Tafseer al Quran – Page 11 – Easy Quran Weekly Tafseer

Surah Yusuf #61

They said, “We shall persuade his father about him and will certainly do it.”

Tafseer
They said, “We shall persuade his father…”

Notice they said ‘his father’ and not ‘our father.’ You can sense the jealousy already, and they know how much Ya‘qub loves Binyamin.

They say, “We are going to try to convince his father to let go of him.” They know that they don’t have the same love, and so there is this hurt and pain that they have.
You can sense this distance. They should have said ‘our father,’ but they said ‘his father.’

“…and we will do it.”

They knew that this was going to be a challenge. Their father simply was not willing to send Binyamin with them but they are going to try their best to convince him.
They have done worse, and they can do this. They know it. They have their tactics. Here you get a little bit of arrogance, if you like. They are so sure and certain that “Yes, we can bring Binyamin as well.”

The question is why would Yusuf want his younger brother to come to Egypt and deprive his father from both his sons.

The answer is that Allah told him to do so. Ya’qub was old and blind and the brothers were treating Binyamin in a very harsh manner.

Binyamin was maybe not in threat but was not being treated properly. That’s why Allah wanted to save Binyamin as well and bring him into Egypt.

Authentic Tauheed
What about the brother you left behind?’
–Yaqub had 12 sons .. 1 is left behind, 1 is Minister of Finance and the other 10 were there in Egypt for food
–Yusuf gave them a clue by asking this
–their situation was pathetic because they didn’t recognize what he was saying to them

Reflection
‣ It is acceptable to obey a non-Muslim ruler as long as he not asking to do haram.

‣ Yusuf did not take advantage of the situation; he answered the servant without
compensation.

‣ Faraj (relief, ease, and comfort) comes after hardship.

‣ There are three types of nafs.

‣ It is permissible to ask a possession of authority if you are the most suitable person for it.

‣ Allah will allow the righteous to be in charge of the affairs of the ummah if their intentions
are correct.

‣ Evil always returns home.

‣ Allah gives the righteous the authority of the affairs of the ummah.

‣ Allah is merciful to those whom wrong themselves.

‣ At-Tamkeen is for the righteous.

‣ This world is worthless to the All-Mighty.

‣ Allah is very merciful to the righteous servants.

‣ Allah blessed Yusuf (u) and he was able to recognize his brothers as soon as they walked in

Lesson

Allah (swt) is pleased with us when we strive to complete a task, taking every step that is needed.

Yusuf (AS) had the determination to bring his younger brother to Egypt. He had a goal, and he took many steps in order to reach his goal.

If we strive to please Allah (swt) then He (swt) will give us insight into the true reality of situations.

Allah (swt) will give us the knowledge with which we can perceive the reality for what it truly is.

It is said that knowledge is the greatest of power that one can have over a person.

Yusuf (AS) had full knowledge over his brothers, he knew exactly who they were, what they were speaking and why they had come.

They on other hand were completely ignorant of him. They had no knowledge whatsoever that this man was Yusuf (AS).

So see here how much power Allah (swt) had given Yusuf (AS) over his brothers.

He knew them fully while they were completely ignorant of him.

Such is how Allah (swt) raises those whom He (swt) is pleased with in degrees over others.

Surah Yusuf #60

“But if you do not bring him to me you shall have no measure (of corn) from me nor shall you (even) come near me.”
Surah Yusuf 60

TAFSEER

This means that they will not even be able to come into this land.

The will be banned until they bring their eleventh brother.

He gave them the carrot and the stick.

He enticed them and he warned them.

The enticing was done by saying, “Look how generous I am. Look how I treated you.”

Then he warned them, “If you don’t bring back this eleventh brother, then give up hope of getting any more food from us.”

The scholars really talk a lot about why Yusuf would do this.

Why would Yusuf take his younger brother knowing that he is going to keep him in the palace and then the father will be deprived of him and Binyamin?

The scholars give reason and that is Allah ‘azza wa jall told him to do this. This was the plan of Allah.

What was the wisdom?

Allah knows best, but it was to affirm Ya‘qub’s faith in Allah (subhanahu wata’ala),

and perhaps, some scholars say, Binyamin was maybe not in threat but was not being treated properly.

His father was now old and blind, and the older brothers are now treating Binyamin in a very harsh manner, and Allah wanted to save Binyamin as well and bring him into Egypt.

He tells the brothers, “I am so generous, and if you want to come back, then prove your story and bring your eleventh brother; otherwise, there is nothing for you over here.”

EXPLANATION

After words of encouragement and showing his affection and hospitality, he warns them of the consequences; if they did not bring their brother with them the next time, they would get no wheat from him and they would not even be able to get close to him, for bringing their brother would be a proof of good faith in their dealings.

The verse says:

“But if you do not bring him to me you shall have no measure (of corn) from me nor shall you (even) come near me.”

This was the perfect pretext to get the brothers to bring Benjamin to him. Incidentally, these interpretations make it clear that the buying and selling of grain in Egypt was not commonly done by weight but by volume; and also this shows that Yusuf was, in all respects, a hospitable person.

LESSON

A believer is not fooled by the same trick twice. He should be vigilant. Yaqoob (AS) was not going to send Binyamin with them because of what happened before. But it was the generosity of Yusuf (AS) (he returned the good) that softened his heart.

Surah Yusuf #59

“And when he provided them with their provisions, he said: ‘Bring unto me a brother of years from your father. Do you not see that I give full measure, and (that) I am the best of hosts?’”
Surah Yusuf 59

TAFSEER

After he had prepared for them their jahhaz…”

Jahhaz here means their provisions they needed for the journey.
Notice that after he has given them all their grain, he gives them extra.
“Go take some food for the journey.”
He helped them to get ready back. It is said that they stayed in Egypt for a few days, and he treated them honorably and very generously.

Yusuf was very compassionate and kind towards his brothers. When he was speaking with them, they told him that they were ten brothers from a single father named Ya‘qub, the grandson of ’Ibrahim al Khalil, the great prophet of Allah.

They told him that had he known their father, he would have had more respect for them, but their aged and venerable father was greatly saddened and depressed.

On asking them why their father had been so grief stricken, they replied that he had a son whom he loved very much and who was the youngest of all his sons.

This son had gone hunting and playing with them in the field grief-stricken and when they had neglected him a wolf came upon him and killed him.

Since then, their father had been weeping and grieving for him.
“When he prepared for them all the food they needed for the journey, he tells them, ‘Bring back this brother you have mentioned.”

Why should they bring him back? Yusuf is saying, “I don’t know if you are telling the truth or not. You are saying you have an eleventh brother.
Bring him to me next time. If you are truthful,

If your story is all legitimate, then bring this eleventh younger brother of yours.
“He enticed them. “Don’t you see that I gave you your full weight?

I gave you your money’s worth. Nobody else at this time is going to give you this quantity of grain for whatever you came with.

Don’t doubt my intention. You see how generous I am and you see how good I was to you. Don’t doubt my intention, but I don’t know who you are. I want to check your story. Bring back that eleventh brother of yours.”

Of course, these are his blood brothers, and he treats them in the best fashion. Even though they came as merchants, he hosted them and gave them food and drink and gave them a place to stay.
Then, he tells them:

Like I mention earlier that there is lesson for us in the each verse of Quran . And we can able to get only if we are digging like when we go in submarine to see what’s inside of ocean.

REFLECTION

‣ Yusuf asks who they were, and they tell him that they are the sons of prophet Ya‘qub
‣ Yusuf says “how do I know? You might be spies. You have to tell me more about themselves?
• Why did he ask?

He’s in charge so the question makes sense
– He knows they’re not spies, but he has a plan
He asks how many sons Ya‘qub had
– 12 sons, but our youngest brother died in the desert, and our youngest brother (Ben Yamin) is with our father
– Prophet Ya‘qub doesn’t trust them still with him

Yusuf provided for them well, and treated them well
He’s selling these grains, so people bring merchandise
He says the next time you come, bring me the other brother from your father (Ben Yamin)

LESSON

It is from the sunnah of the prophets to host guests and treat them honorably based on the statement of Yusuf, “See you not that I give full measure, and that I am the best of the hosts?”
Be kind to those who aren’t kind to us.

Surah Yusuf #58

“And come the brothers of Yusuf and appeared before him. He recognizes them, while they did not recognize him.”

TAFSEER ;

What we can surmise from these three or four words is that a number of years have gone by, and the drought has spread in all of Egypt and the surrounding lands all the way to Filistine.

By the time the drought reaches Filistine, they run out of their food, so people are sending their relatives and friends to Egypt to get the grain.
What this shows is that Yusuf was doing a superb and marvelous job of managing the resources of the country.

He was so good that other countries were getting their grain from Egypt. Egypt has so much surplus.

They have enough and can even trade with other people.
A number of years have gone by from the seven. Perhaps we are in the fifth year or the sixth year;

Allah does not mention because we don’t need to know.

It is definitely not the early years because the drought has spread and people are now desperate and coming to Egypt to get the grain.

This shows us how perfect of a manager and financial minister Yusuf was.
“The brothers of Yusuf came. They entered upon him, and of course he recognized them, but they had no idea this was Yusuf.”

These are the same people and they are dressed in the same clothes. They are speaking in Hebrew.
How could he not recognize them?
He recognizes all ten of them. They had no idea this was Yusuf.
How could they possibly know?

Who could imagine that this child of seven, eight, nine was now the minister and the most powerful man in Egypt?

Additionally, Yusuf is dressed in the garb of the Egyptians and speaking the language of the Egyptians. .
There is simply no indication that this might have been Yusuf.
He recognized them immediately, and they had no knowledge.

They didn’t see through who Yusuf was. To them, Yusuf was an unknown entity.
Why did they go to Yusuf?
Not everybody would be trading with Yusuf obviously. Yusuf is the minister.
The people of Egypt would not enter into the palace and trade with the minister.
The reason is because they were foreigners,
1)They required a higher delegation.
2)They were asking for a large quantity.
These are 11 sons of Ya‘qub and all of these eleven are adults, and each one has two, three, or four wives.
They must have a family of a hundred
one hundred and fifty.
They are coming to Egypt, and they want to purchase a large quantity of grain, and they are foreigners, so they don’t get to interact with the lower tradesmen.
They are sent higher up until they get to Yusuf himself.

REFLECTION :

‣ The seven years of prosperity has passed already
‣ Now they’ve saved up enough for Egypt, but also have enough to sell to people outside of Egypt
• Because others weren’t prepared for the drought
• The surrounding areas are also suffering from drought that afflicted the area
• So now the brothers come along with those who were afflicted from the drought
without knowing that Yusuf is in charge of Egypt
‣ Yusuf was very trustworthy
• Doesn’t want rich to take advantage of the poor

People to buy a lot of grain from Egypt, and sell it at an extreme price and the
poor are suffering
Yusuf gave in rations to prevent this
‣ Brothers of Yusuf come, and he recognized them, but they don’t recognize him
‣ “Wa hom laho minkeroon”
• It’s as if they denyed him
• They brushed it aside because they saw the resemblance, but dismissed it
• Before you reach the age of puberty, there’s a lot of drastic change
He left during that age, but they were mostly older, so he recognized them

LESSON
Being generous with ones guest, he showed great treatment to his brothers when they arrived for the first time to Egypt.

He who believes in Allah should be kind and hospitable to his guest( Hadith)

Surah Yusuf #57

“And the reward of the Hereafter is surely better for those who believe and constantly observe Taqwa “
Sura Yusuf 57

TAFSEER

Yusuf is now, masha’Allah, the richest man in Egypt and has his entourage and palace and power, but the reward of the hereafter is even better for those who truly believe and have taqwa of Allah and did their duty to Him.

This verse “the reward of the hereafter is even better” shows us that the believer shall be rewarded in this life because Allah uses the word “better,” and “better” is only used when there are two.

Sufyan ibn Uyaynah and other scholars of the past used this verse to say that the believer shall get two rewards.

He shall be rewarded for the good deed in this dunya, and he shall also be rewarded in the next.

The one who did not have any faith in Allah, he will not be rewarded in the next, and he will only be rewarded in this world, and nothing will face him in the next.

This ayah and the whole story as of yet shows the same motif over and over again. One of the main motifs of the story is righteousness will always save you. Turning to Allah and living a good life will always bring about blessings in this world before that of the next.

REFLECTION

Some time you may not able to see the light at end of the tunnel but Allah brings khair.

From where you can see or understand with a condition of righteousness

The king dream was a mercy from Allah to Yusuf

The benefits that Yusuf got out of this dream

He was released out of the prison
Because of it, he became very close to the King
He was able to proof he was innocent
He became well known in the country

LESSON

Allah is very generous to his servants by giving them the best of this life and the next.
The means of achieving the best of the next life is by having iman and taqwa.
The servant should always ask Allah for his rewards and bounties and he should not be disappointed whenever he sees the people enjoying the pleasures of this world whereby he is unable to partake.
Rather he should ask Allah for His great reward and bounties in the next life based on His statement,

“And verily, the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and used to fear Allah and keep their duty to Him.”