Zia Sheikh – Tafseer of Surah Yusuf Ayah 56 onwards
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I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed
Satan.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
And thus did We establish Joseph on the
earth, that he may dwell therein wherever he
willed.
We give Our mercy to whomsoever We will,
and We do not waste the reward of
the doers of good.
And the reward of the Hereafter is better
for those who believe and are ever mindful
of Allah.
And there came the brothers of Joseph, and
they entered upon him, and he recognized them,
and they denied him.
And when he had prepared them for their
preparation, he said, Bring me a brother for
you from your father.
Do you not see that I give full
measure, and I am the best of those
who give full measure?
And if you do not bring him to
me, I have no measure for you, nor
will you approach me.
They said, We will take away from him
his father, and we will do.
And he said to his two sons, Put
their goods in their sails, that they may
know them when they return to their families,
that they may return.
And when they returned to their father, they
said, O our father!
O our father!
Our goods are forbidden to us, so send
with us our brother.
We will take care of him, and we
will be mindful of him.
He said, Do I trust you with him
except as I trusted you with his brother
before?
But Allah is the best of keepers, and
He is the most Merciful of the merciful.
Tafseer of Surah Yusuf, and today inshallah we
are starting from ayah number 56.
In the last session, we learned that Yusuf
a.s. was given the responsibility of taking
care of the agricultural resources, and he became
basically the minister of agriculture.
So after this, Allah describes what kind of
position he held in that society.
Allah says, وَكَذَلِكَ مَكَّنَّ لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ And
this is how we gave Yusuf a.s.
a position on the earth.
Meaning that from where he was, he became
a slave, a prisoner, and then he came
into the household of the Aziz or a
governor, and then after that, after spending time
in prison, he ultimately got this huge position
within the government where he was honoured and
he was respected.
يَتَبَوَّأُ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ يَشَاءُ He used to be
able to go in this land wherever he
wanted.
Meaning as a guest and as the minister,
he was able to go wherever he wanted.
So there's an indication here that as the
minister, there were places around the country which
were his refuge where he could go and
houses were specially built for him and for
other ministers so that they could benefit from
those households and those lodgings wherever they went.
And on the face of it, it might
seem that, you know, this is an excess
thing, excessive thing that a person has houses
everywhere.
But if you look at it from a
different perspective, those houses, they have employees, they
have people taking care of the gardens and
the building, the structure and the rest of
it.
So from perspective, if you look at it,
it's actually helping the community at large.
So from that perspective, if you look at
it, this is not actually an excess.
We think of it from that perspective.
It's not an issue of arrogance or excessiveness
or some wasting of money.
Rather, it's an opportunity to give people more
and more jobs.
After that, Allah SWT says, نُصِيبُ بِرَحْمَتِنَا مِنْ
نَشَاءُ We give or we target with our
rahma, with our mercy, whoever we want.
So here again, the word rahma is being
used to denote position, to denote power, to
denote wealth.
So these things can be a mercy for
a person if used in the right way.
Throughout the Quran, Allah SWT uses the word
fadl, for example, for wealth.
So fadl means blessing.
But at the same time, we know that
that same wealth, if it is used incorrectly,
then that is not a blessing.
The blessing, the wealth is only a blessing
when it is attained in a halal way,
it is earned in a halal way, it
is used for halal things, and the right
of that wealth is fulfilled, meaning the zakat
is given for that wealth, the poor are
taken care of, and then and only then
does that wealth become a source of fadl
and a blessing for the person.
And this also means that a person who
has that wealth, he can utilize that wealth
for his own needs, for his necessities, and
for his lodging, for his housing, for his
clothing, for his car, for spending on his
family.
So the wealth that Allah SWT gives, it
is usable for a person's own needs and
necessities.
Islam is not about becoming monks and becoming
hermits and living in caves.
This is what Islam teaches, Allah SWT and
Islam, the deen, teaches a balance with what
we are given.
There is no extremism from any aspect.
So Allah says, we give or we target
our mercy to whomever we want, وَلَا نُضِيعُ
أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ and we do not waste the
reward of the people that do good.
Al-Muhsin, Al-Ihsan, refers to a person
who goes above and beyond his responsibility.
So, for example, a person who gives the
Zakat, he gives his 2%, a percentage, 2
.5% of his savings into charity.
This is an obligation, every single person must
give it.
But anything that a person does above and
beyond that, this is Ihsan, this is good.
A person does good, you respond with the
same type of good, this is basically tit
-for-tat.
This is just responding back with an equivalent
thing that is being done to you.
But above and beyond what is done to
you, this is Ihsan.
And the best form of Ihsan, somebody does
bad to you and you respond with good.
This is the best form of Ihsan.
So, Allah SWT said, نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ We
do not waste the reward of the Muhsineen,
the people that do Ihsan.
And obviously Yusuf A.S., he did the
most Ihsan for his community, for his followers,
for his subordinates.
He was always looking after them and he
did not take advantage of his position like
many leaders and kings and presidents do by
taking advantage of their position and usurping the
wealth of the people and depriving the people
of the wealth that is rightfully theirs.
This is not what Yusuf A.S. did.
He did his fair share and on top
of that he did Ihsan.
So therefore Allah SWT refers to him as
Muhsin.
The next Ayah, Allah SWT says, وَلَا أَجْرُ
الْآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ And indeed
the reward of the hereafter is better for
those people that have Iman and they have
Taqwa.
So we see again the word Khayr is
being used.
Now remember Khayr can be used in two
different contexts.
The word Khayr can be used, it means,
in a translation, it means better.
So it can be used in a context
that something is good and then something else
is better than that.
So this is one aspect of Khayr.
But then there is another aspect of Khayr
which is in opposition to Sharr, evil.
Evil is Sharr.
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَى وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ
مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَى Khayr, Sharr, these are
opposites.
Khayr and Sharr, good and evil.
But here the context is something, like we've
just mentioned, the worldly life, the blessings that
Allah SWT gives you in this worldly life,
and the position and the power that a
person gets from Allah SWT in this worldly
life, that is Khayr also.
But the reward of the Hereafter is better
than that.
So one Khayr and something even better than
that Khayr, this is the context in which
Allah SWT is mentioning, that despite the things
that Yusuf A.S. must have got in
this world, and the position he got, the
power he got, that is good, that was
good for him, it was a mercy for
him.
The word Rahmah is used in the past
Ayah.
But the reward of the Hereafter, خَيْرٌ لِلَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا It is even better for the people
that have Iman, وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ and they had
the Taqwa of Allah SWT.
So remember that the concept of good that
a person does in this world for the
disbelievers is that they get the reward of
that good in this world.
And Allah SWT doesn't then owe them anything
in the Hereafter.
Whereas the good that a person does, a
believer does in this world, Allah SWT gives
it to them in the Hereafter, and possibly
in this world too.
It's not guaranteed in this world, but it's
guaranteed in the Hereafter.
So in this world Allah SWT can give,
and sometimes He can deprive, but in the
Hereafter for sure, those people that did good
and obeyed Allah SWT, they will get their
just rewards.
So this position of Yusuf A.S. continues.
And the drought that took place 7 years
later, this was something that affected the whole
area.
To a degree that even Palestine, which the
brothers of Yusuf A.S. were living, or
Bilad al-Sham as they were called in
those days, that was affected, and they also
had to come for assistance to Yusuf A
.S. Remember in the previous lessons we talked
about what happened.
For 7 years Yusuf A.S. instructed people,
make sure you make Zakah, and you take
the harvest, use only that what you need,
the rest you store it, because after these
7 years we're going to have tough 7
years of hardship.
So now in those 7 years of hardship,
all the stored grain and the food and
everything that they preserved, that was now being
distributed, and obviously people in the area where
the brothers of Yusuf A.S. were, they
got the news that this is happening in
Egypt, so they also came to ask for
assistance, and this is where the next ayah
starts off.
The brothers of Yusuf A.S. came, and
they entered upon him, and he recognized them
while they were ignorant about him.
So when they dumped him in the well,
he was very small, he was young, and
obviously after he's grown up, and you have
the masculine features they've changed, and your body
becomes big, your shoulders become broad, you look
completely different than you did when you were
a child.
However they, when they did what they did,
they were already quite old, they were already
adults, so their changes did not take place
as much as the change that took place
in Yusuf A.S. So therefore he recognized
them, but they did not recognize him.
And they were completely ignorant about him, they
did not recognize him.
So obviously a conversation took place between them,
and they presented their case, that we are
so many people in our family, we have
an elderly father, and one of our brothers,
Binyamin, we left him behind, so that he
could take care of the father, so we
also require a share for my father, and
for our brother Binyamin, because he also is,
he deserves a share.
So what Yusuf A.S. used to do,
depending on the people that came, he used
to give them a share accordingly.
So obviously when the brothers said, we also
have a father, we also have a brother,
we have this much of a family, we
need their share too.
So when he gave them the grain, and
the things that were prepared for their journey
back, he told them, when he gave them,
or when he prepared for them, their jahaz,
meaning their allocated share, he said to them,
bring to me your brother from your father.
So, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this
before or not, but Yusuf A.S. and
Binyamin were from one mother, and the other
brothers were from different mothers.
But they all shared the same father, Yaqub
A.S. So he said to them, bring
me your brother, who's from your same father,
meaning that he's your brother, half-brother, but
he's from the same father as you.
So, Do you not see that I
give the fair share to everyone, meaning I
give the complete share for everyone, and I
am the best of the hosts, meaning I've
taken care of you, I've welcomed you as
a guest, and I've made sure that you
were treated as good guests, so I was
a good host to you, so this should
be proof enough for you, that if you
bring your brother to me, I will give
him a share also, so that he can
take it back, so you have more grain,
and more food, more provisions, so I want
to see this brother of yours that you
mentioned, that is from the same father.
But at the same time, he gave them
a warning.
إِنَّمْ تَأْتُونِ بِهِ فَلَا كَيْلَ لَكُمْ عِنْدِي وَلَا
تَقْرَبُونَ If you do not bring him, then
you're not going to get any share for
anyone of you, and you're not going to
even get close to me.
So, he gave them the incentive, which is
called, what they call in diplomacy nowadays, the
carrot and stick approach, right?
This is the diplomacy.
So he used that diplomacy, that if you
bring him, then you get his share also,
if you don't bring him, the stick is
that you're not going to get anything.
None of you are going to get anything.
So, they went back with this thought ringing
in their minds, what should they do?
And they responded back to Yusuf, قَالُوا سَنُرَاوِضُ
عَنْهُ وَأَبَاهُ وَإِنَّا لَفَاعِنُونَ We're going to try
to persuade our father about this, وَإِنَّا لَفَاعِنُونَ
And most certainly we're going to do it,
because the stakes were very high.
If they don't bring him, then they are
deprived of their share, and also the share
of their brother, and if they bring him,
they get a whole camel's load worth of
grain and food, that they can use for
their whole family.
So, they decided they're going to try their
best to try to persuade their father.
And obviously, they know that when they go
back to their father, Yaqub is going to
say exactly what the next verse says, that
I trusted you with Yusuf before, you took
him away from me, and you got rid
of him somewhere, now do you expect me
to trust you with his brother?
So, this is what happens two verses later.
But Yusuf A.S., he actually played more
of a trick with them.
What they came with was camel's loads worth
of goods, to trade in place of the
grain that was given to them.
So, goods, money, or whatever that they brought,
things to barter with, that they were supposed
to give to Yusuf A.S., in exchange
for the grain and the food.
So, what he did, Yusuf A.S., he
took those things that were given to him
for the grain, and he told his servants,
take these things and put them back with
the grain.
When you load the camels with grain, put
back these things that they gave me.
Now, this was more of an incentive, that
when they go back to their father, and
they find that even the goods that they
had given, they were returned, and they got
the grain.
So, this was more of an incentive for
them to come back, and to bring their
brother, because they know for sure, that such
a person who gave them even their own
goods back, he is going to take care
of them, when they come back with their
brother.
وَقَالُوا فِتْيَانِهِ جَعَلُوا بِضَاعَتَهُ فِي رِحَالِهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ
يَعْلَمُونَهَا إِذَاً قَلَبُوا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ He
said to his fityan, fityan means young men,
the servants.
جَعَلُوا بِضَاعَتَهُ فِي رِحَالِهِمْ Put their goods back
into the rihal, rihal means the animals that
they came riding in.
لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَهَا They are going to recognize it,
you know, recognize the goods that they exchanged.
إِذَاً قَلَبُوا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمْ When they go back
to their families, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ And this will
make them come back, maybe they will return.
So this was another trick that Yusuf a
.s. played upon them.
فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوا إِلَىٰ أَبِيهِمْ قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا مُنِعًا
مِنَّا الْكَيْنِ فَأَرُسِلْ مَعَنَا أَخَانَا نَكْتَلْ وَإِنَّا لَهُ
لَحَافِظُونَ When they returned to their father, they
said, Oh our father, مُنِعًا مِنَّا الْكَيْنِ A
whole load has been, we've been deprived of,
a whole load of provision.
مُنِعًا مِنَّا الْكَيْنِ We were prevented from الْكَيْنِ
الْكَيْنِ means a measurement, a weight, has been
prevented from us.
فَأَرُسِلْ مَعَنَا أَخَانَا Say with us, our brother,
نَكْتَلْ We will get this weight, we will
get this measurement.
وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ And indeed, most certainly, we're
going to take care of him.
There's a lot of stress in this last
statement.
وَإِنَّا Indicates stress.
لَهُ Most certainly, we're going to take care
of him.
This لَهُ is supposed to be at the
end.
وَإِنَّا لَحَافِظُونَ لَهُ But by bringing it forward,
it's putting even more stress.
And the word حافظون, it also لَحافظون لام
is for stress and حافظون is also for
stress.
So a lot of stress in one small
sentence.
وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ Translated it means, most certainly,
we're going to take care of him to
the utmost of our ability.
This is what it means.
So they want to really stress upon this
point that they're going to take care of
him.
قَالَ هَلْ آمَنُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَمَا أَمِنْتُكُمْ عَلَىٰ
أَخِيهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ So Yaqub al-Islam, he
said exactly the same thing that they thought
he would say.
Should I trust you with him just like
I trusted you before with his brother?
فَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَافِظًا وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ But at
the end of the sentence, it seemed like
he already made up his mind that there
was no way that he could refuse because
their whole life depended upon sending the brother.
More provisions, more costs, the fact that they
could survive or not on the grains that
were given to them.
So he said at the end, indeed Allah
is the best of the protectors.
وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ And he is the most
merciful of the people that have mercy.
So he is the most merciful.
And then on top of that, what happened
to emphasize to Yaqub al-Islam that it
was in his best interest to send bin
Yamin وَلَمَّا فَتَحُوا مَتَاعَهُ وَجَدُوا بِضَاعَتَهُمْ رُضَّتْ إِلَيْهِمْ
When they opened their goods, when they opened
their packages and the stuff that they brought
back with them وَجَدُوا بِضَاعَتَهُمْ رُضَّتْ إِلَيْهِمْ They
found that their own goods had been returned
back to them.
Meaning the goods that they had taken to
barter with and to give to Yusuf al
-Islam, they had also been returned.
قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا مَا نَبْغِيْ They said, oh
our father, what else do we want?
هَٰذِهِ بِضَاعَتُنَا رُضَّتْ إِلَيْنَا These are our goods
that have been returned back to us وَنَمِيرُ
أَهْلَنَا وَنَمِيرُ مَا رَيَمِيرُ It means to bring
provision for the family.
We will bring provision for our family وَنَحْفَظُ
أَخَانَا And we will take care of our
brother وَنَزْدَادُ كَيْلَ بَعِيد And we will get
a whole camel's load of goods extra Okay,
for the share that Bini Amin is supposed
to get, we will get one camel's share
extra ذَٰلِكَ كَيْلٌ يَسِيرٌ This is a very
easy way to get this measurement It's a
very light way to get the measurement Just
send our brother with us قَالَ لَنْ أُرْسِلَهُ
مَعَكُمْ حَتَّى تُؤْتُونِ مَوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ لَتَأْتُنَّنِي بِهِ
إِلَّا أَنْ يُحَاطَ بِكُمْ فَنَمَّا آتَوْهُ مَوْثِقَهُمْ قَالَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيمٌ So basically he
had decided and he said to them لَنْ
أُرْسِلَهُ مَعَكُمْ I'm not going to send him
with you until you give me a pledge
مَوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ مَوْثِق وثوق It means something
solid وثيقة, it means an agreement So give
me something solid, a solid agreement And this
agreement should be from Allah SWT Meaning an
oath from Allah SWT لَتَأْتُنَّنِي بِهِ Most certainly
you're going to bring him back إِلَّا أَنْ
يُحَاطَ بِكُمْ Except if you are surrounded somehow
And you cannot do it, that's a different
scenario That's a different situation You are forced
into leaving him somewhere Or you're forced into
something else But otherwise I need you to
promise me That you're going to bring him
back فَلَمَّا آتَوْهُ مَوْثِقَهُمْ When they gave him
their promises قَالَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيلٌ
He said Allah is upon what we are
saying He is the one who I turn
our affairs to وكيل, actually in Urdu we
use the word for attorney, right?
Attorney, the one who you...
He is مُوكَّل, وَكَالَ وَكَالَ means that the
person that you turn your affairs to But
here the best attorney Allah SWT is saying
Allah is the best whom I trust And
whom I can place my trust in So
وَكِيل literally translated means The one that you
put trust in You give him the power
of attorney Because you put your trust in
him, right?
He is representing you So Allah is the
best of the ones Who is to be
trusted Other than that, all humans They can
make mistakes But this is the condition that
Yaqub AS put upon his sons That if
you are going to take me Then you
have to promise me That you are going
to bring him back So inshallah with this
we stop