Lessons from Surah Yusuf (Pearls from the Qur'an)

by Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi

The Prophet f said, ‘Beware of envy, for it devours good deeds just as fire devours wood or grass.’24 It is an interesting hadith because jealousy is a feeling, and in Islam, the general rule is that we are not accountable for our feelings and thoughts until we act upon them. But here we see that some feelings are an exception to the rule, and harbouring them makes us liable. Jealousy is foremost amongst them, and if we don’t empty our hearts of this vice, it will consume our good deeds.

Another critical point here is that Allah protects the children of His righteous servants, as we repeatedly learned in Surah Kahf. Therefore, one of the best ways to guarantee that Allah protects our children and that they are righteous is for us to be pious ourselves. In Surah al-Kahf, when Khidr and Musa passed by the broken wall and Khidr stopped to rebuild it, Musa asked, ‘What was the purpose of this?’ At the end of the story, Khidr revealed, ‘And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them, and their father was a righteous man. So, your Lord willed that these children should come of age and retrieve their treasure as a mercy from your Lord.’28 The father was righteous, and because of that, Allah blessed his children in this world and the next.

‘…after that, you may ‘repent, and’ become righteous people!’ The brothers had used an interesting phrase here. They were saying, ‘Let’s do the heinous deed, and then after that, we can become good people.’ These thoughts were clearly from Shaytan, who made their evil plot appear justified to them, saying, ‘Don’t worry, you can just atone for it afterwards.’ Shaytan has been deluding people like this since the beginning of time. The brothers didn’t realize that once they committed the crime, they would need to lie to cover it up, and then swear upon that lie.

An important lesson we derive from the story of the brothers of Yusuf is that we should not resort to ignoble means to achieve a noble goal. The brothers wanted something halal: the love of their father. But the way they approached it was haram

Notice that Allah did not explicitly criticize the brothers, despite their cruel act. Centuries later, when we think about it, our hearts still shudder, thinking, ‘How could they have done that to a little brother?’ Yet, Allah does not use a single negative adjective in the surah to describe the brothers of Yusuf, even though they were every bit worthy of criticism. Why? One of the main reasons is that it is not befitting for the Qur’an’s nobility to mention gore and evil, except in briefest terms. For example, to describe the factors that break one’s ablution Allah says in the Qur’an, ‘…or have relieved yourselves…,’41 rather than ‘if one of you urinates or defecates.’ In yet another place, He says, ‘…if you have touched your wives…’42 to describe marital relations. The words the Qur’an uses are most dignifed and cultured.

The preponderance of promiscuity desensitizes people, and, for some of them, the stories of murder, illicit relationships, and the adoration of hedonistic lifestyles become a stepping-stone to committing those acts themselves.

Sometimes, allegations are not against us but our religion. Should we, therefore, respond to every attack against Islam? The answer is that sometimes it is obligatory to rebut, especially when we are weak and humiliated, and at other times, when Islam is strong, we do not need to worry about the accusation because it will not harm us.

Realize that these were all married women, and typically married men and women have more control over such desires than young, unmarried people. Yet all of them, without exception, were astonished by Yusuf’s extraordinary good looks. This also shows us that illicit sexual desire is one of the most difficult tests for humans.

When Allah is on your side, miracles occur, and protection is given, and change happens from sources no one could have predicted.

What is worth noting is that Yusuf had asked to become a minister in a non-Muslim government, so that he may use his skills to help the people. From this, we can derive that Islam encourages striving for the betterment of our societies in whatever way possible. There is no harm in working for a non-Islamic government as long as it benefits the community at large and does not hinder our religious practices or harm our beliefs. Merely working within a system that might have some evil in it does not automatically imply our endorsement of that system. There needs to be a reasonable balance in this regard, and scholars of every land and era should set out the parameters of involvement with the systems of that time.

When Allah described him at the beginning of the surah, He said, ‘One of them said...’89 He was left unidentified. But here, Allah says, ‘The eldest said…’ It is so because our religion encourages hiding the faults of people. Allah did not point him out when he did something blameworthy, but now he was saying something praiseworthy and hence deserved mention. We see this also in the Sunnah of the Prophet f. Whenever someone committed a crime or did something wrong, he f would say, ‘Why do some amongst you do this?’ He f would never say, ‘Why did you do this?’ And he would never mention names. But on the other hand, when somebody did something good, the Prophet f would praise him by name.

Despite suffering great tragedies any father would ever face, Ya[qub had unflinching faith and trust in Allah that He would not disappoint him. Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi, ‘I am as my servant thinks of Me…’90 The lesson for us is that we should only have the best thoughts about Allah. The opposite is the case of the person with weak faith. He complains at the very first trial, ‘O Allah, why is this happening to me?’ With more tests, his faith goes from complaints to questioning the religion and eventually disbelief.

‘…Allah has truly been gracious to us…’ Yusuf immediately attributed all good to Allah. ‘None of this that you see is from my power. I’m not gloating that I have the upper hand. I am not showing you who is richer and more powerful. Allah has given us all of this.’ Manna is a gift that is not even earned or deserved, but something that Allah bestows because of His generosity. ‘…Surely whoever is mindful ‘of Allah’ and patient, then certainly Allah never discounts the reward of the good-doers.’ Notice that first, Yusuf ascribed the blessings directly to himself from Allah: ‘Allah has truly been gracious to us.’ Now he used the third person, ‘whoever is mindful...’ He didn’t say, ‘I was righteous and patient, so Allah rewarded me.’ Every single word that Yusuf used shows us over and over again, his level of humility. We could not have thought of humbler words to say on this occasion.

The word tathrib means to be reminded of one’s sins and feel guilty. ‘There is no blame on you today…’ Yusuf did not even say, ‘I will not blame you’. He said this in the third person and removed himself entirely from the picture. ‘There is no blame on you,’ is generic and completely neutral. ‘…Allah will forgive you! He is the Most Merciful of the merciful!’ The question arises: How can Yusuf say, ‘Allah will forgive you?’ What right did he have to say this? There are two responses to this question. The first is that because the zulm, or injustice, was done to Yusuf, but he forgave them, Allah will also forgive. In Islam, crimes committed against fellow humans require the forgiveness of the wronged. Should the oppressor not take care of the wrong in this life, Allah will settle the matter in the Hereafter. On the Day of Judgement, Allah will establish justice even among animals. Therefore, one should be extra careful not to wrong others, because while Allah may forgive sins committed against Him, He will not forgive crimes against a person unless the victim forgave. It is easier to attain Allah’s forgiveness than of people’s, because He is the Most Merciful.

Finally, the brothers asked their father for forgiveness, saying, ‘We have certainly been sinful.’ Before this, they had implored Yusuf to forgive them; they were sincerely repentant. The first step for repentance is always the admission of guilt. One cannot repent without acknowledging they have done wrong. That’s why the Prophet f said, ‘Regret is part of repentance.’

The brothers embarked on their fourth journey to Egypt, but this time they had their parents, wives, and children with them. Also, this was not the journey of a traveller; now, they were emigrants to Egypt at Yusuf’s invitation. Their number was around seventy, and they had their worldly possessions with them. In the history of the Jewish people, the Children of Isra[il will return to Palestine five centuries later, known as the Exodus, under the Prophet Musa.

When Allah wants to bless someone, He blesses him with knowledge Allah tells us in this surah that He had blessed the family of Ishaq with knowledge, wisdom, and prophethood. The ultimate blessings from Allah are faith and knowledge. The Prophet f said, ‘If Allah intends good for someone, He gives to him the understanding of the religion.’

The story of Yusuf teaches us that gossip, slander, and backbiting are evils that distance us from Allah. The Prophet f said, ‘Part of the perfection of someone’s Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him.’117 The believer should not engage in idle talk about others.

One crucial lesson this surah teaches is that complaining to Allah is a sign of iman. When Ya[qub heard about Binyamin’s enslavement in Egypt, he said, “I complain of my anguish and sorrow only to Allah”128 He did so to elicit Allah’s sympathy and mercy. He didn’t do it to question Allah’s decision, but to invoke His mercy. On the other hand, when we complain to the people about our tough situation, that is not a sign of strong iman

Real forgiveness is when someone forgives at the height of power. Yusuf forgave the brothers when he could have exacted revenge, and he did so humbly.

The events of this surah show us that we should always advise the criminal to fear Allah first, and then our grievance. The first thing Ya[qub said was, “Your souls must have tempted you to do something ‘evil’...”132 He reminded them that they had committed an offense against Allah. Unfortunately, we often only worry about the rights of the victims and forget that violation of Allah’s rights should be of greater concern.

One of the great lessons we learn from Surah Yusuf is that Allah decides our fate according to our last actions, not first. Our condition at the time of our death will dictate our place in the Hereafter. By doing this, Allah throws a lifeline to the sinners–no matter what your sins, you have yet another chance to return to your Lord in true repentance. It is never too late to give up a lifestyle of evil and replace it with one of righteousness. The example of the brothers of Yusuf demonstrates this for us. That is why Yusuf’s du[a’ at the end of this story is so powerful: O Allah, “Allow me to die as one who submits and join me with the righteous.”