Surah Yusuf 12:50-57 - Quran Translation Commentary

50. And the king said: Bring him to me⁸⁶. So when the messenger came to him, he (Yusuf) said: Return to your lord⁸⁷ and ask him what was the case of the women who cut their hands⁸⁸. Verily, my Lord knows their plot.

51. He (the king) said (to the women): “What happened when you tried to seduce Yusuf!”⁸⁹ They replied: “Purity is for Allah! We did not see any evil in him, “ Aziz’s wife said: “Now the truth is out, I tried to seduce him; and he is surely of the truthful⁹⁰.”

52. (Then Yusuf said: I asked for) that he (my master) may know that I did not betray him in (his) absense and surely Allah does not lead to success plot of the betrayers⁹¹.

53. And” I do not absolve my own self (from the blame); certainly the (human) soul is incited to evil except on whom so ever my Lord may have mercy, Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful⁹²".

54. And the king said: “Bring him to me that I may reserve him for (services to) my person⁹³”. So when he spoke with him said: Verily today “You are in our presence honoured, trusted⁹⁴”.

55. (Yusuf) said: “Make me In-charge of the treasures (Finance Minister) of the land, verily I am guardian with full knowledge ⁹⁵”.

56. And thus We gave power to Yusuf in the land⁹⁶, He could stay in the land wherever he wanted ⁹⁷. We bestow Our mercy on whom We please, and We do not let go waste the reward of the righteous⁹⁸.

57. And the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and fear God⁹⁹.

Commentary

86. When the wine-server informed the king about the interpretation given by Yusuf, the king was satisfied and was surprised that a man of such ability was lying in jail. He at once summoned him.

87. In the text word ‘Rabb’ (Lord) is used, which in Arabic means master, and at that time a slave used to call his master as his lord. Here this word is used in this literal sense only, because the wine-server who had come as a messenger from the king was a slave of the king. But since in the real sense of the word the real master is Allah alone, and by the use of this word for mortals a misunderstanding is likely to occur, as is clear from the history of the Jews and the Christians, therefore, in the perfected Shariah its use has been specifically reserved for Allah only.

88. From this statement of Yusuf, it is seen that Yusuf was not at all keen about his own release, but he considered it necessary to get his case regarding the allegation cleared, so that the real reason behind his imprisonment might be exposed. This also refutes the view that Yusuf had committed an error by asking the wine-server to mention him before the king. (See Note No.77).

This was Yusuf’s decency that he did not openly mention the name of Aziz’s wife, but only mentioned those women who had joined her in the conspiracy and had cut their hands. As Aziz’s wife could not be dissociated with this incident, it was not necessary to make a mention of her name.

89. The king called those women and the wife of Aziz for finding out the real state of affairs. From the question put by him to these women it is clear that the king was satisfied that Yusuf was innocent and the women themselves had tried to seduce him.

90. Even the women who had wounded themselves gave the testimony of his innocence, and Aziz’s wife also admitted that she was guilty; Yusuf was quite innocent and absolutely truthful.

When the moon came out of the eclipse, every one saw the unblemished face of Yusuf, and then the people realized that he is all light and brilliance of a quality which has no equal in the world.

91. The statement of Aziz’s wife ends in the ayah No.51 that surely he is of the truthful. The statement in the ayah No.52 is that of Yusuf. When in the prison he came to know that the findings have shown him to be innocent, he stated that he considered fact-finding in this matter necessary because he wanted it to be made clear that in the absence of Aziz he did not betray his trust. Here betrayal means having illegal sexual relations with his wife.

An additional fact about a principle has also been made clear by Yusuf that the tricks which the betrayers play against other innocent people in order to veil their own acts of betrayal may succeed for the time being, but in the ultimate analysis they are bound to fail and their shafts do not hit the target. An example of it can be seen in this incident in which Aziz’s wife betrayed her husband and tried to put the blame on Yusuf and left no stone unturned to defame him, but ultimately Yusuf did not lose anything, he gained in stature, and Aziz’s wife was disgraced.

It may be noted that admitting her guilt is evident in the Qur’an, but her repenting before Allah and accepting faith is not proven, and the popular story that later on Yusuf married Aziz’s wife (Zulekha) is a mere fiction and has no basis in reality. It is also unthinkable that a prophet would marry a woman who had shown herself to be so immoral and who had to face such a disgrace. She was the wife of Aziz and it is also not proved that at that time Aziz had died, or that he had discarded her. Then what is the big idea in joining her with Yusuf in this way ? Besides, it is also neither proved by the Qur’an nor by the hadith that the name of Aziz’s wife was Zulekha, nor is this name mentioned in the Bible. What a pity that the chronicle which Qur’an presented with a view to good counsel and guidance was converted into something quite different by the dubious art of storytelling!

92. Continuing his statement Yusuf stated that at the time when his innocence has been proved, he does not give its credit to his own self but considers it Allah’s favour, because man’s self is prone to tempt him to commit evil, but those whom Allah guides are able to control their desires, and instead of allowing it to rule over them they overpower it. Such self-control is not possible without Allah’s favour and guidance.

Since man is to be tested in this world in the matter of his choice of good or evil, carnal desires have been placed in the human self. These desires put their pressure from inside to tempt man to seek pleasure and fulfilment of desires, but the man who fears Allah is favoured by Allah and with His guidance he becomes successful in curbing these desires.

Some commentators have opined that the statement which begins with the words “so that he may know...” (Verse No.52) is made by the wife of Aziz, but this is unacceptable, because the nature of the contents prove that this is Yusuf’s statement. The spirit of these words, the beauty of their meaning and the dignified style is quite appropriate for a prophet only. These words do not suit the wife of Aziz.

93. After coming to know the result of the findings, the king again called Yusuf and declared that from then onwards Yusuf would not be a slave of any other person, but that he would be reserved for the work of his kingdom.

94. It is obvious that from Yusuf’s talk his intelligence, wisdom, realism and farsightedness would have become manifest. The king was, therefore, immensely impressed by him. He expressed his full trust and confidence in him. This was a hint that Yusuf was worthy of adorning the highest office in the land. Now it was for him to show what necessary remedial measures were to be taken to fight the dreaded famine which was to stalk the country , and what power and authority was needed by him.

95. Treasures of the land means the wealth that was obtained from the land, i.e. farm produce- corns, fruits, etc., and to be appointed in charge of them means to have full power and authority to organise their storage, distribution, etc. etc. Since the problem was concerning the production of grains and their distribution, Prophet Yusuf demanded full powers to manage that, and in order to reassure the king he said that the necessary qualifications required for this job-their storage and protection and knowledge-were possessed by him.

Prophet Yusuf demanded only those powers which were necessary to meet the immediate situation, but later on more opportunities presented themselves and he was required to tackle other problems and ultimately the entire power of governance was transferred to him and he became the ruler of the country. In ayah No.100 it is stated that when his parents reached Egypt, he made them sit on the throne.

Let it not be misunderstood that Prophet Yusuf demanded to run a non-Islamic system of government. Such a thing is neither appropriate to the high office of a prophet nor is there an example in the history that a prophet participated in running a non-Islamic or an idolatrous government. What Prophet Yusuf had demanded was that the whole system of farm production should be placed under his control and the government instead of interfering in, it should cooperate with him. In other words, he had proposed for himself such an area of activity which was legitimate, and this service was necessary to save the people from the sufferings and travails of the oncoming famine. Moreover, it offered a good opportunity to make the society conscious of one God. Accordingly, Allama Zamakhshari writes:

“Yusuf said these words so that through that he would be able to issue Allah’s commands, to establish truth, justice may prevail and right may become powerful. These are the objectives among others, for which prophets are sent down to mankind. Yusuf knew that there was no other man beside him who could undertake this responsibility. Therefore, he demanded power only to please God, not for the love of office or the love of the world.” -(Tafseer Kashshaf, Vol. II, page 328).

Therefore, it was not a demand for running a non-Islamic government but to make the government of the time helpful for the rightful needs of the public, and it was an attempt to transfer the power gradually to Islam and to bring the society closer to Allah’s religion. It would not be right to equate the system of government of that time to the present day system of government, because in the present day transfer of power of this kind to a single man cannot be imagined and there is no government department which is free from the cumbersome restrictions of the country’s laws and bye-laws. However, in a non-Islamic government within the circle of legitimacy, i.e. where the commands and the laws of the Shariah are not required to be broken, and people of faith consider it the requirements of religious betterments, then there is no Shariah restriction in taking advantage of such an opportunity. To raise an objection against it that it is co-operating with falsehood or it is a compromise with it, is nothing but a mistake. In the prophetic mode of conduct there is a guidance for every kind of condition and circumstance, and Prophet Yusuf’s conduct is also a model for us.

This ayah also makes a point clear incidentally that on an occasion when an office of power is available and a Momin finds himself qualified to occupy it and circumstances demand it vehemently then if he offers himself for that office, it will be quite in order. The hadith in which seeking of office “of power is forbidden refers to the office for worldly gains, and that is quite different from the one discussed here.

96. That is: Although Yusuf had to pass through several stages Allah made the path for his progress so smooth that every stage became a step for further progress. The external causes helped him to get all the power and authorities from the king, which were necessary for putting into practice his fourteen-year plan, and later on they helped him to become the ruler of Egypt.

Accordingly, in Verse No.78, the word’ Aziz’, (executive with authority) is used for Yusuf. In the Bible it is stated:

“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are; you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt”. (Gen. 41: 39 to 41)

97. What a change! There was a time when Yusuf was passing his days in the narrow cell of the jail and now is the authority for him to stay in Egypt wherever he liked. In the Bible, it is stated:

“And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly, and he gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea.” (Gen. 41 :46 to 49)

98. And it is a fact that right and virtuous conduct brings in good results. However, it takes some time, in the same way in which a seed takes time to become a fruit-bearing tree.

Here it should be understood that there is a difference between power and power. The power that tyrants enjoy is given them only for testing them and is not for anybody’s good, but the power which is wielded by the virtuous people attracts respect and it is wielded in the good of all the concerned people. The power attained by Yusuf was of the latter kind, that is why Allah called it His mercy.

99. That is: The reward that is given in this world to people for accepting faith and doing good acts is much less than what Allah will bestow on them in the next world. If their reward in this world is like dew, then their reward in the next world is like the rains of blessings and mercy.