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I seek refuge with Allah (SWT), the All-Hearing and the All-Knowing, from the cursed Satan. In the name of Allah (SWT), the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon our master, the noblest Prophet Muhammad. We praise Allah (SWT), thank Him, seek His help, guidance and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah (SWT) from the evil in our souls and the sinfulness of our deeds. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "Whomever Allah guides, then he is right-guided, and whomever He leads away into error, then you will never find for him a right-minded patron." (TMQ, 18:17)[1].

We agreed in the previous lecture on memorizing all the Ayat (verses) we interpret and we have already interpreted four Ayat. Believe me, memorizing the Surah after hearing the interpretation really makes a big difference. In this lecture we will extract many themes out of each Ayah. Listen to this Ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Surely the believers are only the ones who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble and when His ayat (Signs or verses) are recited to them, they increase them in belief." (TMQ, 8:2). Now we will recite Allah’s Ayat. Are you one of those whom the Ayah mentioned; those whose faith is strengthened when they hear Allah's Ayat, or do they make no difference to you at all or do they even lessen your faith? I will remind you of this Ayah at the end of the lecture to see the difference.

Now let's go back to the Ayat of Surat Yusuf and their interpretation. Last time we stopped at the Ayah in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "As Yusuf (Joseph) said to his father, "O my father, surely, I saw (i.e., in a dream) eleven planets and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me." (TMQ, 12:4).

As we've mentioned before, Yusuf (AS) was very much loved by his father. He had eleven brothers. Only one of them, Binyamin (Benjamin), was his full brother. The other ten were half-brothers. Yusuf (AS) and his brother Binyamin were the youngest among Yaqub (AS) (Jacob’s) sons as Yaqub’s wife bore him ten sons then he married another woman who bore him Yusuf, the elder, then Binyamin, the youngest.

The other ten brothers were a strong group; they had deep affinity, they were very united and they did everything together. The two younger brothers; Yusuf (AS) and Binyamin, were still young children, incapable of doing work. As we've mentioned before the story takes place in South Palestine and the consummation of the incidents will take place in Egypt. Yusuf (AS), at that time, was very young, he was not more than 12 years old. Most reports verify that he was not more than 12 years old when he was thrown into the well.

Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "Behold! Joseph said to his father: "O my father!" (TMQ, 12:4). As we said in the previous lecture, the word Ya Abatah (Father) with higher intonation implies that the father is addressed in a loud voice, whereas the word Ya Abati (Father) the lower intonation used here, means that Yusuf (AS) was talking with his father alone. Notice the inimitability and miraculous style of the Qur’an as a minor intonation change shows us the way he talked to his father. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, As Yusuf (Joseph) said to his father, “O my father, surely I saw (i.e., in a dream) eleven planets and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.” He said, “O my little son, do not narrate your vision to your brothers, (for) then they may plot against you (some) plotting. Surely Ash-Shaytan (The all-Vicious (one), i.e., the Devil) is to man an evident enemy." (TMQ, 12:4-5).

Let us interpret the two Ayat and observe the useful lessons they teach us. We learn a great deal from these two Ayat; they show us how strong the relationship between sons and fathers should be. The youth relationship with their fathers nowadays is not strong at all. If you ask a young man, “If you saw a vision like that of Yusuf (AS), to whom would you tell it - to your father?” The answer will be, “No! Of course not!” All of them would tell it to their friends and if they felt it was serious, then to their brothers or sisters. However, have you noticed that the first person to whom Yusuf (AS) told his vision was his father? He didn't tell it to his mother because he needed the father’s wisdom. We are in need for this feeling. In many cases, our youth miss the father’s wisdom - not because the father is not wise. No! Maybe because he no longer cares or is busy day and night at work. He might be working in another country and his top priority is to bring money for his son but not to develop his son's brain. Maybe the father has no time for his son because he hangs out with his friends at some café forgetting about his child, or maybe it is the son's fault because he refuses to give his father a chance. This is a mistake which many youth make these days.

Youngsters nowadays are isolated; they only think of themselves and their friends. They reject their fathers. This of course breaks their fathers’ hearts. This is not a trivial problem. I want each and every one of you to notice that throughout our interpretation of the story we will learn thousands of lessons and the clever one will not just listen but apply those lessons as well. I hope that everyone makes use of what we are learning here and write the lessons he has learned out of each lecture. You will find that in every Ayah there are many lessons that would reform your life. The first lesson to observe is the relationship between Yusuf (AS) and his father. In fact, sometimes we find that it is the son’s mistake. Try telling your father one day that you want to talk to him about your problems and worries, and then see how happy he will be. Believe me, you will feel faith flowing through your heart. You know something - you might pray a whole night and not feel the beauty of faith the way you will feel it when you sit with your father because you will be doing this with a pure intention to please Allah (SWT). Do you know that feeling when someone prays Qiyam (night prayer) for a week? You will experience the same feeling once you sit with your father for half an hour only because you have put an end to his pain and his feelings that you are a stranger to him. You can try it and you'll see how beautiful that time will be and how happy and joyful you will feel!

Let us go back to Yusuf’s story and notice how much love is there in it. The son went to his father and told him Ya Abati (O my Father) and his father replied Ya Bonai (O my little son). We notice here that Yaqub (AS) did not say to him Ya ibni (my son) but said my little son, which shows pity. Observe how beautiful the relationship between them was!

Sometimes when a son wants to marry a certain girl, his mother wouldn't agree without giving any reasons. Well, this is wrong! Have you noticed how Yaqub (AS) is talking to his son who is not 12 years old yet in a serious manner telling him not to tell his vision to his brothers so that they would not conspire against him because the devil may fill their hearts with jealousy. Maybe the words are not suitable for his age but the Qur’an wants to show us the type of relationship between them. In spite of all the material and cultural development we are experiencing now, we still have not reached this level yet. I ask all youth to give their parents a chance. Someone might say my father is strict. Well, maybe he is strict because he does not know how to get to you. Maybe it is because you are isolated. You are the one who isolated yourself.

Let us all try this advice; let us go to our fathers and tell them we want to talk to them about our problems. Even those of you who have got married and have their own families, go back to your parents! You may talk about ordinary stuff, but do it anyway to bridge the gap between you and you fathers. You can never imagine how pleased with you your parents will be, through the grace of Allah (SWT). We should all try and imitate Yusuf (AS) and listen to what our fathers tell us because if we do not, we may end up being undutiful and disobedient to our parents.

Take for example, a mother should not refuse the girl her son wants to marry just because she does not like her but she has to give clear reasons why she does not agree. When the mother sits with her son and clarifies for him these reasons then if he does not listen to what she says, he will become an undutiful and disobedient son. How could we stop a marriage without giving reasons and afterwards ask our children to be obedient? It is very important to have open discussions between parents and children. This is the first thing we conclude from the relationship between Yusuf (AS) and Yaqub (AS). Yusuf (AS) was only 12 years old then – remember! From this we learn a very important lesson; establishing a solid father-son relationship is crucial and, as we have mentioned before, it is the responsibility of both the father and the son.

From the same Ayah we deduct another meaning. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "He said, "O my little son! Do not narrate your vision to your brothers…" (TMQ, 12:5). Being cautious is one of the qualities of the Muslim. This does not mean being ambiguous or reserved in a way that would make people turn away from him. On the contrary, the Muslim is an open book; he deals simply and openly with people but he is cautious. What do we mean by cautious? We mean that he follows the Prophet’s (SAWS[2]) Hadith, “Secrecy helps in achieving goals.” (Authenticated by al-Albany, Sahih al-Jamie’, 943). This lesson is being taught by Yaqub (AS) to a 12 years old child. Imagine! He is teaching him to do so with his brothers! This is a lesson many people need to learn; women sometimes tell everybody about what goes on in their houses and the problems they have.

Cautiousness is also evident in another place in Surat Yusuf. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And he said, "O my sons! (Or: my seeds) Do not enter by one gate, and enter by separate gates." (TMQ, 12:67). Yusuf’s father had brought him up on being cautious since his childhood. This is evident in how he told his father ya abati (O father) which means that he is not used to saying everything in front of anyone and this is a very important lesson. Have you noticed that Yusuf’s story not only teaches us to worship Allah (SWT) but also introduce a type of fear which human beings are in need of in order to live a life free from harm? In being cautious there is yet another aspect to discuss.

Why did Yaqub (AS) ask Yusuf (AS) not to tell the story to anyone? Well, he did that for two reasons. The first one is to avoid the deceit of Yusuf's brothers. The second reason was because he knew that if Yusuf's brothers had known about this vision they would have felt jealous and he did not want to hurt their feelings so he asked him not to tell them about the vision.

Observe the father's wisdom and rationalism. I want everyone of you to learn from this Surah lessons that would help you go on with life; I mean if you feel once that some word you are about to say might make someone else jealous then do not say it; we don't want to bear malice against each other.

Thus, Yaqub (AS) felt that if Yusuf's brothers knew about this vision they would become extremely jealous and this means that he did not feel worried about Yusuf (AS) only but also about the rest of his sons.

There is another lesson in the same Ayah. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "He said, "O my little son, do not narrate your vision to your brothers, (for) then they should may plot against you (some) plotting. ! Surely ash-Shaytan (The all-Vicious (one), i.e., the Devil) is to man an evident enemy!" (TMQ, 12:5).

Why did Yaqub (AS) link the plotting of Yusuf's brothers against him to these words, "…ash-Shaytan (The all-Vicious (one), i.e., the Devil) is to man an evident enemy!" In other words, why did the Ayah come in such an order bringing forth the plotting then Satan? It is because you need to know that no envy, hatred, or anger exists in this world without Satan being the main reason behind it. Those feelings in particular are not part of the human self. What fills your heart and soul with hatred, envy and anger is really Satan. What I want to say is that there are some feelings which are part of the human self like the lust for food or sex. These feelings can either be from within your self or invoked by Satan. However, if you find yourself boiling with anger and cannot control your feelings, you should know then that Satan is having a hand on you. If you felt hatred within you towards a particular person then you should know that Satan is controlling you. If you felt envy then you should know that Satan is controlling you. This is why Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) advised whosoever gets angry to do Wudu (ablution). What is the relationship between anger and Wudu? The Prophet (SAWS) wanted to teach us a practical lesson; Satan is created from fire and water puts out fire. This is an important lesson we need to learn.

Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And thus your Lord will select you and teach you (a portion) of the interpretation of discourses, and perfect His favor upon you, and upon the house of Yaqub, as He perfected it earlier upon your two fathers Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ishaq (Isaac). Surely your Lord is Ever-knowing, Ever-Wise." (TMQ, 12:6).

What is the relationship between the word "Thus" here and the previous Ayah? In the previous Ayah, Yaqub (AS) warned Yusuf (AS) against telling his vision to his brothers and against Satan who is an avowed enemy of man and that his brothers might plot against him. How, do you think, would a child in Yusuf's age feel when he hears this? He would be afraid and worried. The wise father had to tell his son the aforementioned warnings at first but afterwards he knew he had to calm him down so he told him the good news, "your Lord will select you and teach you (a portion) of the interpretation of discourses," which means that he is already blessed and that Allah (SWT) will perfect His blessings on him and all this is in order to bring tranquility to his heart. From this Ayah, we learn that the major component of a parent-child relationship is not that of blaming the child. The father who goes on telling his son all the time that he is bad, wrong, cannot do anything, or push him hard during exams should, to the contrary, calm him down and tell him that insh'Allah he will succeed and that Allah (SWT) will bless him. The issue of tranquility between parents and children is a very important component of the upbringing process. At the same time, it makes the child grow up into a strong and solid person.

Among the beautiful words in the Ayah is "select you." What is the meaning of "select you?" It means picking him up or choosing him. What did He choose Yusuf (AS) for? Prophethood. This means that Yaqub (AS) understood that the vision signifies Prophethood. The question here is: did Yusuf (AS) do anything important to be chosen by Allah (SWT)? Did he do any thing at all in order to be chosen by Allah (SWT)? No, he did not do anything. Someone might say, "Then Yusuf's brothers were right when they wondered why Allah (SWT) favored Yusuf (AS) over them?" No, they weren't. Allah (SWT) chooses whosoever He wants.

This is a decisive point - take care! This is where envy starts. Envy eats good deeds (hasanat) just as fire eats wood and this is a Hadith (Narrated Abu-Huraira, Sunnan Abu Dawoud, No 4903). It means that if you envied someone this envy would eat up the good deeds of the previous day and if it increased it would eat up the good deeds of the day before and so on. We have to admit that this is a very important issue and many people do not take notice of how it begins. It begins by the word "why?" By the way, you don't have to actually utter the word; it is enough to have it within your heart. This word was the one that led Yusuf's brothers astray. They went astray when they asked, "Why him, why him in particular?" The answer is in what Allah (SWT) says which can be translated as, "He will not be questioned as (to) what He performs, and they will be questioned." (TMQ, 21:23). It is improper to ask 'why' because this is the reason behind the sin and the beginning of a road leading to hellfire. Every one of us should know that he is a servant of Allah (SWT), thus he has no right to ask; Allah (SWT) chooses whatever He wants. Among the examples of His choice is performing the rituals of Hajj (pilgrimage) for instance in the desert. Some might wonder why Allah (SWT) didn't choose a place like Vienna for example which is very beautiful and full of trees. We have no right to ask. Allah (SWT) also chose the month of Ramadan and highly glorified it over all the other months with great rewards and then He chose the night of Al-Qadr[3]. In all these cases we have got nothing to do but to obey.

There is a story about the servant's wondering about his Lord's choices. There was a man called Abu-Amer who lived in Makkah before the Prophet's mission. This man learnt from the ancient divine books that the time of the last prophet had approached so he started preparing himself because he wanted to be that prophet. Thus, he stopped drinking liquor and did his best to reform himself because he wanted to be a prophet and knew that this will only be given to a good man. He became such a devout worshipper that people used to call him Abu-Amer, the monk. Then Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was assigned to the mission. It never occurred to him, that Allah (SWT) might choose him for such a mission. As a matter of fact, he was almost the only person in Makkah who had not thought about this issue. Even lady Khadijah knew more about this matter than did the Prophet (SAWS) himself. When the revelation was sent upon Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), Abu-Amer became the Prophet's worst enemy. Therefore, Allah (SWT) sent down an Ayah saying what can be translated as, "Allah knows best where He makes His Message." (TMQ, 6:124). Thus, don't you ever envy anyone or ask, "Why?" By the way, Abu-Amer was the one who dug the hole into which the Prophet (SAWS) fell during the battle of Uhud. Now can you see where envy led this man? He went to the battle but not to fight, he did not care who wins and who loses; his sole concern was the Prophet (SAWS). He kept on digging holes around the Prophet (SAWS) so that he would fall into one of them. All of this was because of his envious soul and failure to accept Allah's choice. Such was the cause of many enmities throughout history.

Do you know why the Jews hate us? It is because they wished that the last prophet had been from among them. All the prophets since Yaqub (AS) until the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) were the sons and the descendants of Yaqub (AS), the only prophet who was a descendant of Isma’il (AS) was Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). This is the reason behind their anger and hatred for us. The Jews leader in Madinah, Hoyay Ibn-Akhtab, had extraordinary knowledge of the Torah. He was a hermit and a devoted worshipper who knew the Torah word by word. Be noted that the Torah mentioned all the descriptions of the Prophet (SAWS) except for his birth place. This of course was done so that the Jews would know all the qualities of that Prophet (SAWS), propagate for him and spread his description among people thinking that he would be from among them as the Torah hid the fact that he would be from among the Arabs.

When the Prophet (SAWS) migrated to Madinah, Hoyay Ibn-Akhtab went out to see him. He started to notice how he dealt with people and felt deep down in his heart that he is the last prophet. He went to the Prophet (SAWS) and asked him, "Where is your father? The Prophet (SAWS) replied, "He died." Hoyay said, "Right you are." He then asked, "And your mother?" The Prophet (SAWS) said, "She died." Hoyay replied, "Right you are." Then he asked the Prophet (SAWS) to show him his back so the Prophet (SAWS) did. At that moment, Hoyay saw the seal of Prophethood right by the first vertebra. Hoyay went to his brother who asked him, "Is it him?" (He meant the Prophet mentioned in the Torah) Hoyay replied, "Yes, it is him." His brother asked him, "What are you going to do then?" Hoyay said, "I'll be his enemy for as long as I live!" Envy was a disease in Hoyay's heart and was the reason for his death as a disbeliever.

Therefore dear brothers and sisters I want each one of you to check his heart because so long as envy is in there it will eat up all the rewards of your good deeds. Thus, you should do your best to be worthy of being chosen by Allah (SWT) then you should put your trust in Allah (SWT) and never envy other people. Even if you were not chosen by Allah (SWT), trust Him and be satisfied with whatever He does to you.

Every one of you should follow this rule, "Don't ever envy others." Try your best to make yourself worthy of being chosen by Allah (SWT) through your worship, trustworthiness and loyalty. We should all notice that Abu-Amer was not on the wrong track at the beginning; he was mistaken later on, however, when he refused what Allah (SWT) chose for him.

Take care everybody; all the people attending a religious lesson or listening to it will enter paradise insh'Allah because Allah (SWT), the Almighty says what can be translated as, “…He is (The One) Who has selected you…” (TMQ, 22:78). If you think about it, you will find that Allah (SWT) has chosen you from amongst 6.5 billion persons - that is the world's population. Imagine that instead of sitting now listening to this lesson, you might have been a very wealthy person who lives in the most civilized country in the world but who believes in nothing. You have been first selected to be among 1.5 billion Muslims, then He chose you to be among the millions who pray, then He chose you out of thousands or even millions of people to pray at the mosque, then He selected you to be among those who attend religious lessons. I mean all the time Allah (SWT) is making you get closer and closer to Him. What have you done, you and the others, to deserve being selected? If you remember what we said at the beginning of this lecture about Allah's declaration to the angels that He forgives all the people who attend religious lectures, isn't this yet another type of being selected by Allah (SWT)?

We are still at the sixth Ayah which ends with Allah (SWT) saying what can be translated as, "Surely, your Lord is Ever-Knowing, Ever-Wise." (TMQ, 12:6).

Why did Allah (SWT) choose these two qualities to end the Ayah with? Well, He did it to assure us that the act of choosing belongs only to Him. Here, I want to draw your attention to something, in every Ayah that ends with one of Allah's names, you should know that this name has a strong connection with the content of the Ayah. This fact usually goes by unnoticed. The part in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "Surely, your Lord is Ever-Knowing, Ever-Wise." (TMQ, 12:6) is very important because it shows us that the act of selection belongs only to Allah (SWT) because of His knowledge and wisdom, for Allah (SWT) knows and we do not know. Thus, we should contemplate the ends of the Ayat we read. If you want to memorize the Qur'an you have to link the Ayah with its end.

Let us continue the Ayah. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “…and perfect His favor upon you, and upon the house of Yaqub, as He perfected it earlier upon your two fathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq. Surely your Lord is Ever -Knowing, Ever -Wise." (TMQ, 12: 6).

There is a very important meaning in this Ayah. Yaqub (AS) is reminding his son of Allah's favor on his grand-father Ibrahim (AS) although Ibrahim (AS) is the father of Yusuf's grand-father. Imagine! Many people forget the bounties Allah (SWT) gives them even if they were given to them not more than two months ago. Remembering bounties is one of the best things to increase your love for Allah (SWT); if you want to love Allah (SWT) more remind yourself all the time of His bounties. If you want to ease your misfortunes remember how trivial they are in comparison to Allah's bounties. If you want to get closer to Allah (SWT) and to love Him more, bring a paper and a pen and write down the bounties Allah (SWT) gave you; write down that you can see while there are others who cannot, that you can walk while there are others who are paralyzed, that you can understand and use your brain to think while there are others who are mad and that you have food and drinks while others search for anything to eat in trash cans. Write down that you are a Muslim and others are deprived of this bounty and that every year many youth commit suicide because they do not know the purpose of being alive. Write down that Allah (SWT) is Merciful and loves you and that He made you good-looking. Love Allah (SWT) with all your hearts and remember the Ayah in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And as for your Lord’s favor, then discourse about it! (i.e., proclaim it)." (TMQ, 93:11). Appreciate the bounty and talk about it. The best example for this is what Yaqub (AS) did; he told his son of the bounties Allah (SWT) bestowed upon him and his father and grandfather.

Which one of you here sits and tells his children how he suffered privation at the beginning of his life then Allah (SWT) bestowed his graces upon him. If you want to remind your parents of Allah's bounties go and ask them to tell you how they were promoted in their jobs; how they went up the ladder step by step. Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA) was once walking and met a man so he asked him, "How are you today?" The man replied, "I am fine." He asked again, "How are you today?" The man answered, "I am fine." He asked a third time, "How are you today?" The man replied, "I am fine alhamdu-lillah (Praise be to Allah)," so Omar (RA) replied that is what I wanted to hear.

In the same Ayah, there is a part in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “…and perfect His favor upon you and upon the house of Yaqub." (TMQ, 12:6). What favor does Allah (SWT) mean? He means Prophethood. This means that Yaqub's interpretation of Yusuf's vision didn't stop at the prostration of his eleven brothers and his father and mother before him; it went far beyond that. Yaqub (AS) understood from the vision that Yusuf (AS) would be a prophet. This is because Yaqub (AS) himself was a prophet and since the vision pointed out to his prostration before Yusuf (AS), it wouldn't be possible that aPprophet would prostrate before someone lower in position. This was a sign of Yusuf's Prophethood. The prostration here was that of respect and honor, not worship.

The following incident is among the wonders of visions interpretation. The Prophet (SAWS) said, "I saw (in a dream) a woman with unkempt hair going out of Madinah and settling at Mahai'a, i.e., al-Juhfa. I interpreted that as a symbol of epidemic of Madinah being transferred to that place (al-Juhfa)." (Narrated Abdullah Ibn-Omar, Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 87, Number 161+162)

Why did the Prophet (SAWS) interpret the vision this way? The woman's appearance in Madinah could never signify the existence of sins in this city because the city of the beloved Prophet (SAWS) never accepts sins. Since the woman does not stand for a sin then it must be a disease that would afflict Madinah then leave it.

Another interpretation of a vision is related by Ibn-'Abbas. A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I saw in a dream, a cloud having shade. Butter and honey were dropping from it and I saw the people gathering it in their hands, some gathering much and some a little. And behold, there was a rope extending from the earth to the sky, and I saw that you (the Prophet) held it and went up, and then another man held it and went up and (after that) another (third) held it and went up, and then after another (fourth) man held it, but it broke and then got connected again." Abu-Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! Let my father be sacrificed for you! Allow me to interpret this dream." The Prophet (SAWS) said to him, "Interpret it." Abu Bakr said, "The cloud with shade symbolizes Islam, and the butter and honey dropping from it, symbolizes the Qur’an, its sweetness dropping and some people learning much of the Qur'an and some a little. The rope which is extended from the sky to the earth is the Truth which you (the Prophet) are following. You follow it and Allah will raise you high with it, and then another man will follow it and will rise up with it and another person will follow it and then another man will follow it but it will break and then it will be connected for him and he will rise up with it." (Narrated Ibn 'Abbas, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 87, Number 170.)

Allah (SWT) did not give the knowledge of visions interpretation except to a few people. Among them was Yaqub (AS) and after him was Yusuf (AS) then of course he gave it to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and after him Abu-Bakr (RA) and Ibn-Sirin. Those who know this science are very rare as we mentioned in the previous lecture.

Now let's move on to the next Ayah. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "Indeed in Yusuf and his brothers were already signs for the questioners." (TMQ, 12:7). On reading this you feel that there is some sort of a break between this Ayah and the previous one; you feel that there was a certain theme wrapped up in the previous Ayah and a new theme about to begin in this one. This is because Surat Yusuf is a story and in that respect it resembles plays; a scene ends and another one begins. The incidents of the story begin with Allah (SWT) saying what can be translated as, "Indeed in Yusuf and his brothers were already signs for the questioners." (TMQ, 12:7). Why do you think Allah (SWT) says "were already signs for the questioners?" The reason is that a group of Jews went to the Prophet (SAWS) in Makkah and told him, "Oh Muhammad tell us about a man who lived in the Land of Sham whose son was taken from him and sold in Egypt. The father cried so much that he lost his eye sight." The Prophet (SAWS) did not reply as he really did not know anything about that story and neither did Quraish. The story was not known to anyone except for the Jews because it was mentioned in the Torah. Therefore, Allah (SWT) the Almighty revealed the Ayah that can be translated as, "Indeed in Yusuf and his brothers were already signs for the questioners." (TMQ, 12:7) meaning, 'the questioners' the Jews.

In the next Ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "As they said, "Indeed Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, and we are a band. Surely our father is indeed in evident error." (TMQ, 12:8).

There are many themes to discuss in this Ayah. First, were Yusuf's brothers right? Did Yaqub (AS) love Yusuf (AS) and preferred him to his brothers and treated him better than them? The answer is: no way! It is impossible that Yaqub (AS) did that, because he is a prophet and prophets are infallibles. Remember what we have said before about how Yaqub (AS) cared about his sons' feelings when he asked Yusuf (AS) not to tell them about his vision. However, they felt that their father loved their two little brothers more than them because of a few things he did. Yaqub (AS) used to give greater attention to Yusuf (AS) and his brother because they were still young. This was a natural attitude. If we asked any father who, of his children, he cares about the most, he would say the little one. Once upon a time a woman was asked about the most beloved of her children. She said, "The young until he grows up, the sick until he is cured, and the traveler until he comes home." Thus, this is the normal action of any father. Yaqub (AS) did not prefer some of his children to the others. All his other sons were strong and united. Only Yusuf (AS) and his brother were small, and unable to work or depend on themselves yet. Therefore, it was natural that they should be given more attention than the others. Thus, it was not Yaqub's mistake but their own. It was their imagination, ill hearts, and envy that led them to all that. May be this also happened because Yusuf (AS) was beautiful and they wanted to find an excuse for their envy.

These words are directed to both men and women. We mentioned that we must all be on our guards against envy. Now, why is that? Envy never comes in a direct and obvious form. What happens is that a person would envy someone for something he has, but would not want to be honest with himself about his jealousy. Instead he searches within his heart for a reason to hate that person and he might even try to pick holes in what he says or does so that he can hate him and envy him with a clear conscience. No one would ever confess that he is envying someone; he will make himself believe that the other person deserves his hatred. That is exactly what happened in Yusuf's story. This teaches us a lesson; a father must never favor a child, not even with a smile. Nu'man B. Bashir reported that his mother Bint-Rawaha asked his (Nu'man's) father about donating some gifts from his property to his son. He deferred the matter by one year, and then set forth to do that. She (Nu'man's mother) said, “I shall not be pleased unless you call Allah's Messenger as witness to what you confer as a gift on your son.” (Nu'man said), “So father took hold of my hand and I was at that time a boy, and came to Allah's Messenger and said, “Allah's Messenger, the mother of this son (of mine), daughter of Rawaha wishes that I should call you witness to what I confer as gift to her son. Allah's Messenger said, “Bashir, have you any other son besides this (son of yours)?” He said, “Yes.” He (the Holy Prophet (SAWS)) said, “Have you given gifts to all of them like this?” He said, “No.” Thereupon, he (the Holy Prophet (SAWS)) said, “Then call me not as witness, for I cannot be witness to an injustice.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 012, Number 3966.) Scholars state that there is an exceptional case in which it is permissible to favor one of your sons with extra money; that is when that son is very poor, otherwise it is not permissible to favor one child and leave the rest out.

In the next Ayah Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "As they said, "Indeed Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, and we are a band. Surely our father is indeed in evident error. Kill Yusuf, or banish him out to some (other) land, so that your father’s face may be free (Literally: (void) and empty; i.e., your father will have time for you or pay you more attention (Yusuf out of the way) for you…" (TMQ, 12:8-9). How cruel and hard-hearted they are! Do you know why they were that evil in spite of their being Yusuf's brothers? Those eleven brothers are the ones who will bear the Jewish descendents. Let us extract from those two Ayat the qualities of the eleven brothers which will be the essence of the Jews' characteristics.

Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "As they said, "Indeed Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we." (TMQ, 12:8). This shows a feeling of oppression. They feel that they are oppressed, hated and fought every where on earth. Thus they think that they deserve compassion and that they are justified to do what they are doing. The next characteristic is envy that leads to murder. The third is the boldness to kill; the easiest thing they do is to kill. Disrespect, especially for prophets, is also among their characteristics. Moreover, they also have the ability to lie and hide the truth; they hid the truth from their father for 40 years. This is totally against human nature. A wife who makes a big mistake and hides it from her husband would in two or three years feel that she would die if she did not tell him about it. They, on the other hand, managed to hide the truth from their father for 40 years. Imagine! They stood by watching their father being torn apart for Yusuf's loss, but they never felt sorry for him and never thought of confessing. Now you can see where the characteristics we see today come from. Since Yaqub (AS) was aware of his children nature, he told Yusuf (AS) from the very beginning; Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "O my little son, do not narrate your vision to your brothers, (for) then they may plot against you (some) plotting." (TMQ, 12:5). Later on they thought and said, "Indeed Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, and we are a band. Surely our father is indeed in evident error." (TMQ, 12:8). 'In evident error" here does not mean that his faith is weak or that he is a lunatic but it means that he is not wise. Can you believe that this is said about a prophet?

Don't you ever disrespect your parents, not even once. Never make fun of their behavior or hurt them. Don't ever feel bored of your father or mother's talk and say, “They say the same things over and over again,” because one might say a word that would destroy his life forever. The Prophet (SAWS) said, “One of you might say a word that brings forth the wrath of Allah, and takes him to the deep pits of hell by a distance of seventy years in depth.” (Authentic, narrated by Abu-Huraira, Sunnan Ibn-Majah, 3970).

Now we go back to the Ayat in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "As they said, “Indeed Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, and we are a band. Surely our father is in evident error. Kill Yusuf …" (TMQ, 12:8-9). Someone might ask, did they think of killing Yusuf (AS) so quickly? Once they found an excuse for getting rid of him (AS) they just said, "Let us kill him." The Qur'an leaves out a span of time to indicate that the action of envying and backbiting the father would continue. However, this span of time is left for you to contemplate the story. Two or three years might have elapsed between the eighth and the ninth Ayat. All this time was spent in hatred and envy. Sins do not just pop out suddenly; there are signs. It might for example start with backbiting, envy or disrespect for parents and then develop into murder.

Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "and do not ever follow the steps of ash-shaytan; (The all-vicious, i.e., the Devil)." (TMQ, 2:208). One might wonder, could they really think of committing a murder? Can they actually try to carry it out despite the fact that all they really did at the beginning was backbiting? Well, the whole matter just developed until it reached this appalling level. Some young men told me that 10 years ago they would have never thought that one day they would take drugs. Some girls said that they never thought that one day their relationship with boys would go that far. What really happens is that you just take the first step thinking that it will not go any further, but Satan is very smart. He accepts what little sins you give. He might accept a minor sin from you for a year in order to make you stick to it. If he told you from the very first day to take a bribe, for example, you will totally get away from what he wants you to do. However, he is too smart to do that. What he does instead is telling you, “It would not hurt if you took one pound from someone to do him a favor; it is only one pound.” Then the whole thing develops and he gets you fixed on that step for a year. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Kill Yusuf or banish him to some (other) land, that your father’s face may be free (Literally: (void) and empty; i.e., your father will have time for you or pay you more attention (Yusuf out of the way) for you, and even after him you will be a righteous people." (TMQ, 12: 9). Which do you think is more cruel, slaying or casting someone out? Slaying of course, but they want to hurt him by any means. Why would they cast him out? Deep down they were struggling they could not imagine killing him.

At the end of the Ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "… and even after him you will be a righteous people)." (TMQ, 12:9). This means that they had the intention to repent but after finishing off their sin. Do you think this kind of repentance would be accepted? Have you noticed how many years it took them to repent? How can one be so sure that if he made a sin like this one or any other sin against his father that his father might not die before he apologizes to him? Don’t you ever say, "I will do the so and so sin and then repent." This is a well known set up by Satan to let you commit the sin feeling comfortable that you will repent afterwards.

In the next Ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "One (Literally: a speaker) of them said: " Do not Kill Yusuf, and cast him into the unseen (bottom) of the pit, (and) (some) travelers will pick him out, in case you are performing (that)." (TMQ, 12:10). The Surah here portrays the secrets of the human self. Why do you think this brother asked the rest of his brothers not to kill Yusuf (AS) but to throw him into a well instead? He cannot actually imagine killing his brother, but still wants to get rid of him. Thus, he thought of getting rid of him in an indirect way. This eventually led him to hurt his brother in a way that is worse than murder. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "and cast him into the unseen (bottom) of the pit." It is as if that brother was deluding himself when he said, "(and) (some) travelers will pick him out.” What he said was “the (bottom) of the pit” and he knew that this was a place no one could reach, but he did not want to make himself feel guilty or responsible for the murder. This does not mean that Allah (SWT) will favor him with His mercy unlike the rest of his brothers. He too wanted the same end for Yusuf (AS) but in a different way. We use this trick a lot but facing yourself is much better than deceiving it. I hope you take this as an assignment to do after the lecture. I want every one of you to sit with himself, hold a paper and a pen and start writing his faults. If a young man is keen on watching satellite channels which transmit inappropriate or intimate scenes, he should write this down and try to think of a solution; get someone to code those channels. If a girl is involved in a relationship with a young man behind her parents' back, she must tell them; even if this means that they will get angry and make her leave him. She should know that it is not right to deceive her parents. The young man also should know that. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And benignancy is not to come up to the homes from their backs; but benignancy is for man to be pious; and come up to the homes by their doors, and be pious towards Allah, so that possibly you would prosper." (TMQ, 2:189). Would he like it if this happens to his sister? Of course not! What is even more dangerous is the permissive attitude during engagement period between youth because Satan starts then drawing the steps and opening the ways to sin.

Everybody write down the faults and think of how to change them and how to get rid of the bad company. Yusuf's brothers were lost through that way, because of envy, filial disobedience, backbiting their father, not facing themselves with their faults and the evidence is in what Allah (SWT) says that can be translated as, " …and even after him you will be a righteous people)." (TMQ, 12:9). All they did was calm themselves down and try to feel tranquil. Take care of the faults chain, every fault is followed by a chain of faults and never think that you can do a sin without completing this chain, thus al-Hasan al-Basri says, "If you saw a man committing a sin be sure that he makes others." If we followed the chain of sins committed by brothers of Yusuf (AS) we will find the following: envy which led to hatred then lying and murder at the end. If we move to what happens today we will find that one of the chains begins with a bad friend, smoking cigarettes, then shisha (water pipe), then marijuana and afterwards, taking drugs. If you want to cut the sin chain, there are only two ways; repentance and joining a good company.

Let's go back to the Surah. In this Ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "cast him into the unseen (bottom) of the pit." (TMQ, 12:10). The Arabic word for Ghiabat (unseen bottom) is like the word Ghaib (the unknown) and Ghiba (backbiting) and they are all derived from one root. Ghaiabat (unseen bottom) means that they put him in a place where he could not be seen. Observe the inimitability of the Qur'an; it portrayed in one word how terrible the situation was. By the way the grave is also called Ghaiab because a person inside a grave becomes totally unseen. Now can you imagine what happened to Yusuf (AS), a 12 year old child, when he was thrown into that place? I am addressing those who have been stricken by afflictions; women who lost their children or whose children are ill. Can you imagine the ordeal Yaqub (AS) went through? Can you imagine Yusuf's suffering when he was left in that place? The pit here is different from the normal well we know. It was a very deep well full of snakes and scorpions. Imagine then a 12-year-old boy thrown into such a place. This was the idea of one of his brothers so as to be kind to him and not to kill him! The story, however, did not end here; they also stripped him off his clothes as the Ayah assures, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And they came with false (Literally: lying, a lie) blood on his shirt." (TMQ, 12:18). In addition to his young age he also had a small body; the following Ayah shows that. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "(and) (some) travelers will pick him out." (TMQ, 12:10). Picking him up is an evidence on his small body. Moreover, the surrounding area was full of wild animals and Yaqub (AS) knew that. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as (Yusuf saying), "I fear that the wolf may eat him." (TMQ, 12:13).

After planning their plot, they decided to go to their father; Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "They said, "O our father, how is it with, that you do not keep Yusuf in our custody?" (TMQ, 12:11). Notice that they said, “how is it with, that you do not keep Yusuf in our custody?” When a person lies or conspires to do something wrong somehow he always gives himself away. Here the beauty of the Qur'an is shown in the portrayal of the human self. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "They said, "O our father, how is it with you, that you do not Yusuf in our custody? And surely we are indeed his (honest) advisers. Send him (forth) with us tomorrow to frolic and play; and surely we will indeed be his preservers." (TMQ, 12:11-12). "Frolic and play" is a confirmation from the Qur'an that there is nothing wrong in playing for both children and grown-ups.

[1] TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah :Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.

[2] Sala-llahu Alahi Wa Salam = All Prayers and Peace of Allah be upon him.

[3] The Night of Revelation. Usually expected during the last ten day of the month of Ramadan.

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