“And he of Egypt who bought him said to his wife: ‘Receive him honorably, maybe he will profit us, or we shall adopt him as a son.’ Thus did We establish Yusuf in the land, and that We might teach him the interpretation of tales (dreams). And Allah is predominant over His affair; but most people do not know.”
Tafseer
“The one who purchased him from Egypt…”
Now we get to Egypt. Allah ‘azza wa jall indicates that from the land of Filistine they have now moved to Egypt. The caravan has taken Yusuf (‘alayi salaam) over the Sinai peninsula and into the land of Egypt.
“The one who purchased him from Egypt said to his wife, ‘Make his stay comfortable…’”
Mathwaa means ‘where a person rests.’ The man tells his wife to make his place of rest comfortable. In other words, treat him nicely and give him all that he needs.
“‘…Perhaps he will benefit us or we might even adopt him.’”
Allah later on calls this man ‘Aziz, which simply means the honorable man. Many scholars say that because Yusuf himself is called al-‘aziz later on in the story, this man was the minister of finance. We know that Yusuf becomes the minister of finance. Because the terms are the same, there is an indication that Yusuf eventually takes on the role of his master. This seems to make sense because the terms used are the same.
This man was at the rank of ‘Aziz, meaning noble minister and one level below the king. He is the one who purchases Yusuf, and he senses that this is not your regular slave or average person. He tells his wife to treat him honorably and not like the regular slaves of the house.
Why? “I have a feeling that this person may benefit us later on or we might even adopt him as a son.” Scholars say that this shows that they did not have a son, and they thought that maybe they could adopt this child.
Some of the scholars of the past such as Ibn Mas’ud said that three people showed depth of firasah (intuition / gut instinct). Three people excelled in firasah when they made their decisions. The first of them was this man ‘Aziz when he chose Yusuf. The second was the daughter of the shepherd . The third was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq . Ibn Mas’ud said three people perfected their firasah and before something happened, they showed that they knew that this was the right man for the job, and one of these three was the minister. “Be generous in his hospitality. He will benefit us or perhaps we will adopt him later on.”
“And this is how We established Yusuf in the land….”
How? By having a very rich patron (the minister) and by having the person whose job he would eventually take over find him in the marketplace. Allah ‘azza wa jall is saying, “This is how We took him from the depths of the well, and We put him in the mightiest palaces one level removed from the king.”
Notice that had he not entered this household, he would not have been so close to the king. When the situation gets bad and worse, the minister and his wife appeal to the king immediately. It is the king who then extracts Yusuf from the prison and talks to him directly. Had he not been in the house of the minister and had he been in some ordinary businessman’s house or had he been in a very rich man’s house but not a political figure, he would have been treated nicely, but he would not have been established in the land.
Allah is saying, “We gave him power in the land so that We may teach him the interpretation of events.” Notice that in three separate verses, Allah says mentions that ‘We will teach him the interpretation of dreams, and I am doing all of this in order to fulfill the dream that he himself saw that his brothers would prostrate to him’ and ‘I am doing this in order that he will interpret the other dreams, including the dream of the king.’
“And Allah has full power and control over all of his affairs but most of mankind do not know.”
SubhanAllah, Allah is saying, “I know what I am doing, and I am doing it with a plan. No one can outsmart Me. The brothers thought that they are doing a crime, but all of this was planned. Yusuf went from the deserts of Filistine and would have been a shepherd and the son of a shepherd even if he was a prophet, but what would he have done over there?
At that time, there was no Rome and no Greece, and this was the mighty empire: the empire of the ancient pharaohs and the ancient Egyptian kingdoms. Yusuf goes as a young child, and Allah ‘azza wa jalltransports him to the mightiest land at the time. Allah is saying, “I shall overcome all others, and My Command shall be done. No one can outsmart Me and no one can outwit Me but most of mankind do not know.”
Point to Note:
Yusuf spent a decade or more, and when he reached his adulthood in the house of the Minister, Allah made him a prophet.
Why was Yusuf (AS) endowed with Prophethood? What was it that he (AS) did that made him worthy of this special honor?
It was only because he was among those who had Ihsan. The Prophet (PBUH) has said that Ihsan is to worship and serve Allah (swt) as though you see Him (swt).
It is a state that you reach where you are aware of Allah (swt) for every moment of your existence. It is almost as if you can see Allah (swt) and even if you do not see Him (swt) then you are certain that He (swt) Sees you.
This was how Yusuf (AS) was and this is why Allah (swt) chose him (as) for Prophethood. Yusuf (AS) was not just someone who believed in Allah (swt) and not just someone who worshipped Allah (swt), but he (as) was someone who was conscious of Allah (swt) for every waking moment of his life.
Lesson
This really shows us that if we had tawakkul in Allah and put our trust in Allah, then we would resign ourselves to His Decrees and Command. If we truly understand that nothing happens except if Allah wills and that not a leaf falls except that Allah has told it to fall and we put our tawakkul in Him, then we would not feel the agitation, worry, and grief. The problem is that we don’t have that tawakkul. We fall short in having this ‘ilm that Allah ‘azza wa jall has decreed everything. Everything is running in accordance with Allah’s Plans
- Allah works in mysterious ways to bring His blessings to those who stayed truthful to their faith in times of hardship. Who would have thought that a boy thrown in a well in the middle of the desert would survive, let alone become the finance minister of one of the greatest civilizations of mankind (don’t worry we’ll get to that part soon)? So the next time you worry about losing a job or a friend because of your faith, remember, ‘Allah has full power and control over His Affairs’ and trust Allah when He says ‘most of men know not’.
- And remind yourself that you are in fact reading the story of a boy thrown in a well left to be forgotten forever that took place over fifteen hundred years ago. Allah found a way to give even that boy hope, so never lose your hope in Allah.
- Allah teaches the Prophets so that they can teach others.
- Allah (
swt swt ) will grant usknowledge if we are among those whom He (swt ) is pleased with. If you make a sincere effort to please Allah (swt ) then there is no limit to the gifts and the bounties that He (swt ) will confer upon you.