12. Surah Yusuf

After hearing what Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 danger 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 Yaqui 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 (علیہ السلام) ، the brother on whose shoulders Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 found out about the dream of Sayyidna Yusuf ill. That dream became the cause of their extreme hostility. Finally, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) appealed to Yahuda as his elder brother telling him about his plight. He was weak and small and needed protection, 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 brothers, 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.

From here, Al-Qurtubi concludes that the brothers had somehow 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 أَن يَجْعَلُوهُ فِي غَيَابَتِ الْجُبِّ ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُم بِأَمْرِ‌هِمْ هَـٰذَا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُ‌ونَ ` 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).' Here, the word: وَأَوْحَيْنَا (And We revealed) is the principal clause of the preceding conditional clause: فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا (when they went). The letter: (and) at this place in the former is za'idah i.e. has no meaning (Qurtubi). The sense is: When the brothers did finally decide to throw Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) into the pit of the well, Allah Ta’ aa revealed to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 upper-hand 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-Qurtubi 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 during 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 (علیہ السلام) . The usual channel of revelation as received by prophets started when Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) had reached Egypt and attained maturity - as stated in the Qur'an: وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا (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 exceptional way, as was the case of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) who was invested with prophethood during his childhood. (Mazhari) Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما has said: After he had reached Egypt, Allah Ta` ala had forbidden Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) through a revelation that he should not report his circumstances back to his home. (Qurtubi) This was the reason why a prophet of Allah like Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) did not - even after having been released from the prison and later having 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 afflicted father by sending to him a message that he was safe and set. Who knows or could know the wisdom of Allah ja'lla thana'uhu hidden behind this arrangement? Perhaps, of the many considerations, it may also be His will that Sayyidna Ya` gub (علیہ السلام) be sounded out that such boundless love for someone other than Allah was not ideally favour-worthy - and that by making those brothers come to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in need, the purpose may be to mildly censure him too for his conduct. At this point, Imam Al-Qurtubi and other commentators have described the event of the lowering of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 remained 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 (علیہ السلام) who put him on the rock. Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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: وَجَاءُوا أَبَاهُمْ عِشَاءً يَبْكُونَ They came weeping to their father at nightfall. Hearing the sound of their crying, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) came out and asked: what has happened? Was the flock of your goats attacked by someone? And where is Yusuf?

The brothers, then, said: يَا أَبَانَا إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقُ وَتَرَ‌كْنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَاعِنَا فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ ۖ وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَادِقِينَ 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. 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 ﷺ ، 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` 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 addition to the racing of horses, mutual competition in racing and archery and in other fields is also permissible, and equally permissible is the giving 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 declared Haram or unlawful by the Holy Qur'an. Today, none of the prevailing 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 (علیہ السلام) ، 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:

وَجَاءُوا عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ ; (And they came with fake blood on his shirt) that is, the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 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 seeing this shirt totally unscratched, Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) 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 (علیہ السلام) and he said: بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرً‌ا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ‌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّـهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ 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 (علیہ السلام) has used the intact shirt as evidence to establish that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) were lying. This tells us that a Qadi or judge should also keep an eye on circumstantial evidence alongwith the claims and arguments of the parties concerned (Qurtubi). Al-Mawardi has said: The legendary shirt of Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is a wonder of the world in its own way. Three great events of prophetic annals are connected 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 (علیہ السلام) which appears as the conclusive evidence. (III) The third event relates to the return of Sayyidna Ya` qub's eyesight in which it is the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) which stands out as the cause of that miracle. 2. Some ` Ulama have said that the comment: بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرً‌ا (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 (علیہ السلام) ، was detained in Egypt having been charged with theft. When his brothers reported this incident to Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، he said: بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ (Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something - 83). Worth pondering here is that Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) 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, 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 revelation. 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: وَجَاءَتْ سَيَّارَ‌ةٌ فَأَرْ‌سَلُوا وَارِ‌دَهُمْ فَأَدْلَىٰ دَلْوَهُ (And there came some wayfarers and sent one of them to go for water. So, he let down his bucket). The word: سَيَّارَ‌ةٌ (sayyara) means wayfarers or a caravan. Wrid (وارِد) 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 أَدْلَىٰ ) 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 sequence 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 ~suf, and his Protector, who moves the caravan away from its set route and brings it here and sends its men to this deserted 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 universe 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: فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا يُرِ‌يدُ 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 sequence of events. When this happens, one fails to comprehend the reality, 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, handsome and promising child coming suddenly face to face before him emerging from the depths of a well and making him exclaim: يَا بُشْرَ‌ىٰ هَـٰذَا غُلَامٌ (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 ﷺ has been reported to have said: ` When I met Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، 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: وَأَسَرُّ‌وهُ بِضَاعَةً (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 acquired. However, the expression could also mean that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 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 (علیہ السلام) themselves made him into merchandise and sold him out. After that it was said: وَاللَّـهُ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ (while Allah was aware of what they were 'doing). The sense is that Allah Ta’ ala, in His perfect knowledge, 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’ a1a 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 guidance for the Holy Prophet ﷺ 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 Yusuf (علیہ السلام) .

Verse 20 begins with the words: وَشَرَ‌وْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَرَ‌اهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ (And they sold him for a paltry price, for a few silver-coins, and they were disinterested in him). In Arabic, the word: شِرَا (shira' ) is used for buying and selling both. The probability of both meanings exists here. If the pronoun is reverted back to the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، it will mean selling - 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: مَعْدُودَةٍ (ma` dudah: few) used with: دِرَاھُم (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 Masud ؓ ، has written that the deal was closed at twenty dirhams which the ten brothers had divided among themselves 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 فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ (and they were disinterested in him), the word: الزَّاهِدِينَ (az-zahidin) is the plural of zahid which is a derivation from zuhd. Literally, zuhd means indifference, disinterestedness. 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 (علیہ السلام) were really not interested in any financial gain for themselves in this matter. Their real purpose was to separate Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from their father. Therefore, they struck a deal for a very few dirhams.

Commentary Described in the previous verses was an early account of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 (علیہ السلام) there. All this has been skipped. Stated from here is: وَقَالَ الَّذِي اشْتَرَ‌اهُ مِن مِّصْرَ‌ لِامْرَ‌أَتِهِ أَكْرِ‌مِي مَثْوَاهُ 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 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 Tahad 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 (علیہ السلام) . 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 (علیہ السلام) will be bought in Egypt by the highest of the high in that country was certainly a call of destiny. According to Ibn Kathir, this man who bought Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 علیہ السلام) and died as a Muslim during the lifetime of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) (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 Misr, called Qitfir (Potiphar), instructed his wife to provide good lodging for Yusuf, not to treat him like common slaves and see that good arrangements are made for him. Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ said: ` Three men turned out to be the best physiognomists of the world: (1) The Aziz of Misr who discovered the inner excellence of Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from his outer appearance and gave those instructions to his wife; (2) the daughter of Sayyidna Shu'ayb (علیہ السلام) who told her father about Sayyidna Musa يَا أَبَتِ اسْتَأْجِرْ‌هُ ۖ إِنَّ خَيْرَ‌ مَنِ اسْتَأْجَرْ‌تَ الْقَوِيُّ الْأَمِي (0 my father, retain him on wages. Surely, the best one for you to employ is the one who is strong and trustworthy - 28:26); (3) The third person is Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ عنہ who chose Sayyidna ` Umar to be the Khalifah after the Holy Prophet ﷺ . (Ibn Kathir) The next sentence of the verse is: وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (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 (علیہ السلام) 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. In the statement which follows immediately after, that is: وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ (so that We should teach him the interpretation of events), if the letter واؤ (waw) appearing at the beginning of the sentence is taken as: عَطَف (` atf : conjunctive), a sentence will be considered as understood which will mean that ` We established Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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: وَاللَّـهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِ‌هِ (And Allah is powerful 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 ﷺ in a Hadith: ` When Allah Ta` ala intends to do something, He makes all worldly causes ready to act accordingly.' But, says the last part of the sentence: وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ‌ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 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.

In the first sentence of the second verse (22), it is said: وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا (And when he reached at the prime of his age, We gave him wisdom and knowledge ... ). At what age did he reach the prime of his age? In this, commentators differ. Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah رحمۃ اللہ علیہم say that his age was thirty three years. Dalhhak jw SII ,~ ~j puts it at twenty, and Hasan al-Basri (رح) 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 (علیہ السلام) was invested with Nubuwwah 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 (revelation) 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 (علیہ السلام) ، and about Sayyidah Maryam. In the second sentence of the second verse (22), it was said: وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ (and this is how We reward those good in deeds). The sense is that delivering Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from elimination and making him reach the office of power and honour was an outcome of his righteousness, 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: وَرَ‌اوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتْ 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 Misr. 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: الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا (in whose house he was). The hint given here is that the efforts of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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 (علیہ السلام) 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: قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّـهِ (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 would, with wisdom and earnest good counsel. Addressing Zulaikha directly and personally, he advised her that she too should fear Allah and give up her intention. He said: إِنَّهُ رَ‌بِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ Surely, he is my master. He has given me a good lodging. Surely, the wrongdoers do not prosper. As obvious, it means: Your husband, the ` Aziz of Misr 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. Implied 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 suspicion of Shirk, or a resemblance with those who commit Shirk. Therefore, the use of such words has been prohibited in the Shari` ah of Islam. It appears in a Hadith of Sahih Muslim: ` Let no slave call his master his Rabb and let no master call his slave his عبد abd or servant.' But, this is a unique characteristic of the Islamic Shari` ah where, alongwith the prohibition 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 (علیہ السلام) :إِنَّهُ رَ‌بِّي (Surely, he is my master), was correct in its place. And it is also possible that the pronoun in: إِنَّهُ (innahu) reverts to Allah Ta` la which would mean that Sayyidni Yusuf (علیہ السلام) had called Allah his Rabb and it was He who, in the real sense, gave him good lodging, 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 beautiful are your hair! Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) 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! Thereupon, he said: All this will be eaten up by the earth below. He was looking 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.