[Part 1]The young wayfarer asked, "When was surah Yusuf revealed?" The statesman replied, "We do not know the exact date of when this surah was revealed, but we know roughly that it was revealed around 2 or 3 before the Hijra. The timing of revelation is very crucial. Surah Yusuf was revealed after the famous year called the Year of Sorrow. In that year, three things happened one after another which were the most painful for the Prophet (ﷺ). The first of these three devastating things was the most personal and intimate, and that was the death of Khadijah (رضي الله عنها). Khadijah (رضي الله عنها) was his supporter and his moral source of strength. Within five or six weeks, a second death followed, and that was the death of his uncle, Abu Talib. Abu Talib was his support in society. Abu Talib sacrificed his own reputation and prestige in order to protect the Prophet (ﷺ). Khadijah was his internal support in the house. Abu Talib was his external support in society. Both of them died one after another, and it was a very difficult time for the Prophet (ﷺ). To make matters worse, he suffered the single most depressing or difficult day of his whole life after the deaths of Khadijah and Abu Talib. As if there could be no low after that, which was the incident of Ta’if.
These three incidents occurred within six weeks of one other – within two months, as if things could not get any worse. At this point in time, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala revealed Surah Yusuf. When we understand this frame of revelation, all of a sudden the significance of Surah Yusuf increases many times. Why? Surah Yusuf is meant to uplift our Prophet's spirits (ﷺ) and console him and strengthen him at a time of such trials and tribulations. Surah Yusuf is the light that will lead him out of this depressing time and time of pain and anguish. This is hope for us when we are feeling down and suffering from problems of society. This is the surah that we can turn to for an uplifting moment and to find some solace and comfort, which is why Allah revealed it to our beloved Prophet (ﷺ)."
The young wayfarer inquired, "Could you explain to me what Allah meant by the best of all stories as in the verse 12:3?" The statesman answered, "In Arabic, story is called qisah. The word qisah comes from qasah, which means to follow the footsteps in the sand. When the bedouins found somebody’s footsteps, they would follow them in order to catch up to that person. Why does a story come from following the footsteps? You are walking in their footsteps and following them. When I tell you the qisah, what happens to you? You are living it. Why does everybody love a story? A story is mesmerizing. A person never grows too old to listen to a story. No matter how old you are, you love to listen to a story. What do we do when we put children to sleep? We tell them a story, and this is what children love. All of us are children in this regard, and we love stories. Allah is saying, “We are going to give you the best of stories.” It is called a qisah because we are walking the walk. When we hear the story it is as if we are following their footsteps. Allah is saying, “We will give you the best of stories.”
Another benefit of a story is that they are ‘aqeedah in action. It is one thing to say that you put your trust in Allah, but when we hear the story of Ibrahim when he is going to be thrown into the fire and he puts his trust in Allah, it is theology shown in action. ‘Aqeedah is manifested. Another benefit of the story is that it is the reality of what has happened in the past. It is a real thing and not theory anymore. We know this happened to the previous prophets, and so we sense it more. Another benefit is that stories teach us that Allah’s Sunnah is repetitive and what has happened in the past will happen again. What is the purpose of a fable or story we tell our children? There is always a moral to the story. There is always a lesson to be learned. The lessons of Allah and these rules of Allah are permanent. When we hear these stories, the rules are reinforced. One of the fundamental rules of the story of Yusuf is that righteousness will win in the end, and evil can never succeed in the long run. This is one of the main themes of Surah Yusuf. We are going to come to this. When we read the story, we see this manifested and in real life; therefore, this maxim is then implanted in us that righteousness will win out in the end, and that is why Allah says in the Qur’an: “We will send you down stories to strengthen your resolve.” It is not childish to find motivation in stories, but it is part of our iman. Reading the stories of the prophets and reading the Seerah of the Prophet (ﷺ) is one of the greatest ways to increase iman. Reading the stories of the sahabah brings about a sense of taqwa and iman and courage in us. Stories are a part of the Qur’an and Sunnah and part of human nature.
This whole surah Yusuf is a story. Every single Qur’anic story is the best of its kind. They are all true and not legends or fables. A true story is always better than an imaginary story. They have the best morals. No other story will give you those types of morals. There is no story that can be more eloquent than the Qur’anic one. Every story that a man writes will have details and information that is not needed, and it distracts from the story and the moral. Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla will tell you exactly what you need to know and not more or less. The story of Yusuf in the Qur’an, even a ten year old can read cover to cover and will understand everything.
Every story in the Qur’an is the best. Allah has mentioned this verse in Surah Yusuf is an indication that Surah Yusuf is the best of all stories. There are two meanings that we derive, firstly, Qur’anic stories are better than all other non-Qur’anic stories, and the Qur’an re-emphasizes this; it is pretty obvious; secondly, the story of Yusuf is the best of all of these stories.
What was Yusuf's relationship with his brothers?" the young wayfarer observed. "Yusuf is the son of Ya‘qub who is the son of Ishaaq who is the son of Ibrahim." the statesman explained. "Once a companion came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and wonder, “Who is the most noble of all men?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “The most noble is the one who has the most piety.” The man comment, “I did not mean in that sense.” The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, “Are you asking about the tribes? Are you asking about nobility, meaning the lineage? In that case, the most noble person is Yusuf ibn Ya‘qub ibn Ishaaq ibn Ibrahim (the prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet).”
So, the bedouin had come and wanted to know which qabeelah was the best. Is it Quryash? Is it Thaqif? Is it Kinanah? Which tribe was the noblest tribe? As you know, Islam came to eradicate this type of racism. Basically, it is translating into: which race is the best? Is it the whites, is it the blacks, is it the browns? This is the mentality. This person is coming and asking, “Which tribe is the best?”
Initially, the Prophet (ﷺ) did not understand and said the best person is the best Muslim and the best righteous man. The man said, “I didn’t mean in that sense.” Immediately, the Prophet (ﷺ) understood and explained, “You mean in the sense that you guys are used to? If you really want to look at lineage, then who do you think you are in comparison to the lineage of Yusuf (عليه السلام)?”
Lineage in and of itself has no role in the akhirah. Your father could be the greatest scholar or ‘alim or even a prophet. The son of Nuh had a father who was a prophet. When Nuh (عليه السلام) called out to his son to come and ride the ship, he said no and that he would save himself, and Allah said he was of those who were destroyed. Your husband or wife could be the worst human being. Wasn’t the best lady on earth, Asiyah, married to the worst human being (Firawn)? Lineage plays no role in the akhirah.
The statesman paused, then went on, "The story of Ibrahim is well known. Ibrahim (عليه السلام) is considered to be one of the greatest of all prophets, and he did not have any children until old age. He was maybe 90 or 100 years old before he had any children. He was making du’a to Allah. Allah blessed him first with Isma‘il from his servant Hajar. When Isma‘il became a teenager then Allah blessed him with Ishaaq from his wife Sarah. He had two sons: Isma‘il and Ishaaq (عليهم السلام).
Ismail’s progeny had no prophets other than our Prophet (ﷺ). There were no prophets in the whole line from Ismai’l up until our Prophet (ﷺ) other than one, and that is our beloved Prophet, Muhammad (ﷺ). As for Ishaaq, Prophet Ibrahim made a du’a to Allah, “Make me the imam to all of mankind.” He wanted to be the leader of all of mankind. This du’a of his was accepted, and all future prophets came from him. No prophet came after Ibrahim except that he was from his lineage. Because we just said Isma‘il only had one prophet in his lineage, so this means that all of the prophets after Ibrahim other than our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) came from the lineage of Ishaaq. Ishaaq and Ya‘qub and all of the prophets after him, there were hundreds of prophets or at least dozens for sure. From Ya‘qub to his son, Yusuf, to the children of Yusuf, all the way there was a continuous line of prophets. This is something many Muslims are not aware of, but Christians and Jews know this because it is a part of their culture and their books mention this.
From the time of Ya‘qub all the way up until the time of the Prophet ‘Isa, son of Maryam, there was a continuous string of prophets that was not interrupted, one after another. Every time one prophet died, another prophet came in his place. This is a great blessing from Allah. In this sense, Allah preferred them even over us because they always had a continuous prophet amongst them. Overall, we believe that Allah’s favor finished upon them with the coming of 'Isa (عليه السلام). When they rejected ‘Isa, then Allah’s favor lifted from them and went to the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
Ya‘qub is the grandson of Ibrahim, and the son of Ya‘qub, is Yusuf. It is said that Ya‘qub had two wives, and some people say that he also had two maidservants. Before we get into more detail, we have to mention that the scholars say that we should restrict our information to the Qur’an and Sunnah as much as possible. To look to the other sources, in particular the Old Testament and New Testament, is not haram, but it is problematic because you are not sure if it is right or wrong. It could be right or it could be wrong. This is a source that is not part of our religion. In Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “You may narrate from Bani Isra’il – from the Jews and Christians. [You can narrate their stories, and there is no sin in doing so.] When you narrate from the children of Isra’il, don’t believe it but do not deny it.” (i.e. be neutral). It might be true; it might not be true.
Prophet Ya‘qub (عليه السلام) had four consorts, two were wives and two were maidservants. From these four, he had twelve sons. Yusuf and Benyamin (his brother’s name) were from one wife, Rachel. This woman was the mother of Yusuf and Benyamin – two sons only. The other sons were from other women. The mother of Yusuf died while giving birth to Yusuf’s younger brother Benyamin. Benyamin was born at the death of his mother. It was simultaneous; in other words, she died in childbirth in labor. It is said that Ya‘qub married Rachel’s sister. He married Yusuf’s aunt, and she became the woman who took care of Yusuf and Benyamin. He did not have any children from this lady.
Yusuf (عليه السلام) at this point in time is living in Palestine. This is the holy land that Allah chose for Ishaaq and his progeny. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala started two holy lands with Ibrahim. The first of these was the Ka’bah, which was before Jerusalem. We know this because the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “There were 40 years between the establishment of the Ka’bah and the establishment of Jerusalem.” Ibrahim built the Ka’bah first. Most likely, it was Ya‘qub who really built Jerusalem or perhaps Ishaaq, but we know that it was not Ibrahim. Ibrahim did not make Palestine holy, but the children of Ibrahim did. It was holy, and we believe that it is still holy. Allah calls it in the Qur’an ‘ard al-muqaddas‘, a holy land. Ibrahim and his progeny began two holy lands: Isma‘il in Makkah and Ishaaq in Palestine.
The young wayfarer asked, "How old was Yusuf having the dream?" The statesman replied, "Most scholars say he was seven years old." The young wayfarer asked again, "What is so important about dreams? Why do dreams play a role in the story of Yusuf?"
[Part 3]
