النص المفهرس

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
(It happened) when Yusuf said to his father, "My father,
I have seen eleven stars and the Sun and the Moon; I
have seen them all prostrating to me." [4]
He said, "My son, do not relate your dream to your broth-
ers lest they should devise against you a plan. Surely,
Satan is an open enemy for mankind. And in the like
manner your Lord will choose you and teach you the
interpretation of events, and will perfect His bounty
upon you and upon the House of Ya'qub, as He has per-
fected it, earlier, upon your father, Ibrahim and Ishaq.
Surely, your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing." [5-6]
Commentary
With the exception of four verses, Surah Yusuf is wholly a Makki
Surah. In this Surah, the story of Sayyidna Yusuf Meel has been de-
scribed with continuity and order. Then, the story of Sayyidna Yusuf
appears in this Surah alone. It has not been repeated anywhere
else in the whole Qur'an as such (with the exception of Surah Al-An'am -
6:84 - and Surah Al-Mu'min or Ghafir - 40:34 - where only the name of
Sayyidna Yusuf Neal has been mentioned as a Messenger of Allah, in ap-
propriate context). This is particular with the story of Sayyidna Yusuf
Stell, otherwise the stories and events concerning all blessed prophets
have been introduced in the entire Qur'an with great wisdom, part by
part, and repeatedly too.
The truth of the matter is that world history and past experiences
teach human beings what to do with their lives in the future. These have
a natural effect of their own which acts better on minds and hearts as
compared to the pull of formal education. This effect is deeper and fairly
effortless. Therefore, in the Holy Qur'an, which has been sent for all peo-
ples of the world as their last testament, a marked portion of the entire
history of the peoples of the world - a portion that serves as the master
prescription for the betterment of the present and ultimate human condi-
tion - has been taken up electively and pragmatically. Furthermore,
even this portion of world history has been introduced by the Holy
Qur'an, with its unique and unimitable style, in a manner that its read-
er simply does not get the impression that he or she was reading some
book of history. In fact, whatever part of a certain story serves the need
of driving home a lesson or tendering a good counsel on any given occa-
sion, it is just that part which finds mention in that setting. And should

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
there be the need to allude to that particular part once again on some
other occasion, it was repeated. Therefore, consideration was not given
to sequential order in the narration of events in the story. At some
places the earlier part of the story comes later, and the later part finds
mention earlier. This special style of the Qur'an carries a standing rule
of guidance that reading or remembering world history and its past
events is not an end by itself. Instead of that, the purpose of every
human being should be to draw some lesson from every story and to cull
and deduce some good advice from every information.
It is well-known that the human speech is classified into two forms:
Descriptive (khabar) and imperative (insha'). According to the knowledg-
able scholars, it is the later form (i.e. imperative) that is the essential ob-
jective. Description in itself is not an end. A wise man ought to learn an
imperative from every description, and make use of it for correcting and
reforming himself.
That the story of Sayyidna Yusuf Sel
has been narrated in a se-
quence could be because historiography is a discipline. It has particular
rules of guidance for its practitioners. For instance, the narration should
not be so brief as to make its understanding impossible, nor should it be
so long as would make reading and remembering it difficult - which be-
comes clear from the Qur'anic treatment of this story.
According to some narrations, another reason for this could lie in
what the Jews had said to the Holy Prophet
g. To test him, they had
asked him: If you are a true prophet, tell us why did the family of Ya'qub
move from Syria to Egypt and what had actually happened to Yusuf
Skel? It was in answer to that that this whole story was revealed. It was
a miracle of the Holy Prophet
1, and certainly a great proof of his pro-
phethood - for he was simply an Ummiyy, one who was not taught by
anyone, who had never read a book and who had lived in Makkah practi-
cally his whole life, yet, he narrated all events mentioned in the Torah
correctly. In fact, he told them of what was not mentioned in the Torah.
There are many injunctions and instructions which emerge from these
narrations which will appear later in this commentary.
In the first of the set of verses cited above, the words: 'J 'Alif Lam Ra'
are isolated letters (al-Huruf al-Muqatta at) of the Holy Qur'an. About

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
these, it is the universal verdict of the majority of Sahabah and Tabi'in
that they are a secret between Allah Ta'ala, the speaker, and the Holy
Prophet g, the addressee - which a third person cannot understand, nor
is it appropriate for one to exert and insist on finding it out.
After that it was said: تِلْكَ أيتُ الْكِتُبِ الْمُبين (These are the verses of the en-
lightening Book). That is, these are verses of the Book which delineate
the delimitations and restrictions of what is lawful and unlawful, includ-
ing those of other things in all departments of human life, and thus gives
people a simple, straight and moderate system of living, as promised in
the Torah, and as already known to the Jews.
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْتُهُ قُرَانًا عَرَبيًّا :The statement made in verse 2 following immediately is
Sas;WJ (Surely, We have sent it down, an Arabic Qur'an, so that you
may understand).
It is indicative of the situation that those who had asked to be in-
formed of what had happened to Sayyidna Yusuf Sal were the Jews of
Arabia. So, Allah Ta'ala revealed this story in their language so that
they may ponder over it and attest to the veracity of the Holy Prophet
and tune their lives in the light of the injunctions and instructions which
emerge from this story.
This is the reason why the word: JJ (la'alla) has been brought in
here in the sense of 'so that' because the mindset of these addressees
was already known - that they would, despite having the benefit of very
clear verses before them, still doubt and delay their acceptance of truth.
نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحُسَنَ الْقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ هُذَا :In the third verse, it was said
-We narrate to you the best narrative by reveal) الْقُرْآنَ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الْغُفِلِينَ
ing this Qur'an to you, and surely before this, you were among the una-
ware).
This is to chasten the Jews that they had tried to test the Messenger
of Allah which proved to be in vain, for its effect turned out to be just the
reverse of what they had intended. It only went on to prove the excel-
lence and authenticity of the Messenger of Allah in a far more evident
manner. From this it became clear that he was already an Ummiyy and
had no knowledge of world history. Now that he came to know of this
needs an explanation and there can be no explanation for this except

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
that he was Divinely educated and blessed with revelation as a prophet
of Allah Ta'ala.
Moving on the verse 4, the text takes up the story of Sayyidna Yusuf
إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِاَبِيُهِ يَأَبَتِ إِنِّىُ رَأيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ :which opens with the following words الكلية
It happened) [when Yusuf said to his) كَوْكَبًا وَّالشَّمُسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَآَيْتُهُمُ لِى سُحدِینَ
father, 'My father, I have seen eleven stars and the Sun and the Moon; I
have seen them all prostrating to me.']
This was the dream seen by Sayyidna Yusuf Med interpreting which
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 4
e said: 'The eleven stars meant the
eleven brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf ⋛ and the Sun and the Moon
meant his father and mother.'
According to al-Qurtubi, though the mother of Sayyidna Yusuf Se
had passed away from this mortal world before this event, but in her
place, his father was wedded to her sister. A maternal aunt already has
love and concern for her sister's children as their natural mother would
normally have. Now when she, after the death of her sister, comes to be
the wife of the father, she would customarily be referred to as the moth-
er.
The response given by Sayyidna Ya'qub Mel appears in verses 5 and
قَالَ يُنَىَّ لاَتَقُصُصُ رُءُ يَاكَ عَلَىّ ◌ِخُوَتِكَ فَكِيُدُوْا لَكَ كَيْدًا؛ إِنَّ الشَّيْطِنَ :in the following words 6
He said, 'My son, do not relate your dream to your brothers' لِلْإِنسَان عَدُوٌّمُبِينٌ
lest they [by finding out your greatness to come] should devise against
you a plan. Surely, Satan is an open enemy for mankind ... ' [for He se-
duces people to take such action for the sake of worldly wealth and pow-
er].'
Worth mentioning here are some religious issues which emerge from
these verses:
The Nature of Dreams: Status and Kinds
First comes the nature of dreams and the status of events and infor-
mation released by them. In Tafsir Mazhari, Qadi Thana'ullah Ja all ,
has said: 'The reality of a dream is that, when the human self - as a re-
sult of sleep or unconsciousness - is freed from the management of the ac-
tive body, it comes to see some shapes through the faculty of imagina-
tion. This is what a dream is. Then, it has three kinds, two out of which

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
are totally false, having no substance and base - while one, in terms of
its being, is correct and true. But, even in this correct kind, some other
contingents may occasionally intermingle and thereby make it defective
and unreliable.
To explain this in detail, it can be said that the different shapes, im-
ages, situations and events one sees in a dream come in two modes.
Sometimes, what one sees while awake returns to him transformed in a
dream. And sometimes, it so happens that the Satan would make his in-
put, introducing some forms, situations and events into a person's mind
which would either be pleasing or terrifying. Both these kinds are false.
They have no substance or reality, nor can they be interpreted in any ac-
tual sense. Out of these two, the first kind is Self-Suggestion (Hadith
An-Nafs) and the other, The Seductive Input of the Shaytan (Taswil
Ash-Shaytan).
The third kind, correct and true, is a kind of 'Ilham (mode of inspir-
ing) which is activated to warn a servant of Allah or to give him glad tid-
ings. In other words, out of His unseen treasures, Allah Ta'ala would put
things in one's mind and heart.
In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet
is reported to have said: 'The
dream of a believer is a dialogue in which he has the honour of talking to
his Rabb.' This Hadith has been reported by al-Tabarani with a sound
chain of authorities. (Mazhari)
Explaining this, Sufis say that everything, before it comes to exist in
this world, has a particular form in another universe called "alam-al-mi-
thal',* a universe where, not only the substantial objects and physical re-
alities, but also the attributes and noncorporal meanings, have particu-
lar shapes and forms. When the human self is freed from the concerns of
body management while dreaming, it sometimes gets connected to the
universe of 'alam-al-mithal'. There one would see the representative
forms. Then, these forms are shown from the universe of the Unseen. At
times, it would so happen that temporary disturbances would cause false
imaginings mix up with the real, therefore, it becomes difficult for the
interpreters to interpret the dream soundly. However, when free of dis-
cordant elements, they are real. But, even among these, some dreams
*. 'The world of autonomous images' - Henry Corbin.

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
cannot be interpreted because the actuality of the event is not clear. In
such a case too, should the interpretation be wrong, the event itself ends
up being different. Therefore, only those dreams will become a true
'Ilham (inspiration) from Allah, and a proven reality, which originate
from the command of Allah with the condition that no discordant ele-
ments have intermingled with them and that it has been interpreted cor-
rectly too.
All dreams of the blessed prophets are like that. Therefore, their
dreams too have the status of Wahy (revelation). The dreams of common
believing Muslims are not free of many a probability. Therefore, they are
not a binding argument or proof for anyone. Sometimes, their dreams
get mixed up with temperamental or self-oriented elements. On other oc-
casions, the after effects of sins overtake a true dream in the form of
dark and murky silhouttes making it unreliable. Then, there could be oc-
casions when it becomes difficult to spell out a correct interpretation
from given parameters.
The three kinds of dreams mentioned here have been reported from
the Holy Prophet . He said that there are three kinds of dreams. (1)
The Satanic in which the mind sees forms and shapes released by the
Shaytan. (2) That which one keeps seeing while awake. These present
themselves before one in a dream. (3) The third kind, which is correct
and true, is the forty-sixth part of the ingredients of prophethood (Nu-
buwwah), that is, it is an 'Ilham (inspiration) from Allah Ta'ala.
The Meaning of Dream being a part of Nubuwwah:
An Explanation
In this kind, which is true and correct and which has been declared
to be a part of prophethood in authentic prophetic Traditions, the narra-
tions of Hadith differ. In some, it has been identified as the fortieth part,
while in some others, the forty-sixth. There are other narrations as well
in which its being the forty-ninth, fiftieth and seventieth part has been
reported. All these narrations have been compiled together in Tafsir
al-Qurtubi where, following the investigative judgement of Ibn 'Abd
al-Barr, it has been established that there is no contradiction among
them, in fact, each narration is correct in its place. As for the numerical
variation in determining the parts, it depends upon the different attend-
ing conditions of those seeing the dream. Whoever is armed with the

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
quality of truth, trust, honesty and is perfect of faith shall be the one
whose dream will be the fortieth part of Nubuwwah. And whoever ranks
somewhat lesser in these qualities, his will be the forty-sixth or fiftieth
part of it, and whoever is still lesser, his dream will be the seventieth
part of Nubuwwah.
Worth pondering here is what does a true dream being a part of pro-
phethood mean? Tafsir Mazhari has explained it by saying that the pro-
cess of revelation to Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa g as a Prophet of
Allah continued for twenty three years. During the first biannual, this
Divine revelation kept coming to him in the form of dreams. During the
remaining forty five biannuals, it was communicated to him through the
angel, Jibra'il al-Amin. Accounted for in this manner, true dreams turn
out to be the fortieth part of the prophetic revelation. As for narrations
where numbers vary on the lower or higher side, they either carry ap-
proximative statements, or stand dropped for lack of sound authority.
Imam al-Qurtubi explains this by saying that there are occasions
when one sees things in dreams which do not lie within his control. For
example, one may see that he is flying high in the skies, or he may see
things from the Unseen having access to which was not within one's con-
trol. If so, this cannot become possible through any means other than Di-
vine support and inspiration itself - which, in reality, is an intrinsic at-
tribute of prophethood. Therefore, it was declared to be a part of prophet-
hood.
Refuting the Deception of the Qadiyani Dajjal [Imposter]
What has been stated above has led some people to run into a miser-
able error because they have taken the survival and continuity of this
'part' of prophethood in the world as the very survival and continuity of
prophethood itself! This is against definite, categorical and absolute
statements of the Holy Qur'an and against countless sound and authen-
tic Ahadith, and squarely against the collective belief of the entire Mus-
lim Ummah in the finality of prophethood (the 'Aqidah of Khatm Nubuw-
wat). In this exercise in deception, they have failed to realize that the
presence of a part of something does not mean the presence of that thing
in full. If there is a single nail or strand of hair belonging to a person pre-
sent anywhere, no sane human being can say that the person is present
here. Think of the many parts of a machine. If someone has one part, or

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
a screw of that machine present with him and he goes about declaring
that he has such and such machine with him, the whole world would dis-
miss him as a liar or fool.
True dreams, as expressly explained in Hadith, are, without any
doubt, a part of Nubuwwah - but not Nubuwwah itself. What we know
as Nubuwwah or prophethood has already ended with the Last of Proph-
ets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa .
It appears in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari that the Holy Prophet
said:
لَمُ يَبْقَ مِنَ النُُّوَّةِ إِلَّ الْمُبَشِرَاتِ
That is, (in future) no part of the Nubuwwah will remain ex-
cept Al-Mubashshirat.
When the noble Sahabah asked for the meaning of Al-Mubashshirat,
he said: 'True dreams.' This proves that there is no Nubuwwah or pro-
phethood of any kind or form for anyone anymore. What remains of it is
only a small part which is called Al-Mubashshirat or true dreams.
The Dream of a Sinning Disbeliever may also be True at times
It stands proved from the Qur'an and Hadith, and from experience,
that sinners, even disbelievers, could see dreams which are true. In the
Surah Yusuf itself, mentioned there are the dreams of two prison mates
of Sayyidna Yusuf & which were true, and similarly, the dream of the
king of Egypt which was true - though, the three of them were not Mus-
lims. This was in the Qur'an. Mentioned in the Hadith is the dream of
Kisra (Cyrus) who had dreamt about the coming of the Holy Prophet
that dream turned out to be true, though Kisra was not a Muslim. The
paternal aunt of the Holy Prophet %, 'Atikah, had seen a true dream
about the Holy Prophet
¿ while she was still a disbeliever. In addition
to that, the dream of the disbelieving King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,
which was interpreted by Sayyidna Daniyal (Daniel) & was a true
dream.
This tells us that the simple instance of someone seeing a true dream
and the event taking place as seen cannot become a proof of the dreamer
being pious and righteous, even Muslim. However, it is correct to say
that this is how the customary practice of Allah operates - that the
dreams seen by true and good people are generally true. The dreams

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
seen by sinners are generally from the category of self-suggestions and
Satanic inputs - but, occasionally, the opposite could also happen.
In short, true dreams, as made clear in Hadith, have no place in the
lives of Muslims at large except that they can be either glad tidings, or
warning, for them. They are no binding argument in any matter, neither
for their own selves, nor for others. Some people, unaware of this truth,
fall a victim to all sorts of scruples after having seen such dreams. Some
of them would start taking these as a sign of having become a saint or so-
mething like that. Others would tend to give what they get out of these
dreams the status of the injunctions of the Shari'ah. All these ap-
proaches are baseless. Specially so, when we already know that there is
every likelihood that both kinds of imaginings, self-suggested or Sa-
tan-induced, can get profusely intermingled with true dreams.
Relating Dreams to Everyone is not Correct :
RULINGS
الشيخ He said, 'O my son ... '), Sayyidna Ya'qub) قَالَ يُنَيَّ ...: 5 In verse .1
has prohibited Sayyidna Yusuf des from relating his dream to his broth-
ers. This tells us that a dream should not be related before a person who
is not a well-wisher, nor before a person who is no expert in the interpre-
tation of dreams.
According to Jami' al-Tirmidhi, the Holy Prophet g said: A true
dream is one of the forty parts of Nubuwwah. And a dream stays in sus-
pension until related to someone. When related, and interpreted by the
listener, it actualizes as interpreted. Therefore, one should not relate the
dream to anyone, except to a person who is knowing and wise, or is, at
least, a friend and a well-wisher.
As also referred to earlier, it appears in Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah that
the Holy Prophet
said: A dream is of three kinds: (1) Glad tidings
from Allah; (2) self-suggestions; (3) Satanic inputs. Therefore, should a
person see a certain dream about which he feels good, then, he can relate
it to others, if he wishes to do so. And, should he see something bad in it,
let him not tell anyone about it. Instead, he should rise and offer Salah.
The Hadith of Sahih Muslim also says: If one sees a bad dream, he
should blow his breath three times towards his left side and seek the pro-
tection of Allah against its evil and tell no one about it. If this is done,

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
the dream will not cause any harm. The reason is that some dreams are
composed of Satanic seductions. They will stand removed with this ac-
tion. And, if the dream is true, the evil part of it - it can be hoped - will
also be eliminated through this action.
2. As for the sense of the interpretation of a dream remaining hinged
to it, Tafsir Mazhari explains it by saying that some matters of destiny
are not absolutely pre-decided, instead, they remain in a state of suspen-
sion, that is, if something was done, the impending misfortune will go
away - and if it was not done, it will come. This is known as contingent
or conditional destiny. In a situation like that giving a bad interpreta-
tion makes things turn bad while a good interpretation makes it come
out good. Therefore, in the Hadith from Tirmidhi mentioned above, relat-
ing a dream to a person who is not wise, or a well-wisher, has been pro-
hibited. And there could also be another reason for this. When someone
hears a bad interpretation of the dream seen, one finds himself over-
whelmed by the thought that he is going to be hit by some misfortune.
And it appears in Hadith that Allah Tarala said: أَنَا عِنْدَظَنّ عَبْدِى بى that is, I
am with the opinion of My servant about Me.' In other words, 'whatever
a servant of Mine believes Me to be, just that I become for him.' So,
when one ends up believing that misfortune is going to come from Allah
Ta'ala, then, true to the customary practice of Allah, the coming of that
misfortune becomes due against him.
3. Regarding the instruction given in the verse that something sug-
gesting pain and misfortune seen in a dream should not be related to
anyone, Hadith narrations seem to indicate that this is not a legal prohi-
bition. It is only an advice based on affection and sympathy. This should
not be taken as something made unlawful by the Shari'ah. Therefore, if
related to someone, this will be no sin - because it appears in authentic
Ahadith that the Holy Prophet
- at the time of the Battle of Uhud -
said: I have seen in a dream that my sword, Zulfaqar, has broken and I
saw some cows being slaughtered, the interpretation of which was the
Shahadah of Sayyidna Hamzah
and many other Muslim mujahidin,
a grave misfortune indeed. But, he had related this dream before the
Şahabah. (Qurțubī)
4. This verse also tells us that it is permissible to disclose the evil
trait or intention of a person about to cause harm to a Muslim. Being an

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 1 - 6
effort to offset an evil design, this action is not included under Ghibah or
backbiting. For example, if a person finds out that A is planning to com-
mit theft in the house of B, or intends to kill him, then, he should fore-
warn B. This does not fall under the purview of Ghibah which is Haram.
This is what was done by Sayyidna Ya'qub Meel when he had disclosed
to Sayyidna Yusuf cal that there was a danger to his life at the hands
of his brothers.
5. If a person is blessed by Allah, and he apprehends that his addres-
see will be jealous against him, he should not mention the blessings of
wealth, status, and things like that before that person. The Holy Proph-
et A
has said:
To make your objectives succeed, seek help from keeping them
secret - because, every holder of blessing is envied in this
world.
6. From this verse and from the later in which the plan and execu-
tion of killing or throwing Sayyidna Yusuf && in a well has been men-
tioned, it becomes evident that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf Sal were
no prophets or messengers of Allah, otherwise, they would have not
stooped to the act of conspiring to kill him, then to put him out of their
way by lowering him down in a desolate well, and ultimately, to disobey
their father - because, the blessed prophets (JI le have to be free of
all sins, and protected from them. Their reference as 'prophets' in the
book of al-Țabari is not correct. (Qurțubi)
Expertise in the Interpretation of Dreams is Bestowed by Allah
on whom He wills
In the sixth verse, Allah Ta'ala has promised some blessings for Sayy-
idna Yusuf كَذَلِكَ يَجْتَبِيُكَ رَبُّكَ (1): الكَلِكَلا (And in the like manner your Lord
will choose you ... ) that is, He will choose him for His blessings and fa-
vours, something which manifested itself when wealth, recognition and
وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِنْ تَأْوِيُل (2) .power came into his hands in the country of Egypt
: الاحاديث :and teach you the interpretation of events ... ). The word) الْأَحَادِيثِ
'al-ahadith' here means the dreams of people. It means that Allah Ta'ala
will teach him how to interpret dreams. This also tells us that interpret-
ing dreams is a standing area of expertise which is bestowed by Allah
Ta'ala on a chosen few - everyone is not fit to have it.

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
Ruling:
It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that 'Abdullah ibn Shaddad ibn
al-Had said that the interpretation of this dream of Sayyidna Yusuf Seel
actualized after forty years. This tells us that an instant actualization of
an interpretation is not necessary either.
(3) As for the third promise: ◌َوَيُتِمُّ نِعُمَتَه، عَلَيُك (and will perfect His bounty
upon you), it refers to the bestowal of Nubuwwah (prophethood) upon
him. And this is what has been alluded to in the later sentences: 4-3
,as He has perfected it, earlier, upon your father) عَلَىّ أَبَوَيُكَ مِنُ قَبُلُ إِبْرِهِيْمَ وَإِسُحْقَ
Ibrahim and Ishaq). That which has been said here also indicates that
the skill of interpreting dreams as given to Sayyidna Yusuf el
was
also taught to Sayyidna Ibrahim and Ishaq, peace be on them both.
At the end of the verse, it was said: ◌ٌإِنَّ رَبَّكَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيم (Surely , your Lord
is All-Wise, All-Knowing). So He is. For Him, teaching an art to someone
is not difficult, nor does He, as His wisdom would have it, teach this art
to just anyone. Instead of that, He elects someone, in His wisdom, and
lets him have this expertise.
Verses 7 - 20
لَقَدُ كَانَ فِىُ يُوسُفَ وَاِخْوَتِهِ أَيْتٌ لِلسَّابِلِينَ ﴿٢﴾ إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ
وَأَخُوُهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبيّنَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ ﴿ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِىُ ضَلْلٍ مُّيُنٍ
﴿) )اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ آواطْرَحُوُهُ أَرْضًا يَّخُلُ لَكُمُ وَجُهُ أَبِيْكُمُ وَتَكُوُّنُوا
مِنُ بَعُدِهِ قَوْمًا صْلِحِينَ ﴿٢﴾ قَالَ قَابِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ لاَتَقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ وَالْقُوُهُ
فِىُ غَيْبَتِ الْجُبِّ يَلْتَقِطُهُ بَعُضُ السَّيَّارَةِ إِنْ كُنْتُمُ فْعِلِينَ ﴿١٠﴾ قَالُوا
يَأَبَانَا مَالَكَ لاَتَأْمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ، لَنُصِحُونَ ﴿١١﴾ آَرُسِلُهُ مَعَنَا
غَدًا يَّرْتَعُ وَيَلْعَبُ وَإِنَّا لَهْ لَحْفِظُونَ ﴿٢﴾ قَالَ إِّىُ لَيَحُرُنُنِىَّ أَنْ
تَذُهَبُوا بِهِ وَاَخَافُ أَنْ يَّأْكُلَهُ الذِّئُبُ وَ أَنْتُمُ عَنْهُ غُفِلُونَ ﴿١٣﴾ قَالُوا
لَبِنُ اَكَلَهُ الذِّئُبُ وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّا إِذَّا لَّخُسِرُوُنَ ﴿١٤﴾ فَلَمَّا ذَهُبُوا بِهِ

36
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
وَأَجْمَعُوّا أَنْ يَّجُعَلُوُهُ فِىُ غَيْبَتِ الْحُبٌِّ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ لَتَنْبَئِنْهُمْ
بِآَمُرِهِمُ هُذَا وَهُمُ لاَيَشْعُرُوُنَ ﴿١٥﴾ وَجَاءُ وَ آبَاهُمُ عِشَآءً يَّيْكُوُنَ ﴿١٦﴾
قَالُوا يَآبَانَآ إِنَّا ذَهَبُنَا نَسْتَبَقُ وَتَرَكُنَا يُوسُفَ عِنْدَ مَتَاعِنَا فَاكَلَهُ الذِّئُبُ
﴿ وَمَآ أَنْتَ بِمُؤُمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَوْكُنََّ صْدِقِيْنَ ﴿١٧) وَجَاءُ وُ عَلَى قَمِيُصِهِ
بدَمْ كَذِبٍ ﴿ قَالَ بَلُ سَوَّلَتُ لَكُمُ انْفُسُكُمُ آمُرًّا ، فَصَبُرٌ جَمِيْلٌ د
وَاللهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَاتَصِفُونَ ﴿١٨﴾ وَجَآءَتُ سَيَّارَةٌ فَاَرُسَلُوا
وَارِدَهُمُ فَادْلِى دَلْوَه، " قَالَ يُشْرِى هَذَا غُلِمٌ ، وَأَسَرُّؤُهُ بِضَاعَةً "
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيُمْ بِمَا يَعُمَّلُوُنَ ﴿١٩﴾ وَشَرَؤُهُ بِثَمَنٍ) بَخْسٍ دَرَاهِمَ مَعُدُودَةٍ
ح وَكَانُوا فِيُهِ مِنَ الزَّهْدِيْنَ ﴿٢﴾
Surely, in (the story of) Yusuf and his brothers, there
are signs for those who ask [7] when they said, "Yusuf
and his brother are dearer to our father than we are
while we are a powerful group (for him). Surely, our
father is in clear error. [8] Kill Yusuf or throw him in
some land , so that your father's face may be your's
alone, and after that you may become a righteous peo-
ple." [9]
One of them said, "Do not kill Yusuf, rather, cast him
into the bottom of a pit, so that some wayfarer picks him
up, if you are going to do something at all." [10]
They said, "Our father, why is it that you do not trust us
with Yusuf while indeed, we are his well-wishers. [11]
Send him with us tomorrow, that he may eat and play,
and of course, we are his guards." [12]
He said, "It makes me sad that you should take him
away and I fear lest a wolf should devour him while you
are heedless of him." [13]
They said, 'If the wolf eats him while we are a strong
group, we are then losers indeed." [14]
So, when they went with him and were determined to
put him in the bottom of a pit (which they did). And We
revealed to him, "You will (one day) tell them of this

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
deed of theirs while they will not recognize (you)." [15]
And they came weeping to their father at nightfall. [16]
They said, "Father, we went running races and left
Yusuf with our belongings and the wolf ate him up. And
you will never believe us, even though we are telling the
truth." [17]
And they came with fake blood on his shirt. He said,
"Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to someth-
ing. So, patience is best. And it is Allah whose help is
sought against what you describe." [18]
And there came some wayfarers and sent one of them to
go for water. So, he let down his bucket. He said, "What
a good news! Here is a boy." And they kept him hidden
as merchandise, while Allah was aware of what they
were doing. [19] And they sold him for a paltry price, for
a few silver-coins, and they were disinterested in him.
[20]
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
É to
test by asking him to relate this story to them. When, according to a nar-
ration, the Holy Prophet &g 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 prophet-
hood. 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 wide-
ly 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

38
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
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 en-
tire Surah Yusuf was revealed, a Surah which relates the whole story of
Sayyidna Ya'qub and Yusuf JI Le,le - and does it in such details as do
not appear even in Torah and Injil. Therefore, when the Holy Prophet
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 obedi-
ence difficult. It is all the more difficult when one is young and chal-
lenged 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 Seal. The
reference is to the twelve sons of Sayyidna Ya'qub &Cel, including
Sayyidna Yusuf 89. Every son from among them had their children.
Their families prospered. Since the title by which Sayyidna Ya'qub Sell
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 ), Sayyidah Layya, daughter of Layyan.
After her death, Sayyidna Ya'qub &Cel married her sister, Rahil * (Rach-
el). She became the mother of his two sons, Sayyidna Yusuf Seal and
*. See editorial note on page 156.

39
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
Benyamin (Benjamin). Therefore, Benyamin was the only real brother of
Sayyidna Yusuf 89. The rest of the ten were his half-brothers from the
father's side. Rahil, the mother of Sayyidna Yusuf Seal, had died during
his childhood at the time of the birth of Benyamin. (Qurțubi)
From the second verse (8), begins the story of Sayyidna Yusuf del
which tells that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf de saw that their
father, Sayyidna Ya'qub well loved Sayyidna Yusuf Sel unusually more
than them who were older than him. Therefore, this made them envy
him. And it is also possible that they had somehow found out about the
dream of Sayyidna Yusuf Sul which may have led them to become un-
comfortable at the prospect of his coming rise in status, and which may
have made them envious of him. They talked about it among themselves:
We see that our father loves Yusuf and his brother Benyamin much
more than us, although we are ten of us and older than them. We have
the ability and group strength to manage the affairs of the family while
they both are small children who cannot do much. Our father should
have noticed this and we are the ones he should have been loving more.
But, what he is doing is open injustice. Therefore, you should either kill
Yusuf, or throw him away into some far out spot of land from where he
could not come back.
In this verse, these brothers have referred to themselves as: Las ('us
bah). This word is used in the Arabic for a group from five to ten. As for
their remark about their father: إِنَّ آبَانَا لَفِىُ ضَلل مُبين (Surely, our father is in
clear error), the word: JÓL> (dalal) appearing here lexically means the
error of straying. But, at this place, dalal or error does not mean relig-
ious error. If so, such a connotation would have made all of them Kafirs
(disbelievers) - because, Sayyidna Ya'qub tell is an exalted prophet of
Allah Ta'ala and such a thought in his case is an absolute Kufr.
And about the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf & el, it has been men-
tioned in the Qur'an itself that they, later on, admitted their crime and
requested their father to pray for their forgiveness which he accepted to
do. This makes it obvious that their mistake was forgiven. Now, this can
become possible only when all of them are believers - otherwise, the pray-
er for the forgiveness of a disbeliever is not permissible. This is the rea-
son why there is no difference of opinion about their being believers, al-
though 'Ulama' do differ about these brothers being prophets. This tells

40
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
us that the word: Jus (dalal: error) has been uttered at this place in the
sense that he does not treat brothers equally in the matter of their
rights.
The third verse (9) describes how the brothers exchanged opinions
among themselves. Some suggested that Yusuf be killed. Others opted
for throwing him into a desolate pit so that the thorn in their side could
be removed and they could thus become the sole recepients of their
father's attention. As for the sin they would be earning for themselves by
killing or throwing him in a pit, that was something which could be
taken care of later when they could repent for what they did and thus be-
وَتَكُونُوا مِنُ بَعُدِهٍ قَوْمًا :come righteous. This is the meaning of the sentence
God's (and after that you may become a righteous people) according to
some reports. And the verse could also be taken to mean that things will
come out right for them after the killing of Yusuf because that focus of
the father's attention on Yusuf will not be there anymore, or that they
would, once they have apologized to their father after the killing of
Yusuf, become normal as they were.
This proves that these brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf & were not
prophets because, in this case, they had committed many major sins,
such as, the intention to kill someone innocent, disobedience to their
father and causing pain to him, contravention of pledge, conspiracy, and
things like that. Such sins, according to the Muslim consensus, cannot
be committed by the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, even
before they are ordained to be one.
Mentioned in the fourth verse (10) is that, hearing this whole conver-
sation, one of these brothers advised that Yusuf should not be killed. If
something has to be done, let him be thrown into some pit of a well
where he could remain alive so that when wayfarers stop at this well,
they would take him out and away. Thus, it would serve their purpose
while they would not have to take the trouble of traveling with him to
some far out place. Some caravan passing this way would itself do this
for them by taking him away to some distant destination.
The giver of this advice was their eldest brother, Yahuda (Judah).
Some narrations report that Ruebel (Rueben) was the eldest and it was
he who gave this advice. And this is the same person mentioned later,

41
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
that is, he was the one who, when Benyamin, the younger brother of
Sayyidna Yusuf Na was detained in Egypt, came forward and said:
How am I going to face my father when I go to him without him with me,
therefore, I am not going back to Can'aan.
The expression used in this verse is: Ji au (ghayabatil-jubb: bot-
tom of a pit). Literally, ghayabah means everything which hides someth-
ing in or makes it disappear. Therefore, a grave is also called ghayabah.
And jubb refers to a well without raised sidings.
Another word: at (yaltaqithu) appearing in the next sentence:
sfJ __ (so that some wayfarer picks him up) needs explanation. This
word: bull (iltiqat) is a derivation from: 48 (lugtah). The word: Ja (lug
tah) refers to something left or dropped which is found by someone with-
out having the desire to have it. If it is inert, it is called luqtah, and if it
is live, it is identified as laqit ('hal) in the terminology of Muslim jurists.
A human being will be called a laqit when he or she is a child, not ration-
al and pubert. It is from this word that Al-Qurtubi proves that, when
Sayyidna Yusuf Şı
was thrown in the pit of a well, he was a non-pu-
bert child. In addition to that, the saying of Sayyidna Ya'qub & that 'I
fear lest a wolf should devour him (13)' also indicates his being a child -
because, the likelihood of being eaten up by a wolf can only be imagined
in the case of a child. As reported by Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn
Abi Shaiybah, the age of Sayyidna Yusuf Sel
was seven years at that
time.
Some rules about the disposal of something owned by an
unknown person (luqțah)
At this place, Imam Al-Qurtubi has given details of Islamic legal in-
junctions relating to 'luqtah' and 'laqit' for which this is not the appropri-
ate occasion. However, it is necessary to understand a matter of princi-
ple operative in this connection. Islam has a system of its own in which
the protection of the life and property of common people, the upkeep and
cleanliness of walkways and streets, and similar other civic duties, have
not been left in the sole charge of the departments of the government. In-
stead of that, it has made everyone obligated to the duty of keeping them
safe and clean. The Hadith has sternly warned those who make things
difficult for passersby by crowding or lingering or depositing or throwing
their belongings on public walkways and streets. It says: 'The Jihad of a

42
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
person who blocks or clogs the passageway of Muslims is not acceptable.'
Similarly, there is the instance of thorns or nails or broken glass or rocks
and things like that which may be lying on walkways and which pose a
danger of hurting others. Islam has not made their removal from public
thoroughfare the sole responsibility of a city council or municipal board.
Instead of that, it has made every believing Muslim responsible for it. Of
course, it does that in a mode of persuasion and great reward and
thawab has been promised for those who do so.
If, on this principle, the property lost by a person is found by some-
one, his Islamic legal responsibility does not remain simply limited to
not stealing it - it goes much beyond that. In fact, it also becomes his re-
sponsibility that he must pick it up as an article of trust, keep it safe,
make an announcement, look for the owner and, when he finds him and
his description of the lost property before him makes him sure that the
lost property does belong to him, then, he should give it to him. And
when, despite his announcement and search, the owner remains un-
traced and, given the general valuation and status of the lost property,
one becomes convinced that its owner is not going to look for it anymore,
then, one has two choices. If he himself is poor, he may use it personally;
if not, he should give it in charity to those poor and needy. However, in
both these situations, the lost property thus used shall be taken as sada-
qah (charity) from the owner. The thawab for it shall reach the owner -
as if, it was deposited in his name in the Treasury of the Heavens.
These are golden principles of public service and social self-help. The
responsibility of putting them in regular practice has been placed on
every individual of an Islamic society. Only if Muslims would under-
stand their religion and start acting in accordance with it, they will be
noticed by the whole world with surprise as to how do they accomplish
things so easily and so effectively, things which big departments of
governments fail to accomplish at the cost of millions and billions.
Appearing in the fifth (111) and sixth (112) verse is the request of
these brothers before their father in which they wondered why he would
not trust them with Yusuf, although they wished him fully well. So, they
pleaded, he should send him along with them to enjoy himself freely by
eating and drinking and playing with them and that they all shall be
there to take care of him.

43
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
The tone of the very request made by the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf
indicates that they had already made such a request earlier too
which was not accepted by their father. Therefore, in the present re-
quest, they seem to have tried to assure their father with added effort
and insistence.
Permissibility of a trip for pleasure
In this verse, the permission sought from Sayyidna Ya'qub &cal is to
go for an outing and have the freedom to enjoy eating and playing togeth-
er. This was something Sayyidna Ya'qub &cell did not disallow at all. He
only showed his reluctance in sending Sayyidna Yusuf Seel with them,
which will appear in the next verse. From here we find out that going
out to enjoy and play is allowed under permissible limits. Authentic Aha-
dith too seem to indicate its justification. But, the condition is that in
this activity of fun and games, there should be no transgression of the
limits set by the Shari'ah, nor should it be mixed up with any act not per-
missible there. (Qurtubi & others)
When the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf el
requested their father
that he should send Yusuf with them on a recreational outing, Sayyidna
Ya'qub &tCell told them that he did not favour sending him out for two rea-
sons: (1) He remains uncomfortable without him in sight and (2) he ap-
prehends that, in the wilderness out there, it might so happen that they
become neglectful at some time and a wolf might eat him up.
The apprehension of Sayyidna Ya'qub &al may have been caused ei-
ther due to the abundance of wolves in Can'aan, or because he had seen
in a dream that he is standing on top of a hill and Sayyidna Yusuf Sel
is there on the slope downhill. All of a sudden ten wolves surround him
and try to attack him. But, one of the wolves came forward to rescue him
from the rest. Once released, Sayyidna Yusuf & took refuge inside the
terrain.
The interpretation of that dream manifested later when it turned out
that the ten wolves were these ten brothers and the wolf which defended
Sayyidna Yusuf Seal and saved him from being killed was his elder
brother, Yahuda (Judah). And the depth of the pit was the interpreta-
tion of his hiding under the land.
In a narration from Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 460, it has been re-