One amongst them said, “Don’t kill Yusuf, but throw him into the ghayaab (recesses) of the well. Some travelers will find him, and they will take him.”
Surah Yusuf 10
TAFSEER
They said “throw him into the
Some travelers will find him, and they will take him.
“One of them said…”
Some people say that this was the oldest because he will come again and again in the story. Others say that this was another brother.
Regardless, this is the perfection of Allah’s storytelling in that He does not give us details that are useless. If you read the Old Testament or any book of history, you get bored so fast because there are so many details that are irrelevant. The beauty of Qur’anic stories is that you never get bored because Allah tells you what you need to know and does not tell you what you do not need to know. Who cares which brother it was? How do we benefit? There is no relevance at all. If we were to say, “Simon said this or Rubiyal said that or Raqiem said that” and then in the next story another one and then the next version, we would all get confused who did what. In Allah’s Mercy, He said, “One of them said.” This is perfection.
No doubt, the one who said this is the one who has more intelligence and more piety than the others.
“…if you must do something,…”
This shows that he doesn’t like what is going on, but he does not oppose it. His evil is less than the evil of the other nine. If this is the oldest brother, and this is the strongest opinion, then it appears that he is trying to minimize the evil and make it lesser than what they wanted to do. They want to kill him or exile him alone in the desert while he is saying to put him in the famous well that the travelers and caravans go by which has water, and he will stay there for a day or two and eventually somebody will pull him out. In that day and age, that boy would automatically become a slave, or they would take him to the next stopping post and leave him there. He would be looked after and at least would not die and would not be killed.
POINT TO NOTICE
Notice here that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is describing their evils, and their evils are numerous:
- They are breaking the ties of kinship. This is their brother.
- Yusuf is not just a brother but a young brother and a child. They are breaking the bonds of the young child.
- They are going against the rights of their own father because the one they are harming is not just related to them by blood but is also the son of their father. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever does not show mercy to the younger of us and respect the older of us is not one of us.” They don’t have mercy for the younger Yusuf, and they don’t have respect for the older father.
- They are also ignoring the love that their father has for that son.
Because Ya‘qub is a prophet, all of these sins are magnified. This is not just any person but a prophet of Allah. Once again, this shows the dangers of hasad and evil. In another hadeeth about hasad, which is very relevant here, is in Tirmidhi; the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “One of the diseases of the people of the past has crawled amongst you as well.” They said, “What is this?” He said, “Being jealous and hating others.” Too much of hasad and jealousy and enviousness will destroy you. And then he said, “I swear by the One in whose Hands is my soul, you will never enter Jannah until you love one another. [This is the opposite of hasad.] Should I not tell you about something that if you do it you will love one another? Spread the salaam amongst you.” The point is once again that jealousy, hasad, and enviousness will destroy the deen.
Some Traditions Concerning Jealousy
1) The Messenger of Allah (S) said:
“Do not be jealous, do not perform acts of hostility, do not back-bite or gossip, stay as Allah’s sheep, and act in a brotherly manner towards each other.”
2) Also, he (S) said:
“The only thing which I am most afraid of about my Ummah is the multiplication of wealth, for people will become jealous and consequently kill each other.”
3) The holy Prophet (S) told his companions one day:
“Beware that the disease of the former nations has afflicted you. That disease is jealousy which does not wipe out the hair, but it can make one lose his religion.”
4) Ali (as) said:
“A jealous person is always in discomfort and pain, even though his body may be healthy.”
5) Ali (as) also said:
“Remove jealousy from your heart for jealousy is an exhausting and exasperating disease.”
6) Amir ul Mu’minin Ali (as) said:
“Jealousy is the worst of diseases.”
7) Ali (as) said:
“Stop being jealous and stop bearing grudges for they disrupt one’s religion and bring man to destruction”.
8) Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Be in awe of Allah and do not feel jealous of one another.”
9) Ali (as) said:
“Jealousy makes one’s life bitter and dark.”
10) Amir ul Mu’minin Ali (as) in a Tradition said:
“Jealousy is a cureless disease which will not disappear except with the annihilation of the jealous person or when the one of whom others are jealous has passed away.”
11) Ali (as) said:
“The misfortunes of this world and the next is a consequence of one’s jealousy.”
12) Amir ul M’uminin Ali (as) said:
“The faithful will neither do flatter nor is jealous, save when they are seeking knowledge.”
13) Imam Sadiq (as) quoting his father, said:
“A man who has stinginess, jealousy and fear within him is not a faithful believer.”
14) Imam Sadiq (as) has been quoted as saying:
“Jealousy wears away one’s faith the same way as fire consumes wood.”
REFLECTIONS
- Allah entertains the questions of the
kufaar . - Yusuf ’s (u) brothers felt neglected and they held Yusuf (u) responsible.
- Parents must learn how to read their children’s behavior.
- Children from the same mother feel the sense of belonging when they are together.
- Enviousness will lead to evil acts.
- The danger of jealousy will lead to the extreme (such as killing).
- Pre-meditating sin nullifies the repentance.
- Evil has different shades.
- Evil can blind the people.
- Evil people help one another.
- Cutting off ties is a great sin.
- Prophet said, “When you’re crossing the
seerat , there are two things come on the right and left:amana and relations (with relatives).” - Evil may win over you due to your ties.
- They claimed that they were looking for his best interest.
- They dismissed the doubt of their father by saying will bring him back safe and sound.
- Yusuf ’s (u) shirt is mentioned three times in the Quran.
LESSON
Never be jealous, it can lead you to
Shayṭān is very eager to cause problems between believers, especially between family members. He always wants to cause disunity amongst the ummah, especially amongst family members. SubḥānAllāh, it is so true that every single family has its own issues and problems even though they are blood and even though they are family. Every single family has problems either with the siblings, uncles, or aunts. It is human nature, but Shayṭān makes it worse. This story shows us this.