12. "Yusuf"
Koran.012
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book that makes
(things) manifest.
Surely We have revealed it— an Arabic Quran— that you may
understand.
We narrate to you the best of narratives, by Our revealing to you
this Quran, though before this you were certainly one of those who did not
know.
When Yusuf said to his father: O my father! surely I saw eleven
stars and the sun and the moon— I saw them making obeisance to me.
He said: O my son! do not relate your vision to your brothers,
lest they devise a plan against you; surely the Shaitan is an open enemy to
man.
And thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the
interpretation of sayings and make His favor complete to you and to the
children of Yaqoub, as He made it complete before to your fathers, Ibrahim
and Ishaq; surely your Lord is Knowing, Wise.
Certainly in Yusuf and his brothers there are signs for the
inquirers.
When they said: Certainly Yusuf and his brother are dearer to
our father than we, though we are a (stronger) company; most surely our
father is in manifest error:
Slay Yusuf or cast him (forth) into some land, so that your
father's regard may be exclusively for you, and after that you may be a
righteous people.
A speaker from among them said: Do not slay Yusuf, and cast
him down into the bottom of the pit if you must do (it), (so that) some of the
travellers may pick him up.
They said: O our father! what reason have you that you do not
trust in us with respect to Yusuf? And most surely we are his sincere
well-wishers:
Send him with us tomorrow that he may enjoy himself and
sport, and surely we will guard him well.
He said: Surely it grieves me that you should take him off, and I
fear lest the wolf devour him while you are heedless of him.
They said: Surely if the wolf should devour him
notwithstanding that we are a (strong) company, we should then certainly be
losers.
So when they had gone off with him and agreed that they
should put him down at the bottom of the pit, and We revealed to him: You
will most certainly inform them of this their affair while they do not
perceive.
And they came to their father at nightfall, weeping.
They said: O our father! surely we went off racing and left
Yusuf by our goods, so the wolf devoured him, and you will not believe us
though we are truthful.
And they brought his shirt with false blood upon it. He said:
Nay, your souls have made the matter light for you, but patience is good and
Allah is He Whose help is sought for against what you describe.
And there came travellers and they sent their water-drawer and
he let down his bucket. He said: O good news! this is a youth; and they
concealed him as an article of merchandise, and Allah knew what they did.
And they sold him for a small price, a few pieces of silver, and
they showed no desire for him.
And the Egyptian who bought him said to his wife: Give him an
honorable abode, maybe he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a
son. And thus did We establish Yusuf in the land and that We might teach
him the interpretation of sayings; and Allah is the master of His affair, but
most people do not know.
And when he had attained his maturity, We gave him wisdom
and knowledge: and thus do We reward those who do good.
And she in whose house he was sought to make himself yield
(to her), and she made fast the doors and said: Come forward. He said: I
seek Allah's refuge, surely my Lord made good my abode: Surely the unjust
do not prosper.
And certainly she made for him, and he would have made for
her, were it not that he had seen the manifest evidence of his Lord; thus (it
was) that We might turn away from him evil and indecency, surely he was
one of Our sincere servants.
And they both hastened to the door, and she rent his shirt from
behind and they met her husband at the door. She said: What is the
punishment of him who intends evil to your wife except imprisonment or a
painful chastisement?
He said: She sought to make me yield (to her); and a witness of
her own family bore witness: If his shirt is rent from front, she speaks the
truth and he is one of the liars:
And if his shirt is rent from behind, she tells a lie and he is one
of the truthful.
So when he saw his shirt rent from behind, he said: Surely it is a
guile of you women; surely your guile is great:
O Yusuf! turn aside from this; and (O my wife)! ask forgiveness
for your fault, surely you are one of the wrong-doers.
And women in the city said: The chiefs wife seeks her slave to
yield himself (to her), surely he has affected her deeply with (his) love; most
surely we see her in manifest error.
So when she heard of their sly talk she sent for them and
prepared for them a repast, and gave each of them a knife, and said (to
Yusuf): Come forth to them. So when they saw him, they deemed him great,
and cut their hands (in amazement), and said: Remote is Allah (from
imperfection); this is not a mortal; this is but a noble angel.
She said: This is he with respect to whom you blamed me, and
certainly I sought his yielding himself (to me), but he abstained, and if he
does not do what I bid him, he shall certainly be imprisoned, and he shall
certainly be of those who are in a state of ignominy.
He said: My Lord! the prison house is dearer to me than that to
which they invite me; and if Thou turn not away their device from me, I will
yearn towards them and become (one) of the ignorant.
Thereupon his Lord accepted his prayer and turned away their
guile from him; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing.
Then it occurred to them after they had seen the signs that they
should imprison him till a time.
And two youths entered the prison with him. One of them said:
I saw myself pressing wine. And the other said: I saw myself carrying bread
on my head, of which birds ate. Inform us of its interpretation; surely we see
you to be of the doers of good.
He said: There shall not come to you the food with which you
are fed, but I will inform you both of its interpretation before it comes to
you; this is of what my Lord has taught me; surely I have forsaken the
religion of a people who do not believe in Allah, and they are deniers of the
hereafter:
And I follow the religion of my fathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq and
Yaqoub; it beseems us not that we should associate aught with Allah; this is
by Allah's grace upon us and on mankind, but most people do not give
thanks:
O my two mates of the prison! are sundry lords better or Allah
the One, the Supreme?
You do not serve besides Him but names which you have
named, you and your fathers; Allah has not sent down any authority for
them; judgment is only Allah's; He has commanded that you shall not serve
aught but Him; this is the right religion but most people do not know:
O my two mates of the prison! as for one of you, he shall give
his lord to drink wine; and as for the other, he shall be crucified, so that the
birds shall eat from his head, the matter is decreed concerning which you
inquired.
And he said to him whom he knew would be delivered of the
two: Remember me with your lord; but the Shaitan caused him to forget
mentioning (it) to his lord, so he remained in the prison a few years.
And the king said: Surely I see seven fat kine which seven lean
ones devoured; and seven green ears and (seven) others dry: O chiefs!
explain to me my dream, if you can interpret the dream.
They said: Confused dreams, and we do not know the
interpretation of dreams.
And of the two (prisoners) he who had found deliverance and
remembered after a long time said: I will inform you of its interpretation, so
let me go:
Yusuf! O truthful one! explain to us seven fat kine which seven
lean ones devoured, and seven green ears and (seven) others dry, that I may
go back to the people so that they may know.
He said: You shall sow for seven years continuously, then what
you reap leave it in its ear except a little of which you eat.
Then there shall come after that seven years of hardship which
shall eat away all that you have beforehand laid up in store for them, except
a little of what you shall have preserved:
Then there will come after that a year in which people shall
have rain and in which they shall press (grapes).
And the king said: Bring him to me. So when the messenger
came to him, he said: Go back to your lord and ask him, what is the case of
the women who cut their hands; surely my Lord knows their guile.
He said: How was your affair when you sought Yusuf to yield
himself (to you)? They said: Remote is Allah (from imperfection), we knew
of no evil on his part. The chief's wife said: Now has the truth become
established: I sought him to yield himself (to me), and he is most surely of
the truthful ones.
This is that he might know that I have not been unfaithful to
him in secret and that Allah does not guide the device of the unfaithful.
And I do not declare myself free, most surely (man's) self is
wont to command (him to do) evil, except such as my Lord has had mercy
on, surely my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful.
And the king said: Bring him to me, I will choose him for
myself. So when he had spoken with him, he said: Surely you are in our
presence today an honorable, a faithful one.
He said: Place me (in authority) over the treasures of the land,
surely I am a good keeper, knowing well.
And thus did We give to Yusuf power in the land— he had
mastery in it wherever he liked; We send down Our mercy on whom We
please, and We do not waste the reward of those who do good.
And certainly the reward of the hereafter is much better for
those who believe and guard (against evil).
And Yusuf's brothers came and went in to him, and he knew
them, while they did not recognize him.
And when he furnished them with their provision, he said: Bring
to me a brother of yours from your father; do you not see that I give full
measure and that I am the best of hosts?
But if you do not bring him to me, you shall have no measure
(of corn) from me, nor shall you come near me.
They said: We will strive to make his father yield in respect of
him, and we are sure to do (it).
And he said to his servants: Put their money into their bags that
they may recognize it when they go back to their family, so that they may
come back.
So when they returned to their father, they said: O our father,
the measure is withheld from us, therefore send with us our brother, (so
that) we may get the measure, and we will most surely guard him.
He said: I cannot trust in you with respect to him, except as I
trusted in you with respect to his brother before; but Allah is the best
Keeper, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful ones.
And when they opened their goods, they found their money
returned to them. They said: O our father! what (more) can we desire? This
is our property returned to us, and we will bring corn for our family and
guard our brother, and will have in addition the measure of a camel (load);
this is an easy measure.
He said: I will by no means send him with you until you give me
a firm covenant in Allah's name that you will most certainly bring him back
to me, unless you are completely surrounded. And when they gave him their
covenant, he said: Allah is the One in Whom trust is placed as regards what
we say.
And he said: O my sons ! do not (all) enter by one gate and
enter by different gates and I cannot avail you aught against Allah; judgment
is only Allah's; on Him do I rely, and on Him let those who are reliant rely.
And when they had entered as their father had bidden them, it
did not avail them aught against Allah, but (it was only) a desire in the soul
of Yaqoub which he satisfied; and surely he was possessed of knowledge
because We had given him knowledge, but most people do not know.
And when they went in to Yusuf. he lodged his brother with
himself, saying: I am your brother, therefore grieve not at what they do.
So when he furnished them with their provisions, (someone)
placed the drinking cup in his brother's bag. Then a crier cried out: O
caravan! you are most surely thieves.
They said while they were facing them: What is it that you miss?
They said: We miss the king's drinking cup, and he who shall
bring it shall have a camel-load and I am responsible for it.
They said: By Allah! you know for certain that we have not
come to make mischief in the land, and we are not thieves.
They said: But what shall be the requital of this, if you are liars?
They said: The requital of this is that the person in whose bag it
is found shall himself be (held for) the satisfaction thereof; thus do we
punish the wrongdoers.
So he began with their sacks before the sack of his brother, then
he brought it out from his brother's sack. Thus did We plan for the sake of
Yusuf; it was not (lawful) that he should take his brother under the king's
law unless Allah pleased; We raise the degrees of whomsoever We please,
and above every one possessed of knowledge is the All-knowing one.
They said: If he steal, a brother of his did indeed steal before;
but Yusuf kept it secret in his heart and did not disclose it to them. He said:
You are in an evil condition and Allah knows best what you state.
They said: O chief! he has a father, a very old man, therefore
retain one of us in his stead; surely we see you to be of the doers of good.
He said: Allah protect us that we should seize other than him
with whom we found our property, for then most surely we would be unjust.
Then when they despaired of him, they retired, conferring
privately together. The eldest of them said: Do you not know that your
father took from you a covenant in Allah's name, and how you fell short of
your duty with respect to Yusuf before? Therefore I will by no means depart
from this land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is
the best of the judges:
Go back to your father and say: O our father! surely your son
committed theft, and we do not bear witness except to what we have
known, and we could not keep watch over the unseen:
And inquire in the town in which we were and the caravan with
which we proceeded, and most surely we are truthful.
He (Yaqoub) said: Nay, your souls have made a matter light for
you, so patience is good; maybe Allah will bring them all together to me;
surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.
And he turned away from them, and said: O my sorrow for
Yusuf! and his eyes became white on account of the grief, and he was a
repressor (of grief).
They said: By Allah! you will not cease to remember Yusuf
until you are a prey to constant disease or (until) you are of those who
perish.
He said: I only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah, and I
know from Allah what you do not know.
O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his brother,
and despair not of Allah's mercy; surely none despairs of Allah's mercy
except the unbelieving people.
So when they came in to him, they said: O chief! distress has
afflicted us and our family and we have brought scanty money, so give us
full measure and be charitable to us; surely Allah rewards the charitable.
He said: Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his brother
when you were ignorant?
They said: Are you indeed Yusuf? He said: I am Yusuf and this
is my brother; Allah has indeed been gracious to us; surely he who guards
(against evil) and is patient (is rewarded) for surely Allah does not waste the
reward of those who do good.
They said: By Allah! now has Allah certainly chosen you over
us, and we were certainly sinners.
He said: (There shall be) no reproof against you this day; Allah
may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful.
Take this my shirt and cast it on my father's face, he will (again)
be able to see, and come to me with all your families.
And when the caravan had departed, their father said: Most
surely I perceive the greatness of Yusuf, unless you pronounce me to be
weak in judgment.
They said: By Allah, you are most surely in your old error.
So when the bearer of good news came he cast it on his face, so
forthwith he regained his sight. He said: Did I not say to you that I know
from Allah what you do not know?
They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us,
surely we were sinners.
He said: I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord; surely He
is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Then when they came in to Yusuf, he took his parents to lodge
with him and said: Enter safe into Egypt, if Allah please.
And he raised his parents upon the throne and they fell down
in prostration before him, and he said: O my father! this is the significance of
my vision of old; my Lord has indeed made it to be true; and He was indeed
kind to me when He brought me forth from the prison and brought you from
the desert after the Shaitan had sown dissensions between me and my
brothers, surely my Lord is benignant to whom He pleases; surely He is the
Knowing, the Wise.
My Lord! Thou hast given me of the kingdom and taught me
of the interpretation of sayings: Originator of the heavens and the earth!
Thou art my guardian in this world and the hereafter; make me die a muslim
and join me with the good.
This is of the announcements relating to the unseen (which)
We reveal to you, and you were not with them when they resolved upon
their affair, and they were devising plans.
And most men will not believe though you desire it eagerly.
And you do not ask them for a reward for this; it is nothing
but a reminder for all mankind.
And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth which they
pass by, yet they turn aside from it.
And most of them do not believe in Allah without associating
others (with Him).
Do they then feel secure that there may come to them an
extensive chastisement from Allah or (that) the hour may come to them
suddenly while they do not perceive?
Say: This is my way: I call to Allah, I and those who follow
me being certain, and glory be to Allah, and I am not one of the polytheists.
And We have not sent before you but men from (among) the
people of the towns, to whom We sent revelations. Have they not then
travelled in the land and seen what was the end of those before them? And
certainly the abode of the hereafter is best for those who guard (against
evil); do you not then understand?
Until when the apostles despaired and the people became sure
that they were indeed told a lie, Our help came to them and whom We
pleased was delivered; and Our punishment is not averted from the guilty
people.
In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of
understanding. It is not a narrative which could be forged, but a verification
of what is before it and a distinct explanation of all things and a guide and a
mercy to a people who believe.