Lessons from chapter 12 of the holy Quran- Yusuf

1. Know the Quran Series
Lessons learnt from Chapter 12 - Yusuf
The Story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph)
Verses 34-41
ِ‫ْم‬‫ﯾ‬ِ‫ﺣ‬‫اﻟرﱠ‬ ِ‫ن‬ ٰ‫ﻣ‬ْ‫ﺣ‬‫اﻟرﱠ‬ ِ‫ﷲ‬ ِ‫م‬ْ‫ِﺳ‬‫ﺑ‬
In the name of Alla the kin , the merci

2. {34} ُ‫م‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ْﻌ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ﻊ‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺳ‬‫اﻟ‬ َ
‫ُو‬‫ھ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫إ‬ ۚ ‫ُنﱠ‬‫ھ‬َ‫ْد‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬ْ‫ﻧ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ َ‫ف‬َ‫ر‬َ‫َﺻ‬‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱡ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ر‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ َ‫ﺎب‬َ‫َﺟ‬‫ﺗ‬ْ‫َﺎﺳ‬‫ﻓ‬
[12:34] Thereupon his Lord accepted his prayer and turned away their evil
plans away from him; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing.
• If one is sincere in seeking help from Allah then Allah(swt) helps him.
Allah (swt) is always ready and willing to help. He is always there for us. All we
need to do is develop contact with Him and ask him for help
• One cannot hide anything from Allah(swt) , as He is All-hearing and All- knowing.

3. ٍ‫ن‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ﺣ‬ ‫ﱠﯽ‬‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﺣ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻧ‬ُ‫ﻧ‬ُ‫ﺟ‬ْ‫َﺳ‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ ِ‫ت‬‫ﯾﺎ‬ ْ
‫اﻵ‬ ‫ا‬ ُ‫َو‬‫أ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ﻣﺎ‬ ِ‫د‬ْ‫َﻌ‬‫ﺑ‬ ْ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ﮭ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ ‫َدا‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫م‬ُ‫ﺛ‬
Then it seemed to them, after they had seen the signs (of his innocence), to imprison
him for a time.”(12:35)
Nabi Yusuf (as) was sent to prison. The main reason was because the scandal was becoming more and
more intense every day. The ‘Aziz and his advisors thought that the only way to rescue the situation was
to remove Yusuf from the scene entirely, and the best way to do that was to send him to prison.
Out of sight, out of mind’. They wanted to confine Nabi Yusuf so the people would stop talking
about him and so that Zulaykha would forget him eventually
• In a corrupt society, the guilty ones are free and the innocent and God- fearing are imprisoned.
• To practice piety is not an easy thing. Nabi Yusuf (as) was also being pursued
by Zulaykha and her friends to engage in sin. Iin order to remain chaste, chose
imprisonment.

4. ً‫ا‬‫ْز‬‫ﺑ‬ُ‫ﺧ‬ ‫ﻲ‬ِ‫ْﺳ‬‫أ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ق‬ ْ
‫َو‬‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫ل‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ْ‫َﺣ‬‫أ‬ ‫ِﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬‫َرا‬‫أ‬ ‫ﱢﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫إ‬ ُ‫ر‬َ‫ﺧ‬ ْ
‫اﻵ‬ َ‫ل‬‫ﻗﺎ‬ َ
‫و‬ ً‫ا‬‫ر‬ْ‫ﻣ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ ُ‫ر‬ ِ‫ﺻ‬ْ‫َﻋ‬‫أ‬ ‫ِﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬‫َرا‬‫أ‬ ‫ﱢﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ُﻣﺎ‬‫ھ‬ُ‫د‬َ‫َﺣ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ل‬‫ﻗﺎ‬ ِ‫ن‬‫َﯾﺎ‬‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫ن‬ْ‫ﱢﺟ‬‫ﺳ‬‫اﻟ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬َ‫َﻌ‬‫ﻣ‬ َ‫ل‬َ‫ﺧ‬َ‫د‬ َ
‫و‬
َ‫ِﯾن‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫ﺳ‬ْ‫ُﺣ‬‫ﻣ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ َ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ َ‫َراك‬‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﱠﺎ‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫إ‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬‫ﯾ‬ِ‫ْو‬‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﺗ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ْﻧﺎ‬‫ﺋ‬‫ﱢ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ﻧ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬ْ‫ﻧ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ُ‫ر‬ْ‫ﯾ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ط‬‫اﻟ‬ ُ‫ل‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﺗ‬
Two youths entered the prison with him. One of them said, ‘I dreamt that I am pressing wine.’ The other
said, ‘I dreamt that I am carrying bread on my head from which the birds are eating.’ ‘Inform us of its
interpretation, (for) indeed we see you to be a virtuous man.’(12:36)
We should practice before we preach. Nabi Yusuf practiced piety and that is why the inmates commented
that they saw him to be a virtuous man. Hadith says that Nabi Yusuf (as) used to always take care of the
sick and the needy in the prison
Imam Sadiq (as) has said;Invite people to what is good with other than your tongues, so they see tenacity,
veracity, and piety in you
The youth spent some time in prison with Nabi Yusuf (as). They saw his piety and
were attracted to his good moral conduct. Even the sinners and the guilty ones
have a special regard for the righteous ones.
One can win the hearts of people without money or freedom. Here, they were in prison and Nabi Yusuf
had no money to attract them. Yet they were attracted to him because of his good moral traits.

5. ِ‫ﮫ‬ِ‫ﻧ‬‫ﻗﺎ‬َ‫ز‬ْ‫ُر‬‫ﺗ‬ ٌ‫م‬‫ﻌﺎ‬َ‫ط‬ ‫ُﻣﺎ‬‫ﻛ‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﯾ‬ ‫ﻻ‬ َ‫ل‬‫ﻗﺎ‬
ِ‫إ‬
‫ﻟ‬ َ‫ُون‬‫ر‬ِ‫ﻓ‬‫ﻛﺎ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ھ‬ ِ‫ة‬َ‫ِر‬‫ﺧ‬ ْ
‫ِﺎﻵ‬‫ﺑ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ھ‬ َ
‫و‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ِﺎﻟ‬‫ﺑ‬ َ‫ُون‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ْ
‫ُؤ‬‫ﯾ‬ ‫ﻻ‬ ٍ‫م‬ ْ
‫َو‬‫ﻗ‬ َ‫ﺔ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ُ‫ﻛْت‬َ‫َر‬‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﱢﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ﱢﻲ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ِﻲ‬‫ﻧ‬َ‫ﻣ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﱠﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ُﻣﺎ‬‫ﻛ‬ِ‫ﻟ‬‫ذ‬ ‫ُﻣﺎ‬‫ﻛ‬َ‫ﯾ‬ِ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﯾ‬ ْ‫َن‬‫أ‬ َ‫ل‬ْ‫ﺑ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬‫ﯾ‬ِ‫ْو‬‫ﺄ‬
• Question: why did Nabi Yusuf not give them the interpretation right away, and why did he say that he
will inform them of the interpretation ‘before the meals were served’?
Nabi Yusuf wanted to delay it slightly so that he could preach to them, probably hoping that the one
who was going to receive the death penalty would accept the truth before he died.
The knowledge of interpreting dreams is not easy to acquire. This knowledge cannot be
learned; rather, it is given by Allah: ‘That is among the things my Lord taught me’
Yusuf said, ‘Before the meals are served to you I will inform you of its interpretation. That is among the
things my Lord has taught me. Indeed I renounce the creed of the people who have no faith in Allah and
(also) who are disbelievers in the Hereafter.(12:37)
When one stays away from the darkness of disbelief, God gives him knowledge. (‘That is
among the things my Lord has taught me. Indeed I renounce the creed of the people who
have no faith in Allah and who (also) disbelieve in the Hereafter’)

6. ِ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬‫اﻟ‬ ِ‫ل‬ْ‫َﺿ‬‫ﻓ‬ ْ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ َ‫ِك‬‫ﻟ‬‫ذ‬ ٍ‫ء‬ ْ‫َﻲ‬‫ﺷ‬ ْ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ِﺎﻟ‬‫ﺑ‬ َ‫ك‬ ِ‫ْر‬‫ﺷ‬ُ‫ﻧ‬ ْ‫َن‬‫أ‬ ‫َﻧﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬ َ‫ﻛﺎن‬ ‫ﻣﺎ‬ َ‫ُوب‬‫ﻘ‬ْ‫َﻌ‬‫ﯾ‬ َ
‫و‬ َ‫ﺣﺎق‬ْ‫ِﺳ‬‫إ‬ َ
‫و‬ َ‫م‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ھ‬‫ْرا‬‫ﺑ‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ِﻲ‬‫ﺋ‬‫آﺑﺎ‬ َ‫ﺔ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ُ‫ت‬ْ‫َﻌ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ا‬ َ
‫و‬
َ‫ُون‬‫ر‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ْ‫ﺷ‬َ‫ﯾ‬ ‫ﻻ‬ ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻧ‬‫اﻟ‬ َ‫َر‬‫ﺛ‬ْ‫ﻛ‬َ‫أ‬ ‫ِنﱠ‬‫ﻛ‬‫ﻟ‬ َ
‫و‬ ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻧ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫َﯽ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ َ
‫و‬ ‫ْﻧﺎ‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬
‘I follow the creed of my fathers, Ibrahim, Ishaaq and Yaqub. It is not for us to ascribe any partner to Allah.
That is by virtue of Allah’s grace upon us and upon all mankind, but most people do not give thanks.(12:38)
First time Nabi Yusuf (as) speaks about himself and says that he is from the progeny of Ibrahim,
Ishaaq and Yaqub. Same way imam Hussein ibn Ali (as) and Imam Sajjad (as) also introduced
themselves to the people in Karbala and Syria as the children of Fatimat-az-Zahra (as), saying
‘I am the son of Fatimat-az-Zahra’.
But most people do not give thanks’. This suggests that most people do not value the
Prophets, and hence rejected them. Prophets are a blessing for mankind sent by Allah but
most people do not value this great blessing.
The forefathers of the Prophets never ascribed partners to Allah.

7. ُ‫ر‬‫ﱠﺎ‬‫ﮭ‬َ‫ﻘ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ُ‫د‬ِ‫ﺣ‬‫ْوا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬‫اﻟ‬ ِ‫َم‬‫أ‬ ٌ‫ر‬ْ‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ َ‫ُون‬‫ﻗ‬‫َرﱢ‬‫ﻔ‬َ‫ﺗ‬ُ‫ﻣ‬ ٌ‫ﺑﺎب‬ْ‫َر‬‫أ‬ َ‫أ‬ ِ‫ن‬ْ‫ﱢﺟ‬‫ﺳ‬‫اﻟ‬ ِ‫ﻲ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ِ‫ﺣ‬‫ﺻﺎ‬ ‫ﯾﺎ‬
O my prison mates! Are different masters better, or Allah, the One, the All-dominant?(12:39)
We are responsible to try and guide our companions, our roommates or our classmates if we see
them going astray, the same way Nabi Yusuf (as) helped his fellow prisoners and tries to guide
them.
Use opportune places and times for the propagation of religion.Take advantage of
opportunities and guide people. Nabi Yusuf(as) took the opportunity by not only interpreting
their dreams but also trying to guide them as well.
Al-Wahid): "The One". This name signifies
that Allah is a single, undivided entity with
no equal, no partner, and no rival
Al-Qahhar): "The All-Prevailing," "The Subduer," or "The
Conqueror". This name is derived from a root word that
means to overcome, master, and dominate. It signifies that
Allah prevails over all creation and that nothing can resist His
will.

8. ِ‫ﮫ‬ِ‫ﻧ‬‫ُو‬‫د‬ ْ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ َ‫ُون‬‫د‬ُ‫ﺑ‬ْ‫َﻌ‬‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﻣﺎ‬
ِ‫إ‬
‫ﻟ‬
‫ِنﱠ‬‫ﻛ‬‫ﻟ‬ َ
‫و‬ ُ‫م‬‫ﱢ‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻘ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ﱢﯾن‬‫د‬‫اﻟ‬ َ‫ِك‬‫ﻟ‬‫ذ‬ ُ‫ه‬‫ﱠﺎ‬‫ﯾ‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ﻻ‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫ُوا‬‫د‬ُ‫ﺑ‬ْ‫َﻌ‬‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ﻻ‬َ‫أ‬ َ‫َر‬‫ﻣ‬َ‫أ‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬ِ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ﻻ‬ِ‫إ‬ ُ‫م‬ْ‫ُﻛ‬‫ﺣ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ِ‫ن‬ِ‫إ‬ ٍ‫ن‬‫ْطﺎ‬‫ﻠ‬ُ‫ﺳ‬ ْ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ ‫ِﮭﺎ‬‫ﺑ‬ ُ‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠـ‬‫ﻠ‬‫اﻟ‬ َ‫ل‬َ‫ْز‬‫ﻧ‬َ‫أ‬ ‫ﻣﺎ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ ُ‫آﺑﺎؤ‬ َ
‫و‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﻧ‬َ‫أ‬ ‫ُوھﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬ُ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﯾ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻣ‬َ‫ﺳ‬ ً‫ء‬‫ﻣﺎ‬ْ‫َﺳ‬‫أ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ﺎ‬
‘You do not worship besides Him but [mere] names that you and your fathers have coined, for which Allah
has not sent down any authority. Sovereignty belongs only to Allah. He has commanded you to worship
none except Him. That is the upright religion, but most people do not know.(12:40)
Man-made gods are just names and imaginations of some people. Sovereignty belongs only to Allah
Ignorance leads towards falsehood and polytheism

9. ُ‫ر‬ْ‫ﻣ‬َ ْ
‫ٱﻷ‬ َ‫ﻰ‬ ِ‫ُﺿ‬‫ﻗ‬ ۚ ‫ِۦ‬‫ﮫ‬ِ‫ْﺳ‬‫أ‬‫رﱠ‬ ‫ِن‬‫ﻣ‬ ُ‫ر‬ْ‫ﯾ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ط‬‫ٱﻟ‬ ُ‫ل‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫َب‬‫ﻠ‬ْ‫ُﺻ‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫ر‬َ‫َﺎﺧ‬ٔ‫ـ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ٱ‬ ‫ﱠﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬َ‫أ‬ َ
‫و‬ ۖ ‫ا‬ ًۭ‫ْر‬‫ﻣ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ ‫ُۥ‬‫ﮫ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ِﻰ‬‫ﻘ‬ْ‫َﺳ‬‫ﯾ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ‫َﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ُ‫د‬َ‫َﺣ‬‫أ‬ ‫ﱠﺂ‬‫ﻣ‬َ‫أ‬ ِ‫ن‬ْ‫ﱢﺟ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ٱﻟ‬ ِ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ِ‫ﺣ‬ٰ‫ـ‬َ‫ٰﺻ‬‫ـ‬َ‫ﯾ‬
ِ‫ن‬‫َﺎ‬‫ﯾ‬ِ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﻔ‬َ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫َﺳ‬‫ﺗ‬ ِ‫ﮫ‬‫ِﯾ‬‫ﻓ‬ ‫ِى‬‫ذ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ٱ‬
‘O my prison mates! As for one of you he will serve wine to his master, and as for the other, he will be
crucified and vultures will eat from his head, the matter about which you inquire has been decided.’
(12:41)
The matter about which you inquired has been decided’. A tradition from the Ahlul Bayt (as)
confirms that when the second prisoner heard the interpretation of his dream that he would be
crucified, he changed his story and said that he did not really see any such dream. At that point
Nabi Yusuf (as) said: ‘You wanted an interpretation from me, and now that I have interpreted it, it
is definitely going to happen as this matter has been decided (by Allah ).