النص المفهرس

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
ported that Sayyidna Ya'qub Mal, because of this dream, felt the danger
of an unfortunate situation coming at the hands of these brothers. Thus,
in fact, they were the ones he had alluded to as wolves - but, in consider-
ation of his wisdom, he did not lay the truth bare. (Qurtubi)
After hearing what Sayyidna Ya'qub & said, those brothers
countered it by saying that his apprehension was strange in view of the
presence of a strong group of the ten of them to protect Yusuf. If a wolf
could be expected to eat up Yusuf despite their being there to guard him,
it would render their very presence around him totally senseless. If so,
they could not be taken as good for anything.
Sayyidna Ya'qub Sel, acting with the elegance of a great prophet he
was, did not say it plainly before his children that it was they about
whom he feared a foul play because, firstly it would have been a painful
statement to make against all of them and, secondly, there was the dan-
ger that such a statement from the father would have increased the en-
mity of the brothers to higher proportions - that is, if they somehow
abandoned their idea of killing him now, they might have done so at
some later occasion under some other excuse. For this reason, he allowed
them to go. But, he did make sure that the brothers give him a solemn
pledge that they would see that no harm comes to Yusuf. As added pre-
caution, he entrusted him with his elder brother Ruebel (Rueben) or
Yahuda (Judah) so that they specially take care of his needs there and
see that he returns soon and safe. The brothers lifted Yusuf up on their
shoulders, and kept doing so one by one. Sayyidna Ya'qub followed them
upto a certain distance to bid them farewell.
When these people, as described by Al-Qurtubi following historical
narrations, disappeared from the sight of Sayyidna Ya'qub Sekell, the
brother on whose shoulders Sayyidna Yusuf & was perched threw him
down on the ground. He started walking by himself. But, being too
small, he could not keep pace with them and tried to seek help from
another brother. He remained cold. So did every brother he went to for
help. They told him that he better call for help those eleven stars, the
Sun and the Moon he had seen prostrating to him - they should help
him.
From here, Al-Qurtubi concludes that the brothers had somehow

45
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
found out about the dream of Sayyidna Yusuf &&. That dream became
the cause of their extreme hostility.
Finally, Sayyidna Yusuf al appealed to Yahuda as his elder broth-
er telling him about his plight. He was weak and small and needed pro-
tection, at least for the sake of their old father to whom they had given
the pledge to help him. Yahuda was moved and he told him that until he
was alive, he would not let these brothers hurt him.
Thus, when Allah Ta'ala put mercy in the heart of Yahuda and the
ability to do what was right, he told the other brothers of his that killing
someone sinless was an extremely grave sin, therefore, they should fear
Allah and take the innocent child back to his father. However, to make
things easy on them, they could take a pledge from him that he would
not complain to him in any way about their behaviour.
The brothers told Yahuda: We know what you mean. You wish to
rise higher than us in the sight of our father. So, you better listen to us.
If you do anything to resist our intention, we shall kill you too. When
Yahuda realized that he alone could do nothing against his nine broth-
ers, he told them: Well, if you have decided to get rid of this child, then,
listen to me carefully. There is an old well nearby with a lot of wild
growth in it and now a home for many lethal crawlers. Put him in that
well. If a snake or scorpion bites and kills him there, you shall have
what you are looking for. Thus, you shall remain free of the blame of
shedding his blood by your own hands. And, in case, he still remains
alive, then, may be there comes a caravan this way, lowers its bucket to
draw water from it and finds him instead. It is likely that they would
take him away with them to some other country in which case too you
would have achieved your objective.
To this, all brothers agreed - as stated in the ninth of the present
verses (15) cited above in the following words:
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا بِهِ وَأَجْمَعُوا أَنْ يَّجُعَلُوُهُ فِىٌ غَيْبَتِ الْجُبِّ وَأَوْ حَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِ لْتُنَئِنَّهُمُ بِآَمْرِهِمْ هذَا
وَهُمُ لاَيَشْعُرُوُنَ
'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
(Yusuf), 'You will (one day) tell them of this deed of theirs
while they will not recognize (you).'

46
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
Here, the word: f, (And We revealed) is the principal clause of the
واؤ :when they went). The letter) فَلَمَّا ذَهُبُوا :preceding conditional clause
(and) at this place in the former is za'idah i.e. has no meaning (Qurțubi).
The sense is: When the brothers did finally decide to throw Sayyidna
Yusuf Nel into the pit of the well, Allah Ta'ala revealed to Sayyidna
Yusuf S&dl words of comfort for him in which he has been given the glad
tidings that some time in the future he will meet his brothers and that it
will be a time when he would be free of any need of help from these
brothers, rather, would have an upperhand over them. And by virtue of
these changed circumstances, he would be in a position to take account
of their unjust treatment meted out to their younger brother while they
themselves would be unaware of the whole matter.
Imam Al-Qurțubi says that there could be two possible situations in
this connection: (1) That the revelation came to him after he was thrown
in the pit of the well and that it was to give him comfort in that state
and to give him the good news that he would be delivered soon from this
ordeal. (2) That Allah Ta'ala had, much before he was thrown into the
pit of the well, oriented Sayyidna Yusuf &e with conditions and events
he would face through a revelation in which he was also told that he
would come out of this death-trap safely and that particular conditions
will unravel when he would have the opportunity to admonish these
brothers who would not even recognize him at that time as their own
brother, Yusuf.
According to Tafsir Mazhari, this revelation which came to him dur-
ing the time of his childhood was not the commonly recognized wahy or
revelation sent to prophets - because, that is conferred on them at the
age of forty. In fact, this was a revelation similar to that which was sent
to the mother of Sayyidna Musa . The usual channel of revelation as
received by prophets started when Sayyidna Yusuf Med had reached
وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهَ أَتَيْنُهُ حُكْمًا :Egypt and attained maturity - as stated in the Qur'an
Élet, (And when he reached at the prime of his age, We gave him wisdom
and knowledge - 22). And Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim and others have
taken this revelation to be nothing but prophetic, though in an exception-
al way, as was the case of Sayyidna 'Isa & dl who was invested with pro-
phethood during his childhood. (Mazhari)
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 4
has said: 'After he had reached

47
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
Egypt, Allah Ta'ala had forbidden Sayyidna Yusuf See through a revela-
tion that he should not report his circumstances back to his home. (Qurțu
bi) This was the reason why a prophet of Allah like Sayyidna Yusuf
did not - even after having been released from the prison and later hav-
ing the reins of the government of Egypt in his hands - make an effort to
find a way through which he could have provided relief to his old and af-
flicted father by sending to him a message that he was safe and set.
Who knows or could know the wisdom of Allah jalla thana'uh hidden
behind this arrangement? Perhaps, of the many considerations, it may
also be His will that Sayyidna Ya'qub & be sounded out that such
boundless love for someone other than Allah was not ideally fa-
vour-worthy - and that by making those brothers come to Sayyidna
Yusuf Myel in need, the purpose may be to mildly censure him too for his
conduct.
At this point, Imam Al-Qurtubi and other commentators have de-
scribed the event of the lowering of Sayyidna Yusuf fall into the pit of
the well. When his brothers started doing that, he clung to the outer
edge of the well. They took his shirt out and tied his hands with it. At
that time, Sayyidna Yusuf deal pleaded for mercy from his brothers once
again. But, once again, he got the same answer: Call those eleven stars
who prostrate to you, let them help you. Then, they put him in a bucket
and lowered him down into the well. When he was down as far as half
the depth of the well, they cut off the rope releasing the bucket for a free
fall. But, Allah being the protector of His prophet, saved him when he re-
mained unhurt as he fell into the water. There was a protruding rock
close to him. Safe and sound, he sat on it. According to some narrations,
a command was given to Sayyidna Jibra'il dual who put him on the rock.
Sayyidnā Yusuf Şı
remained in that well for three days. Hiding
away from others, his brother, Yahuda, brought food and water for him
every day and lowered it down to him through a bucket.
As in verse 16:َوَجَاؤُ أَبَاهُمُ عِشَآءٌ يَّيكُون :They came weeping to their father
at nightfall. Hearing the sound of their crying, Sayyidna Ya'qub el
came out and asked: What has happened? Was the flock of your goats at-
tacked by someone? And where is Yusuf? The brothers, then, said:

48
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
يَبَانَآ إِنَّا ذَهَبُنَا نَسُتَبْقُ وَتَرَكُنَا يُوسُفَ عِنْدَ مَتَاعِنَا فَكَلَهُ الدِّثُبُ وَمَآ أَنْتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ
لَّنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَدِقِيْنَ
Father, we went running races and left Yusuf with our belong-
ings and the wolf ate him up. And you will never believe us,
even though we are telling the truth.
Some rules about racing
In Ahkam al-Qur'an, Ibn al-'Arabi has said: Running races against
each other is legitimate in the Shari'ah. It is a good habit which comes
handy in Jihad. Therefore, the Holy Prophet
, as proved by authentic
Ahadith, has personally participated in such running of races. Also
proved is making horses run against each other (not to be confused with
institutionalized horse-racing with bets, as clarified later). Out of the
noble Companions, Sayyidna Salamah ibn al-Akwa' 4
ran a one-on-one
race against a person and won it.
That the racing of horses as such is permissible stands proved from
the verse under reference and from Hadith reports cited above. In addi-
tion to the racing of horses, mutual competition in racing and archery
and in other fields is also permissible, and equally permissible is the giv-
ing of awards from a third party to the winner in this mutual competi-
tion. But, fixing an amount of money in a bilateral agreement that the
loser will pay it to the winner is gambling or Qimar which has been de-
clared Haram or unlawful by the Holy Qur'an. Today, none of the prevail-
ing forms of horse racing is free from gambling and Qimar. Therefore, all
of them are Haram, impermissible and unlawful.
Mentioned in the previous verses was that the brothers of Sayyidna
Yusuf &del, after talking to each other back and forth, finally put him
down in a desolate well and returned to their father telling him that he
has been eaten up by a wolf. From verse 18, the story onwards has been
taken up in the following words: ◌ٍوَجَاءُوُ عَلى قَمِيُصِهِ بِدَمِ كَذِب (And they came
with fake blood on his shirt) that is, the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf Se
came back with his shirt they had smeared in fake blood so that they
could make their father believe that he has been eaten up by a wolf.
But, Allah Ta'ala had His way of exposing their lie. He made them
neglect something else they should have done besides smearing the shirt
with fake blood. Had they also torn the shirt, it would proved his being

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
eaten up by a wolf. Here they were coming with an intact shirt smeared
with the blood of a kid goat and trying to deceive their father. After see-
ing this shirt totally unscratched, Sayyidna Ya'qub Xual said: My sons,
certainly wise was this wolf who ate Yusuf in a way that his shirt was
not torn from anywhere.
Thus, their deceit was exposed before Sayyidna Ya'qub Mal and he
said:
بَلُ سَوَّلْتُ لَكُمُ أَنْفُسُكُمْ آَمُرًّا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ، وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَاتَصِفُونَ
Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something. So,
patience is best. And it is Allah whose help is sought against
what you describe.
Two Rulings:
1. Sayyidna Ya'qub &ea has used the intact shirt as evidence to es-
tablish that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf & were lying. This tells us
that a Qadi or judge should also keep an eye on circumstancial evidence
alongwith the claims and arguments of the parties concerned (Qurtubi).
Al-Mawardi has said: The legendary shirt of Yusuf is a wonder of the
world in its own way. Three great events of prophetic annals are con-
nected with his shirt: (I) The first event relates to the smearing of the
shirt with fake blood, cheating a father and the evidence of the shirt
which established the lie. (II) The second event relates to Zulaikha in
which it is the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf See which appears as the conclu-
sive evidence. (III) The third event relates to the return of Sayyidna
Ya'qub's eyesight in which it is the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf &&kell which
stands out as the cause of that miracle.
بَلُ سَوَّلَتُ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمُ آَمُرًا :Some 'Ulama have said that the comment .2
(Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something - 18) made at
this time before his sons was also made at the time when Benyamin, the
real brother of Sayyidna Yusuf Kel, was detained in Egypt having been
charged with theft. When his brothers reported this incident to Sayyidna
Ya'qub ◌ِالشَّح , he said : ◌ْبَلُ سَوَّلْتُ لَكُمُ اَنْفُسُكُم (Rather, your inner desires have se-
duced you to something - 83). Worth pondering here is that Sayyidna
Ya'qub &del had made both these comments as based on his opinion. The
first of them turned out to be true; the other was not - because, in this,

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
the brothers were not to be blamed. This tells us that a wrong personal
opinion is possible even from prophets initially - though, later on, they
are not left to stand by that wrong opinion by means of Divine revela-
tion.
According to Al-Qurtubi, it proves that an error of opinion can be
committed by the highest of the high. Therefore, every man or woman of
opinion should take his or her opinion as suspect, and should not become
so rigid about it as not to be ready to listen or entertain what others
have to say.
There is No Chance or Accident in Divine Arrangements
It is said in verse 19:"وَجَآءَتُ سَيَّارَةٌ فَارُسَلُوا وَارِدَهُمُ فَاَدْلَى دَلْوَه (And there came
some wayfarers and sent one of them to go for water. So, he let down his
bucket). The word: Bu (sayyara) means wayfarers or a caravan. Warid
( !; ) is a person who moves ahead of the caravan as its vanguard. Such
a person is responsible for taking care of the needs of the caravan, water
being one of them. Idla' (¿Y'!) means to lower the bucket into the well to
draw water. The sense is that a caravan passed by this part of land by
chance. According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, this caravan was coming from
Syria on its way to Egypt. Having lost its bearing, it strayed into this
desolate place and sent some of his men to bring water from the well.
That the Syrian caravan lost its regular route, reached that exact
spot and decided to send their water-carrier to that deserted well is a se-
quence of events which is referred to by people as accidental. But, the
knower of the secret of the creation knows that all these events are
chains of a system which is breathtakingly coordinated and formidable.
It is but the Creator of Yusuf, and his Protector, who moves the caravan
away from its set route and brings it here and sends its men to this de-
serted well. This is a mirror of all other states and events which common
people see as accidental happenings - and philosophers as contingents -
all of which is based on an unawareness of how the system of the uni-
verse really works. Otherwise, in creation, there is no chance or accident
(which Einstein, though no formal believer, did concede: 'God does not
play dice!'). However, the most true Creator of the universe is known by
the majesty of His unique state of being. He is, as the Qur'an declares:

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
فَعَّالْ لِّمَا يُرِيُدُ
Doer of what He intends - 85:16
His wisdom works in unimaginable ways when He creates conditions
and circumstances which do not seem to synchronize with the obvious se-
quence of events. When this happens, one fails to comprehend the real-
ity, and takes what he does not understand as something accidental.
However, their man whose name has been identified as Malik ibn
Du'bar reached that well, lowered his bucket which Yusuf saw as Divine
help coming down. He took hold of the rope. Up it came with no water
but with the shining face of someone whose instant mystique of beauty
and signs of forthcoming spiritual excellence were no less impressive
than the real greatness he was going to achieve in the future. Intrigued,
surprised and flushed with delight, the man looked at this young, hand-
some and promising child coming suddenly face to face before him emerg-
ing from the depths of a well and making him exclaim: يُشُرَى هذَا غُلام (What
a good news! This is a boy). In the Hadith concerning the Night of Mi'raj
(the Ascent to the Heavens) appearing in the Sahih of Muslim, the Holy
Prophet
has been reported to have said: 'When I met Yusuf 89, I
saw that Allah Ta'ala has blessed him with half of the beauty of the
whole world, while the other half has been spread over the rest of it.'
Following immediately after is the statement: ◌ًوَاَسرُّرُهُ بضَاعَة (And they
kept him hidden as merchandise). It means that Malik ibn Du'bar, when
he first saw this boy, did exclaim taken by surprise. But, an afterthought
over the matter made him decide not to let this be known. Instead, he
thought, he would keep him hidden from others so that he could sell him
for good money later. He did not want the caravan to know about it for
the whole caravan would then be claiming a share in the money so ac-
quired.
However, the expression could also mean that the brothers of Sayyid-
na Yusuf Seal, by concealing the truth of the matter, themselves made
him into merchandise. This is as it appears in some narrations where it
is said that Yahuda used to carry food to Sayyidna Yusuf Sell every day
while he was in the well. On the third day, when he did not find him
there, he returned to his brothers and told them about it. Together, they

52
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 7 - 20
went there, made investigations, and found him with the people of the
caravan. They told them: This boy is our slave. He has escaped and you
have done something bad by detaining him in your possession. Malik ibn
Du'bar and his companions were scared lest they be taken as thieves.
Therefore, they started talking about a deal to purchase him from the
brothers.
Thus, the verse would come to mean that the brothers of Sayyidna
Yusuf Sell themselves made him into merchandise and sold him out.
After that it was said: ◌َوَاللهُ عَلِيمٌ بمَا يَعُمَلُون (while Allah was aware of what
they were doing). The sense is that Allah Ta'ala, in His perfect knowl-
edge, was fully aware of what the legendary brothers of Yusuf would do,
and also that which will be done by the people of the caravan who would
buy him. Allah Ta'ala had all power to undo the designs of both, but it
was under His own wise considerations that He let these designs carry
on.
In this sentence, according to Ibn Kathir, there is an element of guid-
ance for the Holy Prophet
as well. It tells him that nothing his people
are doing to him, or will do in the future, is outside the scope of Allah's
knowledge and power. He could, if He so willed, change everything and
everyone outright. But, wisdom demanded that they be allowed to show
their power at this time. Finally, by making him overcome them, it will
be truth itself seen triumphant over them - as was done in the case of
العَليّها Yusuf
Verse 20 begins with the words: ◌ٍوَشَرَؤُهُ بِثَمَنِ بَخُسِ دَرَاهِمَ مَعُدُوْدَة (And they
sold him for a paltry price, for a few silver-coins, and they were disinter-
ested in him). In Arabic, the word: Ús (shira') is used for buying and sell-
ing both. The probability of both meanings exists here. If the pronoun is
reverted back to the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf &well, it will mean sell-
ing - and if applied to the people of the caravan, it would mean buying.
Thus, the sense would be: 'the brothers of Yusuf sold him - or, the people
of the caravan bought him - for a paltry price, that is, for a counted few
dirhams in return.'
Al-Qurtubi says: The Arab traders used to transact deals involving
big amounts by weight while, for amounts not more than forty, they
would go by count. Therefore, the word: ' (ma'dudah: few) used with:

53
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
f's (darahim: plural of dirham: silver-coins) tells us that the count of
dirhams was less than forty. Ibn Kathir, citing the authority of
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud 40, has written that the deal was closed
at twenty dirhams which the ten brothers had divided among them-
selves at the rate of two dirhams per person. As for the exact amount of
dirhams, reported there are other narrations as well which put them as
twenty two and forty. (Ibn Kathir)
In the last sentence of the verse: ◌َوَكَانُوا فِيْهِ مِنَ الزَّاهدِيُن (and they were dis-
interested in him), the word: All (az-zahidin) is the plural of zahid
which is a derivation from zuhd. Literally, zuhd means indifference, dis-
interestedness. In usage, the lack of interest in and the avoidance of
wealth and property in worldly life is referred to as zuhd. The meaning
of the verse is that the brothers of Yusuf were really not interested in
any financial gain for themselves in this matter. Their real purpose was
to separate Sayyidna Yusuf Seal from their father. Therefore, they
struck a deal for a very few dirhams.
Verses 21 -23
وَقَالَ الَّذِىِ اشْتَرْبِهُ مِنُ مِّصُرَ لِمُرَاتِهَ اَكْرِمِىُ مَثُوْنُهُ عَسى أَنْ يَّنْفَعَنَآَ
أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا* وَكَذلِكَ مَكَنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِى الْأَرْضِ ، وَلِنُعَلِّمَه، مِنْ
تَأْوِيٌّلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ ، وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىّ آمُرِهٍ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ
لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ آَشُدََّ أَتَيْنُهُ حُكُمًا وَّعِلُمَاء وَكَذَلِكَ
نَجُزِى الْمُحُسِنِينَ ﴿٢﴾ وَرَاوَدَتُهُ الَّتِىُ هُوَ فِىُ بَيْتِهَا عَنُ نَّفُسِهِ
وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبَوَابَ وَقَالَتُ هَيْتَ لَكَ ، قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللهِ إِنَّهْ رَبِّىَّ أَحْسَنَ
مَثُوَاىَ ﴿ إِنَّهَ، لاَ يُفْلِحُ الظُّلِمُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾
And the one who bought him from Egypt said to his
wife, "Make his stay graceful. He may be useful for us.
Or, we may adopt him as a son." And thus We estab-
lished Yusuf in the land, so that We should teach him
the interpretation of events. And Allah is powerful in
(enforcing) His command, but most of the people do not
know. [21]

54
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
And when he reached the prime of his age, We gave him
wisdom and knowledge, and this is how We reward
those good in deeds. [22]
And she, in whose house he was, seduced him away
from his (resisting) self and bolted the doors, and said,
"come on!" He said, "May Allah save me. Surely, he is my
master. He has given me a good lodging. Surely, the
wrongdoers do not prosper." [23]
Commentary
Described in the previous verses was an early account of Sayyidna
Yusuf Xcell as to how the people from the caravan took him out of the
well, and how his brothers made him out to be their escaped slave and
traded him for a few dirhams. First of all, they did not know the value
and station of their great brother. Secondly, their real purpose was not
to make money by selling him - they wanted to remove him away from
his father. Therefore, they did not stop at simply selling him because
they felt the danger that the caravan may somehow leave him behind as
a result of which he may somehow reach their father and tell him all
about their conspiracy. So, according to a report from Tafsir authority,
Mujahid, these people waited for the caravan to leave with him for
Egypt. When the caravan actually departed, they went with the caravan
upto a certain distance warning them on the way that he is in the habit
of running away, therefore, they should not leave him free to move
around, better still, they should tie him up. Thus, the caravan, unaware
of the precious 'merchandise' they were carrying with them, took him in
that condition as far as Egypt. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
The part of the story as taken up onwards in the present verses
shows the eloquent brevity of the Qur'an when sections of the story
which can be understood independently have not been necessarily de-
scribed. For instance, the trip of the caravan through various stages en-
route Egypt and the actual selling of Sayyidna Yusuf del there. All this
has been skipped. Stated from here is:
وَقَالَ الَّذِىِ اشْتَرْبُهُ مِنْ مِّصُرَا مُرَآتِةٍ أَكْرِمِىُ مَثُونِهُ
And the one who bought him from Egypt said to his wife,
'Make his stay graceful ... '.
According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, when the caravan reached Egypt and

55
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
offered him for sale, people vied with each other with increasing bids
which rose to gold, to musk and to silk equal to his weight.
But, Allah Ta'ala had destined this human treasure to go to the most
powerful authority of the time in Egypt, the 'Aziz of Misr. He beat all the
bids and bought Sayyidna Yusuf el.
As we already know from the statement of the Holy Qur'an, all these
things happening were nothing accidental. Instead, they were parts of
the formidable plan put into action by the most exalted Lord Himself.
That Sayyidna Yusuf Stell will be bought in Egypt by the highest of the
high in that country was certainly a call of destiny. According to Ibn Ka-
thir, this man who bought Sayyidna Yusuf Sel in Egypt was what we
may call the Finance Minister of Egypt. His name has been cited as
Qitfir, or 'Itfir. The King of Egypt at that time was Ruiyyan ibn Usayd,
an Amalkite (who, later on, embraced Islam at the hands of Sayyidna
Yusuf &gel) and died as a Muslim during the lifetime of Sayyidna Yusuf
Se (Mazhari). The name of the wife of the 'Aziz of Egypt who had
bought him has been given as Ra'eel, or Zulaikha. So, the 'Aziz of Mişr,
called Qitfir (Potiphar), instructed his wife to provide good lodging for
Yusuf, not to treat him like common slaves and see that good arrange-
ments are made for him.
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud 4
said: 'Three men turned out to be
the best physiognomists of the world: (1) The 'Aziz of Mir who discov-
ered the inner excellence of Yusuf Seel from his outer appearance and
gave those instructions to his wife; (2) the daughter of Sayyidna Shu'ayb
يُأَبَتِ اسْتَاجِرُهُ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَن: الشكا who told her father about Sayyidna Musa التعليقات
O my father, retain him on wages. Surely, the best one) اسْتَأْجَرُتَ الْقَوِىُّ الْآَمِيْنُ
for you to employ is the one who is strong and trustworthy - 28:26); (3)
The third person is Sayyidna Abu Bakr
who chose Sayyidna 'Umar
to be the Khalifah after the Holy Prophet
(Ibn Kathir)
The next sentence of the verse is:وَكَذلِكَ مَكَنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِى الْأَرْض (And thus
We established Yusuf in the land ... ). Given here is the good news of
what would happen in the future, that is, Sayyidna Yusuf Seal who has
entered the House of the Aziz of Misr at this time as a slave shall soon
be the highest ranking man in the country of Egypt when the power of
governance comes into his hands.

56
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
In the statement which follows immediately after, that is: 3 ,
MOGU JE (so that We should teach him the interpretation of events), if
the letter 31, (waw) appearing at the begining of the sentence is taken as:
ibs ('atf : conjunctive), a sentence will be considered as understood
which will mean that 'We established Yusuf in the land so that he brings
forth peace in the world through equity and justice, works towards the
economic and social betterment of the people of the country, and so that
We teach him to put things right where they belong. The general sense
of the later is something which is inclusive of the comprehension of Di-
vine revelation, its implementation in practice, and the acquisition of all
supportive areas of knowledge, and the correct interpretation of dreams
as well.
Verse 21 ends with the statement: وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلى آَمُره (And Allah is power-
ful in (enforcing) His command ... ). In other words, it means that Allah
Ta'ala is powerful and fully in control over what He wills and when He
does so will, all outward chains of causes in this world start falling in
line with His will - as said the Holy Prophet & in a Hadith: 'When Allah
Ta'ala intends to do something, He makes all worldly causes ready to act
وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ :accordingly.' But, says the last part of the sentence
that is, most of the people do not understand this reality. They have
their eyes on obvious causes. These they take to be everything and keep
going after them all the time. That there is the Causer of all Causes and
the Holder of Absolute Power over everything is a thought they would
seldom pay heed to.
وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدََّ اتَينُهُ :In the first sentence of the second verse (22), it is said
Lies, CK (And when he reached at the prime of his age, We gave him wis-
dom and knowledge ... ).
At what age did he reach the prime of his age? In this, commentators
differ. Sayyidnā Ibn 'Abbas 4%, Mujahid and Qatadah Ja du , say
that his age was thirty three years. Dahhak Js Ul ., puts it at twenty,
and Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله تعالى at forty. However, all of them agree that
the bestowing of wisdom and knowledge upon him referred to at this
place means the bestowal of Nubuwwah, the station of prophethood.
This also tells us that Sayyidna Yusuf Me was invested with Nubuw-
wah much later than his arrival in Egypt - and the Wahy (revelation)
sent to him while he was in the depth of the well was not the Wahy(reve-

57
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
lation) technically identified with Nubuwwah. Instead of that, it was a
revelation in the literal sense which can also be sent to non-prophets - as
it has appeared in the case of the mother of Sayyidna Musa Seal, and
about Sayyidah Maryam.
In the second sentence of the second verse (22), it was said: 33UK,
3.JI (and this is how We reward those good in deeds). The sense is
that delivering Sayyidna Yusuf Seal from elimination and making him
reach the office of power and honour was an outcome of his righteous-
ness, fear of Allah and good deeds. This was something not restricted to
his person alone. In fact, whoever acts the way he did, shall receive the
blessings of Allah in the same fashion.
Moving to verse 23, the words of the text are:
وَرَاوَدَتُهُ الَّتِىُ هُوَ فِىُ بَيْتِهَا عَنُ نَّفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتُ هَيْتَ لَكَ
And she, in whose house he was, seduced him away from his
(resisting) self and bolted the doors, and said, 'come on!'.
From the first verse, we know that this woman was the wife of the
'Aziz of Mişr. But, at this place, the Holy Qur'an has elected to bypass
the possibility of mentioning her by a brief expression as the wife of
'Aziz. Instead, it has chosen to use the expression: الَّتِىُ هُوَ فِىُ بَيْتِهَا (in whose
house he was). The hint given here is that the efforts of Sayyidna Yusuf
to save himself from falling into sin were further complicated by the
fact that he lived in the house of this very woman, under her protection,
and as such, disapproving and discarding her verbal advance was no
easy task.
The Strongest Defence Against Sin is the Seeking of Protection
from Allah Himself
How was he able to do that? There was an outward cause to this.
When Sayyidna Yusuf Seel found himself surrounded from all sides, he
took the ultimate recourse. So, like a prophet he was, first of all, he
sought the protection of Allah. He said: du sud Ju (May Allah save me!).
We see that he did not place his sole trust in his determination and re-
solve to hold out against the invitation to sin - he sought the refuge of
Allah first. And it is obvious that anyone who enjoys the protection of
Allah can never be moved away from the right path by anyone. It was
only after having that coverage, that he started acting as a prophet

58
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 21 - 23
would, with wisdom and earnest good counsel. Addressing Zulaikha di-
rectly and personally, he advised her that she too should fear Allah and
give up her intention. He said:
إِنَّهُ رَبِّىَّ احُسَنَ مَثْوَاىَ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُفُلِحُ الظُّلِمُونَ
Surely, he is my master. He has given me a good lodging. Sure-
ly, the wrongdoers do not prosper.
As obvious, it means: Your husband, the 'Aziz of Mişr is my master
who has raised and supported me and has given me a good home to live
in. He is my benefactor. How can I even think of violating his honour?
This is great injustice and those who commit injustice never prosper. Im-
plied therein was a lesson for Zulaikha too who was told: When I know
his rights on me for having been my master and caretaker for a lesser
time than you, then, being his wedded wife of years, you should certainly
know his rights on you much more than I do.
At this place, Sayyidna Yusuf &cel has called the 'Aziz of Misr his
Rabb - though, it is not permissible to use this word for anyone other
than Allah Ta'ala. The reason is that words like this create either a sus-
picion of Shirk, or a resemblance with those who commit Shirk. There-
fore, the use of such words has been prohibited in the Shari'ah of Islam.
It appears in a Hadith of Şahin Muslim: 'Let no slave call his master his
Rabb and let no master call his slave his 'abd or servant.' But, this is a
unique characteristic of the Islamic Shari'ah where, alongwith the prohi-
bition of Shirk, everything else in which there is the least doubt that
they may become the conduits of Shirk has also been prohibited. In the
religious codes of past prophets, though Shirk has been strictly blocked
but there was no restriction placed on the sources and inlets of Shirk.
This was the reason why depiction of images was not prohibited in past
religious codes. But in the Shari'ah of Islam, being valid upto the Last
Day, full attention was given to protect it from being affected by Shirk.
So, the sources and mediums of Shirk, such as, image and words - which
arouse suspicion of Shirk were also prohibited. However, the saying of
Sayyidna Yusuf &&el : ' (Surely, he is my master), was correct in its
place.
And it is also possible that the pronoun in: 'AI (innahu) reverts to
Allah Ta'ala which would mean that Sayyidna Yusuf Meal had called

59
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 24
Allah his Rabb and it was He who, in the real sense, gave him good lodg-
ing, and that disobedience to Him was the greatest injustice, and that
the unjust never prosper.
Some commentators, Suddiyy, Ibn Ishaq and others have reported
that during the course of this privacy, Zulaikha started praising his
looks with the purpose of softening his resistance. She said: How beauti-
ful are your hair! Sayyidna Yusuf
said: After death, these hair will
be the first to part away from my body. Then, she said: How beautiful
are your eyes! He said: After death, they will become water and flow
down my face. Once again, she said: How beautiful is your face! There-
upon, he said: All this will be eaten up by the earth below. He was look-
ing ahead. This was his concern for the 'Akhirah. Allah Ta'ala had set it
upon him in the prime of his youth and that made all charms of mortal
life turn into dust before him. It is true that the concern for 'Akhirah is
something which can keep every human being protected from every evil
wherever he or she may be. May Allah bless us all with this concern.
Verse 24
وَلَقَدُ هَمَّتُ بِهَ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلآ آَنُ رَّا بُرُهَانَ رَبِّهِ + كَذْلِكَ لِنَصُرِفَ
عَنْهُ السُّؤَّءَ وَالْفَحُشَآءَ ﴿ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِيْنَ ﴿٢٤)
And she certainly desired him. And he had desired her -
had he not seen the proof from his Lord (he could have
indulged). This We did to turn away from him evil and
lewdness. Surely, he is among Our chosen slaves. [24]
Commentary
Mentioned in the previous verse was the great trial and test of Sayy-
idna Yusuf &&d in that the wife of the 'Aziz of Misr bolted the doors and
tried to invite him to sin assembling together in that effort all circum-
stancial temptations to attract and to make him become indulgent. But,
Almighty Allah kept this righteous young person standing steadfast in
such severe trial. The details of what transpired have been given in this
verse. Said here is that Zulaikha was busy persuing her obsessive
thought any way, but emerging in the heart of Sayyidna Yusuf too, there
was some non-voluntary tilt towards her as would be the natural conse-

60
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 24
quence in such a situation. But, it was exactly at that time that Allah
Ta'ala brought before Sayyidna Yusuf & His argument and proof, be-
cause of which, that non-voluntary tilt, rather than increase, actually
died out totally - and, beating the pursuit, he ran.
In this verse, the word: " (hamm : thought) has been attributed to
Zulaikha and Sayyidna Yusuf الشها both as in:وَلَقَدُ هَمَّتُ به وَهَمَّ بها (And she
desired him. And he had desired her). And we know that the 'hamm' or
thought of Zulaikha was that of sin. This could have raised a doubt that
the 'thought' of Sayyidna Yusuf Seal may also have been of a similar na-
ture - and this is, based on the consensus of the entire Muslim Ummah,
contrary to the great station of a Nabiyy (prophet) and Rasul. The rea-
son is that the majority of the Muslim Ummah holds the standard belief
that the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are protected
against all sorts of sins, minor or major. As for a major sin, it can neither
be committed by them intentionally, nor is it possible through inadver-
tance or mistake. However, the probability that a minor sin could be com-
mitted through inadvertance or mistake does exist - but, on this too, the
noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are not allowed to remain -
instead, they are warned and made to move away from it. (Musamarah)
Besides the fact that this question of the 'Ismah of Anbiya' (the state
of being under Divine protection with which prophets are blessed) stands
settled and proved under the authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah, it is
also necessary, rationally too - because, should there remain the pro-
bability of a committal of sin by the Anbiya' >JI le, there remains no
way one could place trust in the Din (religion) and Wahy (revelation)
brought by them, and that their very coming into the world with a Di-
vine Book revealed to them becomes totally fruitless. Therefore, Allah
Ta'ala has kept every prophet of His totally ma'sum from every sin
(ma'sum: technically, sinless or infallible; literally, protected by Allah).
So, speaking generally, it stands established that the 'thought' which
crossed the mind of Sayyidna Yusuf &eel was not a thought to be
counted in the degree of sin. For details, we should understand that the
word: (hamm: thought) in the Arabic language is used to convey two
meanings: (1) Intend and be determined to do something; (2) a simple
scruple in the heart or the appearance of a thought beyond one's control.
In the first situation, it is included under sin, and is accountable. Howev-

61
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 24
er, should someone, after having made the intention, were to leave off
this sin at his own choice just because of the fear of Allah, then, accord-
ing to the Hadith, Allah Ta'ala replaces the sin and enters a good deed
in his or her Book of Deeds. And in the second situation - that is, in the
event there comes a simple scruple and non-voluntary thought, without
any intention to put the thought into practice, for instance, a normal
turn of thought towards cool water during the fasts of summer which is
natural and experienced by almost everyone, though there is no inten-
tion there to go about drinking water while fasting. So, a thought like
that is neither within one's control, nor is there any accountability and
sin in it.
In a Hadith of the Sahih of Al-Bukhari, the Holy Prophet 5 has
been reported to have said: 'Allah Ta'ala has forgiven the scruple and
thought of sin for my Ummah - if not put into practice.' (Qurțubi) And in
the Şahinayn (the two Saihs, that is, Al-Bukhari and Muslim), it has
been reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurayrah 46
that the
Holy Prophet
said: 'Allah Ta'ala says to the angels: When My servant
intends to do good, write a good deed in his or her Book of Deeds just be-
cause of that intention. And when he or she has completed this deed,
write down ten good deeds. And if a servant intends to do a sin, then
leaves it off due to the fear of Allah, write one good deed in his or her
Book of Deeds in lieu of that sin. And if he or she does fall into that sin,
write it as one sin only.' (Ibn Kathir)
Al-Qurtubi has, in his Tafsir, proved the use of the word: " ('hamm':
thought) covering both these meanings through evidences from Arab
usage and poetry.
This tells us that the word: 'hamm' appearing in this verse has been
attributed to both Zulaikha and Sayyidna Yusuf Se but there is a big
difference between the 'hamm' or thought of both. The former is included
under sin while the other has the status of a non-voluntary scruple
which is not included under sin. The descriptive style of the Holy Qur'an
is itself a testimony to this - because, had their 'hamm' or thought been
identical, it would have been sufficient to say it in a dual form, such as:
Era, that is, the two of them desired, which was brief too. But, leaving
this option aside, the 'hamm' or thought of both was described separate
from each other: هَمَّتُ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بها (And she certainly desired him. And he had

62
Surah Yusuf : 12 : 24
desired her). Then, added to the 'hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was the
word of emphasis: Ja (lagad). With the 'hamm' or thought of Sayyidna
Yusuf &El, the emphasis of the letters: y (lam) and: Ji (qad) is not
there. This tells us that, through this particular expression, the purpose
is to emphasize that the 'hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was of some
other nature while that of Sayyidna Yusuf Mel, of some other.
According to a Hadith in the Sahih of Muslim, when this test was
faced by Sayyidna Yusuf Sel, the angels submitted before Allah Ta'ala:
This sincere servant of Yours is thinking of sin, though he knows its
curse fully well. Allah Ta'ala said: You wait. If he commits this sin, write
what he has done in his Book of Deeds. And if he abstains from commit-
ting it, do not record it a sin, instead, enter a good deed in his Book of
Deeds - because, he has surrendered his desire only out of fear for Me
(which is doing good at its best) (Qurțubi)
To sum up, it can be said that the thought or tilt generated in the
heart of Sayyidna Yusuf Sell was simply at the level of a non-voluntary
scruple, which is not included under sin. Then, by acting against this
scruple, his rank with Allah Ta'ala rose much higher.
At this stage, some commentators have also pointed out to another
لَوْلاً أَنُ رَّبُرُهَانَ رَبّه :construction of the verse. According to them, the statement
(Had he not seen the proof from his Lord) which succeeds is really sup-
posed to precede, in which case, the verse would mean that Sayyidna
Yusuf Scel would have also desired her had he not seen the proof from
his Lord - but, because he had seen the proof from his Lord, he remained
safe from this 'hamm' or thought. Thematically, this too is correct. But,
some other commentators have declared this construction as contrary to
the rules of the Arabic grammar. Thus, considering this aspect, the first
Tafsir is weightier as it makes the Taqwa and chastity of Sayyidna
Yusuf Skal rise to much higher levels since he, despite the human in-
stinct, managed to stay safe from sin.
As for the statement: لَوُلًا أَنْ رَّا بُرُهَانَ رَبِّه (Had he not seen the proof from
his Lord) at the end, its principal clause is understood and it means:
Had he not seen the proof from his Lord, he would have remained in-
dulged in that thought, but after having seen the proof from his Lord,
that non-voluntary thought and scruple too was eliminated from his

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Surah Yusuf : 12 : 24
heart.
The Holy Qur'an does not clarify as to what was that 'burhan' or
proof from his Lord which appeared before him. Therefore, statements of
commentators differ in this matter. Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Sa'id ibn Ju-
, Mujahid, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Hasan al-Başrī Jus d,
bayr
and others have said that Allah Ta'ala made the face of Sayyidna Ya'qub
appear miraculously before him in that private quarter showing
him with his finger in his mouth and warning him. Some commentators
say that it was the face of the 'Aziz of Misr which was presented before
him. Some others have said: When Sayyidna Yusuf & looked towards
the ceiling, he saw the following verse of the Qur'an written there: ay
that is, do not go (even) near adultery because it الزّنْىّ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةٌ ﴿ وَسَآءَ سَبِيلاً
is a grave act of immodesty and a very evil way (for human society).
Some other commentators have said that Zulaikha had an idol in her
house. When she threw a curtain on this idol, Sayyidna Yusuf Stel
asked the reason for it. She said: This is my object of worship. I cannot
dare commit sin before it. Sayyidna Yusuf & said: My Rabb, the object
of my worship certainly deserves that far more modesty be shown before
Him for no curtain can stop His seeing. Finally, there are commentators
who have said that the station of the prophet he was on and the knowl-
edge of the Divine he had was itself the proof from his Lord.
After reporting all these sayings, what has been said by the Imam of
Tafsir, Ibn Jarir, has been adjudged authoritatively as most-favoured
and doubt-free. And he has said: As much as the Holy Qur'an has to tell
should be what has to be considered sufficient. In other words, Sayyidna
Yusuf &
saw something which made the scruple in his heart go away.
To determine this precisely, there could be all those probabilities men-
tioned by the commentators - but, none of these can be held as certain
absolutely. (Ibn Kathir)
كَذلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحُشَآءَ ﴿ إِنَّهُ مِنْ :At the end of the verse it was said
.(This We did to turn away from him evil and lewdness) عِبَادِنَا الْمُخُلَصِيْنَ
Here, the word: JI (as-su' : evil) means minor sin (Saghirah) and:
(al-fahsha': lewdness) means major sin (Kabirah). (Mazhari)
Noteworthy here is that the text mentions 'turning away evil and
lewdness from Sayyidna Yusuf & - and not 'Sayyidna Yusuf Seal from