Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 34

(Ayah 34) ➊ {وَ لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ يُوْسُفُ مِنْ قَبْلُ:} “With you” refers to your forefathers, just as it was said to the Israelites in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): « وَ اِذْ نَجَّيْنٰكُمْ مِّنْ اٰلِ فِرْعَوْنَ» [ البقرۃ : ۴۹ ] “And when We saved you from the people of Pharaoh.” Obviously, what is meant is saving their forefathers. The believing man reminded the Copts, while advising them, of the state of their forefathers’ time, that before Moses (peace be upon him), Joseph (peace be upon him) came to you, and even then your condition was the same.

➋ { بِالْبَيِّنٰتِ:} With clear proofs of his messengership. “Clear proofs” include the truthfulness and fulfillment of promises by Joseph (peace be upon him), his trustworthiness and utmost chastity, the testimony of the women of Egypt to his purity, his patience in prison, the interpretation of the dreams of his fellow prisoners and the king, the certain foretelling of the seven-year severe famine, the plan to store grain in the first seven years and then distribute it justly and correctly in the following seven years, his unparalleled justice and fairness, inviting his fellow prisoners to monotheism with irrefutable arguments when the opportunity arose, that is: « ءَاَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُوْنَ خَيْرٌ اَمِ اللّٰهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ (39) مَا تَعْبُدُوْنَ مِنْ دُوْنِهٖۤ اِلَّاۤ اَسْمَآءً سَمَّيْتُمُوْهَاۤ اَنْتُمْ وَ اٰبَآؤُكُمْ مَّاۤ اَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ بِهَا مِنْ سُلْطٰنٍ اِنِ الْحُكْمُ اِلَّا لِلّٰهِ اَمَرَ اَلَّا تَعْبُدُوْۤا اِلَّاۤ اِيَّاهُ ذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ» [ یوسف : ۳۹، ۴۰ ] “Are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the All-Powerful? You worship nothing besides Him except a few names which you and your forefathers have named; Allah has sent down no authority for them. The command is for none but Allah. He has commanded that you worship none but Him. That is the straight religion, but most people do not know.” And not leaving prison until his innocence was established, and many other things which prove that he was a chosen Messenger of Allah Almighty.

➌ {فَمَا زِلْتُمْ فِيْ شَكٍّ مِّمَّا جَآءَكُمْ بِهٖ:} That is, before this, when Joseph (peace be upon him) came to Egypt, he was a slave whom the Aziz of Egypt adopted as a son. Then, after many trials and tests, Allah Almighty honored him with both kingship and messengership, granting him many proofs and miracles to establish his prophethood and messengership. You believed in him, but with doubt. Your faith in him was like that of a poor man in a rich man or a weak person in a powerful one. There was no strength of conviction in it; rather, you remained doubtful about his messengership.

➍ {حَتّٰۤى اِذَا هَلَكَ قُلْتُمْ لَنْ يَّبْعَثَ اللّٰهُ مِنْۢ بَعْدِهٖ رَسُوْلًا:} During his lifetime, you doubted the law he brought, but when he died, you went so far in his praise that you said, “Now after him, Allah will not send any Messenger; where will such a Messenger come now?” By saying this, you later denied the coming of any more Messengers. Or, you showed such disregard that you continuously doubted his prophethood, or such excessive praise that you were not ready to accept anyone as a Messenger after him. Previously, you behaved this way with Joseph (peace be upon him); beware! Do not do the same with Moses (peace be upon him): do not believe in him while he is alive, and after his death, exaggerate about him. Shah Abdul Qadir writes: “You did not accept Joseph (peace be upon him) during his life, but after his death, when the administration of the kingdom deteriorated, you said, ‘How blessed was Joseph’s presence in this city; there will never be such a Prophet.’ Either that denial or this acceptance—this is the same contradiction.” The believing man meant that the value of a blessing is realized after it is lost; at present, you do not value Moses (peace be upon him).

➎ { كَذٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللّٰهُ مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ مُّرْتَابُ: ’’ مُرْتَابُ ‘‘ ’’رَيْبٌ‘‘} is the active participle of {’’ اِرْتَابَ يَرْتَابُ اِرْتِيَابًا ‘‘} (form VIII), meaning one who doubts. That is, Allah Almighty only leads astray those who possess three qualities: first, {’’ مُسْرِفٌ ‘‘}—those who exceed all bounds in their evil deeds, disobedience to Allah, and arrogance; second, {’’ مُرْتَابُ ‘‘}—those who doubt the signs of Allah and the words of His Messengers.