12. Yusuf

Appearing in the fifth (111) and sixth (112) verse is the request of these brothers before their father in which they wondered why he would not trust them with Yusuf, although they wished him fully well. So, they pleaded, he should send him along with them to enjoy himself freely by eating and drinking and playing with them and that they all shall be there to take care of him.

The tone of the very request made by the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) indicates that they had already made such a request earlier too which was not accepted by their father. Therefore, in the present request, they seem to have tried to assure their father with added effort and insistence.

Permissibility of a trip for pleasure

In this verse, the permission sought from Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) is to go for an outing and have the freedom to enjoy eating and playing together. This was something Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) did not disallow at all. He only showed his reluctance in sending Sayyidna Yusuf JI with them, which will appear in the next verse. From here we find out that going out to enjoy and play is allowed under permissible limits. Authentic Ahadith too seem to indicate its justification. But, the condition is that in this activity of fun and games, there should be no transgression of the limits set by the Shari` ah, nor should it be mixed up with any act not permissible there. (Qurtubi others)

When the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) requested their father that he should send Yusuf with them on a recreational outing, Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) told them that he did not favour sending him out for two reasons: (1) He remains uncomfortable without him in sight and (2) he apprehends that, in the wilderness out there, it might so happen that they become neglectful at some time and a wolf might eat him up.

The apprehension of Sayyidna Ya'qub may have been caused either due to the abundance of wolves in Canaan, or because he had seen in a dream that he is standing on top of a hill and Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is there on the slope downhill. All of a sudden ten wolves surround him and try to attack him. But, one of the wolves came forward to rescue him from the rest. Once released, Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام took refuge inside the terrain.

The interpretation of that dream manifested later when it turned out that the ten wolves were these ten brothers and the wolf which defended Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and saved him from being killed was his elder brother, Yahuda (Judah). And the depth of the pit was the interpretation of his hiding under the land.

In a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، it has been reported that Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، because of this dream, felt the danger of an unfortunate situation coming at the hands of these brothers. Thus, in fact, they were the ones he had alluded to as wolves - but, in consideration of his wisdom, he did not lay the truth bare. (Qurtubi)

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 …

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) …

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 …

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.'

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