasir like Fatoohi have suggested that Yaqoob did indeed give a

greater share of his love to Yusuf

But there is no direct evidence for from the Surah.

He only uses inferences like ayah 84.

Because the brothers refer to Binyamin as Yusuf's brother instead of our brother, this is an

indication that the two of them had a different mother from these brothers.

The brothers knew Yaqoob (as) was a prophet and they were guessing that the reason why he

(as) was so protective of Yusuf (as) was because he (as) knew through Wahiy that there was

something special about Yusuf (as).

This jealousy and these imaginative and exaggerated thoughts were

something that was building among them for many years.

This was only one of several discussions that they had about several

observations that each of them had made.

o In only a single ayah Allah (swt) demonstrates both their

attitude towards Yusuf and Binyamin, and also how their

jealousy and animosity had built over the years.

The conclusion they reached about Yaqoob (as) loving Yusuf (as) and Binyamin more than

them was that "he was in clear error".

They talk about Yaqoob (as) as a sinner. This they do when they know he

(as) is a prophet and thus incapable of sin.

o This shows that their thoughts and their actions are driven

only be desire and not by a rational study of the facts.

o If they were to study the reality of the situation instead of

blindly following their desires, they would see that Yaqoob

(as) had done nothing wrong in merely loving his son.

Rather it is they who had done wrong by making such an

accusation towards a prophet of Allah (swt).

10. "Kill Yusuf or throw him into the earth, so that your father's love can be only for you. After

that you can be a righteous group."

One of the many components of the miracle of the Quran is it's ability convey a great deal of

information using only a few words.

o Here Allah (swt) presents the entire meeting that the brothers had in only a few

words.

This includes the conspiracy that they hatched, their twisted

reasoning behind their plan and even their way out of the evil they

commit once it is done.

What is actually a long meeting that went on for several hours is

summarized in these two short ayahs.

o The brothers came out with a conclusion about their

perception of Yusuf and a plan of action against Yaqoob

(as).

This is exactly the plan that Yaqoob (as) had feared

in ayat 6.

To throw into the earth is an expression that could give the meaning "to kill" or the meaning

of "to send him away to some far away land".

o The word "aw" indicates that there is a choice between the two (rather than tawkid

or emphasis of the kill command).

o However in the next ayah, one of the brothers presents sending Yusuf away as a

course of action they could follow. So the expression could not mean that in this

ayah. So the meaning they used here must be the first one which to "to kill".

o So there was not really a choice, in the end they planned to kill Yusuf.

Because the brothers were being driven by their desires, they did not realize that they could

not hide their plan from Yaqoob (as) since he (as) was a prophet.

They believed that once Yusuf was gone, they would be the ones to receive Yaqoob's love.

Furthermore even before initiating the haram (forbidden) action, that had already assured

themselves that they will receive forgiveness for that action.

This shows that they knew what they were doing was a great sin according

to their Shariah.

This along with their attitude towards Yaqoob (as) also shows that their

desires had blinded them to the reality.

Allah (swt) in this ayah also demonstrates to us the nature of the human being before he

commits a sin. How he will justify it with a reason and even make a promise to himself that

he will be good once the sin is committed.

o Muslims are also often guilty of this justification thinking in that they try to find

some excuse for committing a forbidden action.

[Fatoohi] The brothers link taking Yusuf away from his father to they becoming righteous

people.

o Meaning they think that at that moment they were not righteous, but if they get rid of

Yusuf, their father's attention would be for them only, and this would make them

righteous.

They thought Yusuf was righteous because he had their father's attention

and they thought if they get rid of him, they will have all their father's

attenton and thus become righteous.

Shows how Shaitan can trick the mind into making many wrong

assumptions.

11. "One of them said 'Don't kill Yusuf. If you must do something (to get rid of Yusuf) then

throw him in gyabathil jub. The people who pass by (or the travelers) will pick him up."

There are some mufasir who say this speech is from a cousin of Yusuf. But there is no

evidence for this.

There is no other ayat or reliable hadith which confirms this opinion, so it

can not be accepted.

On the contrary there is evidence to indicate that this speech is from one of

the brothers, since the ayat refers to "them".

o This ayah indicates that among the group of brothers there

was one who seemed to care somewhat for Yusuf. It was

clear that he also had the jealousy for Yusuf and wanted him

gone, but at least he proposed an option where that objective

could be achieved and Yusuf still be spared.

[Fatoohi] Some mufasir have given names to this brother like Judah or Simeon.

o But again there is no evidence for this in the Quran, rather it is known it comes from

the Old Testament.

o So we can not accept this information.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether gyabathil jub refers to a specific place in the

land of Philistine (where Yusuf's family lived) or if it refers to the bottom of a deep well.

Both opinions are equally valid according to the language, and it is not

beneficial for us to debate continuously on which is the stronger opinion.

o There would be nothing relevant in that discussion because

it is not relevant to the lesson of the story.

o The general meaning that we can take is that this brother

suggested leaving Yusuf in some place where he might be

safe but he would definitely be gone from their family.

The next ayah will show that the brothers did agree on this option because through it they

reach their objective of getting rid of Yusuf and gaining their father's love , but they also get

to spare Yusuf's life.

This also shows that from the beginning they knew what they were planning

was wrong and they would have to make tawbah. So they wanted to choose

the lesser of the sins.

Some Muslims say this ayat is an evidence that our community can take the

lesser of two evils in certain situations.

But there is no evil in Islam, on the contrary Islam came to fight

evil. So this attitude can never be justified.

Furthermore the brothers of Yusuf (as) are not someone from whom

are our community can take legislation.

Firstly they themselves were not prophets, so they

are not a model to be followed in any way.

Second and more important is that our community

can only take legislation from our Prophet (saw).

Allah (swt) has told us that for every people

He(swt) has revealed a minhaj (way), and

this evidence that the past peoples had their

own Shariah and we have ours.

12. "They said 'O our father, what is the matter (with you) that do you not trust us with Yusuf

when we are certainly to him LaNasihoon."

Here is another example of the miraculous style of the Quran where Allah (swt) can change

the setting and context of the narration from one ayat to the next but not lose the meaning or

create confusion.

The narration suddenly (yet smoothly) transitions from the setting of where

the brothers are plotting amongst themselves to their conversation with their

father.

There is no confusion to the listener who hears the Arabic about any

of the details that have been left out (because they are not relevant to

the core of the story).

In only the two previous ayahs Allah (swt) gave us enough

information to be able to make this transition.

Only Allah (swt) has the ability to tell a story and give only the

relevant facts without the need to add any extra information to build

up to those facts (like a human writer would).

The Arabs who heard this at the Prophet (saw) were

amazed by it and realized it as a miracle.

o So that is how this Surah presents

the miracle of the Quran in both

ways.

o The story itself is the miracle by

content and how Allah (swt) uses

the Arabic to tell the story is the

miracle by style.

LaNasihoon can be translated to mean that towards Yusuf they have an intention to take care

of him and they plan to carry out the actions required to look after him.

The way the brothers are questioning Yaqoob (as) shows that there is and has been a lack of

trust between them.

The language indicates that they have requested Yaqoob (as) to give Yusuf

to their care on several previous occasions and he (as) had declined that

request.

o They ask 'what is the matter that you do not trust us with

Yusuf', this shows that they had asked him before.

o Just as Yaqoob (as) is aware that the brothers do not have

the best of intentions toward Yusuf, they are aware that he

does not have trust in them to look after Yusuf.

o This time however, they appeal to the emotions of Yaqoob

(as) and implore by stating that they are Yusuf's own

brothers (and his own sons) and they will be his sincere

protectors if he is given to their care.

They use the emotions of their father which

he has for them against him.

13. "Send him with us tomorrow (at the time of ) ghadban that he may enjoy himself and play

and we will certainly keep guard over him".

Since the brothers promise that they will keep watch over Yusuf and make sure he is safe,

this proves that they were not prophets because they made a promise that they intended to

break.

A prophet would never do this because it would violate his infallibility

(protection from sin).

So any narrations that claim that all the sons of Israel (Yaqoob) were

prophets has to be rejected.

o Some Muslims have adopted narrations from the Jews and

Christians called Israeli liyat and used this in their tafsir.

o These should not be accepted in the first place because they

are not supported by any evidence to show they are from a

divine source. They should totally be rejected when they

contradict something that is definite (qatai) like the

infallibility of the prophets.

This ayat also shows that Yusuf was still not a prophet at this point because he accompanied

his brothers to play as a small child would play (children can not be prophets).

The ruiya that he received in ayat 6 is not Wahiy as a prophet would receive.

o Although the dream did have a meaning, Yusuf as a child

did not know what it meant.

That is why he went to Yaqoob with it in

ayah 4.

Even when 'Isa spoke as a child it was a proof to Bani Israil that Mariam did

not commit zina.

It did not mean that 'Isa was a prophet when he was an infant.

He (as) performed other miracles when he was an adult to prove his

prophet hood.

Only when he attained maturity did he (as) call the

people to Islam, as did all prophets.

Ghadaban could mean the next day or some time between fajr and sunrise.

o Here it carries the meaning of the time between fajr and sunrise.

o [Fatoohi] This ayah represents many conversations the brothers may have had with

Yaqoob in order to persuade him to send Yusuf with them. So since the decision

rested with Yaqoob, they would not have themselves specified a time (like the next

day). Rather they would have said a general time of any day and let the decision with

Yaqoob as to which day it should be.

14. He (Yaqoob) said "It grieves me that you should take him away, I fear that the wolf will eat

him while you are heedless of him".

Yaqoob (as) tells them that he (as) would be greatly saddened if Yusuf should be killed.

Although the specific example of the wolf is given, Yaqoob (as) means any

way in which Yusuf could be killed if they were negligent in their care for

him.

Instead of accusing them of plotting against Yusuf, Yaqoob (as) shows kindness to his sons

and only says that Yusuf might be killed because they were careless in their guard over him.

In his dialogue, he (as) does not give the meaning that he (as) does not trust

them, rather he (as) gives the meaning that he (as) was overly protective of

Yusuf.

However the ayahs that follow (and ayah 6) clearly show that Yaqoob (as)

did suspect his sons of mal-intent (specifically towards Yusuf).

[Fatoohi] suggests the reason for Yaqoob (as) not exposing their true

intentions to them (and why he eventually gave Yusuf over) was because he

hoped his sons would eventually mend their behavior and become righteous.

15. "They said 'Certainly if the wolf eats him while we a strong party (are watching over him)

then we shall surely be losers".

The fact that they bring an excuse immediately to the exact scenario that Yaqoob (as)

proposes shows that they had planned this conversation before (preparing an excuse for any

reservations that Yaqoob (as) might have).

The Arabic letter lam which they used in the first word of their reply is the Lam of Kasun.

o This is a tool of swearing (strongly).

o They swore that if Yusuf were killed when he was under their care, then they would

be losers.

o This also proves that they can not be prophets.

They were willing to make any promise in order to achieve their objective.

Always driven by emotions (jealousy) and desire to gain Yaqoob's

love and using no thought.

16. "So when they took him away and they agreed to put him in gyabathil jub ,We revealed to

him 'You will surely tell them about this deed of theirs while they will not recognize you".

The crime that the brothers had been plotting all this time had finally been committed.

It was no longer simply a thought in their minds from jealousy. Now their

hatred towards Yusuf had become reality.

They showed no hesitation in committing what they knew was a crime.

o They were overly proud and confident in their strength as a

group.

o Their desires had blinded them to everything, but most of all

to the Hukum Sharii.

The speech of Allah (swt) that Yusuf heard was not Wahiy as the prophets would receive,

but it was a consoling voice to tell him not to despair or be afraid, to have patience through

this difficulty and to let him know that his situation will improve in the future.

o [Fatoohi] Still the words of Allah (swt) must have been more comforting to the child

than any human's could be, even that of his own father.

[Fatoohi] We should also note that Allah (swt) does not mention the crime itself in this ayah.

o He (swt) only says they planned to do it together and then says what He (swt)

revealed to Yusuf.

o The actual crime is only implied to rather than explicitly stated.

It was a style of story telling that when the narrator reached the portion

where some terrible event occurred, the event itself would not be described.

Rather only the events leading up to it and after it.

For example the death of an innocent person.

Because this surah was revealed at a time in Makkah when opposition to the Prophet (saw)

was at it's worst (the Quraysh were actually plotting to kill the Prophet (saw), Allah (swt)

consoles the Prophet (saw) with this story by letting him know that there were others like

him who suffered this way.

So in addition to the benefit that this Surah gives in being a proof for the

Prophet (saw) because it contains a highly detailed narration which all the

people of his time knew that he (saw) could not come up with on his own,

this Surah is also a consolation to the Prophet (saw) and the Muslims to have

patience and persevere in their effort.

o To remind them that no matter how powerful the enemies of

Islam are and how weak the Muslims are, they should

always have patience and continue in their efforts. In the

end Allah (swt) is with those you strive in His (swt) way.

o No matter how grim a situation might be for a believer,

Allah (swt) is always with them and Allah (swt) will always

look after them.

17. "And they came to their father at the time of 'Isha, crying"

'Isha is the time during the evening when dinner is served.

Some mufasir have said that even the time of day they returned to tell

Yaqoob (as) was part of their plot, because at this time it would be too late

to go and search for Yusuf.

o But there is no evidence for this opinion in the language.

[Fatoohi] Al Qurtubi has suggested that they chose to return at night so their

faces would be hidden in the dark, and it would be harder to tell they are

lying.

Also because they placed Yusuf in a well that was far away from

which he could not find his way home by himself (or the people

would not recognize him), so that it why they were late.

o Again there is no evidence for either of these opinions.

o Rather they can speculate on their possibility we should

leave them and focus on the main lesson of the ayah.

The extent to which the human being will go when

he is being controlled by his desires rather than the

thought of Islam.

The regret and sorrow which they displayed for their father was an act which they had

planned from the beginning.

Again forgetting that Yaqoob (as) was a prophet and thus they could not

hide their actions from him (as).

They hoped that with this act they gain his sympathy and forgiveness.

18. "They said 'O our father, we were playing a sport with one and other, and we left Yusuf with

our things. (In our absence) a wolf ate him, but you will not believe us even though we are

sadiqin."

The literal Arabic meaning for the sport they played was racing (to see who was the fastest)

but because they took Yusuf so he could play with them, it was likely a different kind of

sport which was not suited for young children.

A sport where they can leave Yusuf behind and play by themselves.

o The Arabs had a game where they threw spears while riding

on horses as training for battle.

The nature of desire is that there is no thought in it. It is only the instinct and makes the

human behave just like an animal.

It made them plot against their own brother and plot (lie) to their own father.

The only time that they actually used their mind was to cover up the crime.

sadiqin means those who are the truthful and those who always confirm the reality as it is.

They tell their father that even if they were this, he still would not believe

them.

19. "And they came with false blood on his shirt. He (Yaqoob) said "Your nafs have made a great

sin appear light in your eyes. (I can only have) fabsron jameel. It is only Allah whose help I seek

from what you say."

Some mufasir including Ibn Kathir have used Israeli liyat to say that the blood was truly

Yusuf's own blood and the brothers had beaten him get his blood.

However the language does not give this meaning. Rather it gives the

meaning that it was not Yusuf's blood, the translation of the words is 'false

blood'

So it was probably the blood of an animal.

Nafs is the desire and the instinct within the human. The inner voice that pushes a person to

satisfy his instincts without thinking.

Sawalath means their desires made their crime easy for them (by somehow

justifying their actions).

Here Yaqoob (as) clearly accuses them of plotting against Yusuf and of being lead by their

desires.

Although jameel in Arabic means cute or pretty, when it is used with the word sabr for

patience, it means a great and powerful patience.

Yaqoob (as) says that he will have patience with any situation Allah (swt)

has chosen for him without his doing.

o The situation is forced upon him and he accepts it with great

patience.

Similar to how Muslims must deal with Rizq, death

of a family member or hardship in the dawah.

[Fatoohi] Jameel here is derived from the word 'kameel' which means

perfect. So the patience of Yaqoob is 'perfect patience'.

The one that is without any compliant.

Yaqoob (as) acknowledges that no one can alleviate his situation except Allah (swt).

The language Yaqoob (as) uses shows how a great tragedy this was for him (as). To lose his

son at hands of his other sons who are criminals (liars and killers) in his eyes.

Even though they cried (like women) to convince Yaqoob (as) that the loss of Yusuf was a

great sorrow in their hearts, Yaqoob (as) did not cry.

o [Fatoohi] Nor did he raise his voice to scold them or to throw them out of his house.

Some would say he had every right to do so considering the seriousness of

their crime.

All of the plotting they had done now lead to this tragic situation arising within their family.

This is the culmination of all their jealousy and hatred.

20. "And there came a caravan of travelers and they sent their wardihom. He sent his bucket into

the well. He said "ya bashar, here is a boy." And they concealed him as a piece of merchandise

and Allah knew well what they did.

This ayat is another example of how seamless Allah (swt) can shift the context and timing of

a narration without the change seeming abrupt.

In the narration of the previous ayat Allah (swt) mentions the last plea of

Yaqoob (as) for help and here Allah (swt) tells us how Yusuf was rescued

from the well.

wardihom is a person who is sent to bring something, so this implies that he was sent from

the caravan to the well to bring water.

ya bashar : The word 'ya' is a way in Arabic to call someone. But there are two opinions

about the word bashar (or who is being called), it could mean that someone is calling the

wardihom from the caravan (bashar in this case being his name). It could also mean that the

wadihom is calling the good news that is coming to him.

That good news being his finding Yusuf.

The letter 'ya' at the end of the word bashar is used in the language to refer

back to oneself.

So the second of the two opinions is stronger.

Instead of showing shock or despair at the sight of a young child in a well, the wadihom

displays happiness by using the bashar.

This shows that slavery was common at that time

A young child in a well was only viewed as merchandise that could be sold

instead of as a human being in despair.

There are some Israeli liyat that say the wardihom was one of Yusuf's

brothers but there is no authentic evidence for this and further this opinion is

contradicted by other ayahs in this surah.

The "wa" in "wa asra ho" is the "wa of istinaf".

Instead of continuing with the speech of the wadihom (which would use wa

of ataf), this wa ends his speech and returns to Allah (swt)'s narration of the

events.

Asra means that they took him as a slave, it does not necessarily mean that

they concealed him.

"They" last portion of the ayat ("and Allah knew well what they did") refers to the brothers

of Yusuf and not the caravan people.

When Allah (swt) speaks of His Knowledge here it is a threat in response to

a sin that was committed.

Since slavery was commonplace, it was not the caravan people who

committed a sin by taking Yusuf, but rather it was the brothers who sinned

by leaving Yusuf without a protector (knowing well that a fate like this

might befall him).

o It was common at that time for a child who is found without

a guardian to become the property of those who found it.

o The blame here lies with the brothers of

Yusuf for leaving him in that situation.

o People who read the translation of the meaning of this ayah

in English and who have little knowledge of the customs of

that period in history would easily believe that this refers to

the caravan people instead of the brothers.

21. "And they shra him for a small price, a few dirhams, and they did not care much about it."

Allah (swt) uses the wa of ataf here because He (swt) is continuing the narration about what

happened to Yusuf after his brothers had left him in the well.

Shra can give the meaning of "bought" or "sold", but if it was used for "bought" in this

context the root word would have to be used as "ishtiriha" so it has to mean "sold".

They sold Yusuf for a small price because they used no effort in finding him. He was a

merchandise that had come to them very easily (he was just there in the well to find).

In the language of this ayah Allah (swt) emphasizes (tawkid) the idea that

Yusuf was treated simply as a merchandise who was sold for a very cheap

(to show what a bad position his brothers had placed him in).

[Fatoohi] It shows the great test that Allah (swt) had for Yusuf (as) by

making him go through this trial in which he was treated as such an

insignificant creature.

Not only was he a slave but he was a cheap slave.

There are other Israeli liyat which say it was Yusuf's brothers who sold him but this

contradicts the structure of the language in these ayahs.

So it also has to be rejected.

22. "And the man from Egypt who bought him said to his wife 'Be kind to him, Maybe he will

be of benefit to us or we shall take him for a son.' And for Yusuf We makana fil ard, that we may

teach him (tawellel ahadith) and Allah ganiyon 'ala amrihi, but most of mankind do not know".

In this ayat Allah (swt) shows that after all the suffering and hardship that Yusuf (as) had to

go through and as much evil as his brothers had done to him, in the end Allah (swt) has taken

care of Yusuf (as).

He was purchased by a kind man in Egypt who perceived and treated him

not as a slave but as a son.

[Fatoohi] It can be implied from the speech that man speaks to his wife that

he saw there was something special about Yusuf.

Makana fil ard means to establish Yusuf (as) in the land. To give him a position of security

and to give him control over the affairs of his life.

No longer would Yusuf (as) be helpless and at the mercy of others. Not only

does Yusuf (as) now have the protection of a powerful man in Egypt but he

(as) also now controls his fate, meaning he is no longer the helpless pawn of

others.

o Before this Yusuf (as) was always in the power of others

(brothers, slavers) who did with him what they wanted.

[Fatoohi] Allah (swt) mentions "to establish in the ard" as a response to what the brothers

had said about to "throw him in the ard".

o Instead of being destroyed by the earth, Allah (swt) meant that Yusuf (as) should be

established in the earth.

Tawllel ahadith can have many meanings. Allah (swt) could have taught Yusuf (as) how to

interpret dreams, or knowledge of the previous scriptures (Shariah of Yaqoob), or general

knowledge about the world.

It could mean either of these or all of them. The language allows for all

these possibilities and none of them contradict the others.

Ganiyon 'ala amrihi means the ultimate say in Yusuf's affairs is with Allah (swt). Allah

(swt) is the One Who has the final say and determination of what happens to Yusuf (as).

Despite what his brothers desired, in the end, what happened to Yusuf is

what Allah (swt) wanted to happen to him.

When Allah (swt) says "Most of mankind does not know" He (swt) is referring to the

knowledge of the unseen (ghayb) that He (swt) has given to Yusuf (as).

In Surah Jinn Allah (swt) says He (swt) gives knowledge of the unseen to

those of His servants whom He (swt) chooses.

This clearly shows that Allah (swt) only gives knowledge of the unseen to

the Prophets.

o Any human that is not a prophet can not have knowledge of

the unseen (jinn, angels, future).

o If anyone makes a claim today, they must be rejected.

o Any narrations or stories of people having knowledge of the

unseen must also be rejected.

In the ayahs about the battle of Badr, Allah (swt)

clearly says that He (swt) sent "soilders you could

not see".

As for the ayahs which talk about Mariam (as), we

have no details on how she interacted with Gibreel.

23. "And when he attained shadahu, We gave him knowledge and judgment. And thus do we

reward the mohsineen."

Allah (swt) uses the wa of ataf because He (swt) is continuing the narration of Yusuf (as).

Shadahu can have several meanings - one is the age when the body is at it's physical peak

and the other is the age when the mind is at it's mental peak and the other is the age is when

a child becomes responsible for his actions.

The mufasir also had specific numbers for which age Allah (swt) speaks about in this ayah

(40 years, 33, 25, 18,etc).

Each mufasir had a narration to support his opinion.

However the exact age is not relevant to the lesson of the story. Different

individuals reach their mental and physical prime at different ages.

The mufasir also disgreed about hukuman and 'ilman.

These words could mean wisdom, power, knowledge, ruling,etc.

The exact meaning of these words are also not relevant to the lesson of the

story.

The general meaning that we derive from this is that Allah (swt) rewarded

Yusuf (as).

The benefit of this ayah is that Allah (swt) rewards the mohsineen.

The mohsineen are the ones who serve Allah (swt) perfectly. Every action

they first check it with the hukum sharii.

All that Allah (swt) has given Yusuf (as) which He (swt) described in the

previous ayahs is a reward for Yusuf's patience.

o Despite this we should always bear in mind that the true

reward for all of Allah (swt)'s righteous servants is the

Hereafter.

23. "And she in whose house he was in, rawathdu him against his nafs. She closed the doors and

said 'Hay thalak'. He said 'I said refuge with Allah, He is my Lord. He has made my stay with

you honorable. Surely the wrongdoes never prosper.

rawathdu means she subtly suggested to Yusuf (as) the possibility that they could commit a

haram action.

Instead of directly mentioning the act, she slowly implied it in her

words.

This was how she approached Yusuf (as).

According to some narrations, she was called "Zaliha".

Allah (swt) does not use her name and in this particular ayat Allah (swt)

does not even refer to her through her title (wife of the Aziz) because the

action she committed (the subtle negotiation to a haram action) was a

shameful and evil deed.

nafs refers to the body of Yusuf (as). What she desired was only the body of Yusuf (as), and

this is what she tried to tempt with her words.

When Yusuf (as) did not respond to her subtle advances, she closed the doors as a further

incentive to lure him to her.

To give Yusuf (as) a false sense of security in providing an illusion that the

deed would go unnoticed.

The details of their conversation are left out because it is not relevant to the story. The

benefit that we derive from this ayat is that she tried to seduce Yusuf (as) through his body

and he resisted her and sought refuge in Allah (swt).

Hay thalak can be translated to mean "Now come" to indicate that she was calling Yusuf (as)

to her but a stronger opinion is the meaning "I am ready".

The mufasir had several opinions as to the exact meaning of this

phrase which she said to Yusuf (as).

Some of them even said it means "I have been prepared" but this

term was never used by the Arabs at the time of Prophet (saw) so it

has to be rejected.

It is not beneficial to debate the exact meaning of

what she said.

But the general meaning must be taken in that she

was trying to tempt Yusuf (as) by calling him (as) to

her.

The fact that she said "I am ready" clearly indicates that Yusuf (as) was resisting all her

advances. First she had subtly implied that they commit the haram action, then she closes the

door and finally this declaration.

This implies that the reason she was forced to make such a blunt statement

was because all this time, Yusuf (as) was resisting all her advances.

It was not her intention originally to show her desire so clearly by making

such a statement, but Yusuf (as)'s continued resistance of her left her with

no choice.

The mufasirs differed about whether 'Rabb' in this ayat refers to Allah (swt) or her husband.

If by saying 'the wrongdoers will not prosper', Yusuf (as) refers to the

present world, then it gives the meaning of her husband, but if he (as) is

referring to their status in the Hereafter, it refers to Allah (swt).

The benefit that we derive from this ayah is that Yusuf (as) rejected her in a strong way

despite the fact that she tried her best to seduce him.

Yusuf (as)'s rejection was complete, he (as) did not commit any action that

indicated that he (as) inclined to her.

o This complete rejection will be made clear when we study

the next ayah.

25. "And she made up her mind with regard to him, and he made up his mind with regard to her.

He saw burhana rabbi. It was so that We might turn him away from evil and faksha. Surely he

was one of the slaves mohliseen."

If the verb that follows qad is in the past, then qad is used to confirm that verb. However if

the verb that follows is in the future, then qad can be used to indicate doubt as to whether the

action of that verb was performed.

Since the verb that follows in this case is in the past, it clearly indicates that

they both performed the action, and Allah (swt) uses 'qad' to emphasize

this. That action being to resolve in their minds their final stance on this

situation. For Yusuf (as) that action was that he made up his mind that he

(as) definitely would not commit the deed. He made a resolution that he

would keep himself away from her. For the wife of the Aziz it was the

resolution that she still desired him (as) and would do anything to satisfy

this.

o The key difference in the actions they took however was

that while she was acting on her instinct and her desire,

Yusuf (as) was acting based on the thought of Islam.

o This was an extreme test for Yusuf (as) because as any

human male would he (as) also had an instinct pushing him

towards her ( just as there are narrations that say he (as) was

very handsome there were also those that said she had great

beauty).

o However, unlike her who surrendered herself to the push of

her instinct by calling Yusuf (as) to a deed which she knew

was wrong, Yusuf (as) did not take even the slightest action

towards her and did not even entertain the idea to.

Any action such as that would contradict his 'isma

(infallibility of the prophets).

There were several, often unreasonable and imaginative, interpretations give by the scholars

for the phrase burhana rabbi.

The literal translation is 'evidence from his Lord'.

But many of the mufasir in the past who did not know the limits that one

could go to when doing tafseer tried to give several explanations of what

exactly it was that Yusuf (as) saw.

o Some said that Yusuf (as) saw a writing on the wall that

said fornication was forbidden, other said that she had

covered her statue which she used to worship when she

approached Yusuf (as) and this image of a statue covered

with cloth made him (as) remember Allah (swt).

o However since there are no credible narrations to support

any of these interpretations, they all have to be rejected.

o The general meaning that we can take from this is what

Allah (swt) says following this word; that He (swt)

protected Yusuf (as) from indecent, dirty and evil things

because he (as) was among the mohliseen.

We can not speculate on how exactly Allah

(swt) did this because it is not given in the

language of the ayah nor in any narrations

about the ayah.

It could simply have been by making the

'Aziz come home at that particular time.

Rather than speculating on details which are

doubtful (and more importantly not relevant

to the lesson of the story), we take the

general meaning of the ayah.

Note the difference in what we have said from what is found in most translations (Yusuf Ali,

Pickthall). They claim that 'qad' on the part of Yusuf (as) means that he (as) would have

inclined towards her had he not seen burhana rabbi. We say that although Yusuf (as) was

human and his instincts might have pushed him towards her, he did not for a second yield to

his instincts. Rather he made up his mind that he would follow the thought of Islam which

forbids such evil deeds, and then Allah (swt) supported him in this decision with burhana

rabbi.

The scholars of language disagreed about the word mohliseen in this ayah. Some said it

refers to the chosen ones (the Prophets) and others said it refers to those who are sincere

(from the root word ikhlas).

Since both words describe Yusuf (as) accurately, both meanings can be used

in this ayah and neither of them contradict each other.

o The Quran often uses the language in such a way that it

gives multiple meanings, but they always fit the reality and

are never contradictory or confusing.

26. "And they both raced towards the door, and she tore his shirt from behind. They found her

husband at the door and she said 'What is the punishment of him who intends evil with your wife

except imprisonment or a painful chastisement?'"

It is implied in the ayah that they both heard the sound of someone approaching and because

of this they both raced towards the door.

She tore Yusuf (as)'s shirt from behind because she wanted to falsely show that there had

been a physical struggle between them.

Even at that moment when they were racing towards the door she was

already planning the scenario she would have to fabricate in order to protect

her crime.

Before the 'Aziz could examine the situation to try and discover what was going on, she had

already decided that Yusuf (as) was guilty and she was already speaking of the punishment.

She was both the accuser bringing the crime and the judge deciding on the

punishment for it.

o She also did not allow Yusuf (as) a chance to speak or to

defend himself against the accusation she had brought.

o Simultaneously she declares him (as) to be guilty and

condemns him to a painful punishment for his crime.

She showed Yusuf (as) no mercy and said that he (as) deserves a great punishment for the

crime she had falsely accused him (as) of.

The reason she calls for such a great punishment was to make it seem that

the crime committed against her was a great one and she was a victim who

had suffered a great deal.

o When in reality it was Yusuf (as) who was the victim.

o She tries to distract the attention of her husband away from

herself and the situation that he had found her in and focus

his attention on Yusuf (as).

27. Yusuf said "It was she who tried to make me yield (to her), and a witness testified 'If his

shirt is torn from the front then she speaks the truth and he is of the liars'".

There is a narration which a strong chain which said the witness who spoke here was an

infant. The exact hadith reads "The only two infants who spoke were 'Isa and the witness for

Yusuf".

Although this hadith is strong it does not reach the level of mutawittir

(impossible to be fabricated), so it has to be rejected because it contradicts

the beielf in our 'Aqeedah which says that only the prophets can perform

miracles.

o The ability to perform miracles has to be restricted to the

prophets because that is the evidence they have that they

have been sent by Allah (swt).

We accept that 'Isa (as) spoke as a infant because that is in the Quran (which

is mutawittir) and it was evidence for Maryam (as) from Allah (swt) that she

had not committed sin in bringing the child, however any narration that says

infants speak which does not come from a definite source has to be rejected

because it contradicts our 'Aqeedah.

Another opinion said that it was Yusuf (as)'s shirt itself which spoke and this also has to be

rejected for the same reasons mentioned above.

The opinion that can be accepted was that it was a man from her family.

Although this opinion does not have a stronger chain than the others, it does

fit the reality and it does not contradict our 'Aqeedah.

28. " And if his shirt is torn from behind she has lied and he is of the truthful"

This ayah continues the speech of the witness from the previous ayah.

The fact that his shirt was torn from behind was not a clear evidence that Yusuf (as) was

innocent, rather Allah (swt) made someone from her family see a sign in the shirt and testify

for Yusuf (as) and against her even though she was from his family.

29. "So when he saw his shirt was torn from behind, he said 'Surely this is the kydah of you

women, surely your kydah is great".

The mufasir differed on whose speech is in the second portion of the ayah. Some said it was

her husband and others said that is was the witness from her family.

The second opinion is stronger because the 'fa' that begins the ayah is the

'fa' of istinyaf which is used to continue the speech of the previous ayah.

Kydah refers to the evil and unjust act she committed against Yusuf (as) in ayah 26 where

she already judged Yusuf (as) was guilty without giving him (as) a chance to defend himself.

30. "O Yusuf, look over this, (O wife) ask forgiveness for your sin for surely you have been

at fault."

This is a request to Yusuf (as) from the 'Aziz.

He asks Yusuf (as) to look over this incident and not to dwell on it or bring

attention to it (in essence to cover it up).

The second portion of the ayah is directed towards his wife.

The forgiveness is to be asked from Allah (swt) or from Yusuf (as).

The 'Aziz says that not only has she been at fault in this incident but the

language indicates that she had been previously been guilty of this sort of

behavior.

o "Konthi" is a word used to refer to the past.

o This further shows that this speech is from her husband

because only he would know what she had been guilty of in

the past.

31. "And the women in the Madinah said 'The wife of the 'Aziz seeks her fathaha to yield to

her, surely she qad shagafa huban and we see her to be in clear error"

Madinah could mean the city where the 'Aziz lived or it could mean all of Egypt. The

language allows for both meanings and there is no additional text to indicate which is

stronger.

One opinion among the scholars was that this referred to all women in general who heard of

incident, another opinion is that it referred only to the upper class women and another is that

it referred to the co-workers of the 'Aziz.

The third opinion is the strongest because only those women close to the

family of the 'Aziz would have heard about this.

o Yusuf (as) was told to keep the incident a secret.

'Fathaha' can mean 'young boy' and can not be translated to mean 'slave' because it was

already established in the previous ayahs that Yusuf (as) was not in the house of the 'Aziz as

a slave but rather as an adopted child or a helper (someone to be relied on).

'Qad shagafa huban' This was a term that was used to give the meaning that the wife of the

'Aziz was exceedingly in love with Yusuf (as). Shagafah means the core of the heart where

the deepest emotions lie.

This term gives the meaning that nothing reaches there for her except her

love and desire for Yusuf (as).

This ayah shows the nature of some women and how back-biting was an accepted form of

conversation among them.

As each of them heard the news, they would exaggerate what they heard as

they told it to the next person.

They have nothing better or more constructive to talk about except talking ill

of each other.

o This also shows that there is a lot of competition between

each of them.

o They make themselves feel better by comparing themselves

to others and putting down other women down whenever

they get a chance.

32. "So when she heard of their makarun, she prepared for them a feast and gave each of

them a knife and said to Yusuf 'Come forth'. And when they saw him they akbarahu

(him) and they cut their hands. They said 'Hahsha lilah' this is not a man but this is a

noble angel."

Makarun refers to the speech of the women. How what they spoke was an evil speech.

Not only was it back-biting but it also had a crafty plot to attack the honor of

the wife of the 'Aziz and spread it throughout the community.

They were given knives because it was required for the food the type of food that they had

been served.

While the women were competing with the wife of the 'Aziz and trying to slander her in the

community, this ayah shows that she was also plotting against them. She purposely gave

them food that required them to cut it with knives, and when they were all in the process of

cutting their food, that is when she told Yusuf (as) to come out (at the precise moment when

they all had knives in their hands). She knew what they would do and this was all part of her

plan.

This further proves that they were all competing with each other and there

was a lot of animosity and jealousy between them.

o Allah (swt) shows us the nature of some women and the

extent to which they will go to compete and put down each

other.

Blindly following their instincts to gain superiority.

Yusuf (as) was not part of this plan but merely following her orders.

Akbarahu means to look upon something as if it were a great and tremendous thing.

When they saw Yusuf (as) it was not a passing glance but rather he (as) was

the focus of their attention.

o Yusuf (as) so captivated them that they even forgot the food

they were cutting, and so cut themselves instead.

o They were so captivated that at first they did not even notice

their injury.

There is no evidence to indicate whether or not this was the first time the women had seen

Yusuf (as).

Some mufasir have said that Yusuf (as) had never left the house of the 'Aziz

but there is no evidence for this from the text.

o This is a wrong opinion because this is a matter of the ghyab

(what we can not sense), and so we can not speculate on it.

There were different opinions about how exactly the women had cut themselves. Some said

they just scratched themselves, others said that had cut the sleeves of the dress, and others

said they cut the tips of the fingers.

All of these opinions are irrelevant for the purpose of the story. The general

meaning that we can take is that they were so shocked by the sight of Yusuf

(as) that they all hurt themselves in some way.

There are some mufasir who erroneously used psychology in their tafsir of this ayah.

They tried to judge the motives behind each of the parties in this incident

without any text to support them.

They said the wife of the 'Aziz had purposely leaked the events of this

incident outside her home, and the women of the city had then purposely

started rumors about her, and all this was so that they could see Yusuf (as).

o However these statements are all based on conjecture and

since there is no text to support them they have to be

rejected.

Hasha lilah has two meanings and they are both almost opposite of each other.

The first meaning describes that which is far from Allah (swt), like Shaitan,

the second meaning describes something that is great and powerful (like

Allah (swt)).

The first meaning appears to be stronger in this case.

o When they first saw Yusuf (as) they thought he (as) was

some kind of god but then they said "Hasha lilah" to move

their perception of him away from that, then they thought

him to be human and when they saw that did not fit either,

they decided that he was an angel.

33. She said 'This is he about whom you blamed me. I did seek to seduce him against his will, but

he fasth'asm. And now if he does not do what I command, he will be imprisoned and be among

the disgraced'.

The wife of the 'Aziz wants to show the women how handsome and irresistible Yusuf (as)

was.

The fact that they had cut themselves when they saw him shows that they

also found him (as) to be extremely handsome and hard to resist.

By making them acknowledge this with their actions and with their words,

she is trying to remove the guilt they had placed on her.

o Showing them in a way that they would have done the same

thing she had done if they were in her situation.

fasth'asm means to keep purified oneself from evil and lewd actions. To preserve oneself

when those evil actions present themselves.

The Prophet (saw) described Maryam (as) of doing this.

The wife of the 'Aziz acknowledges that Yusuf (as) did it despite her

advances (also showing that nothing happened between them).

The command that she orders Yusuf (as) with is to stop resisting her, and if he (as) does not

comply, she threatens him with prison and humiliation in the eyes of the society.

This was yet another hard trial that Yusuf (as) had to endure.

o From the oppression he had suffered at the hands of his

brothers, to the helplessness of being a slave and now to

face prison and have to leave his home.

34. He said "My Lord, I would prefer prison to that which they invite me, and unless You turn me

away from the kydahuna, I might incline towards them and be among the ignorant".

This ayah is a dua that Yusuf (as) is making to Allah (swt).

It should never be thought of as some kind of threat or condition that Yusuf

(as) is placing on Allah (swt).

On the contrary Yusuf (as) is acknowledging the great power of Allah (swt)

and powerlessness of his own self. Even the 'isma that protects the prophets

from sin is from Allah (swt) and not from their own selves.

This ayah can not be used as an evidence that the human does not control his actions.

Every action that we take is the will of Allah (swt). If a person chooses to

commit a sin or chooses not to, the outcome which is transpired was the will

of Allah (swt).

We can not link the actions of the human to the knowledge of Allah (swt).

o There is clear text which say that Allah (swt) has given us

the choice to obey or disobey the hukum sharii.

See Balad:11.

Kydahuna refers to the scheming of the women to do evil (the plotting, the blackmailing, the

back-biting, the false accusations, etc).

This is what Yusuf (as) seeks refuge in Allah (swt) from.

It is similar to what the wife was accused in ayah 26.

Ignorant (jahil) in this ayah means to be ignorant of the hukum sharii.

Someone who blindly follows their desires.

35. "So his Lord heard his prayer and fasarafa him from their kydahuna. Surely He is All-

Hearing, All-Knowing".

o Allah (swt) saved Yusuf (as) from their plot because He (swt) is the All-Hearing and

All-Knowing.

When Allah (swt) mentions His attributes in Quran, it is often in relation to

the context of the situation.

o In this case, Allah (swt) heard all the false accusations and

blackmailing threats the women had said about Yusuf (as).

o He (swt) also knows that Yusuf (as) had resisted all the

temptations that had presented itself before him.

Because Allah (swt) saw and heard all that

happened, He (swt) protected Yusuf (as).

Fasarafa means to prevent someone from committing a sin. To turn one away from evil.

36. "Then it occurred to them after they had seen the signs that they should imprison him for

hatha heen".

The ayah does not specify who 'them' refers to. One opinion is that it refers to the women of

the city and another opinion is that it refers to the 'Aziz.

The second opinion is stronger because the 'Aziz is the one who has the

authority to put someone in prison.

'Sign' here could refer to all the back-biting that the 'Aziz saw or it could mean the sight of

the women who had cut themselves showing that it was many women in the city who had

fallen deeply in love with Yusuf (as).

The general meaning that we can take is that there was something the 'Aziz

witnessed that forced him to put Yusuf (as) in prison.

o To prevent further injuries and scandals.

All the events that had occurred from the time of the wife's banquet to this decision to put

Yusuf (as) in prison has been left out because it is really not relevant to the lesson of the

story.

This is another example of how Allah (swt) only shows us the core of story.

o Only the facts that are important and which we can benefit

from are related to us.

Hatha heen means an unknown or an unspecified period of time. It was the duration of time

for which the 'Aziz had decided to put Yusuf (as) in prison.

This shows that the 'Aziz was not convinced of any of the false charges the

women had made against Yusuf (as), that is why he did not specify for how

long the prison term should be.

o It also implies that Yusuf (as) did not go through a formal

court proceeding where solid charges could be brought up

against him.

Because there were no such charges since

he himself had done nothing wrong.

The purpose behind sending Yusuf (as) to prison seems to bring calm to the

city rather than to punish him (as) for any crime.

This also seems to be part of the plan of the 'Aziz's wife. It is clear from ayah 26 that she

wanted Yusuf (as) to suffer a great punishment for rejecting her. She had failed in that

incident to convince the 'Aziz to put Yusuf (as) in prison, so now she used the other women

in the town to bring the situation out of control (by making them all desire him the way she

had). The 'Aziz was then forced to take this action.

Even though Yusuf (as) was sent to prison, it does not mean that Allah (swt) did not respond

to his dua. The hardship in the dunya (such as prison) is not what Yusuf (as) sought refuge in

Allah (swt) from rather he (as) sought refuge in Allah (swt) from the sharr (evil) of the sin

that the women invited him to and the consequences of that action in the here after.

37. "And m'a hu him, entered the prison two fatayan. One of them said, I say myself in a dream

pressing wine and the other said I say myself in a dream carrying bread on my head upon which

the birds were eating. Tell us the interpretation of these because we see you to be among the

mohisneen."

Allah (swt) uses wa of ataf (for addition) to begin this ayah because it continues the story of

what happen to Yusuf (as) in the prison.

Although m'a hu linguistically means 'along with' it does not necessarily mean that the

fatayan entered the jail at the same time of Yusuf (as).

Fatayan could mean two slaves, two servants or two young men. The language allows all 3

meanings and we have no narration to specify which one it is.

'Ini arani' are two small words that give the exact meaning of 'I say myself in a dream'.

It shows how Allah (swt) always uses the most concise words to give the

meaning of an ayah.

'Mohsineen' could mean the one who is the best and most sincere in 'ibada (worship) or

giving sadaka (charity) but in this context it means in interpreting dreams.

The fact that they requested Yusuf (as) to interpret their dreams shows that they had some

prior knowledge of Yusuf (as).

That he (as) was a righteous and honest man and/or that he had the ability to

interpret dreams.

Some mufasir connected the dreams of these men with what the mufasir supposed had been

their professions before they came to prison (one used to work as a wine maker and the other

as a food bearer).

However there is no evidence for this in the language or any narration so it

can not be accepted as tafsir.

38. "He replied: 'The food which you are given shall not come to you but before it comes to you I

shall tell you the interpretation. This is because of what my Lord has taught me. I have

completely rejected the religion of those who do not believe in Allah and who are disbelievers in

the Hereafter."

Yusuf (as) lets them know that he (as) can tell them the meaning of their dreams before their

food arrives to let them know that he (as) is fully capable to know the meanings of their

ruiya and he (as) does not need time to think about it (because it is wahiy from Allah (swt)).

He tells them this to win their confidence in him and his ability.

He also acknowledges that this knowledge is a gift from Allah (swt).

We are not certain whether or not the interpretation of dreams is the miracle

of Yusuf (as) to prove his prophet hood

o There is no clear text where he (as) openly challenged the

people to replicate like the Prophet (saw) and Musa (as) had

done.

So we are certain at this point in the story that Yusuf (as) is a prophet.

He (as) lets the prisoners know that he will indeed tell them the

interpretations of their dreams and he will not delay in telling them this.

But he (as) does not tell them the interpretations immediately because as a

prophet he first tries to

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