Surah Yusuf #39

Posted bySamina Anila

“O my fellow prisoners, are different gods better or Allah, the One, the All-Dominant?”

Surah Yusuf 39

TAFSEER

Then, Yu−suf (AS) turns toward his two prison companions who were products of the Egyptian society which worshipped idols and he questions the logic of believing in such lords.

He did not afford these idols any important status in referring to them as God. Rather, he referred to his God as the One, the Supreme and referred to the idols as sundry lords, meaning various or miscellaneous lords.

Yusuf (pbuh) asks his fellow prisoners: Is there a separate Rabb (creator and sustainer) for good fortune and another one for misfortune? Good fortune and misfortune are both from Allah.

They are Signs for humankind to learn from.Allah is Ahad. He is the One and the Only. There are no separate deities for bliss and adversity.

Explanations

  1. Call people to the true faith with love and affection.
  2. Use opportune places and times for the propagation of religion.
    (As soon as Yusuf realizes that they require him to interpret their dreams, he takes the opportunity to propagate the faith.)
  3. Queries and comparisons are often channels of both communication and guidance.

REFLECTION

O [my] two companions of prison, are separate lords better or Allah , the One, the Prevailing?

Yusuf talks to them kindly

  • Are many masters better or just one lord that is the one and one, the irresistible?
  • These were servants, and they have masters
  • So he’s speaking to them in a language they understand
  • They used to believe in Allah, but they didn’t worship Allah alone
  • The people of Egypt are being referred to here
  • Prophet differentiated between a good companionship and a bad companionship
    • Example: someone who works with perfume, you would get the good smell
    • Example: someone who works with a blacksmith, you would get the bad smell or a hole in your shirt

Lesson

  1. Use every opportunity to convey the message of Allah in the most appropriate way.
  2. Take advantage of every opportunity to spread Islam
  3. Allah (swt) does not tell us in any way how the two prisoners responded to the dawah that Yusuf (AS) carried to them. Did at least one of the prisoners accept the dawah? Did both of them accept it? Did they both reject it? Allah (swt) does not say. This serves to remind us that we should not be looking for the results in our actions. All that should matter for us is that we make a sincere intention for Allah (swt) and that we try our best.
  4. One ultimate form of giving Dawah is asking questions. In (Qur’an 12:39) Yusuf does not directly tell them to believe in Allah Alone but instead presents it as a subject for objective discussion. Human nature knows that there is only one deity.