“And he raised both his parents upon the throne, and they fell down prostrating before him, and he said: ‘O’ my father! This is the interpretation of my dream of aforetime! My Lord has made it come true; and He was indeed kind to me when He brought me out of the prison, and He brought you out of the desert (of Kan‘an into Egypt) after Satan had made strife between me and my brothers. Verily my Lord is Benignant unto what He wills. Verily He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Wise’.”
*And he put his parents on the throne…”*
What throne?
Perhaps he had a throne or perhaps,
he actually put his parents on the throne of Egypt to symbolically show them that this is the respect he gives them.
He is putting them on the throne of the mightiest kingdom at the time to show them respect as his parents.
When he did that, they came off the throne and prostrated to him, and the brothers all fell into prostration.
We have to mention here that lowering the head for respect was something that was allowed in the previous legislations if you did it to show respect.
Lowering your head out of worship has always been forbidden except for Allāh.
You had to lower it out of worship only to Allāh.
When Allāh told the angels to prostrate to Adam, what type of sajdah is this? This is the sajdah of respect.
In this sūrah as well, the brothers of Yūsuf and the parents of Yūsuf fall into a prostration of respect. I
Ya‘qūb and the brothers all fall down.
A quick point here
– the āyah says that he put his parents on the throne.
We already said that the strongest opinion is that his mother had already died and that his father had married Yūsuf’s maternal aunt (i.e. his wife’s sister).
Allāh calls them “parents” even though she is actually his khālah (mother’s sister).
This shows us that the mother’s sister has the same rights and equivalent status of the mother because Allāh called them “parents.”
SubḥānAllāh, it is amazing
This is something that the Qur’ān clearly indicates that our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) explicitly said. The khālah is at the same level as the mother.
*Yūsuf says, ‘O my father, this is the actualization of my dream that I saw so many years ago.’”*
How many years has it been? We have no idea but some scholars say forty-five years have gone by. A lifetime has gone by.
*“*My Lord made it a certainty.”**
As we said, the dreams of the prophets are all true.
“And how generous He has been to me.”
Once again he is ascribing the blessings to Allāh.
When they are showing him so much respect, he feels awkward and ascribes all of this to Allāh.
When they prostrate to him, he reminds them of Allāh and says, “Allāh has been so generous to me when He caused me to be saved from the prison and caused you to come from the barren lifestyle after Shayṭān caused some problems between me and my brothers.”
SubḥānAllāh, once again amazing phrases.
He is saying, “How generous Allāh has been to me when He caused me to leave the prison.”
Notice he doesn’t mention when He caused him to be saved from the well even though to be saved from the well is a bigger blessing than to leave the prison because you are going to die in the well but you are not going to die in the prison.
You are going to starve in the well but you are not going to starve in the prison.
In the prison there is humanity around you and light and air.
In the well it is much different. In the prison he was an adult, and in the well he was a child.
*Why doesn’t he mention the well? *
By mentioning the well, he is reminding his brothers of what they have done, so he completely glosses over it.
He had said, “You are not going to be blamed.”
So when he is recounting the favors of Allāh, he doesn’t even mention that because if he were to do so, it is as if he is putting some salt on their wound, and he is not going to mention that.
He says, “How generous was Allāh to me when He caused me to be saved from the prison.
“After Shayṭān caused problems between me and my brothers.”
Notice once again you cannot think of phrases that are more beautiful.
It is not even humanly possible. He is recounting the favors of Allāh, and of the biggest favors is that they are all one family together after they were split up and after Shayṭān caused problems.
Notice he didn’t say his brothers caused the problems.
*It was all Shayṭān. *
All evil is his fault and not his brothers. He says, “between me [sharing the blame 50-50] and my brothers.”
What did he do that he has to mention his name?
He didn’t do anything, and he mentions himself first. Isn’t this amazing?
He doesn’t even say “after Shayṭān threw some evil into my brothers.”
It is as if he has something to share in the blame even though he has zero.
*My Lord is Laṭīf to whomever He pleases.”*
What does Laṭīf mean?
Laṭīf, as you know, is one of the Names of Allāh ‘azza wa jall, and it is a beautiful Name to use here.
Yūsuf is saying, “My Lord is Laṭīf to whomever He pleases.” Laṭīf actually means ‘the One who is aware of the most intricate and hidden secrets.’
From this, there is a secondary to meaning to Laṭīf, which is to have a protective care, a nourishing care around somebody because you are very familiar with their faults, weaknesses, and problems.
Because you know it, you will protect them.
Because Allāh knew what was going on, He was nourishing and guarding over him.
“He is Laṭīf to whomever He please. Verily He is Al-‘Alīm Al-Ḥakīm.”
He is the One who knows everything and the One who is All-Wise.
Once again two Names of Allāh ‘azza wa jall that are very relevant.
He knew all along what was happening. He was Ḥakīm. He had a wisdom – Yūsuf didn’t know it, they didn’t know it, but now we see that wisdom.
Ḥakīm means there is a wisdom of why He is doing all of this.
Allāh knew everything that is happening to all of them.
He was doing everything for a wisdom, and now we see that wisdom in front of us.
Lesson
- Your parents are superior to you, and you must always give them a higher status.
- Forgiving someone when you have full power to take revenge
Is the height ofexcellent character - Forgive and try not to mention the faults and crimes done against
you . - Never Lose hope regarding anyone’s bad
condition . - Allah has the power to change the hearts
.brother started off evil but changed at the end afteryear - Treat parent with honor and respect.
- Everything Allah chooses for us; evil or good, pleasure or affliction, is for our benefit.
- Allah alone knows how things will turn out in the end, and how it will benefit us.