الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين 

I am sure all of you have read Surat Yusuf (12) and its Tafseer several times and Justice Shahzado spent several sessions explaining it and he has not finished yet.  Therefore, I am not going to give interpretation, but I’ll, inshallah, focus on addressing these 7 elements.

1. The Uniqueness of the story of Prophet Yusuf in the Quran
2. The nature of Stories in the Quran
3. Elements of good stories
4. Dream vs. Vison
5. Highlight 3 scenes and proposed scenarios to connect them
6. Definition of some terms
7. Highlight some differences between the accounts in Old Testament and the Quran

While the stories of many prophets are spread out in the Quran, Prophet Yusuf is the only Prophet whose story is given in one Surat.  Therefore, you will note that beyond this Surat, only his name is mentioned in two other Surats.  It is mentioned once on Surat Al-Anaam (6:84) among a list of the prophets who are descendants of Prophet Ibrahim. Allah says:

وَتِلۡكَ حُجَّتُنَآ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰهَآ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ عَلَىٰ قَوۡمِهِۦ‌ۚ نَرۡفَعُ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ مَّن نَّشَآءُ‌ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ (٨٣) وَوَهَبۡنَا لَهُ ۥۤ إِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ‌ۚ ڪُلاًّ هَدَيۡنَا‌ۚ وَنُوحًا هَدَيۡنَا مِن قَبۡلُ‌ۖ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِۦ دَاوُ ۥدَ وَسُلَيۡمَـٰنَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَـٰرُونَ‌ۚ وَكَذَٲلِكَ نَجۡزِى ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ (٨٤) وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحۡيَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَإِلۡيَاسَ‌ۖ كُلٌّ۬ مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ (٨٥) وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَٱلۡيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطً۬ا‌ۚ وَڪُلاًّ۬ فَضَّلۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٨٦)

And that was Our Proof which We gave Ibrahim (Abraham) against his people. We raise in ranks whomsoever We will. Certainly, your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing. (83) And We bestowed upon him Ishaq (Isaac) and Ya’qub (Jacob), each of them We guided, and before him, We guided Nuh (Noah), and among his progeny Dawud (David), Suleiman (Solomon), Ayub (Job), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), and Harun (Aaron). Thus, We reward those who are good-doers. (84) And Zakariya (Zachariya), and Yahya (John) and Isa (Jesus) and Iliyas (Elias), each one of them was of the righteous. (85) And Isma’il (Ishmael) and Al-Yas’a (Elisha), and Yunus (Jonah) and Lut (Lot), and each one of them We preferred above Our creations. (Al-Anaam 6:83-86))

The second time the name Yusuf was mentioned outside Surat Yusuf is in Surat Ghafir (40:34) when the righteous man from the house of the Pharaoh (رَجُلٌ۬ مُّؤۡمِنٌ۬ مِّنۡ ءَالِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ) reminded the people of Yusuf who came to them as Messenger from Allah.  The man said:

وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَڪُمۡ يُوسُفُ مِن قَبۡلُ بِٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَمَا زِلۡتُمۡ فِى شَكٍّ۬ مِّمَّا جَآءَڪُم بِهِۦۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا هَلَكَ قُلۡتُمۡ لَن يَبۡعَثَ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ رَسُوۚلاً۬ ڪَذَٲلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ مَنۡ هُوَ مُسۡرِفٌ۬ مُّرۡتَابٌ (٣٤)

“And Yusuf (Joseph) had already come to you with clear signs, yet you remained in doubt concerning what he brought to you until he died, you said: Allah will not send any messenger after him. That is how Allah lets go astray anyone who crosses the limits and lives in doubt.” (Ghafir 40:34) 

This verse highlights that Yusuf was sent to Egypt as Allah’s Messenger.

Other than these two verses, the details of the story of Prophet Yusuf are given in one Surat and Allah describes his story as of “the Best Stories” (أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ).  Therefore, you need to take advantage of the Surat as you read it, particularly with the youth to serve as learning and development tools to improve their talents to become good writers.  You will note that the Surat provides details of key scenes, but it leaves to the reader to connect the scenes together to complete the script of the story. This way, the young reader will be trained on how to develop a coherent scenario.

This story as well as the other stories in the Quran require serious thinking to take advantage of them in increasing the cognitive capacity of the readers and train them on identifying the key lessons from each story.  Allah says: in Surat Al-Araf:

 فَٱقۡصُصِ ٱلۡقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (١٧٦)

“So, relate the stories, perhaps they may think/ponder/reflect.” (Al-Araf 7:176)

Since Allah describes this story as of “the Best Stories” (أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ), one should be able to derive from it the key elements of a great story. Here are ten elements that we can derive from Surat Yusuf to be included in any good story

1. Main character who is the hero. In this case, he is Yusuf.
2. Powerful enemies: In this case, old brothers, and the wife of the Aziz
3. An event that sets the actions in motion. In this case is Yusuf’s vision.
4. Conflicts, in this story there were several, conflicts in the heart of the brothers and the wife of Al-Aziz that transformed into external conflicts with Yusuf.
5. A narrative voice with many participants speaking in the first and third person.
6. A natural arc that connects the beginning of the story to its end. In this case, it is the dream and the fulfillment of the dream.
7. A hook. In this story, it was the shirt, it was key element in three accounts.
8. Transformation of the main character. The story presents Yusuf as child, slave, a handsome youth, prisoner, and later as powerful minister
9. Visual scenes. The story includes many including the brothers placing Yusuf in the well, the wife of Al-Aziz running after him, and the women cutting their hands.
10. Climax resolution when the dream is fulfilled.

It will be great that after you study the story with your youngster to ask him/her to write a story that includes these elements.

The Surat starts by narrating a vison that Prophet Yusuf saw while sleeping when he was a child.  While we consider that everything that we see while sleeping as a “Hilm” (حلم) which is translated as dream, the Quran classifies what we see while sleeping in two categories: “Hilm” (حلم) dream and Ru’ya (رؤيا) which is translated as vision.

The term “Hilm” (حلم) dream came in the Quran 3 times and all related to mixed up episodes (أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلاَمٍ).  While the term (رؤيا) “ru’ya” vision came in the Quran 7 times and all related to accounts of events that happened later.  The dreams are either related to something the person keep thinking about when he is awake or result from the whispers from Satan.   However, (الرؤيا) “ru’ya” visions are whispers from an angel based on information from Allah and they are characterized by their clarity and ease of interpretation, and they are often seen more than one time and thus the person will remember them.  It is reported in Bukhari that The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أبي قتادة قال: قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: الرؤيا الصالحة من الله، والحلم من الشيطان )البخاري(

“A good vision is from Allah and the dream is from Satan.”

It also reported in Bukhari that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

أبي هريرة قال: قال رَسُول اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ( الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ جُزْءٌ مِنْ سِتَّةٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنْ النُّبُوَّةِ ) . [رواه البخاري].

“A good vision is a part of the forty-six parts of prophethood.’

Al-Termidhi reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

وعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إن الرسالة والنبوة قد انقطعت، فلا رسول بعدي ولا نبي». قال: فشق ذلك على الناس ـ أي انقطاع النبوة والرسالة ـ فقال: «لكن المبشرات». قالوا: يا رسول الله، ما المبشرات؟ قال: «رؤيا المسلم هي جزء من أجزاء النبوة» [رواه الترمذي].

“The chain of Messengers and Prophets has come to an end. There shall be no Messenger nor Prophet after me but there will be missionaries. 

The companions said: what are the missionaries?

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The vison of a Muslim, it is part of Prophethood.”

When you study all cultures, past and present, you note that they report on visions seen by some people and later were materialized.  The vison is a form of a revelation from Allah’s ultimate knowledge of things that will happen in the future.   Reporting of visions by people from all culture and ages should remove the confusion regarding Allah’s decree and predestination (القضاء و القدر).  Allah’s knowledge about what will happen in the future does not mean that Allah forces these events to happen.  This is the same when you see a vision of events that will happen in the future and they happen, it does not mean that you have forced these events to happen.  While believers believe that the source of visions is Allah, atheists can never explain their source.  An atheist’s argument that it happens by chance is absurd because of the widespread occurrence of visons throughout history and among diverse people.

Surat Yusuf includes 4 visons that were seen by different classes of people, a righteous child, a king and two criminals. These visons are threaded together to lead to the fulfillment of the first vison which is of the righteous child, Prophet Yusuf.   The story starts with Yusuf mentioning to his father his vision and the father’s response:

إِذۡ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّى رَأَيۡتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوۡكَبً۬ا وَٱلشَّمۡسَ وَٱلۡقَمَرَ رَأَيۡتُہُمۡ لِى سَـٰجِدِينَ (٤)

“When Yusuf (Joseph) said to his father: “O my father! Verily, I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them all prostrating to me.” (Yusuf 12:4)

 قَالَ يَـٰبُنَىَّ لَا تَقۡصُصۡ رُءۡيَاكَ عَلَىٰٓ إِخۡوَتِكَ فَيَكِيدُواْ لَكَ كَيۡدًا‌ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنَ لِلۡإِنسَـٰنِ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (٥) وَكَذَٲلِكَ يَجۡتَبِيكَ رَبُّكَ وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِن تَأۡوِيلِ ٱلۡأَحَادِيثِ وَيُتِمُّ نِعۡمَتَهُ ۥ عَلَيۡكَ وَعَلَىٰٓ ءَالِ يَعۡقُوبَ كَمَآ أَتَمَّهَا عَلَىٰٓ أَبَوَيۡكَ مِن قَبۡلُ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ‌ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ۬ (٦)

He said: O my dear son! Do not tell your vision to your brothers, lest they plot a plot against you. Surely, Satan is for man an open enemy. (5) And it will be in this way that your Lord will teach you the interpretation of events and will perfect His grace upon you and upon the family of Yaqub (Jacob) as He perfected it earlier upon your forefathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq. Surely, your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Yusuf 12:5-6)

You note that the stories in the Quran are provided as scenes, and it is left for the reader to use his imagination to develop the script to connect the scenes.  Following the scene of Yusuf informing his father about the dream, comes the scene of the brothers plotting against Yusuf.  Here, you need to encourage the young reader to use his imagination to add a script to connect the two scenes. There can be more than one script, here is possible one.  Yaqub (Jacob) who is Yusuf’s father is unique because he is a prophet, and his father (Ishaq) is a prophet, and his grandfather Ibrahim is a prophet. So, he knew that the Prophethood will continue in his family and one of his 12 children will be Prophet, but he does not know who.  It is likely that he encouraged his children to come and tell him about any vision that they see in his sleep. Therefore, as soon as Yusuf saw the vison, he ran to his father to tell him.

The father understood the meaning of the vision and subtle details in it.  He realized that Yusuf is the one among his children who has been chosen to be a Prophet.  He will not only be a prophet, but he will also be a messenger.  He could have reached this conclusion because he was a prophet, and he will be prostrating to Yusuf.  This means that Yusuf will be higher rank than him and the higher rank than a Prophet is a Messenger.  Prophet Yaqub (Jacob) also understood from the vison that all his children will live to witness Yusuf when he becomes a Messenger.

This interpretation explains several accounts in the story.  First, Prophet Yaqub (Jacob) never believed the story of the brothers that a wolf ate Yusuf and thus he told them:

قَالَ بَلۡ سَوَّلَتۡ لَكُمۡ أَنفُسُكُمۡ أَمۡرً۬ا‌ۖ فَصَبۡرٌ۬ جَمِيلٌ۬‌ۖ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُسۡتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ (١٨)

He said: “Rather, your inner desires have tempted you to do something. So, patience is most fitting. And it is Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that (lie) which you describe.” (Yusuf 12:18)

Even many years after, he asked the brothers to search for Yusuf in Egypt, by saying:

يَـٰبَنِىَّ ٱذۡهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَاْيۡـَٔسُواْ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يَاْيۡـَٔسُ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ (٨٧)  

“O my sons, go and enquire about Yusuf and his brother, and never give up hope in the mercy of Allah.  Certainly, no one despairs in Allah’s mercy the people who disbelieve”. (87)

Since Prophet Yaqub (Jacob) knows that Yusuf is still alive and someday he will see him again, why he was sad all the time that his eyes became blind from crying as the story suggests:

وَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنۡہُمۡ وَقَالَ يَـٰٓأَسَفَىٰ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَٱبۡيَضَّتۡ عَيۡنَاهُ مِنَ ٱلۡحُزۡنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ۬ (٨٤)

“And he turned away from them and said: “Alas, my grief for Yusuf (Joseph)!” And he lost his sight because of the sorrow that he was suppressing”. (Yusuf 12:84)

To understand Prophet Yaqub’s feelings, you need to appreciate that the grief of parents on a child who dies can be severe but diminishes after a while.  But the pain of a missing child is overwhelming and never diminishes, it is an excruciating ordeal for parents because of the unknown, and this is realized by the example of Prophet Yaqub.

The Surah informs us of the brothers’ feeling towards their father regarding how he prefers Yusuf and his brother over them, they said:

إِذۡ قَالُواْ لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحۡنُ عُصۡبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ (٨)

“When they said: Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we are, while we are a strong group, Indeed, our father is in clear error”. (Yusuf 12:8)

Here, one can speculate on how they have reached the conclusion that their father prefers Yusuf and his brother over them.  The story indicates that Prophet Yaqub and his family were Bedouins, and it is likely that they lived in tents.  The story also suggests that Prophet Yaqub has more than one wife.  Yusuf and his brother were from one wife and the other 10 children may have been from one or more than one wife.  One can expect that after Prophet Yaqub understood that Yusuf is the one who will carry the legacy of the Prophethood, he became more concern about him and unconsciously given him more attention.  He may have also been spending more time in the tent of Yusuf’s mother than the other wives.  This may have been the reason that the other brothers considered that their father is unfairly giving more preference to the two brothers.

Let us look at another dramatic scene in this story that occurred after the wife of Al-Aziz tried to seduce Yusuf and he refused, and the story started to spread among the elite women of the society.

وَقَالَ نِسۡوَةٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡمَدِينَةِ ٱمۡرَأَتُ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ تُرَٲوِدُ فَتَٮٰهَا عَن نَّفۡسِهِۦ‌ۖ قَدۡ شَغَفَهَا حُبًّا‌ۖ إِنَّا لَنَرَٮٰهَا فِ ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ۬ (٣٠)

And few women in the city said: “The wife of Al-‘Azîz is seeking to seduce her youthful slave, His love has overwhelmed her; Surely, we see her in plain error.” (Yusuf 12:30)

The wife of Al-Aziz cannot allow this gossip to spread further, so she used her influence to stop the spread beyond this group and plotted a scheme to frame those women to change them from being accusers to being accused.  The Quran gives us a vivid picture of the scheme that she devised.

فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتۡ بِمَكۡرِهِنَّ أَرۡسَلَتۡ إِلَيۡہِنَّ وَأَعۡتَدَتۡ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَـًٔ۬ا وَءَاتَتۡ كُلَّ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬ مِّنۡہُنَّ سِكِّينً۬ا وَقَالَتِ ٱخۡرُجۡ عَلَيۡہِنَّ‌ۖ فَلَمَّا رَأَيۡنَهُ ۥۤ أَكۡبَرۡنَهُ ۥ وَقَطَّعۡنَ أَيۡدِيَہُنَّ وَقُلۡنَ حَـٰشَ لِلَّهِ مَا هَـٰذَا بَشَرًا إِنۡ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا مَلَكٌ۬ كَرِيمٌ۬ (٣١)

And when she heard of their sly talk, she sent to them and prepared for each of them a cushion and gave to every one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): Come out unto them! And when they saw him, they exalted him and “repeatedly” cut their hands, exclaiming: Allah Blameless! He is no human being. This is but a noble angel. (Yusuf 12:31)

All interpreters give explanations for this scene.  We do not need to comment on these interpretations because you can read them on your own.  But we need to note that verse used action verb (قَطَّعۡنَ) with the “Shaddah” over the letter “Tah” (ط) and not “Fatah” and this gives the emphasis that the women have intentionally and repeatedly cut their hand, and this was not accidental.

Here when you study this Surat with the young, you may ask them to use their imagination to speculate on why the women made several cuts in their hands and what is the value for Al-Aziz wife.  The goal is not to come up with an ultimate answer but to encourage the youth to think, keeping in mind that the Quran leaves the details for the reader to develop the scenario that links the different scenes for the purpose of expanding his cognitive capacity. Each time you read the Surat with your youth, the more immigration they will develop by coming up with more scenarios.

Speculating on the scenario for this event is important in explaining why Yusuf asked the king to ask the women about cutting their hands to prove his innocence while he did not ask the king to question the wife of Al-Aziz, who was the cause of his problems in the first place.  The scene presented in the Quran is as follows.  

وَقَالَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱئۡتُونِى بِهِۦ‌ۖ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُ ٱلرَّسُولُ قَالَ ٱرۡجِعۡ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَسۡـَٔلۡهُ مَا بَالُ ٱلنِّسۡوَةِ ٱلَّـٰتِى قَطَّعۡنَ أَيۡدِيَہُنَّ‌ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى بِكَيۡدِهِنَّ عَلِيمٌ۬ (٥٠) قَالَ مَا خَطۡبُكُنَّ إِذۡ رَٲوَدتُّنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفۡسِهِۦ‌ۚ قُلۡنَ حَـٰشَ لِلَّهِ مَا عَلِمۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ مِن سُوٓءٍ۬‌ۚ قَالَتِ ٱمۡرَأَتُ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلۡـَٔـٰنَ حَصۡحَصَ ٱلۡحَقُّ أَنَا۟ رَٲوَدتُّهُ ۥ عَن نَّفۡسِهِۦ وَإِنَّهُ ۥ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ (٥١)

And the king said: “Bring him to me.” But when the messenger came to him, (Yusuf) said: “Return to your lord and ask him, ‘What is the case of the women who cut their hands? Surely, my Lord (Allah) is Well-Aware of their plot.'” (50) (The King) said (to the women): “What was your case when you seduced Yusuf?” The women said: “God forbids, we know of no evil against him!” The wife of Al-‘Azîz said: “Now the truth has come to light, it was I who sought to seduce him, and he is surely truthful.” (Yusuf 22:50-51)

One can assume that Yusuf wanted the king to investigate the physical evidence of the women hands which they cannot deny.  But he cannot prove his innocence against the claim of the wife of Al-Aziz because there is no physical evidence.  Only after the women vindicated Yusuf, the wife of Al-Aziz volunteered to prove Yusuf’s innocence because she had no choice.

The question is how did the wife of Al-Aziz force the women to cut their hands? Here you can use some imagination and some history.  A possible explanation is that Al-Aziz wife made the cutting of the hands a condition for loaning Yusuf, who was her slave, to them.   After seeing him, they were all willing to cut their hands for the opportunity to have him.  She gave them a cushion, prior to cutting, to place under their hand to prevent blood spilling on the floor.  Yusuf was fully aware of this scheme because he was offered to all the women and when he resisted all of them, they all plotted to imprison him. This is the reason that Yusuf wanted all the women to testify to prove his innocence and he did not mention the wife of Al-Aziz because she did not cut her hand and thus there was no physical evidence to investigate her.       

Another possibility that may explain why Al-Aziz wife selected cutting the hand because this was apparently a customary practice to prove that she was justified for seducing Yusuf.  The ruler of northern Egypt at that time were from the area of Palestine, Jordan and Syria and they have a common phrase when someone accuses you of not telling the truth is to say, if I prove you are wrong, you will cut you hand and if you prove that I am wrong I am going to cut my hand.  This may be a mere word to say now but it could have been a practice in the past.  Since the wife Al-Aziz proved to the women that they also cannot resist Yusuf, they had to cut their hands.

في الأردن) قطع الأيدي إن ثبت عكس ما نظن. فغالبا ما كنت أسمع فلانا يقول لفلان “صدقني إذا طلع كلامك صحيح لأقطع إيدي (باللهجة الأردنية الدارجة). في الأردن يشترط بعضنا البعض في حالات التحدي قطع الأيدي إن ثبت عكس

Before moving to the third scene, let me emphasize that the word “قطع” cut which means to create some form of separation but does not mean to complexly sever the part being cut from the main body.  So, when a knife slips from your hand and you cut your hand, it means that the skin is separated, and the blood comes out.  The term “قطع” “cut” has been used in the Quran over 30 times and in all of them except one it does not mean complete separation. The exception is the use of “قطع” “cut” for the punishment of the thieves, but this meaning is not based on the meaning of the word, but it is solely based on the Prophet’s application of this form of punishment.  Keep in mind that there several legal terms in the Quran that can only be understood based on the way the Prophet (PBUH) applied them and not based on the available meanings of the word in the dictionary.

Now, we move to the third scene: After the king realized the innocence of Yusuf and the injustice that was inflicted upon him for being very truthful, the king wanted to give him major responsibility in the government, which may have been a prime minister. But Yusuf asked to hold a specific job which may be equivalent to minister of treasury.  

وَقَالَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱئۡتُونِى بِهِۦۤ أَسۡتَخۡلِصۡهُ لِنَفۡسِى‌ۖ فَلَمَّا كَلَّمَهُ ۥ قَالَ إِنَّكَ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ لَدَيۡنَا مَكِينٌ أَمِينٌ۬ (٥٤) قَالَ ٱجۡعَلۡنِى عَلَىٰ خَزَآٮِٕنِ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ إِنِّى حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ (٥٥)

And the king said: Bring him to, and I shall employ him for myself. And when he (the king) talked with him, he said: Today you are with us well placed and trusted.  (54) He (Yusuf) said: Set me over the treasures of the land. I am indeed knowledgeable custodian. (Yusuf 12:54-55)

It is interesting that some scholars are perplexed with the request of Prophet Yusuf for a position in light of the hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim in which Abdul Rahman Ibn Samura (عبد الرحمن بن سمرة) narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said to him:

روى البخاريُّ، ومسلمٌ في صحيحيهما، من حديث عبد الرحمن بن سمرة رضي الله عنه، قال: قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((يا عبدَ الرحمن بنَ سمرة، لا تسأل الإمارة؛ فإنكَ إنْ أُوتِيتَهَا عن مسألة وُكِلْتَ إليها، وإنْ أوتيتَها من غير مسألة أُعِنْتَ عليها)).

“O Abdul Rahman Ibn Samura do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position as a result of your request, you will be left alone (without Allah’s help), and it you are granted it without making any request for it, you will be helped (by Allah)”.

Frankly, there should be no contradiction between the Prophet’s hadith and Prophet Yusuf’s request.  Prophet Yusuf was already offered by the king a prime minister position and he requested to take a specific that may even be a lower position.  So, Prophet Yusuf never sought a position to start with.  

There are some terms that are interesting in this Surat that worth mentioning, verse 70 mentions the term (ٱلسِّقَايَةَ) and verse 72 mentions the term (صُوَاعَ ٱلۡمَلِكِ):

فَلَمَّا جَهَّزَهُم بِجَهَازِهِمۡ جَعَلَ ٱلسِّقَايَةَ فِى رَحۡلِ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ أَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ أَيَّتُهَا ٱلۡعِيرُ إِنَّكُمۡ لَسَـٰرِقُونَ (٧٠) قَالُواْ وَأَقۡبَلُواْ عَلَيۡهِم مَّاذَا تَفۡقِدُونَ (٧١) قَالُواْ نَفۡقِدُ صُوَاعَ ٱلۡمَلِكِ وَلِمَن جَآءَ بِهِۦ حِمۡلُ بَعِيرٍ۬ وَأَنَا۟ بِهِۦ زَعِيمٌ۬ (٧٢)

And when he provided them with their provision, he placed the fluid measuring -cup in camel-pack of his brother, and then an announcer shouted out: O people of the camel caravan, you are surely thieves! (70) Turning towards them, they said: What are you missing? (71) They said: We are missing the measuring cup of the king, and whoever brings back shall deserve a camel-load, and I (said Joseph) stand surety for it. (Yusuf 12:70-72)

These two terms (ٱلسِّقَايَةَ) and (صُوَاعَ ٱلۡمَلِكِ): suggest that Egypt had a standard measuring cup that they designate as the king’s cup (صُوَاعَ ٱلۡمَلِكِ), and it is used to calibrate all other measuring cups whether for grains. But we realize that it is also used for measuring liquids because they also called it (ٱلسِّقَايَةَ).  This indicate that they relied on volumes rather than weights for distributing the food provisions.

The difference between (كيد) and (مكر)

In Surat Yusef, the term Makr (مكر) came 2 times, and the term Kyd (كيد) came 8 times.  Example:

فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتۡ بِمَكۡرِهِنَّ أَرۡسَلَتۡ إِلَيۡہِنَّ وَأَعۡتَدَتۡ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَـًٔ۬ا وَءَاتَتۡ كُلَّ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬ مِّنۡہُنَّ سِكِّينً۬ا (٣١)

قَالَ رَبِّ ٱلسِّجۡنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِمَّا يَدۡعُونَنِىٓ إِلَيۡهِ‌ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصۡرِفۡ عَنِّى كَيۡدَهُنَّ أَصۡبُ إِلَيۡہِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ ٱلۡجَـٰهِلِينَ (٣٣)

In the Quran, the term Makr (مكر) came 31 times, and the term Kyd (كيد) came 29 times.  These terms are similar in meaning and both refer to making secret plans to harm someone and thus we often mistakenly assume that engaging in such acts is always bad. But is it?  Is secretly planning to harm your enemy bad?  Or is making secret plans to capture criminals bad?  This understanding is important because Allah uses these terms referring his secret plans against the transgressors. Example:

وَمَڪَرُواْ وَمَڪَرَ ٱللَّهُ‌ۖ وَٱللَّهُ خَيۡرُ ٱلۡمَـٰكِرِينَ (آل عمران – الآية  (54

إِنَّہُمۡ يَكِيدُونَ كَيۡدً۬ا (١٥) وَأَكِيدُ كَيۡدً۬ا (الطارق

However, there is subtle differences between the two terms, that I’ll leave for you to identify by assembling all the verses that use the two terms.

As a final point, there is an equivalent account for the story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) in the Old Testament but many of its elements are false and degrading to both Prophet Yaqub (Jacob) and Prophet Yusuf (Joseph).  The Quran provides the accurate account that corrects many of the false claims in the Old Testament. Therefore, it is a waste of time to read the story in the Old Testament unless you are doing it for academic analysis such as the one done Malik Bin Nabi in his book entitled “The Quranic Phenomenon” (الظاهرة القرأنية).  The book presents a comparison between the accounts in Old Testament and the Quran in easy-to-follow tabular format in 44 pages.   But let me highlight three differences for general interest:

1/ The Old Testament presents Prophet Yusuf as a tyrant and opportunist who took advantage of the drought to confiscate the properties of the Egyptians and force them to become slaves to the king. While the presentation in the Quran is completely different, it showed Prophet Yusuf’s kindness and magnanimity that was demonstrated by providing supplies to the foreigners in return for anything trivial that they may bring as barter, and, in many cases, he used to return to them what they brought.

2/ The Old Testament presents a wrong historical account because it kept referring to the ruler of Egypt at the time of Prophet Yusuf as Pharoah which is the title given to the Egyptian rulers.  However, during that time Northern Egypt was occupied by the Hyksos who of Palestinian/Syrian origin and the title of their rulers was King, as the Quran presents, and not Pharaoh.  At that time, Southern Egypt was still ruled by an Egyptian Pharaoh.

3/ The Old Testament account indicates that the brothers of Yusuf came to Egypt on donkeys while the Quran states that they came on camels.  Obviously, the donkeys’ account cannot be correct for several reasons including the inability of the donkeys to travel between Palestine and Cairo crossing Sinai desert.  In addition, how much grains can a donkey carry, it may only be sufficient to feed it during the trip.

DUA