Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ {لَقَدْ كَانَ فِيْ يُوْسُفَ …:} From here, the detailed story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) begins. {’’ اٰيٰتٌ ‘‘ ’’ آيَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural. Here, by "signs" are meant those lessons, admonitions, and great signs of Allah's power that are mentioned in this incident. Since they are many and related to many people, for example: on one side, the brothers' hatred, jealousy, suspicion, the conditions of the people of that time, free people being made slaves, their style of governance, their laws, the deception of Satan, oppression by one's own, separation from loved ones, homelessness, the trauma of slavery, trials arising due to beauty, the turmoil and passion of the wife of Aziz's love and the test of Yusuf's chastity, then the trial of prison; on the other side, the blessings of Allah and the manifestation of His dominance over His work, Yusuf (peace be upon him) attaining royal proximity and vast powers of governance, contrary to the wishes of all enemies, the jealous, and opponents, due to the perfections of knowledge and wisdom, sincerity of intention, excellence of action, and patience and piety granted by Allah, coming out of prison and slavery. The helplessness of the oppressive and tyrant brothers before him and being compelled to beg from him. Then, throughout this period, Yusuf (peace be upon him) showing kindness instead of taking revenge on every oppressor, unparalleled patience, and forgiveness and forbearance, and in the end, the manifestation of the interpretation of Yusuf's dream of eleven stars and the sun and moon prostrating before him, and despite all this greatness and elevation, Yusuf (peace be upon him) praying to Allah for death upon Islam and to be joined with the righteous, out of concern for the Hereafter. In short, every single matter contains many signs and lessons within itself.

➋ { لِلسَّآىِٕلِيْنَ :} Who were the questioners? In Ashraf al-Hawashi it is stated: "It is narrated that the Quraysh, at the suggestion of the Jews, asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) this question as a test: Ibrahim (peace be upon him)'s homeland was Syria, so how did the Children of Israel settle in Egypt, to the extent that in the time of Musa (peace be upon him) they were delivered from Pharaoh? Upon this, this surah was revealed and it was said that there are many signs in this story for those who ask. They were jealous of a brother, so in the end, they became dependent on him; similarly, the Jews are jealous, and the Quraysh expelled you (peace be upon him), so in the end, your rise occurred." (Muwaddih) But these narrations are Isra'ili (of Israelite origin) (and there were no Jews in Mecca, nor did the people of Mecca have any special connection with them). Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) did not mention any such narration, but instead, he mentioned one or two other narrations with reference to Ibn Jarir, that this surah was revealed upon the question of the Companions. (But the narration attributed to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is also disconnected, because the narrator from Ibn Abbas, Amr bin Qais, did not meet him. See al-Isti'ab fi Bayan al-Asbab.) In any case, if the Isra'ili narrations are considered reliable, then the signs refer to the signs of his (peace be upon him) prophethood, and the questioners refer to the Jews or the disbelievers of Mecca. And if they are not considered reliable, then the signs refer to the lessons found in the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him), and the questioners refer to those people who take admonition from seeing the signs of Allah. The author of Ma'alim has written these lessons in great detail." Ibn Ashur has written that it is a style of eloquence among the Arabs that they mention the questioner to draw attention. The purpose is to arouse the desire to listen to the matter, as He said: «{ وَ جَعَلَ فِيْهَا رَوَاسِيَ مِنْ فَوْقِهَا وَ بٰرَكَ فِيْهَا وَ قَدَّرَ فِيْهَاۤ اَقْوَاتَهَا فِيْۤ اَرْبَعَةِ اَيَّامٍ سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآىِٕلِيْنَ }» [ حٰمٓ السجدۃ : ۱۰ ] "And He placed firmly set mountains over it, and He blessed it and determined its sustenance in it in four days, equal for those who ask." And as Samuw'il said:

{سَلِيْ إِنْ جَهِلْتِ النَّاسَ عَنَّا وَ عَنْهُمْ ¤ فَلَيْسَ سَوَاءً عَالِمٌ وَ جَهُوْلُ}

"O addressed one! If you do not know, then ask people about us and them, for the one who knows and the one who does not know are not equal."

And Anif bin Zaban said:

{فَلَمَّا الْتَقَيْنَا بَيَّنَ السَّيْفُ بَيْنَنَا ¤ لِسَائِلَةٍ عَنَّا حَفِيٍّ سُؤَالُهَا }

"So when we confronted each other, the sword made a clear decision between us, for that female questioner whose question was with much insistence."

Arab poets often mention questioning women; it is the miracle of the Qur'an that it changed this style and, instead of questioning women, referred to men as questioners and gave the answer. ({التحرير والتنوير})

7. 1. That is, in this story there are great signs of Allah Almighty's immense power and clear proofs of the truthfulness of the Prophethood of the Noble Prophet ﷺ. Some commentators have also mentioned here the names of these brothers and their details.

7. Indeed, in the story of Joseph and his brothers are many signs of lessons [6] for those who ask.

[6]
The Reasons for the Similarity Between the Story of Yusuf and the Circumstances of the Questioners, i.e., the Disbelievers of Makkah:

These questioners were the disbelievers of Makkah. They did not know that the account of the life of Sayyiduna Yusuf ؑ and his brothers, which has come in response, actually applies to their own circumstances. The signs of admonition or reasons for similarity found in the comparative study of the disbelievers of Makkah and the brothers of Yusuf have already been mentioned earlier.