Story Of Prophet Yusuf ✔

PART 31: ALLAH PLANED FOR YUSUF TO KEEP BINYAMIN [Surah Yusuf 12: 74-76]

74. They said “So what would be the recompense for it if you are liars?”

75. They said “The recompense of it is he in whose bag it was found, so he shall be the recompense of it, thus do we recompense the wrongdoers”.

76. So he began with their bags before the bag of his brother, then he brought it out of his brother’s bag. Thus did We plan for Yusuf. He was not able to take his brother in the Deen (law) of the king except as Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We please. And above every one possessed of knowledge there is One Knowing.

In these ayahs Allah (swt) shows us how Yusuf (AS) executes the plan to keep Binyamin in Egypt. In the law of the Egyptians, no foreigner could remain in Egypt.  A thief would be punished like most thieves are punished by whipping, or by a penalty of giving double the price back or by humiliation and then let go. Whereas, in the Sacred Law that Allah (swt) gave to Jacob (AS) the penalty for stealing was that the thief had to become a slave of the one whom he stole from for his entire life. Yusuf (AS) knew that the law of sealing was slavery in his father's shari'ah, so he poses to them a hypothetical scenario. He says to them that if indeed they are thieves then what should be done with them. They reply by saying that the one who stole the cup should be taken as a slave by the one whom he stole from. They tell Yusuf (AS) that this is how they punish the wrongdoers.

So Yusuf took charge and began searching his brothers bags before searching Binyamin's bag. We also see from here the wisdom of Yusuf (AS). He (AS) starts with the bags of the brothers so as not to draw suspicion. He (AS) does not want them to discover what is going on. He wants to appear as innocent as possible. It was all part of the plan.

Now Yusuf (AS) produced the cup out of Binyamin’s bag. Imagine what a shock this must have been for the brothers. They were swearing vehemently that they were not thieves. They were so certain that they did not have the cup. They were so certain that Yusuf (AS) would not find it in their caravan. But see what happened here. Imagine the look that was on their faces when they saw Yusuf (AS) pull this cup out of a bag in their own caravan.

Then Allah (swt) says “Thus did We plan for Yusuf”. Meaning: Yusuf did not do this himself.  Yusuf could not think through this plot himself.  We were the One who told him to do it.

The brothers would not have given up Binyamin for all of the treasure in the world because of the tremendous oath that they had given to their father. But now they got themselves into a situation where they themselves had to give up the boy. They themselves specified this punishment for stealing. So they themselves had to give up the boy as they said they would. All of this was from the plan of Allah (swt) for Yusuf (AS). Not only did Allah (swt) bring Yusuf (AS)’s beloved brother to him but He (swt) even allowed him to stay with him. Now Binyamin would remain with Yusuf (AS) for as long as he pleased. Allah (swt) plans for His (swt)’s dedicated servants that which will please them. Even though He (swt) sometimes puts them through difficulties, in the end, He (swt) gives to them only that which pleases them.

In the next part of the ayah Allah (swt) says “We raise in degrees whom We please”. In several ways had Allah (swt) raised Yusuf (AS). First He (swt) had taken him from being a slave and raised him to where he was favored with the king. Allah had also raised Yusuf (AS) in knowledge. Allah (swt) gave Yusuf the knowledge of the revelation. The knowledge of Himself (swt) and what was pleasing to Him (swt).The knowledge of the interpretation of dreams. The knowledge of how to properly administer the storehouses of grain. Even the knowledge of how he could take Binyamin with him. All of this knowledge did Allah (swt) confer on Yusuf (AS), and through this knowledge, He (swt) raised this noble prophet in degrees above others.

In the final part of this ayah Allah (swt) says “And above every one possessed of knowledge there is One Knowing”. Allah (swt) raised Yusuf (AS) in knowledge. Because of this he (AS) was more knowledgeable than his brothers, and even more knowledgeable than the people of Egypt. He (as) was able to keep Binyamin with him and the brothers could not do anything about it. He (AS) saved the people of Egypt from famine when they could never have saved themselves. This was all because of the knowledge that Allah (swt) had conferred upon this noble prophet. However, in this part of the ayah Allah (swt) reminds us that there is a limit even to the knowledge of Yusuf (AS). There is One Who Knows even more than Yusuf (AS) did. Of course, that is Allah (swt) Himself. Every human being in this world has knowledge, some more than others. But here Allah (swt) reminds us that there is One Who has more knowledge than every possessor of knowledge and that is He (swt). Allah (swt) possesses more knowledge than all creation combined and His (swt)’s Knowledge is the Perfect Knowledge. There is no knowledge that is outside His (swt)’s Knowledge.

It also means that above everyone who has a knowledge, you will find people who have more than him until finally, you will find the One who has the ultimate knowledge, and that is Allah Al-'Aleem. The purpose of this phrase here:  let no one feel a hint of arrogance because of any knowledge that he has.  Let no scholaror teacher feel arrogance because of his knowledge, let nobody who has knowledge feel that he has all the knowledge. 

LESSONS

1. Allah (swt) can plan in so many ways. He can plan for us good and He can place for us evil. When we are in the best of situations Allah (swt) can shock us with evil and when we are in the worst of situations He (swt) can surprise us with good. Such is the way in which our Lord works.

2. In this part of the surah Allah (swt) is teaching us to have common sense. It was common sense that made Yusuf (AS) search the bags of the brothers before the bag on Binyamin. If he (AS) had searched the bag of Binyamin first then they may have suspected that he had placed the cup there himself. We also need to have this common sense in our lives. We know that we have a goal that we are trying to accomplish. So before we take any action we have to check and see if that action will help to accomplish our goal or not. Even when we perform that action we have to perform it in the best way possible. We have to execute every affair in the best was possible. Such was the way of Yusuf (AS). Such was the way of the Prophet (PBUH). Such is the way Allah (swt) is teaching to us.

3. It all starts when we are children and we ask our parents why our friend has a bike and we don't. As young adults, we wonder why our friends have fancy cars while we take the bus home. And as adults, we ask why people less deserving than us earn more than us. Why someone else got this and I don't. Well, Allah answers all those questions using the following words: "We raise to degrees whom We please."