“That is of the news of the Unseen (which) We reveal to you (O’ Prophet)
; and you were not with them (the brothers of Joseph) when they agreed upon their plan and they were plotting.”
This is of the news of the ghayb…”
“All of this is from the knowledge of the ghayb that We have inspired to you.” The word min is ‘from.’
“**And you were not with them when they gathered together to plot against Yūsuf (‘alayhi’l-salām).”**
Allāh mentions one incident in the whole story:
when they gathered together to plot against Yūsuf.
Why does He mention this one instance?
He doesn’t say that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was not with them in the palace of the king
Or
that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu alayhi wassallam was not with him when he was in the well
Or
that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was not with them when they went to Egypt.
Why doesn’t He mention all of these?
Why does He mention the one point that he was not with them when they gathered to plot against Yūsuf?
It was the most secret point of the whole story.
Nobody knew it.
They intended to make a secret out of it, and they hid from everybody else, and nobody could have ever told him the conversation in the beginning of the surah other than Allāh ‘azza wa jall.
Allāh ‘azza wa jall is saying,
“You weren’t there when they gathered together while they were plotting and planning against Yūsuf.”
Allāh signifies the most secretive of all of the gatherings in the whole story.
What is the purpose of saying,
“You weren’t there?”
Of course the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) knows he wasn’t there.
Allāh ‘azza wa jall is addressing the world through him and is asking mankind to think.
Where do you think these stories come from?
Of the greatest miracles of our Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is the fact that the Qurʾān mentions these stories.
Then Allah says to the Prophet (PBUH),
“and you were not with them when they gathered together, and when they plotted”.
In this story, we find narrations of events that no other human being could possibly have witnessed.
When the brothers of Yusuf (AS) gathered together and plotted on how they could get rid of their brother then was their anyone else who was there with them?
Was there any human being who recorded this event and who recorded what they said?
Of course not.
No one was there with them.
So how then could he (PBUH) have known about what they said to each other?
Allah reminds the Prophet (PBUH) of this fact in this ayah.
This is done in order that the Prophet (PBUH) may use this fact in his dawah.
Even though the Prophet (PBUH) brought such clear evidences the vast majority of the Quraysh chiefs did not respond to his dawah.
Neither did the vast majority of the Jews of Madina.
Allah consoles the Prophet (PBUH) here by reminding him that such is the nature of this dawah.
Such is the nature of the call to this Message.
The vast majority of people simply will not believe.
LESSON
Learning history is important.