سُوْرَةُ يُوسُفَ
Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 4
إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّى رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِى سَـٰجِدِينَ ﴿4﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
(Remember) when Yûsuf (Joseph) said to his father: "O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon - I saw them prostrating themselves to me."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِذْ
idh
When
قَالَ
qāla
said
يُوسُفُ
yūsufu
Yusuf
لِأَبِيهِ
li-abīhi
to his father
يَـٰٓأَبَتِ
yāabati
O my father
إِنِّى
innī
Indeed, I
رَأَيْتُ
ra-aytu
I saw
أَحَدَ
aḥada
eleven
عَشَرَ
ʿashara
eleven
كَوْكَبًۭا
kawkaban
stars
وَٱلشَّمْسَ
wal-shamsa
and the sun
وَٱلْقَمَرَ
wal-qamara
and the moon
رَأَيْتُهُمْ
ra-aytuhum
I saw them
لِى
lī
to me
سَـٰجِدِينَ
sājidīna
prostrating
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
4. When Joseph said to his father, “O my father! Indeed, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars [3], and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.”
[3]
The Reasons for the Love of Sayyiduna Yusufؑ by His Father:
Sayyiduna Yusufؑ had only one real brother, Binyamin, who was younger than him. The remaining ten brothers were stepbrothers and were older than him. Sayyiduna Yaqubؑ, his father, had deep love for Sayyiduna Yusufؑ. There are several reasons for this. For example, one is that parents generally have relatively more affection for their younger children. Secondly, the mother of these two brothers had passed away. Thirdly, Sayyiduna Yusufؑ was very handsome and beautiful, and fourthly, he was of good character compared to all his brothers. Due to these reasons, he became the center of his father's attention, which caused the elder brothers to become jealous of him. At a young age, heؑ saw a dream and told his father, who saw in this dream the bright future of his son, because the dream was very clear and left no room for doubt. The eleven stars referred to the eleven brothers. The sun referred to Sayyiduna Yusufؑ's father, Sayyiduna Yaqubؑ, and the moon referred to his stepmother.
Prostration of Reverence?
As for the matter that prostrating to other than Allah is shirk, then how did the father, who was a prophet, and the son, who was to become a prophet, accept this as correct? Some scholars have answered that this was a prostration of reverence, which was permissible in previous laws. However, in our Shariah of Muhammad ﷺ, even such a prostration of reverence has been declared haram. According to some scholars, the prostration here does not refer to the technical prostration performed in prayer, but rather to mere bowing, which is its literal meaning. However, at the end of this Surah, the words ﴿خَرُّوْا لِلّٰهِ سُجَّدًا﴾ appear, and before the word ﴿خَرُّوْا﴾, the first opinion is confirmed.
[3]
The Reasons for the Love of Sayyiduna Yusufؑ by His Father:
Sayyiduna Yusufؑ had only one real brother, Binyamin, who was younger than him. The remaining ten brothers were stepbrothers and were older than him. Sayyiduna Yaqubؑ, his father, had deep love for Sayyiduna Yusufؑ. There are several reasons for this. For example, one is that parents generally have relatively more affection for their younger children. Secondly, the mother of these two brothers had passed away. Thirdly, Sayyiduna Yusufؑ was very handsome and beautiful, and fourthly, he was of good character compared to all his brothers. Due to these reasons, he became the center of his father's attention, which caused the elder brothers to become jealous of him. At a young age, heؑ saw a dream and told his father, who saw in this dream the bright future of his son, because the dream was very clear and left no room for doubt. The eleven stars referred to the eleven brothers. The sun referred to Sayyiduna Yusufؑ's father, Sayyiduna Yaqubؑ, and the moon referred to his stepmother.
Prostration of Reverence?
As for the matter that prostrating to other than Allah is shirk, then how did the father, who was a prophet, and the son, who was to become a prophet, accept this as correct? Some scholars have answered that this was a prostration of reverence, which was permissible in previous laws. However, in our Shariah of Muhammad ﷺ, even such a prostration of reverence has been declared haram. According to some scholars, the prostration here does not refer to the technical prostration performed in prayer, but rather to mere bowing, which is its literal meaning. However, at the end of this Surah, the words ﴿خَرُّوْا لِلّٰهِ سُجَّدًا﴾ appear, and before the word ﴿خَرُّوْا﴾, the first opinion is confirmed.
