This weekend I took the Al Maghrib Seminar titled, "Beautiful Patience, Tafseer Surat Yusuf"
and let me tell you Prophet Yusuf is not only described as a beauty but his story is also beautiful, and it represents beautiful Patience.
To be honest I never really read Surat Yusuf for fun, and now I see how interesting stories of the Prophets are. I dont even know details of many of Prophet stories.
Through this story you learn about
1. Beautiful Patience (Which is differnt from patience) from both Prophet Yusuf and his father Prophet Yacob
2. The improtance of counesling Allah and not people during times of need, when facing sins
3. Jealousy between families
4. Forgivness amongst family memebers, and others
5. Allah will ALWAYS reward the good doers, as long as they are patient.
6. The stories of the Quran are much more interesting when taken into details, tafsir teaches you how to think, reflect.
6. This list can go on, but here are my notes!
"the parts that are in green are based on the Quran, and the black notes are what the sheikh added"
The Quran has the best method for telling a story.
Surat Yusuf was revealed in a difficult time for the Prophet, in the year of sorrow Aaam Ul Huzn, because both Khadijah and Abu Talib passed away.
The story of the Prophet Yusuf is the best of the best.
Prophet Yusuf is the son of Jacob who is the son of Prophet Ishaq who is the son of Prophet Ibrahim. Prophet Yusuf has a long legacy of prophet hood within his family. He had the most highest lineage and he was described as a veryyyyy handsome man. Prophet Jacob (Prophet Yusufs father) had 12 sons.
In the class we went through all of the ayas and more detials.
Full Surat Yusuf
http://quran.com/12 (open the link and read it while looking at the notes to understand)
The Quran has the best method for telling stories, and these first ayas capture your attention at the very beginning. The setting of this story is in the desert of Palestine which was known as Kanan.
Aya 4-6 is when Prophet Yusuf goes to his father (Prophet Yacob) and he tells him about his dream. Prophet Yacob advises his son not to tell his 11 brother about his dream because he fears they will become jealous of him and create a plot against him. He tells his son that Allah has choosen you and favored you to interpret dreams.
These ayas teach parents the importance of having a good trustworthy relationship with their children so they can come and talk to them.
Aya 7-10
The story of Prophet Yusuf and his brothers is a sign to strengthen the eman of the believers and to increase us in patience. Prophet Yacob favored Prophet Yusuf the most along with his other son benjmain amongst the other 10 brothers. The brothers recognized this and they are jealous. This shows us that a parent unintentionally favors a child. The brothers create a plot to kill Prophet Yusuf or he take him to another land. One of the brothers suggests that they throw Yusuf in the bottom of a well and eventually travellers will take him.
The objective of this plot is noble, because these brothers simply want their father to favor them.
Aya 11-15
The brothers told their father they are going to take Yusuf, but the father is worried. He tells them what if a wolf eats him. They tell him not to worry, and than they take him and they place him in the bottom of the well.
Ayas 16-17
After they returned at night they came to their father crying. And they told him that a wolf ate him, and "you would not beleive us, even if we are truthful" (the sheikh said they are telling their father that they are not saying the truth). They showed their dad Yusufs shirt which had fake blood.
(Here the first aya appears about beautiful patience)
There is a difference between patience and beautiful patience
In aya 18 in arabic Allah writes, "Fasubrn Jamil" beautiful patience
"Jacob said, "Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe."
Sometimes we think something is bad in our life but it is really stregthing us for something better.
Crying does not mean that you are not patient. If you are crying and supplicating to Allah it is an indication of your ikhlas and your tawhid (faith, religion). That is why Prophet Jacob cries and cries but to Allah. He is patient, beautifully patient.
It is a beautiful patience in which he turns to Allah alone.
What is beautiful patience? Prophet Yacob describes it,
"Allah is the One I seek help from"
Beautiful patience:
1. You are patient from the very beginning
2. Brings you closer to Allah, return to Allah
3. Allah is the one you seek help from
4. Address your sadness and concerns to Allah, do not look for sympathy from the people. Dont cry to people.
3 Types of Patience in Surat Yusuf:
1. Patience in times of obedience of Allah
2. Patience in times of calamity
3. Patience in abstaining from sins
Prophet Muhmmad:
"Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship"
Ayas 19-20
After the brothers place Yusuf in the well, a group of travellers come to buy him as a slave. The brothers sold him quickly for a very low price.
The caravan is a mercy from Allah. Allah has better plans for Yusuf.
Ayas 21-29
The one who bought Yusuf was the minister of Egypt, and he told his wife to make him comfortable in their home, and he even wanted to adopt Yusuf. Allah tells us , "We established Jospeh in the land that We might teach him the interpretation of events (dreams)". Allah also tells us that after Yusuf became mature no longer a boy, "We gave him judgement and knowledge. And thus We reward the doers of good"( 23).
Yusuf was a very handsome man.
The wife of the minister wanted to seduce him, and she closed all the doors and she told him to come to her, but Yusuf was of the righteous and he said, "I seek the refuge of Allah. Indeed He is my Master who has made good my residence (24)".
Every time you think about committing a sin, do what Yusuf did:
1. Seek refuge with Allah
2. Remember all the good things Allah has bestowed upon you.
Allah made Prophet Yusuf of the chosen servants. So than Yusuf and his wife ran out towards the door and she teared his shirt from the back. Her husband was at the door, and she lied to her husband. She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment" (26). Prophet Yusuf told her husband that it was she who was trying to seduce him, and a witness from their family came and say that if the shirt was riped from the front she was truthful, and Yusuf has lied. The husband that the shirt was ripped from the back and he realized it was his wifes plan, and he told Yusuf to ignore this, and for his wife to ask for forgiveness because she was sinful.
We complain about the fitnah we deal with in college, high school, and etc. Just remember Yusuf and his story. He is all alone with this women, and she is trying to seduce him but he stays strong.
Ayas 30-35
The women of the city started talking about the wife of the minister and how she was trying to seduce her slave Yusuf. They believed she was wrong. The wife of the minister heard about their talk and so she brought them to a banquet and she gave each of them a knife. She told Yusuf to come in front of them. They started cutting themselves without even noticing because of how handsome he is.
"Perfect is Allah! This is not a man, this is none but a noble angel"(32).
The wife of the minister told them "That is the one about whom you blamed me"(33). Meaning you see how handsome he is who can you blame me for wanting to seduce him.
She told him how when she tried to seduce him he firmly refused and she was going to put him in prison if he did not do what she wanted.
"He (Prophet Yusuf) said: "My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that which they invite me. And if You do not avert me from their plan, I might incline toward them and thus be of the ignoroant"(34).
In this aya Yusuf is addressing his concerns to Allah. This teaches us that when we are confronted with a sin, we should automatically counsel Allah and He can help you.
Allah responded to Yusufs concern and he averted the plan. The wife of the minister decided to imprison Yusuf.
Ayas 36-42
When Yusuf is placed into prison he meets tow young men who tell him about their dreams. Prophet Yusuf interprets their dreams and he tells them what they mean.
Prophet Yusuf is in prison but he is still making dawah, first through his character.
When one of the young men was about to be freed, he told him to mention him to his master (king) and how he is innocent. But shytan made him forget to mention Yusuf to his master, and so Yusuf remained in prison for a couple of years.
If you tell someone to do something a favor for you, a responsibility, remind them, because the shytan will try to make the person forget so you can fight.
The story keeps getting interesting as Yusuf becomes a high and very imrpotant ruler of Egypt, he is reunited with his family, and so muchhhhh more, but to be continued!! InshAllah .
