Story Of Prophet Yusuf ✔

9.JACOB'S BEAUTIFUL PATIENCE [Surah Yusuf 12:18-19]

18. And they came (standing) on his shirt with false blood, he said: “Nay, rather your souls have made the matter seem light to you, so (for me) beautiful patience is most fitting, and Allah is the One Sought for help against all that you say.”

19.  And there came a caravan of travelers; they sent their water-drawer, and he let down his bucket (into the well). He said: "What good news! Here is a young boy." So they hid him as merchandise. And Allah was the All-Knower of what they did.

They brought Yusuf (AS)’s shirt stained with blood. The scholars say that they had killed a goat or a similar animal and splashed its blood all over the shirt. They then presented this shirt to their father as evidence for what they had claimed in the previous ayah. As Allah (swt) tells us in the ayah this was the evidence that they were standing on. Their entire claim rested on this shirt. However, what they had forgotten to do was tear the shirt before showing it to their father. The shirt was perfectly intact with no tears or rips in it. Now of course if the boy had been attacked by a wolf then the shirt would have been torn. This shirt, however, was perfectly intact. It just had blood on it. So this clearly showed Yaqoob (AS) that their story was a lie. Thus the evidence that they brought can clearly be seen as false. It is said that Ya‘qub responded, “What a merciful wolf this is that ate up Yusuf without even one scratch in the shirt.”

Yusuf 's brother had purposely placed him in a well that was on a known trade route. They hoped that he would be picked up by some travelers and taken away to some far away land and then the love of their father would only be for them. In this ayah Allah (swt) shows us how the events transpired exactly as they had planned. But little did they realize that this was also how Allah (swt) had decreed matters to be. This was the beginning of how Allah (swt) would raise Yusuf (AS) to levels that these brothers never even dreamed possible.

The caravan people were all delighted to find this beautiful young boy. But instead of trying to find the parents of this child or bring him to safety, they decided to take him as a slave. They knew that a young boy like this would fetch a very good price as a slave. So they put him in their belongings and covered him up.

In the final part of this ayah Allah (swt) says “and Allah Knows best all that they did”. This part of the ayah refers both to the brothers of Yusuf (AS) and to the caravan traders. They both did great evil and Allah (swt) lets us know in this part of the ayah that He (swt) Knows well all that they did. The brothers thought that they could hide their evil from their father. The caravan people thought that they could hide their evil from the inhabitants of Philistine. But both of them forgot that they couldn’t hide anything from Allah (swt).

Allah (swt), the One to whom they will return to for judgment.

LESSONS

1. When the brothers came back, they created a scenario where even if the father knew that they were lying, he would not be able to say it. The father knows that the brothers are at fault and are responsible for what happened to Yusuf. They have to externally continue living as if the brothers are not responsible for this incident, but all of them internally know that the brothers were responsible. So this was the Firasa of Yaqub As. He could read the truth from his son's face, he knew that they were lying but he was helpless, so he turned towards Allah. So don't ever underestimate your firasa. If something doesn’t feel right to you, then stay away from it. Your gut instinct will be strong if you are closer to Allah. This is a blessing of being close to Allah that your intuition will then be rightly guided.

2. Sabr is called sabr because you are supposed to hold yourself back and restrain yourself.  It is inaction in the face of wanted action.  You want to do something, your blood is boiling and you want to let it out and show it but you hold back. There are many levels of sabr and  Ya‘qub will go to the highest level of sabr 'Sabrun Jameel'.  Scholars say beautiful patience is one in which there is no complaining to the creation.  Beautiful patience is patience without seeking pity and sympathy from others. No complaints. Turning to Allah alone and expecting a reward.

3.When you are righteous, help comes from unlikely sources. Yusuf was taken out of the well by travelers. Allah is the protector of those who believe.

4. All of us, throughout our lives, pushed into this critical stage when we feel that somebody has hurt us deeply. Sometimes the people who hurt us the most are from among our family, friends and our loved ones. Just like Yusuf AS, his biggest enemies were from his own family; he suffered most of his life because of them. They were his brothers; they were the sons of a Prophet yet they did such an evil act. We learn from this story that just because our parents are very righteous or we come from a very religious family this doesn't mean that we will automatically be religious and righteous. We all make our own choices, and our surroundings make a big difference. We are influenced by our surroundings but ultimately we will make the decisions that we want to make, and Allah will hold us accountable for our choices and actions. So choose wisely and act wisely.