Surah Yusuf Tafseer

وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ

And he raised his parents to Al-'Arsh,

According to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and several others,

he raised them to his bedstead where he sat.

Allah said,

وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدًا

and they fell down before him prostrate.

Yusuf's parents and brothers prostrated before him, and they were eleven men,

وَقَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُوْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ

And he said:"O my father! This is the Ta'wil (interpretation) of my dream aforetime...",

in reference to the dream that he narrated to his father before,

إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا

(I saw (in a dream) eleven stars...). (12:4)

In the laws of these and previous Prophets, it was allowed for the people to prostrate before the men of authority, when they met them. This practice was allowed in the law of Adam until the law of `Isa, peace be upon them, but was later prohibited in our law.

Islam made prostration exclusively for Allah Alone, the Exalted and Most Honored. The implication of this statement was collected from Qatadah and other scholars.

When Mu`adh bin Jabal visited the Sham area, he found them prostrating before their priests. When he returned (to Al-Madinah), he prostrated before the Messenger of Allah, who asked him,

مَا هَذَا يَا مُعَاذُ

What is this, O, Mu`adh?

Mu`adh said, "I saw that they prostrate before their priests. However, you, O Messenger of Allah, deserve more to be prostrated before."

The Messenger said,

لَوْ كُنْتُ امِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لاَِحَدٍ لَاَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأَةَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوْجِهَا لِعِظَمِ حَقِّهِ عَلَيْهَا

If I were to order anyone to prostrate before anyone else (among the creation), I would have ordered the wife to prostrate before her husband because of the enormity of his right on her.)

Therefore, this practice was allowed in previous laws, as we stated.

This is why they (Yaqub and his wife and eleven sons) prostrated before Yusuf, who said at that time,

يَا أَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُوْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّي حَقًّا

O my father! This is the Ta'wil of my dream aforetime! My Lord has made it come true!

using the word, `Ta'wil', to describe what became of the matter, later on.

Allah said in another Ayah,

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ تَأْوِيلَهُ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُ

Await they just for its Ta'wil! On the Day the event is finally fulfilled..., (7:53)

meaning, on the Day of Judgement what they were promised of good or evil will surely come to them.

Yusuf said,

قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّي حَقًّا

My Lord has made it come true!

mentioning that Allah blessed him by making his dream come true,

وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بَي إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِي مِنَ السِّجْنِ وَجَاء بِكُم مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ

He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison, and brought you (all here) out of the Bedouin life,

out of the desert, for they lived a Bedouin life and raised cattle, according to Ibn Jurayj and others.

He also said that they used to live in the Arava, Ghur area of Palestine, in Greater Syria.

Yusuf said next,

مِن بَعْدِ أَن نَّزغَ الشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِي إِنَّ رَبِّي لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاء

after Shaytan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Certainly, my Lord is the Most Courteous and Kind unto whom He wills.

for when Allah wills something, He brings forth its reasons and elements of existence, then wills it into existence and makes it easy to attain,

إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ

Truly, He! Only He is the All-Knowing.

what benefits His servants,

الْحَكِيمُ

the All-Wise.

in His statements, actions, decrees, preordainment and what He chooses and wills