“He said: ‘ Never will I send him with you until you pledge a solemn covenant to me, in Allah’s name, that you will surely bring back to
Surah Yusuf #66me, unless you are surrounded in (an evil accident).’ And when they had sworn their solemn pledge, he said: ‘ Allah is Guardian over what we say’. “
Tafseer
The father understands and here we find the wisdom of Yusuf for doing what he did.
If Yusuf had not returned the merchandise, there is no way that his father would have allowed Binyamin to go with his brothers, and Yusuf knows it will take convincing to allow Binyamin to come, and so he returns the merchandise and Ya‘qub says to give a solemn oath in the Name of Allah (
In this ayah Allah (
He (AS) knew the jealousy that these brothers had towards Binyamin.
He knew that they might even try to harm him just like they had harmed Yusuf (AS).
But he also knew his entire family was starving. He has only two options to choose from and in both of these, he is causing harm to his children.
But despite this knowledge Ya’qoob (AS) still decides to send Binyamin with them.
He (AS) knows that this was the only way that he could save his family from the famine. But he asks from them of a firm covenant from Allah.
This means that Allah is the Witness over this contract.
In fact, the language gives the meaning that the brothers have to take this covenant from Allah.
It is like something that they have borrowed from Allah.
This means that they have to take care of it.
If they in
And of course, giving an oath in the Name of Allah is something that is a very, very serious matter in our religion.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) has very strongly and harshly warned against a false oath.
To give a false oath is one of the major sins in Islam – to use the Name of Allah in vain and to use the Name of Allah while you lie or while you cheat.
Story of Prophet ISA(AS)
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told us of a beautiful story of ‘Isa ibn Maryam that ‘Isa ibn Maryam was passing by and saw a merchant steal
(‘Isa ibn Maryam) said, “Why did you steal this? Do you not fear Allah?”
The merchant was so embarrassed, he said, “Wallahi, I didn’t steal it.”
When he said ‘wallahi‘, ‘Isa replied, “I believe in Allah, and I reject what my eyes have seen.
If you swear by Allah, then I believe you because you used His Name.
I’d rather believe you and reject my eyes because you used His Name out of respect to the Name of Allah.” Of course, this is ‘Isa ibn Maryam, the perfection.
This is an authentic Hadith
Ya‘qub is a prophet, and he has taught his children about the importance of Allah and the Names of Allah. He knows that they would never swear by Allah and then go against that. He gives them the solemn oath, and then he says, “And Allah is the Wakil (Witness) over all that we have said and done.”
ReflectioN
He trusts them more, but he wants them to swear a solemn oath that they will come back with Ben Yamin
• They are people of religion, so this is something that is very great and the words are very strong
‣ Ya‘qub says “I will not send him with you unless you give me a solemn promise from
Allah that you will bring him back unless you guys yourselves are destroyed
• He says don’t even think about coming back alone and not bring Ben Yamin with you
‣ So they agree and Ya‘qub says “I will put my trust in Allah that you will bring him back
Note of Guidance
1) If children make mistakes, relations should not be cut off with them. One should , rather, think of ways to reform their conduct.
The mistakes made by brother of Yusuf were serious.
They were sins, major and grave:
- They lied to their father and made him agree to send Yusuf for an outing with them.
- They gave a pledge to their father, then broke it.
- They treated their young and innocent brother
cruelly . - They caused extreme pain to their father and did not care much about it.
- They conspired to kill an innocent human
being . - They sold a free human being forcibly and unjustly.
These were extreme and severe crimes which demanded that Yaqoob , once he understood that they had lied and wasted the life of Yusuf knowingly, should have severed his relation ship with his son , or turned them out of his house.
But, Yaqoob did not do that , rather, let them keep living with him, even sent them to Egypt to bring back food grains from there.
On top of this came the situation when they had another opportunity to prevail upon their father, he yielded to them and allowed them to take his young son with them
This tells us that should one’s children fall into sin or make mistakes, it is the responsibility of the father to seek their correction through appropriate education and training.
2) Promote here are two great qualities of character ,
- good dealing
- good manners
Yaqoob (AS) kept dealing with them in manner that they faced no nervous ness when they made their second request to take younger brother with them.
3)The real Trust should be in Allah . He is alone is the real mover and maker of things.
Lesson
1. A covenant from Allah (swt) is no joke. It is something that is never to be broken.
To break such a covenant would be among the greatest of sins.
We need to remind ourselves that when we swear by Allah (swt) it is no joke.
Remember Him. Realize Him. Know what it means for Him to be your Master and for you to keep your covenant.
2. If you want to put your trust in someone or something then put your trust on the One with Whom the command lies.
The One with Whom the decision of every single matter lies. In the end, everything is decided by Allah.
The final outcome of all things will be decided by Him. So put your trust in Allah and have the greatest of hopes in Him.
Realize the Majesty and Sublimity of Him (swt). Once you realize this how then will you ever be disappointed?
So take every precaution. Do your best. But in the end, put your trust in Allah and know that He (swt) is the One for all those who would trust to trust in.