Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 100

(Ayah100) ➊ {وَ رَفَعَ اَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ …:} When they reached Egypt and the assembly was arranged, Yusuf (peace be upon him) ordered his parents to be seated high on his throne, while all the other people in the assembly were seated below on chairs or carpets. When Yusuf (peace be upon him) entered the assembly, everyone present, including his parents, prostrated to honor him. Some people translate this as "everyone bowed in respect," but the word {’’ خَرُّوْا ‘‘} does not convey this meaning, because {’’ وَ خَرُّوْا لَهٗ سُجَّدًا ‘‘} means "and they fell down prostrating to him." The reality is that in previous nations, prostration for respect was permissible, in which the one being prostrated to was not considered a partner a partner in any of Allah's authority. However, prostration of worship has always been forbidden for anyone other than Allah, and that is the kind of prostration done considering someone to possess unseen knowledge, power, authority, or control over benefit and harm. This is associating partners with Allah (shirk); even standing with folded hands for this purpose is shirk. One prostration is done under compulsion; it is neither worship nor respect, it is out of necessity. In previous nations, prostration for respect was permissible, as was the prostration of the angels to Adam (peace be upon him) and the prostration of Yusuf’s brothers and parents to him. This custom continued up to the nation of Isa (peace be upon him). In our nation, to block the means to shirk, even the prostration of respect has been forbidden until the Day of Judgment, as well as standing (in that manner). However, going forward to greet someone is Sunnah, and it is not included in that non-Arab custom in which everyone stands in their place when someone arrives; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade this. He also clearly forbade the prostration of respect, as Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that when Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) returned from Syria, he prostrated to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا هٰذَا يَا مُعَاُذُ !؟ قَالَ أَتَيْتُ الشَّامَ فَوَافَقْتُهُمْ يَسْجُدُوْنَ لِأَسَاقِفَتِهِمْ وَبَطَارِقَتِهِمْ فَوَدِدْتُ فِيْ نَفْسِيْ أَنْ نَّفْعَلَ ذٰلِكَ بِكَ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّي اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَلاَ تَفْعَلُوْا، فَإِنِّيْ لَوْكُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَّسْجُدَ لِغَيْرِ اللّٰهِ لَأَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأَةَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوْجِهَا ] [ ابن ماجہ، النکاح، باب حق الزوج علی المرأۃ : ۱۸۵۳۔ ابن حبان : ۴۱۷۱، و قال الألبانی حسن صحیح ] "Mu’adh! What is this?" He said: "I went to Syria and saw that they prostrate to their priests and leaders, so I wished in my heart that we should do the same for you." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do this, for if I were to command anyone to prostrate to anyone other than Allah, I would have commanded a woman to prostrate to her husband." In Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah (41:37), prostration to anyone other than Allah has also been forbidden. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "In earlier times, there was prostration of respect; the angels prostrated to Adam (peace be upon him). Now, Allah has ended that custom, saying: «{ وَ اَنَّ الْمَسٰجِدَ لِلّٰهِ }» [ الجن : ۱۸ ] At this time, following the previous custom is like someone marrying his sister, as happened in the time of Adam (peace be upon him)." (Mawduh)

➋ {وَ قَالَ يٰۤاَبَتِ هٰذَا تَاْوِيْلُ رُءْيَايَ مِنْ قَبْلُ …:} Yusuf (peace be upon him) reminded them that this is the interpretation of the dream he had seen many years ago; his Lord made it come true, and did not let it remain a mere confused dream. The period between the dream and this meeting has been reported by some as forty years, by some as eighty (80) years, Ibn Ishaq said eighteen years, and the People of the Book believe it was forty years or thereabouts. In "At-Tahrir wa At-Tanwir," Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote twenty-two years. The real truth is best known to Allah Almighty, but the claim of forty or eighty (80) years does not seem plausible, and to specify without a divine revelation is like shooting arrows in the dark.

➌ {وَ قَدْ اَحْسَنَ بِيْۤ اِذْ اَخْرَجَنِيْ مِنَ السِّجْنِ :} From this, it is also proven that there can be many years between a dream and its interpretation. After being thrown into the well, the very first favor of Allah Almighty was to encourage him through revelation, then to have him taken out of the well, then to give him an honorable position, to grant him knowledge and wisdom—in short, Allah Almighty bestowed countless favors upon Yusuf (peace be upon him). However, he began mentioning Allah’s favors from his release from prison, because before that there were also trials, and mentioning them could have embarrassed his brothers. This is the courage of the Prophets: Yusuf (peace be upon him) did not mention any wrongdoing of his brothers, but attributed all their bad behavior to the work of Satan, trying to save them from embarrassment. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "He mentioned the favors of Allah, and as for the hardship caused by Satan, he did not mention it directly, but told it in a general way." (Mawduh)

➍ {وَ جَآءَ بِكُمْ مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ …:} Badu (Bedouin), nomadic life, is the opposite of hadar, i.e., living in the city. {’’بَدْوٌ‘‘ ’’بَدَا يَبْدُوْ‘‘} is the verbal noun (masdar), meaning to become visible, because the homes of Bedouins are visible to everyone. Compared to Egypt, Canaan was considered as the countryside. Yusuf (peace be upon him) also considered his family’s coming to the city as a favor upon himself, because city dwellers are often more cultured, gentle due to social interaction, and have more opportunities for acquiring knowledge. That is why the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ سَكَنَ الْبَادِيَةَ جَفَا ] [ ترمذي، الفتن، باب من أتي أبواب السلطان افتتن : ۲۲۵۶۔ نسائي : ۴۳۱۴۔ أبوداوٗد : ۲۸۵۹۔ أحمد : 357/1، ح : ۳۳۶۱ و صححہ الألبانی عن ابن عباس رضی اللہ عنھما ] "Whoever lives in the desert becomes hard-hearted." And all the Prophets were sent from cities and towns, as will be mentioned ahead in verse (109), and in fact, the Messengers were sent to towns that were centers for other towns. (See Qasas: 59) {’’ لَطِيْفٌ ‘‘} is something that cannot be grasped by the senses. The attribute of Allah, "Latif," in this sense, means He is aware of the finest details, and also that His planning is so subtle that it is not visible, and also in the sense of being kind and gracious, that He bestows kindness in such a subtle way that it is not even apparent how it happened. (Mufradat)

➎ { اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الْعَلِيْمُ الْحَكِيْمُ :} That is, whatever happened is a manifestation of His perfect knowledge and wisdom.

10. 1 Some commentators believe that these were the stepmother and the real maternal aunt because Yusuf’s ﷺ real mother passed away after the birth of Binyamin. After her death, Yaqub ﷺ married her sister, and this aunt was the one who went to Egypt with Yaqub ﷺ (Fath al-Qadeer). However, Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari has said the opposite, that Yusuf’s ﷺ mother did not die and she was the real mother (Ibn Kathir).

10. 2 Some have translated this as: out of respect and honor, they bowed before Yusuf ﷺ. But the words of (وَخَرُّوْا لَهٗ سُجَّدًا) 12. Yusuf:10) indicate that they prostrated on the ground before Yusuf ﷺ, meaning this prostration is in the literal sense. However, this prostration was a prostration of respect, not worship, and prostration of respect was permissible in the Shariah of Yaqub ﷺ. Islam, to prevent shirk, has made even the prostration of respect forbidden, and now prostration of respect is not permissible for anyone.

10. 3 That is, the dream that Yusuf ﷺ saw, after passing through so many trials, its interpretation finally became apparent: Allah placed Yusuf ﷺ on the royal throne and, along with his parents, all his brothers prostrated to him.

10. 4 Among Allah’s favors, the mention of being taken out of the well was omitted so that the brothers would not feel ashamed. This is prophetic character.

10. 5 Compared to a civilized region like Egypt, the status of Canaan was that of a desert, so it was referred to as the desert.

10. 6 This too is an example of noble character, that the brothers were not blamed at all and the act was attributed to Satan.

100. And Yusuf raised his parents to the throne, and all his brothers fell down in prostration [94] before him. Yusuf said, “O my father! This is the interpretation of my dream from before. My Lord has made it come true. He was gracious to me when He brought me out of prison, and brought you all here from the countryside, after Satan had stirred up discord between me and my brothers [95]. Surely, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills. Indeed, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

[94]
The Time When the Dream of Sayyiduna Yusufؑ Was Fulfilled:

The next day, when Sayyiduna Yusufؑ arrived at the royal court, he seated his parents with him on the royal throne, and this mother could only have been a stepmother of Sayyiduna Yusufؑ, because the real mother of these two younger brothers, Raheel, had passed away at the time of Binyamin’s birth. When the parents and brothers of Yusuf saw this grandeur and glory of Sayyiduna Yusuf, the parents descended, and both of them and all eleven brothers prostrated before Sayyiduna Yusufؑ. There is no disagreement that this prostration was a prostration of respect; the disagreement is whether the form of this prostration was the same as that to which the term “sajdah” applies in the Shariah, as we perform in prayer, or whether sajdah here simply means to bow down, as sometimes a person bows when greeting another. Linguistically, the word “sajd” also allows for this meaning. If the latter meaning is taken, then there is no objection at all—what objection can there be to merely bowing a little? However, those commentators who have taken the first meaning clarify that prostration of respect is indeed forbidden in our Shariah, but it was permitted in previous Shariahs. The word “kharru” before “sajdah” in our view supports the second meaning.

[95]
Sayyiduna Yusufؑ Expresses Gratitude for Allah’s Favors:

Upon witnessing this situation, Sayyiduna Yusufؑ began to recall Allah’s favors upon him. Addressing his respected father, he said that the dream he had seen in childhood—its true interpretation has now become manifest before everyone. (It was in this very gathering that the brothers of Yusuf learned of this dream and its reality; before this, neither had Sayyiduna Yusufؑ told anyone about the dream, nor had Sayyiduna Yaqubؑ.) This too is a great favor and blessing of Allah upon me, and at that time as well, Allah bestowed a great favor when He brought me out of prison and acquitted me with honor from the women’s plotting and deceit. Now, He has bestowed this favor that He has brought all of you from the village to me here. Here, Allah Almighty has provided every kind of blessing in abundance, and He has gathered us all here so that we may live together in love and harmony. Otherwise, Satan had indeed created discord among us brothers. (Even at this time, Sayyiduna Yusufؑ neither complained about his brothers nor blamed them, so that they would not feel further ashamed.) Then, in accordance with the saying: “An enemy stirs up evil, but our good lies within it,” Allah Almighty, in an imperceptible manner, created all kinds of paths of goodness for me. Who could have known what wisdoms of Allah were hidden in my being thrown into the well and then into prison?