Zia Sheikh – Tafseer of Surah Yousuf Ayah 4 onward
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AI: Transcript ©
I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed
Satan.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
When Yusuf said to his father, O my
father, I saw eleven planets and the sun
and the moon, and I saw them prostrate.
He said, O my son, do not relate
your vision to your brothers, for they are
plotting against you.
Indeed, Satan is to man a manifest enemy.
Today's lesson, this ayah, ayah number four, is
where the actual story starts.
Where Yusuf a.s. comes to his father
and tells him that he has seen a
dream.
And what is the dream?
He says that he sees the moon, the
sun, and eleven stars, all of them prostrating
to him.
So this is what the first ayah says.
First the translation, and then inshallah we'll go
into the explanation of it.
If Qala Yusuf, and remember, O Muhammad s
.a.w. When Yusuf a.s. said to
his father, Ya abati, O my beloved father.
The word abati, it is a way to
address your father.
You can say, Ya abi, Ya abata, Ya
abat.
So there are various ways in Arabic that
you can say, my father.
And Ya abati is one of the ways
that you can say it.
And it indicates, O my beloved father, a
sign of respect.
He says, O my beloved father, Indeed I
saw eleven stars, I saw them
prostrating to me.
So the word ra'aytu has been mentioned
twice here.
So first he says, I saw eleven stars,
the sun and the moon.
And then again, Yusuf a.s. mentions the
word ra'aytuhum, I saw them prostrating to
me.
So the scholars say that the reason for
repeating ra'aytu, I saw, is to stress
the point that he is not making this
up.
It is something that he actually saw, and
the vividness of the dream indicated that he
felt that he actually saw what he was
seeing in real life.
The other thing that is mentioned here by
the scholars is that the sun, the moon,
the stars, these things are known in Arabic
as, That means that they do not have
their own sense.
Meaning they are regarded as senseless objects, like
any other object.
Table, chair, house, etc.
Those things that do not have any type
of intelligence, they are known as, And the
ruling in Arabic for them, is that when
you bring the plural of these objects, you
use feminine terminology.
You use singular feminine terminology.
So the real wording should have been, I
saw them prostrating to me.
But Allah a.s. has used wording here
that indicates that those objects that Yusuf a
.s. is referring to, they actually had a
sense.
When they were doing what they were doing,
when they were prostrating, they had a sense.
So the scholars say the reason behind this
is that when Yusuf a.s. is seeing
these objects in the dream, and they are
prostrating to Yusuf a.s., they are not
doing this prostration as mere objects.
Rather, they are fulfilling the command of Allah
a.s. And from that perspective, they have
a sense.
And therefore, Allah a.s. used the terminology
of sense, things which have sense, for those
stars and the sun and the moon, as
if they have sense.
And there is another thing that we should
keep in mind, that Allah a.s. says
that everything in the world, it actually makes
the tasbih of Allah a.s. It glorifies
Allah a.s. There is everything in the
world that Allah a.s. created, it makes
the tasbih of Allah a.s. Everything.
But we human beings cannot understand their tasbih,
their glorification.
Except when Allah a.s. allows for certain
humans to develop certain powers, only then that
is possible.
Otherwise, normal human beings cannot do so.
And that's why Sulaiman a.s. he was
given the ability to understand the language of
animals.
The language of the ant is specifically mentioned
in Surah An-Naml, and also the language
of the birds is specifically mentioned, also in
Surah An-Naml, that he could understand the
language of these creatures.
So Allah a.s. can bestow this knowledge
to certain individuals, but the point is that
when these objects or these things, animals, the
creation of Allah a.s., that we usually
deem to have no sense, when they are
doing the action of obeying Allah a.s.,
when they are doing the action of making
the glorification and the tasbih of Allah a
.s., they are in fact doing it with
full consciousness, and they are listening to Allah
a.s., and therefore they are obedient, so
from that perspective Allah a.s. has given
them a certain type of sense.
So that's why the word, has been used,
terminology that is used for things that usually
have a sense.
The fact is Yusuf a.s., he is
coming to his father, there is a hadith
that is mentioned about this beautiful family tree
of Yusuf a.s., that who they were.
It is mentioned, Abu Huraira a.s., he
says that the Prophet a.s. was asked,
which of the people are most gracious, meaning
they have the highest honor, they are the
most honorable.
He said, so from a general human perspective,
the people that have the most respect, the
most dignity, in the eyes of Allah a
.s., are the ones that have the most
taqwa.
So this is how the Prophet a.s.
responded, that the most noble amongst you, is
the one that has the most taqwa.
They said, we are not asking you about
this old Prophet of Allah.
So then the Prophet a.s. said, Then
the most gracious and the most noble, is
Yusuf a.s. who was the son of
the Prophet of Allah, meaning Yaqub a.s.,
who was the son of the Prophet of
Allah, which was Ishaq a.s., who was
the son of Khalilullah, meaning Ibrahim a.s.,
four generations of Prophets, subhanAllah.
Four generations continuously of Prophets.
So if you can imagine, the honor that
Yusuf a.s. has been bestowed with, that
he is the fourth in the line of
Prophets, and his great great grandfather is who?
None other than Ibrahim a.s., the father
of Ibrahim a.s. So from that perspective,
obviously Yusuf a.s., he is the most
noble of humans.
So the Sahaba, they went on to say,
that we are not asking you about that.
So the Prophet a.s. understood, that they
were asking about their own people.
Are you asking me about the tribes of
the Arabs?
So they said, Then the Prophet a.s.
said, That the best of the people in
Islam, are the ones that were the best
in Jahiliyyah, once they understand.
So this is against a general rule that
we have, that people that become Muslim, they
came with certain habits, certain traits, certain things
that they used to implement in their lives,
and they used to practice in their lives,
that were part of their culture, or part
of the religion that they were practicing, and
there is nothing wrong with that, as long
as there is no shirk or anything like
that being committed.
So Islam is recognizing those qualities, that those
people had even prior to becoming Muslim, and
sometimes those same qualities actually lead a person
to Islam.
So the Prophet a.s. said, that the
best of the people in Islam, were the
best in Jahiliyyah, once they understand.
Once they understand meaning, they understand the concept
of Tawheed, they understand the concept of the
obedience of Allah a.s., they understand that
the Prophet Muhammad a.s. is the last
Prophet, then obviously those same attributes, those same
habits, they bring them over to Islam, and
they benefit Islam, they benefit the Ummah, and
obviously they benefit themselves.
The other thing that we should understand here,
is that the dreams of the Prophets a
.s., are a revelation from Allah a.s.
Ibn Abbas a.s. said, that the dreams
of the Prophets a.s., are a form
of revelation.
So what was Yusuf a.s. seeing in
this dream?
He was seeing 11 stars, the sun and
the moon, and the Tafseer of that was,
ultimately we find at the end of the
Surah, that 11 of his brothers, and the
sun and the moon meaning his parents, they
all prostrate to him, at the end of
the Surah.
So the question is, that why can a
human prostrate in front of another human being?
Isn't that a form of Shirk?
So the answer to that is, that before
this Ummah, before the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad
a.s., people used to make Sajdah to
other people, and that was permissible, and that
was known as a Sajdah of Takrim, Sajdah
of Respect, not a Sajdah of Ibadah.
But because this Ummah, it has closed all
doors of Shirk.
Anything that could be comparable to Shirk, or
could be understood as Shirk, could be understood
as polytheism, the doors of that has been
closed for this Ummah, and we are not
allowed to do anything, that could lead us
down that path.
So this Ummah, our Ummah, has been forbidden
from doing that type of thing.
But prior to our Ummah, people used to
make Sajdah to each other, as a sign
of respect, as a sign of honor, and
it was perfectly permissible for them to do
that.
The next Ayah, Yaqub a.s. said to
Yusuf, Oh my beloved son, do not tell
this dream to your brothers.
So Yaqub a.s. being a Prophet, he
understood exactly what this dream meant.
And obviously the brothers of Yusuf a.s,
even though they may not have been Prophets,
but they are the sons of Prophets, and
it is quite possible, that they also can
understand what this dream means.
So Yaqub a.s. said to Yusuf, do
not tell your brothers this dream.
Because he already knew, that there was some
kind of sibling rivalry between the brothers, they
were jealous of Yusuf a.s, and therefore
there was a possibility, that they could have
harmed him, and done him wrong, because of
this dream, that Yusuf a.s. had seen.
So he said, do not tell anybody this
dream.
Especially your brothers, do not tell them this
dream.
And I am going to talk about, Hadith
which talk about, how we should regard dreams.
I will talk about that in a minute.
But the question is, that Yusuf a.s
brothers, were they that mean, were they that
bad, that you know, that they have been
kind of regarded, as the evil brothers of
Yusuf a.s. So the Prophets say, that
they were not bad, in the sense, that
they wanted to actually harm Yusuf a.s,
or do him a great deal of harm.
Why?
Because the discussions, that will be mentioned next
week, they started off with the mention of
killing.
Okay.
And then they said, okay, we will not
kill him, let us just put him in
the middle of the desert.
Okay.
And then, it went from, putting him in
the middle of the desert, which was also,
a sure form of destruction, to putting him
in a well, from which, he could be
ultimately rescued, because tribes are passing by, and
they would be, going to this well, to
get water out for their animals, and for
themselves.
So, for sure, somebody is going to pick
him up, and take him away.
So the discussion went from, one, extreme, two,
at least, okay, put him in a well,
where he can be saved, and he can
be taken up.
So from this, we can understand, that they
were not really bad nature, in a way,
that they wanted to actually kill Yusuf a
.s, or destroy him in any way, shape
or form, because they came to that conclusion,
that they are not going to kill him,
they are going to leave him in such
a situation, where he can be ultimately rescued.
And this is actually, a sign, that they
were obviously, the sons of prophets, and the
fact that, they had this thought, was because,
their nature, inside them, was not the nature
of, evil people, they had in them, this,
good natured quality, that they didn't really want
to kill him.
So, what about sibling rivalry?
We understand from this, that is something, that
is very natural, amongst siblings, brothers, sisters, especially,
the older kids, when a new addition comes
to the family, a new baby, the olders
become jealous, or if the father is giving
priority, to one over the other, then the
others become jealous.
So this is something, that is completely natural,
and this happens.
But as parents, we need to try to
make sure, that we don't allow that to
happen, we should not show impartiality, between our
children.
There is a Hadith, in which the Prophet
SAW, he was approached by a Sahabi, who
said, Ya Rasulullah, I gave one of my
sons, a gift, and I would like you
to make, a Dua of Barakah, for the
fact that, I have given him this gift.
The Prophet SAW, asked a very simple question,
he said, did you give any of your,
other sons the same gift?
He said, no Ya Rasulullah, I didn't.
So, then the Prophet SAW said, then why
are you making me, a witness to, Vuln,
oppression.
So, this shows that, when you are giving
favor, displaying favoritism, to one sister, or one
brother, over the others, then this is a
form of Vuln, against the others.
Okay, so favoritism, we have to, obviously there
is always an inclination, towards loving the youngest
one, of the family, because it's a new
addition, the baby of the family, but it
should be done, in such a discreet way,
that the others don't feel, that they are
being rejected, or being ignored.
This is a very important principle, that we
need to keep in mind.
Going back to the issue of, the dreams,
there are three types of dreams, that humans
have, and many people, email me, and ask
me questions about dreams, I'm not an expert
on dreams, but, this is something that people
have, dreams that they see.
There are three types of dreams, that humans
have.
One type, is something, that is from his
own psychology.
Okay, a person is worried about his job,
being laid off, so he is thinking about
that, all the time, so at night, he
is going to have a dream about it.
Okay, that his boss is telling him, you
know, pack up your things, and leave, and
he wakes up, thinking, oh it's just a
dream, it was a nightmare.
So this is, a person's psychology, his mind,
that is playing tricks on him, and is
making him, have these dreams, at night.
The second type of dream, is from the
shaitan.
Okay, so this would be, scary dreams, dreams
of snakes, and dogs, and so on, you
know, monsters, things that, a person is scared
of, a person will get that type of
dream, and these types of dreams, are from
the shaitan, or erotic dreams, where a person,
is engaging in illicit things, in his dream,
something that is, he is not held accountable
for, because he is sleeping, but, you know,
illicit dreams, illicit relationship, that a person has
in his dream, that is also, from the
shaitan.
And the third type of dream, is a
dream from Allah SWT, where it's a message
from Allah SWT.
So again, you have, a one in three
chance, of the dream, having any meaning at
all.
But a lot of people, they take this
issue of dreams, so seriously, they think that,
you know, anytime I have a dream, it
has to have some kind of message behind
it.
And that's not necessarily, the case all the
time.
Sometimes it will have a message, sometimes, it
will not be a message, so a person
needs to filter out, what the dream is,
whether it's from his psychology, whether from the
shaitan, or it's from Allah SWT.
Now, the Prophet SAW, he forbade people, from
telling people about dreams, especially, when those dreams
are, related to, when those dreams are bad
dreams, or scary dreams.
The Prophet SAW said, When a person sees
something, that he likes in his dream, then
he should, he can tell people about it.
But when he sees something, that he dislikes,
then he should turn his back.
Basically, what it means is, that when he's
sleeping, he's sleeping to the right, he saw
the dream, so he should go, face the
other direction, and he should, he should, he
should, face the left direction, of the bed,
and make a spitting action, like this.
And say, A'udhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem.
And he should ask Allah SWT, to protect
him, from the evil, of that dream.
A'udhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem.
And he should not, tell anybody about it,
and Inshallah, this will not harm him.
And the other thing, in another hadith, the
Prophet SAW said, The
dream, it's like a bird, that floats on
top of a person, and as long as,
those dreams are not interpreted, by anybody, they
cannot harm a person.
But once they interpreted, then they could, become
true.
So when you tell a person a dream,
and that person interprets it, then that, according
to that interpretation, it could become true.
This is according to, this hadith.
And there's another thing, that we should keep
in mind, that the Prophet SAW, he used
to, tell people, to hide, the blessings, from
people, until they had, occurred.
And this is, because people, tend to become
jealous, of a person, who is being, blessed
with things.
He said, Seek the help, of Allah SWT,
for fulfilling your needs, by hiding them.
By hiding them.
Because, every person, who's blessed with any blessing,
he is, meaning he is, people are jealous
of him.
So, to avoid that jealousy, to avoid, a
person should, try as much as possible, especially,
if the people around him, don't have the
same blessing, don't have the same thing, that
he is blessed with, and maybe can never
afford, to get that thing, a person should
try to, hide it, and not become the
victim, of hasad, the victim, of jealousy, by
doing that.
Okay, but there's, somebody might question, Allah SWT
says, then, you should, proclaim, the ni'mah, of
your Lord.
So sometimes, a person, so, this is basically,
the two extremes.
One extreme is, that you, are blessed with
blessings, and you just make, an open show,
of everything, that you have.
That's one thing.
And the second, thing is, or a different,
type of attitude is, that Allah SWT, blesses
you with money, then wear nice clothes, wear
nice shoes, and, be presentable, in society.
Do not dress, in a way, that is
not befitting, of the status, that Allah SWT,
has given you.
This is what, the blessing that Allah, has
given you, proclaim it, by, benefiting from it,
in this world.
And again, not to the extreme, that instead
of, wearing a thawb, or a pair of
clothes, that you could get, for a hundred
dollars, you go out, and spend six hundred
dollars, on a sweater, or a thousand dollars,
on a sweater.
This is the other extreme.
And this is not, this would be regarded,
as israf, extravagance.
This is another word, for extravagance.
Allah SWT says, that those people, that make
tabdheer, are the brothers, of shaytan.
So, the thing is, that, which means, to
proclaim one's blessings, it's good, but, at the
same time, not to the extreme, that you
are just, showing off, every single thing, that
like, people tend to do nowadays, on Facebook,
and Twitter, and Instagram, and Snapchat, everything.
You get a new, piece of jewelry, a
new handbag, a new pair of clothes, a
new car, everything is out there, on social
media.
So again, this is not appropriate, but what,
tahdheer ibn ni'mah, means is, that use the
blessings, of Allah SWT, that you've been blessed
with, and don't try to, kind of, act,
poor, when Allah SWT, has given you, blessings,
that you could use.
Finishing off the ayah, inshallah.
Yusuf, Yaqub AS, said to Yusuf AS, do
not tell your brothers, about this theme, otherwise,
they're going to make a plot, for you.
So the wording here, is very unique.
In Arabic, it's supposed to be, that, they're
going to make a plot, against you.
But, this laam here, it means, laam, generally,
it indicates benefits.
So, the real meaning of, means, that, they're
going to make a plot, that is going
to, ultimately, benefit you.
Okay?
So this is the, meaning, a very, special
meaning, that you can derive, from the wording,
that has been mentioned here.
Okay?
So, it will ultimately benefit you, and then
we find, at the end of the surah,
what happens is, Yusuf AS, gets this position,
in society, becomes royalty, and so on.
So ultimately, that planning, and plotting against him,
worked out, for his benefit.
And then, right at the end, Yaqub AS
says, Indeed, the shaytan, for the human being,
an open enemy.
Open enemy, the shaytan, is an open enemy,
for the human being.
So, the shaytan, obviously, pushes people to argue,
pushes people to fight, pushes people to become
jealous, and this is what, I'll just finish
off with this, Allah SWT says, describes how,
the shaytan, he addressed, Allah SWT, when he
was condemned, to, and being rejected, by Allah
SWT, he said, I'm going to come, from
in front of them, and from behind them,
and from their right, and from their left,
all directions, except, top and bottom.
Okay, so why, why did the shaytan not,
mention, these two directions?
The scholars say, that when a person, is
engaged in, worship, to the one that is
above, then the shaytan cannot approach, that slave
of Allah SWT.
And when he's engaged in, humbleness, and thinking
about, what's going to happen below, meaning in
the grave, then the shaytan cannot, you know,
hurt, or, make the human being, slip up.
So this is again, something that we should,
keep in mind.
The shaytan is there.
The shaytan will try, his best to do,
what he, wants to do, in making us,
slip up.
But he has, very limited power.
He will put, wasawis in our hearts, he
will put thoughts, into our hearts, but he
will not, twist our arm, and make us
do things.
It is us, ultimately, that listen to the
shaytan, and do, what he wants us to
do.
The wasawis, that he puts in our hearts,
the whisperings, that he puts us in our,
puts into our hearts, is something that we
do, so we'll be held, accountable for that,
on the day of judgment.
And this is what, the shaytan says, many
places in the Quran, he will, on the
day of judgment, he will throw up his
hands, and say, I didn't do anything to
you.
I didn't have any, control over you.
You listen to me.
I called you, and you responded.
That's all I did.
I called you.
So, we need to make sure that, we
control ourselves, we do not fall prey, to
the shaytan, who is putting these, wasawis in
our hearts, at all times.
And with that, inshallah, when we do that,
we will be protected, and, in the hereafter,
we will not become, the victim, of the
shaytan's tricks.
I pray that Allah SWT, gives us tawfiq,
to understand, and practice, what is being said
and done.