Surat Yusuf & The Final Messenger (S) Part 2

 

Disclaimer: Some of the things mentioned here may not be appropriate for children below the age of 15.

1. There are different types of parallels. One type is the historic parallels where the sequence of one story is similar to the other story. Now let us see the other type of parallels.

2. To us, the Qur'an is a complete document but in the life of Prophet(SAW), the Qur'an is an ongoing conversation. Certain Ayahs were revealed at certain times and after certain events.

3. So the way we see the Qur'an is different from the way the Prophet(SAW) and by extension the believers at that time see the Qur'an.

4. One of the most occurring themes in Yusuf(AS)'s life is how a person with absolutely no power(a slave) rises to power(the finance minister) with the help of Allah. 

5. The Sahaba were treated as outcasts and especially Muslim slaves like Bilal(RA) were tortured similarly to Yusuf(AS). This makes the Sahaba relate to Yusuf(AS) and gives them hope and comfort. They now know that they were not the only ones to be oppressed by others and maybe they too will get respect and power like Yusuf(AS).

6. The empire of Egypt has been painted very closely as the Quraysh in the Qur'an.

7. Yusuf(AS) was persecuted despite coming from a noble lineage[ancestry of Ibrahim(AS)]. In fact, the people with whom he(AS) shared the noble lineage(the brothers) were the ones who almost decided to kill him(AS). 

8. This shows the Prophet(SAW) that coming from noble lineage doesn't mean that there will be no problems and it may be that people who persecute you. 

9. Yusuf(AS) was given temptation in the form of a woman. Although the Prophet(SAW) was not given temptation in this form, there are other types of temptation with which he(SAW) was tempted with. Money, power, and luxury are all things he(SAW) was offered.

10. Yusuf(AS) was not in a position of prominence but because of his(AS)'s character, he(AS) was given respect by the minister to whom he(AS) was a slave. This is seen more clearly in the Bible.

11. The Prophet(SAW) was not an elder, he(SAW) was a youth but the Quraysh came to him(SAW) when they had a dispute. The Quraysh had this high regard for the Prophet(SAW) even before he(SAW) became the Prophet. This is because of his(SAW)'s incredible character.

12. When the Prophet(SAW) announced that he(SAW) is the Prophet, the opposition from the Quraysh was not only for theological reasons - it was for political reasons too.

13. The Quraysh thrived economically because of the idols. If they accept Islam, they are renouncing the idols. The idols were the supposed Gods of the tribes all over Arabia. These tribes came to Makkah only and only to pay respect to the idols. While doing that they also paid for their food and hospitality thus increasing the economic growth of Quraysh. Denying idols will end all of this.

14. On top of that, these idols were providing safety to the Quraysh. If they are traveling no one can rob the Quraysh because their idols are there with the Quraysh and if they harm the Quraysh, the Quraysh will harm that other tribe's idols. So, denying idols will end the safety and prosperity of the Quraysh. Their opposition may look theological but it is political in nature.

15. Yusuf(AS) was falsely imprisoned not because of personal reasons or because of his(AS)'s character. They knew he(AS) was innocent. He(AS) was imprisoned because the political image of the ministers will be destroyed. The scandal has to be avoided.

16. Here a subtle reality is being taught which is that for some people, knowing the truth is not enough for them to follow the truth. It doesn't matter if the trust becomes clear because they have something that they value more and this something is their want of power and money and control for both Quraysh and the ministers. Even the wife of the minister wants to control Yusuf(AS).

17. During the early Makkah period, the Quraysh were not really hostile. They said that the Prophet(SAW) has gone mad and showed that they were really concerned for him(SAW). Then they thought of it as a political campaign and offered the Prophet(SAW) a compromise. When the Prophet(SAW) refused to compromise, then they got insulted and that's when the hate and slanders and torture of the Muslim Ummah started. It is still political opposition but it also became personal now.

18. So the Quraysh started to speak ill of the Prophet(SAW). They created a narrative in which the Prophet(SAW) represented a threat to their tribal values. They said that it is a threat to national\tribal security.

19. When the minister catches his wife being disloyal to him, the wife of the minister basically asks hum to put Yusuf(AS) in jail because he is a threat to the family's security. 

20. The Sahaba are seeing the same things play out in front of them. That's how they find comfort in this story.

21. When the Prophet(SAW) refuses to compromise because he(AS) fears Allah, things get exponentially worse for him(SAW).

22. When Yusuf(AS) refused to compromise his(AS)'s character because he(AS) fears Allah, things become worse for him(AS).

23. The Quraysh were feeling positive emotions like concern. But when the Quraysh got refused by the Prophet(SAW), they became angry and wanted to destroy him(SAW).

24. The wife of the minister, as twisted as it is, felt positive emotions like love. But when she was rejected by Yusuf(AS), she wanted to destroy him(AS).

25. Now let's look at the brothers, they were the sons of a Prophet. Yusuf(AS) didn't do anything bad to them. Even when they were angry at him(AS), the only thing they said was that their father loved Yusuf(AS) more than them. They couldn't say one thing bad about Yusuf(AS) and yet they hated him(AS).

26. When you want attention and you feel that someone else is taking that attention away from you, that is the feeling that Shaitan felt. When Adam(AS) was created, Shaitan's position was still high. He was still honored as he was, he was still getting all the blessings. But when he saw Adam(AS) getting all the attention, he felt that all his blessings were nothing.

27. The philosophy of Shaitan is when someone gets something that you didn't get, you need to show that that person is no better than you. And to do that you must put that person in a degrading position. This is exactly what Shaitan felt and that is was he wants you to feel. And this is why Yaqub(AS) said to Yusuf(AS) that he(AS) shouldn't tell the brothers and the devil is the clear enemy. Shaitan trapped the brothers perfectly.

28. The Prophet(SAW) stood up with the eloquence that no poet could compete with. He(SAW) was aided by Allah's words and standing with the reasoning that no other debater could overcome. The Quraysh didn't realize that they were standing against the words of Allah. To them, he(SAW) was speaking from himself(SAW) and how can they accept that he(SAW) is better?

29. One of the main arguments in their private gatherings against accepting him(SAW) was that he(SAW) was from the tribe of Hashim and if they accept him(SAW) as their leader, it would mean that Hashimites won and that cannot happen.

30. Allah, through the example of these brothers, is telling the Prophet(SAW) that Shaitan has taken the Quraysh people's emotions to such a toxic level that even though he(SAW) has done nothing wrong to them, they desire to destroy him(SAW) as they think that the only way to elevate themselves is by destructing him(SAW).

31. Human beings can become as bad as Shaitan but a time may come where they feel something bad in their heart and change their actions for the better. Just because Shaitan has got hold of someone doesn't mean he will continue to have the power. It may be that they become good spiritually. People can really change sometimes.

32. We see this in the brothers and even in the wife of the minister at the end of the story. Even in the life of the Prophet(SAW), there are Sahabas like Khalid ibn Waleed who were very violent to the Prophet(SAW) before accepting Islam. 

33. On the other hand, the Prophet(SAW) also saw people like Abu Lahab who were violent till the end. The evil, in the case of Abu Lahab, was so bad that on the day when the son of the Prophet(SAW) passed away, Abu Lahab rejoiced saying that the lineage of the Prophet(SAW) has been cut off. It becomes worse when you realize that Abu Lahab is supposed to be the uncle of the Prophet(SAW). So, people change for the better but sometimes they don't change.

34. The story of Yusuf(AS) is in a very fast-paced style [we see him(AS) growing from a child to a young man in about the first 22 Ayahs]. But there is one scene in the story that is unique when it comes to this style. This scene is talked about in detail but does not provide much help in moving the story forward.

35. The scene is the conversation between Yusuf(AS) and the two inmates of the prison. That seems to be given in too much detail. Yusuf(AS) had no contact with the people in the outside world. He(AS) was left alone and he(AS) still used this opportunity to talk about Allah to the only people he(AS) could talk to - the inmates. And as we know the whole story, we see that it is that conversation that led to Yusuf(AS) ruling Egypt. That conversation about Allah was the first step.

36. In the late Makkan period, the Prophet(SAW) experienced a boycott where he(SAW) was confined to the valleys outside Makkah. He(SAW) had no contact with the Makkan people. So, he(SAW) used to have conversations about Allah with people who came to visit Makkah. One such group was the Madinah people. The Prophet(SAW) talked to these people about Allah and they got impressed. Sometime later the Prophet(SAW) was offered to move to Madinah which he(SAW) accepted. From Madinah, he(SAW) fought the Quraysh and got the Kaaba free from idols, and then cleansed Arabia from the pagans. After his(SAW)'s death, Islam spread all over the world. All this happened because of that small conversation about Allah during one of the most hopeless times. That conversation about Allah was the first step.

37. The seemingly insignificant conversation changed the entire world in a matter of few decades. The most powerful empire on the Earth at that time became the disposal of a slave. The entire world learned about Islam and the effect of Islam is still continuing. All this happened because of two private insignificant conversations about Allah at the lowest points of the lives of Yusuf(AS) and the Prophet(SAW).

38. Through the story of Yusuf(AS), Allah is teaching the Prophet(SAW) never to underestimate inviting someone to Allah and the effect that it might have.

39. Help from Allah can come from the most unexpected sources. Allah made an Egyptian pagan king see a dream so that Yusuf(AS) could be free. The Christian Abassynnian king helped the Muslims when they had to migrate to Abyssinia.

40. Also, it is very important to note here that just because someone has different religious views from you doesn't mean you are not allowed to accept help from them. It may be that they have a good character and Allah is using them to help you. As long as you are not compromising your religion, you can accept help from anyone.

41. The minister was the caretaker of Yusuf(AS), even though he(AS) was a slave, we see him taking good care of him(AS). But when it came to the slander and Yusuf(AS) became a threat to his political career, his goodness changed and he had no problem throwing an innocent man in jail.

42. Abu Lahab was the uncle of the Prophet(SAW). He was overjoyed when his nephew was born. But when the Prophet(SAW) became the final messenger, Abu Lahab saw him(SAW) as a threat to the political system of Makkah from which he was benefitting. So, he switched and even went as far as rejoicing when the small son of the Prophet(SAW) died.

43. The valuable lesson we learn here is that sometimes we have someone good to us but this good is only until we serve their agenda. The minute we stop serving it or betraying us benefits them more, they will change their behavior towards us. We should be wary of such people and act as needed so that we can protect ourselves from them.