Part 1

Benefits from the story of Prophet Yoosuf? (2) All perfect praise is due to Allaah; I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allaah and Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger, upon whom may Allaah send salutations and exalt his mention, as well as that of his family and all his Companions. We continue speaking about the benefits extracted from the story of Prophet Yoosuf, peace be upon him, and the following are more benefits from this great story: l Perseverance is of three levels: o During obedience to Allaah. o In refraining from prohibitions. o Through the decrees of Allaah. So perseverance has different levels: the first two are the highest and greatest, because they are willingly performed, and the third level is not something which one does willingly, as he has no control over the decrees of Allaah and no choice but to persevere. Regarding this a question arises: which reflects a more perfect perseverance in the story of Yoosuf, peace be upon him: his perseverance during the trial of his brothers throwing him into the well, or his persevering through the wife of the minister attempting to seduce him? Based on the above categorisation, his perseverance through the attempted seduction reflects a more perfect perseverance. Thus, Yoosuf, peace be upon him, practiced all three types of perseverance as he continued to be obedient to his Lord, was just even after attaining authority, and persevered during the trial of being thrown in the well - as well as when he was faced with the temptation of fornication. l Allaah says in the fifty-eighth verse: ﻭﻥﻨﹾﻜِﺭ ﻤ ﻟﹶﻪﻡﻫ ﻭﻡﻓﹶﻬﺭﻪِ ﻓﹶﻌﻠﹶﻴﺨﹶﻠﹸﻭﺍ ﻋﻑﹶ ﻓﹶﺩﻭﺴﺓﹸ ﻴ ﺇِﺨﹾﻭﺎﺀﺠﻭ which means: "And the brothers of Yoosuf came [i.e., seeking food], and they entered upon him; and he recognized them, but he was to them unknown [Due to the change in his appearance over the years]." [Yoosuf: 58] But how did he recognise them whilst they could not recognise him? The answer is that he left them at a young age and it was roughly twenty-one years later that they came to him, because he grew up in the minister's house, then he was imprisoned for few years, and then they came after the first seven years of drought. On the other hand, they were older when they threw him in the well and thus their appearance did not change much. Additionally, they did not expect to ever see him again after throwing him in the well while he knew that he would see them again. l The intelligence of Prophet Yoosuf, peace be upon him, is illustrated when he said to his brothers, as Allaah says in the fifty-ninth verse: ﺃَﺒِﻴﻜﹸﻡ ﻤِﻥﺍﺌْﺘﹸﻭﻨِﻲ ﺒِﺄَﺥٍ ﻟﹶﻜﹸﻡ which means: "Bring me a brother of yours from your father [i.e. bin Yameen, who had been kept at home by his father Ya'qoob]." [Yoosuf: 59] When he had furnished them with their supplies and gave them what they wanted, he started asking them about where they came from and the number of people in their family, which is normal for someone who is in authority, and thus they informed him that they had a brother back home with their father, and another who was killed. Upon hearing this from them, he demanded that they bring their brother who was with the father, in order for him to believe them, or else they would not receive any supplies. He used this as an excuse as he missed his brother and wished to see him. It is evident in different parts of the story that he, peace be upon him, was supported with revelations from Allaah, about matters which otherwise could not have been known to him. l A Muslim should be hospitable and supply travellers with their needs. Prophet Yoosuf, peace be upon him, said as Allaah says at the end of the fifty-ninth verse: ﻨﹾﺯِﻟِﻴﻥ ﺍﻟﹾﻤﺭﺃَﻨﹶﺎ ﺨﹶﻴلَ ﻭ ﺃَﻨﱢﻲ ﺃُﻭﻓِﻲ ﺍﻟﹾﻜﹶﻴﻥﻭﺃَﻻ ﺘﹶﺭ which means: " …Do not you see that I give full measure and that I am the best of accommodators?" [Yoosuf: 59] This was specifically directed to his brothers, as well as to people in general. l It is permissible to use lawful trickery to achieve one's Islaamically permissible objective. Prophet Yoosuf, peace be upon him, commanded his servants to place food in his brother's bags without them knowing, so that when they returned home they would think that they had taken the food without payment, which would encourage them to return to pay for the food – and thus bring their other brother along with them. l A believer should not be stabbed twice in the same place, and this is why when Yoosuf's brothers returned to their father and told him that he requested that they bring their other brother to him, he replied as Allaah says in the sixtyfourth verse: ُل ﻗﹶﺒﻠﹶﻰ ﺃَﺨِﻴﻪِ ﻤِﻥ ﻋﺎ ﺃَﻤِﻨﹾﺘﹸﻜﹸﻡﻪِ ﺇِﻟﱠﺎ ﻜﹶﻤﻠﹶﻴ ﻋﻨﹸﻜﹸﻡلْ ﺁﻤﻗﹶﺎلَ ﻫ which means: "Should I entrust you with him except [under coercion] as I entrusted you with his brother before?" [Yoosuf: 64] A believer should be clever and aware, draw lessons from what happens to him, and aim to prevent it from recurring.