THE LIFE OF YUSUF (as)
Messengers are noble individuals, who seek Allah in word and deed, every
one of them being a model of sincerity, honesty, determination, faith,
patience and devotion. Yusuf (as) was one such prophet. In the superior
conduct he exhibited in the face of adversity and hardship throughout
his life are many lessons for believers.
The Snare Set For Yusuf (as) By The "Alliance Of Evil"
The 12th Surah of the Qur'an is Surah Yusuf, which relates Yusuf's (as)
life, from his childhood onwards. Yusuf (as) had to endure many difficulties,
even as a child, through which his patience and faith in Allah was exemplary.
The Surah begins with a dream had by Yusuf (as):
When Yusuf told his father, "Father! I saw eleven bright
stars, and the sun and moon as well. I saw them all prostrate in front
of me." (Surah Yusuf, 4)
Yusuf's (as) father, Ya'qub (as), interpreted his son's
dream, and said:
Accordingly your Lord will pick you out and teach you
the true meaning of events and perfectly fulfill His blessing on you as
well as on the family of Ya'qub as He fulfilled it perfectly before upon
your forebears, Ibrahim and Ishaq. Most certainly your Lord is Knowing,
Wise. (Surah Yusuf, 6)
The Qur'an reveals that his brothers felt a certain animosity towards
him. They were envious of him because of his good character, sincerity
and faith. Ya'qub (as) was aware of this, and he warned Yusuf (as) against
his brothers in the following way:
He said, "My son, don't tell your brothers your dream
lest they devise some scheme to injure you, Satan is a clear-cut enemy
to man." (Surah Yusuf, 5)
Because of their intense jealousy, Yusuf's (as) brothers decided to kill
him. Out of their attempts to fulfill their plan, there is much to be
learned. They regarded themselves as accomplices in the same aim, in other
words, formed an alliance. They then carefully considered the details
of their plot against Yusuf (as), and proceeded to carry it out. The Qur'an
reveals the discussion held amongst them:
In Yusuf and his brothers there are Signs for every one
of those who wants to ask. When they declared, "Why! Yusuf and his brother
are dearer to our father than we are although we constitute a powerful
group. Our father is clearly making a mistake. Kill Yusuf or expel him
to some land so that your father will look to you alone and then you can
be people who do right." One of them said, "Do not take Yusuf's life but
throw him to the bottom of the well, so that some travelers may discover
him, if this is something that you have to do." (Surah Yusuf, 7-10)
As stated at the beginning of the verse, there are lessons to be learned
from the experience of Yusuf (as) and his brothers. Therefore, when reading
these verses, Muslims must learn from them, understand their wisdom, and
apply it to their own lives. For instance, Yusuf's (as) brothers were
envious of Ya'qub's (as) love for him, to such an extent that they contemplated
murdering him. The Prophet Muhammad (saas) also warned believers against
envy:
Abu Hurairah said that Rasulullah (saas) said: "Beware of envy, for envy
devours good (deeds) like fire devours firewood." (Abu Dawud)
It is surprising that Yusuf's (as) brothers would have formed an "alliance
of evil," and joined forces against a devout believer. The purpose of
their conspiracy was to separate Yusuf (as) and Ya'qub from each other,
to then kill Yusuf (as), who they knew to be blessed with superior qualities.
Throughout history, unbelievers have joined forces and cooperated against
sincere believers. In every age, the evil formed alliances with the aim
of harming the good, to inhibit their efforts, and to exile or even kill
them. Allah, on the other hand, in every instance, brought their conspiracies
to naught and destroyed their alliances. One such example is in Ya'qub's
(as) warning and support for Yusuf (as) against the evil conspiracy of
his sons.
The False Evidence Fabricated By The Alliance Of Evil
In that which followed these verses, it is revealed that Yusuf's (as)
brothers decided to, as part of their plan, to throw him down into a well,
after first, though with some difficulty, obtaining their father's permission
to take Yusuf (as) out to play. Just as they are about to throw Yusuf
(as) into the well, Allah sends him the following revelation:
But when, in fact, they did go out with him and gathered
all together and agreed to put him at the bottom of the well, We then
revealed to him that: "You will inform them of this deed they perpetrate
at a time when they are totally unaware." (Surah Yusuf, 15)
Yusuf's (as) brothers return home following their misdeed, and give their
father the following excuse as to what happened:
[Yusuf's brothers say], "Father, we went out to run a
race and left Yusuf together with our things and then a wolf appeared
and ate him up but you are never going to believe us now, not even though
we really tell the truth." They then produced his shirt with false blood
on it. He said, "It is merely that your lower selves have suggested something
to you which you did; but beauty lies in showing steadfastness. It is
Allah alone Who is my Help in face of the event that you describe." (Surah
Yusuf, 17-18)
Allah indicates, in these verses, that Yusuf's (as) brothers had thought
out every detail, and even fabricated false evidence in order to convince
their father that they have done no wrong. Hypocrites and unbelievers
do not refrain from false accusations and fabricating evidence when they
plot against Muslims. And, Yusuf's (as) brothers had aimed to convince
their father of their honesty, but as Ya'qub's (as) response suggests,
believers will usually suspect the plotting unbelievers, not being duped
by their fabricated evidence. It is only other unbelievers who believe
the lies of the unbelievers.
Entering the School of Yusuf
After Yusuf (as) had been placed in the well, some travelers
found him, and sold him to an Egyptian governer for a small amount of
money. Thus, Allah placed Yusuf (as) in Egypt and taught him "the true
meaning of events." And, when he grew up, he was given knowledge and right
judgment. (Surah Yusuf, 21-22)
The events that lead to Yusuf's (as) imprisonment begin with the governer's
wife seeking to seduce him (as). Yusuf (as) responded to her advances
in the following way:
The woman whose house it was solicited him. She barred
the doors and said, "Come over here!" He said, "Allah is my refuge! He
is My lord and has been good to me with where I live. Those who do wrong
will surely not succeed." (Surah Yusuf, 23)
After speaking these words, Yusuf (as) heads for the door, but the woman
persists, and the back of his shirt is torn by her in the doorway. Just
then, however, her husband arrives. Without the slightest hesitation,
she says: "How should a man whose intention was to harm your family be
punished for what he did except with prison or painful punishment?" (Surah
Yusuf, 25). Thus she slandered Yusuf (as), and sought to have him imprisoned
by inciting those around her against him. In response to this allegation,
Yusuf (as) expressed his innocence and said:
He said: "It was she who tried to seduce me." (Surah
Yusuf, 26)
Then, a woman close to the governer's wife suggested the following:
… A witness from her people then declared, "If his shirt
is torn in front, she speaks the truth and he has clearly told a shameless
lie. If his shirt is torn at the back, then she has lied and he has clearly
told the simple truth." (Surah Yusuf, 26-27)
Yusuf's (as) innocence was evident, and the woman's husband, now recognizing
what had actually happened, said:
He saw the shirt torn at the back and said, "The source
of this is women's deviousness. Without a doubt your guile is very great.
Yusuf, ignore all this, and you, my wife, should ask forgiveness for your
evil act. There is no doubt that you are in the wrong." (Surah Yusuf,
28-29)
As these verses reveal, Yusuf's (as) innocence was well confirmed, and
even the other women of the city knew of it, and yet, Yusuf (as) was imprisoned
for his chastity, and for not acquiescing to their lifestyle. The governer's
wife herself attests to this. Almost the entire city is aware of Yusuf's
(as) innocence and wrongful imprisonment:
She said, "You see! It's him you blamed me for. I tried
seducing him but he refused. If he does not do what I order him, he will
be put in prison and humiliated." (Surah Yusuf, 32)
Another verse announces the following:
Then, after they had seen the Signs, they thought that
they should nevertheless imprison him for a time. (Surah Yusuf, 35)
The verses reveal that all knew of Yusuf's (as) innocence, but that they
decided to imprison him nonetheless. The reason for their punishing Yusuf
(as) so was in reality because of his faith in and devotion to Allah.
Just as Yusuf (as) suffered from his brothers' envy and enmity for his
faith and morality, he earned the hostility of these for the very same
reasons.
Yusuf's (as) exemplary conduct, faith in Allah, and determination, in
the face of these unjust accusations, slander and then punishment, is
revealed in the Qur'an as follows:
He said, "My Lord, the prison is preferable to me than
what they call on me to do. Unless You turn their guile away from me,
it may well be that I will fall for them and so become a man of ignorance."
His Lord replied to him and turned away from him their female guile and
deviousness. He is the One Who Hears, the One Who Knows. (Surah Yusuf,
33-34)
Throughout history, believers, who were imprisoned as a consequence of
slander, or suffered some other hardship, demonstrated that they would
never compromise their morality, thus following the example set by Yusuf
(as). Sincere believers submitted to their prison sentences, otherwise
considered by the unbelievers as suffering and punishment. All the hardship
they encountered in their efforts to earn Allah's good pleasure served
only to increase their determination.
Yusuf's (as) Days In Prison
Throughout his stay in prison, Yusuf (as) demonstrated his superior character
through his patience, submission to Allah, determination and insight.
He told the other inmates about the existence of Allah and His unity,
and warned them against worshipping others besides Him. He also used his
gift for interpreting dreams to explain to his fellow inmate the meaning
of his dream, but only after first reminding them of Allah.
Yusuf's (as) release from prison came under unusual circumstances. News
of his wisdom and trustworthiness reached the ears of the ruler through
a friend of his, released from the prison some time before. When those
who had slandered him admitted to their guilt, his innocence was established,
and he was granted the treasury to administer. The verses reveal these
events as follows:
The King said, "Bring him to me straight away! So I may
draw him very close to me." When he had spoken with him, he declared,
"Today you are trusted, established in our sight." He said, "Entrust the
country's stores to me. In truth I am a knowing guardian." And thus We
established Yusuf in the land so he could live in any place he pleased.
We grant Our grace to anyone We will and We do not allow to go to waste
the wage of any people who do good. But the wages of the Hereafter are
the best for people who believe and fear their Lord. (Surah Yusuf, 54-57)
As these verses demonstrate, Allah rewards believers with a good life,
following the hardship, sufferings, and cruelty inflicted on them at the
hands of the unbelievers. This good can take the form of authority or
wealth here on Earth, as well as the gift of Paradise in the Hereafter.
Yusuf (as) found a reward following the hardship he experienced, here
on Earth, as he will in the Hereafter. Allah says:
As for those who make Allah their friend, and His Messenger
and those who believe: it is the party of Allah who are victorious! (Surat
al-Ma'ida, 56)
Allah has written, "I will be victorious, I and and My
Messengers."Allah is Most Strong, Almighty. (Surat al-Mujadala, 21)
Yusuf's (as) life is an example proving that Allah's promise is always
true. Yusuf (as) encountered first hardship and suffering, and then betrayal
and slander. However, he underwent a process of spiritual education in
prison, being a kind of school. In the end, Allah's promise was realized,
when he was cleared of all wrongdoing, established in the land, and strengthened
with knowledge and riches.
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