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Yusuf (Joseph)
When and Why Revealed?
The subject matter of this Surah indicates that it was revealed during
the last stage of the Holy Prophet's residence at Makkah, when the Quraish
were considering the question of killing or exiling or imprisoning him.
At that time some of the unbelievers put this question (probably at the
instigation of the Jews) to test him :"Why did the Israelites go to Egypt?"
This question was asked because they knew that their story was not known
to the Arabs for there was no mention of it whatever in their traditions
and the Holy Prophet had never even referred to it before. Therefore they
expected that he would not be able to give any satisfactory answer to
this question or would first evade it, and afterwards try to enquire about
it from some Jew, and thus he would be totally exposed. But, contrary
to their expectations, the tables were turned on them, for Allah revealed
the whole story of Prophet Joseph then and there, and the Holy Prophet
recited it on the spot. This put the Quraish in a very awkward position
because it not only foiled their scheme but also administered a warning
to them by aptly applying it to their case, as if to say, "As you are
behaving towards this Prophet, exactly in the same way the brothers of
Prophet Joseph behaved towards him; so you shall meet with the same end."
Objects of Revelation
From the above it is clear that this Surah was sent down for two objects:
The first object was to give the proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad
(Allah's peace be upon him), and that too, the one demanded by the opponents
themselves so as to prove conclusively that his knowledge was not based
on mere hearsay, but was gained through Revelation. This aspect has been
stated explicitly in its introductory verses and explained plainly in
its concluding portion.
The second object was to apply it to the Quraish and warn them that ultimately
the conflict between them and the Holy Prophet would end in his victory
over them. As they were then persecuting their brother, the Holy Prophet,
in the same way the brothers of Prophet Joseph had treated him. The Quraish
were told indirectly that they would also fail in their evil designs just
as the brothers of Prophet Joseph had failed in his case, even after casting
him into the well. This is because none has the power to defeat the Divine
will. And just as the brothers of Prophet Joseph had to humble themselves
before him, so one day the Quraish shall have to beg forgiveness from
their brother whom they were then trying to crush down. This, too, has
been made quite plain in v. 7: "Indeed there are signs in this story of
Joseph and his brothers for these inquirers from among the Quraish."
The fact is that by applying this story to the conflict, the Quran had
made a bold and clear prophecy, which was fulfilled literally by the events
that happened in the succeeding ten years. Hardly two years had passed
after its revelation, when the Quraish conspired to kill the Holy Prophet
like the brothers of Prophet Joseph, and he had to emigrate from Makkah
to Al-Madinah, where he gained the same kind of power as Prophet Joseph
had gained in Egypt. Again, in the end the Quraish had to humble themselves
before him just like the brothers of Prophet Joseph, when they humbly
requested, "Show mercy to us for Allah rewards richly those who show mercy"
(V. 88), and Prophet Joseph generously forgave them, (though he had complete
power to wreak vengeance on them,) saying, " today no penalty shall be
inflicted on you. May Allah forgive you:He is the greatest of all those
who forgive" (V. 92). The same story of mercy was repeated, when after
the conquest of Makkah, the crest fallen Quraish stood meekly before the
Holy Prophet, who had full power to wreak his vengeance on them for each
and every cruelty committed by them. But instead, he merely asked them,
"What treatment do you expect from me now?" They replied, "You are a generous
brother and the son of a generous brother." At this, he very generously
forgave them, saying, "I will give the same answer to your request that
Joseph gave to his brothers: '. . . today, no penalty shall be inflicted
on you: you are forgiven."
Topics of Discussion
Moreover, the Quran does not relate this story as a mere narrative but
uses it, as usual, for the propagation of the Message in the following
ways:-
Throughout the narrative the Quran has made it clear that the Faith of
Prophets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (Allah's peace be upon them
all) was the same as that of Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him)
and they invited the people to the same Message to which Muhammad (Allah's
peace be upon him) was inviting them. Then it places the characters of
Prophet Jacob and Prophet Joseph side by side with the characters of the
brothers of Joseph, the members of the trade caravan, the court dignitary;
Al Aziz of Egypt and his wife, the "ladies" of Egypt and the rulers of
Egypt and poses a silent question to the reader, as if to say, "Contrast
the former characters moulded by Islam on the bedrock of the worship of
Allah and accountability in the Hereafter with the latter moulded by kufr
and "ignorance" on the worship of the world and disregard of Allah and
the Hereafter, and decide for yourselves which of these two patterns you
would choose."
The Quran has used this story to bring forth another truth: whatever Allah
wills, He fulfills it anyhow, and man can never defeat His plan with his
counterplans nor prevent it from happening nor change it in any way whatever.
Nay, it often so happens that man adopts some measure to fulfill his own
design and believes that he has done that very thing which would fulfill
his design, but in the end he finds to his dismay that he had done something
which was against his own and conducive to the Divine purpose. When the
brothers of Prophet Joseph cast him into the well, they believed that
they had once for all got rid of the obstacle in their way but in fact,
they had paved the way for the Divine purpose of making him the ruler
of Egypt, before whom they would have to humble themselves in the end.
Likewise, the wife of Aziz had sent Prophet Joseph to the prison, floating
over the thought that she had wreaked her vengeance on him, but, in fact,
she had provided for him the opportunity for becoming the ruler of Egypt
and for putting herself to the shame of confessing her own sin publicly.
And these are not the solitary instances which prove the truth that even
if the whole world united to bring about the down fall of the one whom
Allah willed to raise high, it could not succeed. Nay, the very "sure
and effective" measures that were adopted by the brothers to degrade Joseph
were used by Allah for the success of Joseph and for the humiliation and
disgrace of his brothers. On the other hand, if Allah willed the fall
of one, no measure, howsoever effective, could raise him high : nay, it
helped to bring about his fall and the disgrace of those who adopted them.
Moreover, the story contains other lessons for those who intend to follow
the way of Allah. The first lesson it teaches is that one should remain
within the limits, prescribed by the Divine Law, in one's aims and objects
and measures, for success and failure are entirely in the hands of Allah.
Therefore if one adopts pure aims and lawful measures but fails, at least
one will escape ignominy and disgrace. On the other hand, the one who
adopts an impure aim and unlawful measures to achieve it, shall not only
inevitably meet with ignominy and disgrace in the Hereafter, but also
runs the risk of ignominy and disgrace in this world.
The second lesson it teaches is that those who exert for the cause of
truth and righteousness and put their trust in Allah and entrust all their
affairs to Him, get consolation and comfort from Him, for this helps them
face their opponents with confidence and courage and they do not lose
heart, when they encounter the apparently terrifying measures of the powerful
enemies. They will persevere in their task without fear and leave the
results to Allah. But the greatest lesson this story teaches is that if
the Believer possesses true Islamic character and is endowed with wisdom,
he can conquer a whole country with the strength of his character alone.
The marvelous example of Prophet Joseph teaches us that a man of high
and pure character comes out successful even under the most adverse circumstances.
When Prophet Joseph went to Egypt, he was only a lad of seventeen years,
a foreigner, all alone and without any provisions; nay, he had been sold
there as a slave. And the horrible condition of the slaves during that
period is known to every student of history. Then he was charged with
a heinous moral Crime and sent to prison for an indefinite term. But throughout
this period of affliction, he evinced the highest moral qualities which
raised him to the highest rank in the country.
Historical and Geographical Background
The following historical and geographical details will help understand
the story:-
Prophet Joseph was a son of Prophet Jacob and a grandson of Prophet Isaac
and a great grandson of Prophet Abraham (Allah's peace be upon them all).
The Bible says (and the allusions in the Quran also confirm this) that
Prophet Jacob had twelve sons from four wives. Prophet Joseph and his
younger brother Benjamin were from one wife and the other ten from the
other wives. Prophet Jacob had settled at Hebron (Palestine) where his
father Prophet Isaac and before him Prophet Abraham lived and owned a
piece of land at Shechem as well.
According to the research scholars of the Bible, Prophet Joseph was born
in or about 906 B. C. and the incident with which this story begins happened
in or about 890 B. C. He was seventeen when he saw the dream and was thrown
into the well. This well was near Dothan to the north of Shechem according
to Biblical and Talmudic traditions, and the caravan, which took him out
of the well, was coming from Gilead (Trans-Jordan), and was on its way
to Egypt. At that time Fifteenth Dynasty ruled over Egypt, whose rulers
are known in history as the Hyksos kings. They belonged to the Arab race,
but had migrated from Palestine and Syria to Egypt in or about 2000 B.
C. and taken possession of the country. The Arab historians and the commentators
of the Quran have given them the name of Amaliq (the Amalekites), and
this has been corroborated by the recent researches made by the Egyptologists.
They were foreign invaders who had got the opportunity of establishing
their kingdom because of the internal feuds in the country. That is why
there was no prejudice in the way of Prophet Joseph's ascendancy to power
and in the subsequent settlement of the Children of Israel in the most
fertile region of Egypt. They could gain that power and influence which
they did, because they belonged to the same race as the foreign rulers
of Egypt.
The Hyksos ruled over Egypt up to the end of the fifteenth century B.
C., and practically all the powers remained in the hands of the Israelites.
The Quran has made a reference to this in v. 20 of Al-Ma'idah: ..... He
raised Prophets among you and made you rulers. . ., Then there arose a
great nationalist movement which overthrew the power of this dynasty and
exiled 250,000 or so of the Amalekites. As a result of this, a very bigoted
dynasty of Copts came into power and uprooted everything connected with
the Amalekites. Then started that persecution of the Israelites which
has been mentioned in connection with the story of Prophet Moses.
We also learn from the history of Egypt that the "Hyksos kings" did not
acknowledge the gods of Egypt and, therefore, had imported their own gods
from Syria, with a view to spreading their own religion in Egypt. This
is the reason why the Quran has not called the king who was the contemporary
of Prophet Joseph by the title of "Pharaoh," because this title was associated
with the religion of the original people of Egypt and the Hyksos did not
believe in it, but the Bible erroneously calls him "Pharaoh". It appears
that the editors of the Bible had the misunderstanding that all the kings
of Egypt were "Pharaohs."
The modern research scholars who have made a comparative study of the
Bible and the Egyptian history are generally of the opinion that Apophis
was the Hyksos king, who was the contemporary of Prophet Joseph. At that
time Memphis was the capital of Egypt, whose ruins are still found on
the Nile at a distance of 4 miles south of Cairo. When Prophet Joseph
was taken there, he was 17 or 18 years old. He remained in the house of
Aziz for three years and spent nine years in prison, and then became the
ruler of the land at the age of thirty and ruled over Egypt independently
for eighty years. In the ninth or tenth year of his rule he sent for his
father, Prophet Jacob, to come from Palestine to Egypt with all the members
of his family and, according to the Bible, settled them in the land of
Goshen, where they lived up to the time of Prophet Moses. The Bible says
that before his death, Prophet Joseph bound his kindred by an oath: "when
you return from this country to the house of your forefathers you must
take my bones out of this country with you. So he died a hundred and ten
years old, and they embalmed him . . ."
Though the story of Prophet Joseph as given in the Quran differs very
much in its details from that given in the Bible and the Talmud, the Three
generally agree in regard to its component parts. We shall explain the
differences, when and where necessary, in our Explanatory Notes.
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