IlmNotes

All 20 videos of this series can be viewed at HalalTube.

The Qur’an is composed of 114 Surahs. Surah Yusuf is among these 114 Surahs. However, it is unique in a number of ways:

• The whole Surah was revealed entirely in one go, which is unlike other Surahs such as Surah Baqarah which was revealed over a period of two-three years.

• The theme of Surah Yusuf is a constant theme; it is the story of Surah Yusuf. If you look at other Surahs, you will see that there are a number of themes, all of which complement each other. As for Surah Yusuf itself, we see that apart from perhaps a few introductory verses and the ending of the Surah, the whole Surah is pretty much about nothing but the story of Surah Yusuf. Hence, we find that this Surah is a complete and holistic Surah of the Qur’an.

• It came at a very crucial time for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). The Surah was revealed at the end of the Makkan period. The life of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) can be divided into two simple perfect parts; simply the Makkan and the Madani period. The Makkan era lasted for about 13 years (ended with the Hijrah), while the Madani lasted for 10 years. The Makkan era witnessed the revelation of the Quran in a certain style, in a certain manner, in a certain eloquence which was unlike the Madani style. There is a different wording and rhetoric that were employed. They were both eloquent, but each one had a different purpose in mind. In Makkah, we notice that the Qur’an concentrated on the fundamentals of law and doesn’t deal with law (inheritance, marriage, divorce, etc.). These came in Madinah once the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) established himself in Madinah and had a state and society to run.

The Makkan period was mainly about the fundamentals of our religion and it shows the importance of our theology, which in Arabic, is called Aqeedah. It is the science which is the basis for all of the other sciences and it is the foundation of our religion. It makes a Muslim increase in his or her love of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Hence, the first foundation that we lay is the foundation of theology. We find that Surah Yusuf doesn’t stray from this as it follows the Prophets, the methodology of the Prophets, and the trials and tribulations of the Prophets. Hence, it has a very pertinent theme in regards to the Makkan era. It came, as we said, towards the end of the Makkan era. We do not know exactly when it came down, but we have a rough idea that it came down in the last two years of the Makkan stage. This is very pertinent because when we understand the context when the Surah was revealed, we gain more appreciation for the Surah and this in Arabic is called “Asbaab An-Nuzool” or the reasons and causes why a Surah was revealed. This is very important because when you understand the context, you understand the meaning of the verse. When you understand the situation in which the verse was revealed, you will understand the meaning of the verse in a more profound manner.

So in Surah Yusuf, the context can be summarized in one sentence; it was a very depressing situation for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). If we were to put a low on all of the 23 years of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and all the stresses and tribulations that he faced, it would have been at the stage right before the revelation of Surah Yusuf (around the 9^th or 10^th year of the Hijrah). Why was this time the most stressful? It was due to a few factors.

Among them, the Prophet had been preaching for about a decade now in Makkah, and instead of finding his community accepting his message, he finds that most of them, especially the elite and the rich are opposing him. He finds his own close relatives, especially the Quraysh, not only didn’t accept it, but they opposed him. They persecuted him, they tortured him, they killed many of his followers, and they did not even allow him to get public access to the pilgrims. They taunted him, they ridiculed him, and they did many things to try lowering his morale. So we don’t see for some time the fruits of the efforts of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). He is feeling a type of despair; why are my people not accepting me?

He also felt a sense of despair over a number of incidents that had occurred and especially demoralized a lot of the early Muslims and that especially caused the Prophet much grief.

• One of these incidents was the death of Abu Talib. Abu Talib was the one who took care of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) after his mother and grandfather, and loved him more than any of his sons. Abu Talib was actually a full brother of the Prophet’s father, Abdullah, unlike other half-brothers such as Abu Lahab. When the Prophet began preaching, the Quraysh applied pressure on Abu Talib because he was the senior of the Prophet’s family and he was the leader of Banu Hashim, which the Prophet belonged to. He was of paramount importance of the Prophet because if he withheld his protection, the Prophet would find much more opposition. He had at first caved in to the Quraysh’s requests to talk to his nephew and that is when the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) made his emotional appeal to Abu Talib that, “Oh my uncle, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left (meaning if they were to give me control over the objects upon the whole world depends on by the mercy of Allah), even then I wouldn’t stop conveying the teachings of Allah until I die or Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) rules something else.

When Abu Talib saw his determination, he agreed that he would never go between the Prophet and his teachings, and gave his full support to propagate, but never became Muslim because of his pride that he was the son of Abdul-Muttalib and said that he could never give up the religion of my father. He preferred tribalism over the religion of Islam, but he was the physical support of the Prophet Muhammad and was a political supporter as opposed to a religious supporter. Nobody could harm the Prophet without incurring the wrath of Abu Talib and behind that, the whole tribe of Banu Hashim. This is a lot like getting a passport in modern times; if somebody revokes our passport, then we have no one to go back to for support. Abu Talib passed away at the 10^th year of the Hijrah, and this caused a lot of problems for the Prophet and he had to flee for his life as a result. His death was a personal loss for the Prophet as he was his uncle, but it was also a political loss.

• The second incident was even more personal, as it was the loss of his wife, Khadijah (radhi Allahu anha). She gave up everything she had for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). While he was married to her for 25 years, he took no other wife and she was his personal comforter in the same way Abu Talib was his political comforter. Khadijah was not only the comfort of a wife, but she was his financial supporter. Even after her death, if the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) ever received a gift, he would send it to the sister of Khadijah, the cousins of Khadijah, and even the neighbors of Khadijah. Aisha’ (radhi Allahu anha) said that even though I had never met Khadijah, but I have never been as jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as I was as jealous of Khadijah because of her status in the heart of the Prophet. She passed away six weeks right after the death of Abu Talib…

• His third loss was perhaps the most profound, and that was the rejection that he had faced in At-Taif. He had employed every type of tactic in Makkah, but they ridiculed him so much so that he decided to go to Makkah’s nearest city, Ta’if (a very old city on the top of a mountain). Sadly, they also rejected him very brutally there…