[THROWN IN A WELL TAFSEER SURAT YUSUF] Ustadh Asim Khan

Thrown in a Well | Lesson 3

6. Accordingly your Lord will pick you out and teach you the true meaning of events
and perfectly fulfil His blessing on you as well as on the family of Yaqub as He fulfilled
it perfectly before upon your forebears, Ibrahim and Ishaq. Most certainly your Lord is
Knowing, Wise.
Yaqoob continues his advice to his son. He already advised Yusuf, dont relate your amazing dream to
your brothers, because they may well end up plotting and scheming against you. And also, shaytan is a clear
cut enemy to man. The second part of the advice is very different from the first part. When we study the
tafseer, think about the tafseer in the context of a conversation happening between a father and a son, a
father advising a son. Think about it in that perspective. Think about what advice fathers can learn.
The dream that you just told me, that represents you being honoured and respected by others, namely your
family, in that way will Allah select you. Ijtiba means to select you over and above others. In that way will Allah
select you over and above your brothers. The dream you saw will come true. Not only will the dream come
true, but also, Allah will select you over and above your brothers.
Imam ash-Shawqani said, from another perspective, ijtiba, you are going to be selected, is a way of
praising. So he starts by praising his son. Son, you are going to be someone special. Thats how Allah is going to
make you special, select you. Thats how he praises him.
If that wasnt enough, he goes on to layer on more praises.
And also, son, a second thing, this is the way also that Allah will teach you taweel al-ahadeeth. There are a
number of opinion about what taweel al-ahadith means:
1.

Qurtubi said, and there is an agreement, that one of the main meanings is that Allah will teach you
how to interpret dreams. And he mentioned that Yusuf was the most qualified in
interpreting dreams of all time.
Notice here how Yaqoob is saying Allah will teach you, which shows us that dream interpretation is
not just a mystical exercise. It is not something someone can learn independently. It is a pert learned
science. What that means is that to interpret dreams, there is a knowledge that was once upon a time,
taught by Allah to somebody, and then that knowledge was passed down. If you want to interpret
dreams, part of interpreting dreams is to have knowledge of that knowledge. The other part of dream
interpretation is having inside wisdom, firasa, having interpretative wisdom about you, good
judgment, those two things come together in a person and he is able to interpret dreams. Part

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learned, and also part to do with ones own hikmah (wisdom), this comes from Allah. It is not
something you can just know by yourself. There is a learned aspect to this.
2.

The second opinion is that Allah will teach you how to interpret ahadith, where ahadith is the plural of
hadith (speech). What speech? Divine speech. So Allah will teach you how to interpret, or make tafseer
of revelation. Allah will reveal things to you, or the revelation given to me, or your forefather
Ibraheem. And even Muhammad Amin al-Shinqeeti said both opinions can be true at the same time.
He taught him how to interpret dreams and also taught him how to interpret revelation.

3.

The third opinion is that Allah will give you knowledge and wisdom so that you will know how to make
good judgment calls, how to make good decisions in your life. And we see that, later on in his life
Yusuf finds himself in a dilemma, inside the house of Aziz, the wife of Aziz is coming after
him, he is young, he has just reached the age of full maturity, and this woman is trying to incite and
seduce him. Yet he makes a very good decision to abstain and to run away from that situation. But
there, he is a young man, but he makes a good decision. Some scholars say that is part of taweel alahadith.

Third thing, son, Allah will complete his favour upon you. That is a lot of praise there. Ibn Ashur says that
Yaqoob is saying that Allah will make you into a prophet which will give you the best of the akhirah. If
Allah makes you a prophet, your akhirah is sorted. You will be the best of all the believers. The best of the
akhirah, and the best of dunya too, because Allah will give you mulk (the station of authority) later on in your
life. When he becomes the Aziz later on, that is the best of the dunya living like royalty, having tremendous
influence over people, etc. So completing the favour means the best of dunya and akhirah. He becomes a
prophet best of akhirah. He is given mulk best of dunya.
And he adds to that. Because of Allah blessing you, son, your family, the aal of Yaqoob, me, your mother and
your brothers, who I just mentioned are going to plot against you, are all going to be blessed because of you.
Later on we find that there is a drought that takes place in Egypt and spreads all the way to Sham, which is
where Yaqoob and Yusufs brothers are. Because of the famine, there is no food, they have to make
their way to Egypt. Who helps them in Egypt? Yusuf . They dont know that at the time. In the end,
they move and gain entry into Egypt. And live alongside Yusuf who is the Aziz in Egypt, one of the
greatest empires in human history. So true were the words of Yaqoob, that because of you, we are also going
to be favoured. And that is so true from the story, that the brothers and all of the family are favoured because
of him.
The lesson we also learn, Imam as-Sadi mentioned, that when Allah blesses someone, then that blessing, many
a time, passes on and spills over on to the people around that individual. Allah blesses this person and those
that are closest to him. His family members, his children, even his friends, they all get a share of that blessing
simply because they are close to him. And that teaches us the benefit of having good friends, good company.
Maybe Allah may not bless you per se, but if you are close to someone who is blessed, you will get a portion of
that blessing as well.
More praise. Allah is going to bless you, and because of that all of us are going to be blessed, just like He
blessed your forefathers Ibraheem and Ishaq . Yusuf son of a prophet Yaqoob
. Yaqoob son of a prophet Ishaq . Ishaq , son of a prophet Ibraheem .So his
forefathers also would be so proud of him.
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The detailed story was that Ishaq was saved from slaughter2. Allah replaced him with a sheep and
that is how you will also be saved from harms way. And Ibraheem was thrown into a fire and he was
saved from the fire by Allah and in the same way Allah will also confer favour upon you.
Then right at the end of this advice, he says indeed your Master is all-Knowing, all-Wise. Now the question here
is, after giving him this amazing piece of advice in two parts, at the end he selects two attributes of Allah to
end the advice. Allah is all-Knowing and all-Wise.
Why did Yaqoob choose these 2 attributes to complete his advice to his son? Why these 2? What link
did these 2 have with what was just mentioned in the advice? How do they tie up the whole advice very nicely?
How to they add extra meaning? Why these 2 attributes?
Yaqoob selected these 2 attributes because Allahs choosing Yusuf is based on His supreme
knowledge. You dont know what is going to happen, but Allah knows. How will the events unfold? The plan is
that of Allah, and with that he consoles him as well.
What is amazing is if you look later on in the story, in ayah 100, Yusuf summarizes his life. And when
he is summarizing his life, he mentions these same 2 attributes. He says, Allah has been so good to me. Dad,
you werent here, but Allah saved me from prison and he brought you and me and my brothers all back
together again after shaytan, who you told me about in the beginning, was an enemy, after he created enmity
between me and my brothers. And you know dad, you were right, Allah is al-Aleem al-Hakeem. The same 2
attributes he mentions in the end.

Lessons
What lessons do we learn from this?

Parenting Skills: Discipline & Praise

Dad is giving advice to the son. The advice is in 2 parts. He says dont tell your brothers about the dream. He
gives him a muiza, admonition about shaytan. Then he praises him. He goes into detail. Lavish praise. Many
times, parents find it difficult to praise their children. They compare them to siblings or others who are better.
The child can never do anything right. Yaqoob had no qualms praising the child.
What came first? Disciplining the child and then praise or praise and then disciplining the child? Discipline came
first. Is that something that we can take from? With our children in general, we should do both. Some people
think they should only praise and not tell off kids. Some have this ethos. Thats wrong. Yaqoob gave
him muiza just like Luqman gave his son muiza, both were needed. If you could choose the order, this way
around. Why not the other way around? If you begin with praise, the child will already be on cloud 9 and wont

Q. You mentioned Ishaq was saved from being sacrificed. But isn't that the Jewish version of the story? Don't
Muslims believe it was ismaeel who was saved from being slaughtered?
A. You may not be aware of this but there is a strong difference of opinion amongst ahl al-Sunnah regarding
which son. The view of al-Tabari is that it was Ishaaq.
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pay attention or focus on what follows. So he begins with strong advice and then he doesnt hold back on
lavish praise.

Allah gives you the tools & ability to cope with trials
The ability to interpret dreams gets him out of so much trouble. He interprets his own dream. Then he
interprets the dreams of the 2 prisoners. And because he knows dream interpretation, he realizes that one of
them is going to get out. And the one that gets out eventually comes back to him to interpret the kings dream.
When he interpreted the kings dream, he gets out of prison. When Allah puts us through trials he gives us the
resources and the strength to overcome challenges in our lives. Allah doesnt burden any soul more than it can
bear. And one way is He gives us our own calamities and he gives us that which we need to cope with those
calamities. That is how that calamity doesnt burden us more than we can bear.

Some dreams are true & Divinely inspired [al-Sadi]

This dream is an example.

Dream Interpretation part learned discipline

This is mentioned earlier.

Blessings & Barakah affect those around you

This is mentioned earlier.

The role of the father to give sound advice to children

The impact of tarbiyah coming to a young person and the effect it has on the rest of their lives.
Here, Yusuf was given sold advice by dad. And the fact that dad spoke to him with affection, and the
son spoke to dad with affection shows that there was a loving close relationship there plus the advice
impacted on Yusuf in such a big way. How was Yusuf able to find it in his heart to forgive his
brothers? How was he able to say no blame will fall on you today? They threw him in a well and left him for
dead. How can he forgive them? Partly because Yaqoob told him your brothers will be nasty to you
but then there is shaytan as well.

Set a vision for your child at an early age

The impact of tarbiyah coming at a young age shapes the mind and the character of a person. Tarbiyah can be
translated as development or nurturing, but the reality is that tarbiyah can come at any stage in your life. When
it comes in the beginning at an early stage, thats when it has the deepest impact and the longest lasting effect
as well.

A unique quality of Yaqoob

Some of the scholars mentioned that each of the prophets of Allah had their own unique qualities. In the
Quran, when Allah mentioned about those messengers, He focussed on the unique quality. Ibraheem
for example, was good at debating. When he debated with the king, he left him speechless. And when he
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debated with the people about the sun and moon, Allah mentions it is Our reasoning that We gave him. So it is
an ability that Allah gave.
Yaqoob both here as well as towards the end of Surat al-Baqarah, when Allah gives parting advice to
his sons, he says who will you worship after me? The most important thing to him is this. And they say they will
worship Allah, showing the brothers later on reform themselves. So the fatherhood of Yaqoob is said
to be one of the amazing qualities of this prophet of Allah.

My Reflections

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7. In Yusuf and his brothers there are Signs for every one of those who wants to ask
When you read the story of Yusuf , who is the main person you focus on? Yusuf , because he
is the hero of the story. However, Allah mentions Yusuf and his brothers. So we learn a number of things here.
First of all, dont just focus on Yusuf . Focus on the other characters in the story. Secondly, when you
learn from the story, it contains ayaat (signs). So what signs exactly does this story point to? Who exactly are
the saaileen? Who are those who are asking?

Who are Saa_ileen?

According to one view, the companions were asking. According to another view, the Jews were asking, to test.
Either they sent someone to ask or came themselves and said tell us about the story about the man from the
prophets whose son was kidnapped and he cried and ended up becoming blind out of sorrow for him. They
knew no one in Makkah knew of that story. So they were asking about it. Allah mentions, there are not just a
sign, but signs for those who are asking. But they did not ask sincerely. So the irony is that the ones that
benefit are not the one that ask for it, the ones that asked dont get anything from it, in fact it is an evidence
against them.

What are the Signs that it points to?

Two main things: Al-Qasimi mentions that the main sign of this story is the power of Allah to do as He
wishes. The fact that Yusuf goes from a well to a throne and from a prison to state treasurer, and
being accused of zina to the person accusing of zina confessing against her own self, Allah can do whatever He
wishes. This story point towards the qudrah of Allah.
Secondly, it points to the veracity of the prophet . How could he have known the details? In this story,
there is a sign that points to his veracity because he didnt learn it from anyone, it was revealed to him.

Who are the main characters of the story?

Major Characters
Yusuf
Yaqoob
Brothers
Wife of Aziz, she is spoken about at length.

Minor Characters
Prisoners
Caravaners
King
Aziz
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Two prisoners
Women of Egypt

So we should look at them and see what lessons we can learn.

There are signs for a particular group of people those that ask. So the more you ask and explore, the more
you will find.
Ibn Qayyim said there are more than 1000 points of benefits.
How do you uncover them? Come to them with an open heart, looking and searching and asking, then Allah will
show you ayaat.

My Reflections

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8. When they declared, Why! Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we
are although we constitute a powerful group. Our father is clearly making a mistake

Prevalence of hasad
The scene cuts to the brothers. The brothers are all together having a huddle. When they were having the
secret meeting, they said, Yusuf and his brother (they are distinguishing the other brother from
Yusufs mother) are more beloved to our father than us.
There are a number of linguistic points here. Notice how they said , laam here, Ibn Ashur said of
ibtida, which gives emphasis.
Second linguistic point, they said, they are more beloved to our father than us, instead of saying our father
loves them more than us. The second way around, they are placing the blame on dad. The first way around, the
way they said it, they are directing their negativity and anger towards those two.
Third linguistic point, , whilst we are an usbah. Usbah comes from the root of asabiya. Asabiya
means fanaticism. And it can also refer to a gang mentality. So they are saying, ten of us, we are tough guys. So
they are saying Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our dad than us while we are an usbah. They are
expressing jealousy, or rather envy towards their half brothers. They are bringing the reasoning as well, trying
to justify it. The reason why dad should love us more than them is because we are an usbah. We are more in
number, we are tougher than them. The reasoning is not very strong.

Destructive nature of hasad

We learn something about envy here. They are saying dad loves them more than us. They could have said dad
should love us like he loves them (put us on the same level). They said, why does dad love them more than us
whilst we are an usbah, meaning, he should love us more than them. This is the worst form of envy. Someone
is given a blessing and you dont say, I wish I had those trainers. No, you say I wish I had them and he didnt
have them. This is the worst type of envy, where you wish that the blessing that Allah gave him is robbed of
him. So he is robbed of that blessing and instead you are given that blessing in his place.

Dalaal linguistically vs. religiously [Shanqeeti]

Then they spoke badly of their dad. Apparently, the man they want to love them the most, they said he is
clearly misguided. How does he love them more than us? As Imam Shanqeeti mentioned, there is a difference
between the linguistic meaning of dalaal and the religious meaning of dalaal. Religiously, dalaal means
misguided, meaning off the manhaj, or another religion, or gone astray, etc. Linguistically it means mistaken.
He doesnt know something this is the linguistic meaning being applied here. They are not saying dad, who is a
prophet of Allah is misguided. They mean mistaken.

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There is something that came before as well, where we had to distinguish between the religious meaning and
the linguistic meaning. Allah mentions, we relate the best of stories, and before this he was from the ghafileen.
Ghafileen, religiously refers to heedless, backward, on another road spiritually, but linguistically, it means being
unaware of something that is present in reality. This is the linguistic meaning being used here, just as dalaal is
being used in its linguistic meaning.
Now we will take some of the analysis of Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. The brothers come together and
express their envy against Yusuf as well as his younger brother. And what follows thereafter is that
they accuse their father of being mistaken in his having more love for them. And then afterwards, they declare
their intention to kill Yusuf or toss him aside to another land, lets get rid of him basically.
At this point, Ibn Taymiyyah has something to say. We have translated to the best of our ability.

Yusuf was put to trial by the envy of his brothers towards him as can be seen from their saying: Truly
Yusuf and his brother (Binyameen) are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a strong group. Really,
our father is in plain error, so they envied both of them because their father preferred them (both) over their
brothers. For this reason, Yaqoob advised Yusuf against them saying, O my son! Relate not your vision
to your brothers, lest they should arrange a plot against you. Verily, Shaytan is to man an open enemy.
After that they were unjust to him, discussing whether they should kill him or ditch him in a well. They then sold
him off (according to one view) as a slave to be taken to another country of disbelievers, making him a slave to
disbelievers.

Ibn Taymiyyah says they start off, they envied him because their father preferred their brothers to them. The
question to be asked is, Yaqoob was such an outstanding father. How was he showing favouritism
towards some of his sons so that some others became envious of them? Arent we supposed to be fair, didnt
the prophet say Fear Allah and be just amongst your children?
According to one view, after throwing him into a well, they sold him into slavery, making him a slave to
disbelievers.

Thereafter, Yusuf was then trialled after this oppression by the lady who called him to an illicit deed and
attempted to seduce him, seeking help from her inner circle, but Yusuf would not yield to their call and instead
opted for imprisonment over the illicit deed. He chose the punishment of dunya over the anger of Allah. In this
instance, this oppression was brought about due to the love of someone for him based on desire and a
mischievous goal.

So the scheming of the brothers was one trial, and then the seduction of the woman was another trial. They
were different kinds of trial, and we will see that later. In one it is envy and in the other it is lust.

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She doesnt actually be mocked by the women of Egypt. They mock her and she has a plan against them in
seducing Yusuf . She gets the aid and support of the women of Egypt. And Yusuf does not
relent. He refuses her. He chose prison over the anger of Allah.
It seems that Ibn Taymiyyah is saying that both trials stem from love. Brothers envied him because of
love, and the woman tries to plot against him because of love. But the love translated into different evil ways.
As for the first, it translated to trying to get rid of him. As for the second, it was trying to get to him.

This lover loved him purely out of desire and the only thing that would remedy that desire would be for him to
accept her request. As for those haters, they hated him to the extent that they threw him in the well and thus he
became an owned slave without his choice.

Ibn Taymiyyah is comparing the 2. Both stem from love. As for her, the only thing that would remedy it would
be to give in. He ends up in prison out of choice. As for the brothers, they hated him to the extent that they
threw him in the well and he became a slave. And this latter was without his choice. He ends up in slavery
through no choice of his own.

This woman however caused him to become a prisoner but by his own choice and volition, and so this was in fact a
greater and tougher trial. Here, his patience was a patience by way of choice intertwined with taqwa, which was
different to the patience he practiced that was brought about through the brothers oppression. The patience he
practiced in this case is of the type brought about by calamities which one has no control over; he who is not
honourably patient in the face of such calamities follows the behaviour of animals. The second type of patience is
better, for this reason Yusuf will later on declare that: Verily he who fears Allah has taqwa, and is patient, then
surely Allah makes not the reward of the Muhsineen to be lost.
[Majmu al-Fataawaa volume 10 page 121-122]

Calamities are of different types. For example, losing a job, someone dies, you dont have a choice. The other
type of calamity is one where you dont have a choice. For example, the only way he could avoid the evil deed
was to go to prison. He had a choice. So the grade of reward will be higher. And the type of calamity is one
where he has no choice. If you choose to suffer for Allahs sake, that is greater than suffering because you have
no choice.
Ibn Taymiyyah also says that these 2 tests, hasad and shahwah, as well as the other 2, zulm (oppression) and
mulk, they are the 4 most common fitan known to man. People go through difficulties in their life either
because someone is hating on them (envy), or simply because the test that they are going through is related to
shahwah, a lot of tests coming your way just because you cannot control your own desire, or zulm. Look at the
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world at the moment, how many people are being oppressed, how many are going through this trial. And how
many people are tried when they are given a position of authority? They turn into different people altogether,
very oppressive and abusive just because the power has got to their heads. These are the 4 most common
trials that people experience and this is one of the reasons why people love to read about the story of Yusuf
, because they can identify with him in so many different ways.
One of the evil fruits of envy is that it can make you go crazy.

Emotion blinds you [Rashid Rida]

Why did Shaytan refuse to bow down to Adam ? At-Tabari said, hasad.
Qabeel-Habeel. Why did he commit the first murder known to mankind? Hasad.
First murder in mankind goes back to hasad. First kufr in the deen goes back to hasad. And here we can see
how hasad is driving those brothers to do a criminal act, which is to kill their own brother.

Was Yaqoob being unfair & showing favouritism?

My Reflections

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