The article covers the notes and takeaway from the lectures of Nouman Ali khan on the tafseer of
surah yusuf ayah five. In this ayah he explains the response of Yaqoob (a.s) to his son Yusuf (a.s)
after Yusuf (a.s) explains the dream to him.
surah yusuf ayah five. In this ayah he explains the response of Yaqoob (a.s) to his son Yusuf (a.s)
after Yusuf (a.s) explains the dream to him.
Fun Parts: 00:20, 5:41, 7:25, 10:10-11:00, 23:50-25:00, 40:35, 43:25, 49:00,
Ayat 5 (Part 2 of Scene 1):
“My Young Son! Don’t narrate your dream to your brothers, they might make a scheme against you. For sure (without doubt) the devil (when it comes to human being) is certainly an obvious and open enemy”
Problem: Skipping over in Quran
Solution: Stop and look back at what is being said in the Quran. Contemplate, think of the wisdom behind the ayah and its choice, why this? And not other words? Lessons? Allah (a.s.) says “when the slaves of Ar-Rahman are reminded of the revelation/ sign/ master they don’t trip over it like deaf and blind”.
Nobody will have mastery over the Quran, but we will have to make sincere efforts to grasp whatever we can (from that ocean). These are human efforts, so may be wrong.
“My little son!” – loving phrases, when you call someone it’s a means to get attention when somebody is far away or not paying attention. Why is he saying my young son when he is already there, listening?
Most relationships, addressing someone is a form of comfort. When you cushion anything that you say with these loving phrases, whatever you are about to say, you let the other person know that it is out of respect and love.
Sometimes people give us right advice, but not in a way that makes us feel loved and respected, but you don’t want to hear it because of the way somebody is talking.
The tone in which you call someone or give advice can make a huge difference.
Words are also indicative of the tone. Yaqoob (A.s) having this loving, caring and protective tone for his son to give advice.
The Prophet (s.a.w) said “The best of you are the ones that show the best behavior to their families.”
We are dignified, respectful, non-sarcastic, non-aggressive (not loud, no harsh words) when it comes to non-family members and when it comes to our family, we can’t say kind words.
Yaqoob (a.s) (acting as an emotional support) is comforting his son (in the previous ayah we say how yusuf (a.s) was scared. The first statement itself descends all kinds of comfort and ease on the boy.
The way we talk to our children, the comfort we give them, the words that we use to address them are all the lessons that are summoned in this ayah.
A father who thinks that by being rigid and tough he is building character in his children or preparing for a tough world, you may be creating walls and destroying their confidence. Also, Yusuf (a.s) faced the world with confidence (in jail and with the king) because he was nurtured, empowered and made to feel confident in himself by the love and care he received from his father.
Tree comes from a seed, here everything that is happening comes from this conversation (seed), and this is significant because this upbringing leads to saving of a generation (people saved because of validation given by father to son). Imagine how many generations we are destroying by not validating our children. What good they can bring in the world if parents do their job properly.
“Don’t tell your brother”: Allah (s.w.t) and his wisdom knows when to tell someone something, when to reveal it to Rasoolullah (s.a.w). Secondly, some stories are not meant to be told to certain people. We need to have the wisdom in our lives to know what things to share and what things to not share to others (especially family). Trust, abuse, betray trust, of people should make you see when to tell it.
“Why not tell brothers?”: Dream suggested conflict between brothers (father didn’t say, don’t tell brothers and mom because mom is not part of conflict) Father and the son understand that sun and moon are different entities and stars are different entities and problem entities. Therefore, he talks only about brothers.
“Don’t tell YOUR dream”: This dream puts you in the centre of attention (makes you superior to your brothers) and they won’t like that.
There is a remarkable parallel with the life of our prophet’s life (s.a.w) when Israelites came in contact with the prophet (s.a.w) they said “we are worthy of prophethood, not you”.
(Iraelites) The one they didn’t want revelation, got revelation; thereby, becoming jealous. Similar to the brother of Yusuf (a.s), they didn’t want that either. And sons of Israel and sons of ismail (a.s) are brothers too, then why (Israelites) become jealous of the Prophet like brothers of yusuf (a.s).
Yaqoob (a.s) pretty observant and knows every expression taking place in front of him. He treated them equally, but you reward your kids who meet your expectations (dong H.W on time, cleaning bed before being asked etc.). Some kids deserve soft love and some deserve tough love based on their behaviors and when needed. Brothers instead of looking at themselves, they blame their father; they have a tendency not to take responsibility but find something to blame.
Older siblings are role models to you. When you start losing connection with a parental figure,
you want to emulate your siblings (admiration), but the siblings may find it annoying. The relationship with brothers is taken away in this case.
Sometimes we don't want to talk about harsh realities in a family with children because we want to
shield them because they are young. The Quran teaches us that sometimes if there are harsh
realities (out of your control) you need to warn your kids about them.
A lot of abuse happens to people throughout the world from family members who they felt safe
with, but you as a guardian need to warn kids, have an eye on children and family.
This entire notion that family is always right is stupid. Instead of doing everything to protect the
children we want to protect the family name. If anybody was interested in protecting the family
name it should be a prophet, who is the great-grandson of a prophet, but he's not interested in
protecting the family name but in protecting the child.
Sometimes, it’s okay to have conservation with kids about their siblings. Example: There is
a sibling cursing parent and a ten-year-old boy is looking. He needs to be given orientation on how
to handle this. Rebellious children happen, that normal. Difficult situations arise in the
family (it will not be a bed of roses), but we should have the courage to empower our kids to
love them and nurture them and then also tell them that's dangerous.
Profound teaching: sometimes people intend harm in the family and you have to do everything
possible to stop it (like the father), but if it is destined to happen it will happen. The important thing
is that you take all the precautions.
“Fayakiduli”: laam here indicates emphasis, so father is saying that “when it comes to you
they are certainly going to make a scheme against you”.
“Kaid”- scheming is done in secret, including many steps, something harmful/ disgusting/
impure/ treacherous brewing inside and eventually it comes out and you won’t know it’s
coming out until the last moment. Here, the father is trying to say that if you tell this dream to
your brothers, they’ll first smile in your face and then they're going to make an elaborate evil
scheme and you won't know that they're scheming until it's too late.
How does the father know all of this? He is part of the family and he knows the secrecy, two-
facedness, excuses, lies, of the brothers and their hate towards Yusuf (a.s). Yaqoob (a.s) is not
unfair to his children, rather he is a modal example of parenting (God put his example till the end
of times, so every parent is guided through his example).
His brothers are having secret meetings and their action of not involving father in any
conversation should be contrasted to Yusuf (a.s)’s behaviour, where he felt so comfortable that
he came and shared his thoughts. Yaqoob (a.s) raised all of his sons in the same manner of love.
Yaqoob (a.s) wants to give them the opportunity to have the same kind of openness with their
father as Yusuf (a.) but they prefer a different road.
You can’t make someone walk through a door they don’t want to walk in, even though it is
wide open.
Yaqoob (a.s) says that when you tell them this, they will talk among themselves and plot a
scheme, because I know the way they talk to you, their tone, and the actions they commit
against you.
I don’t know if this straw is going to break the camel's back (this could be the last thing before
they do anything), (indicates that nothing was perfect and they hated him for a long time).
This has been brewing and building up since a long time.
This is turning into an emergency situation; however, this is not a new game and the one playing
the game is the devil and will continue to play with them and with you and me when he gets
the chance.
He will come at us with jealousy, suspicion, assumptions, judgment, lust, greed, hopelessness,
despair, fear and whatever he can he will use it and come with it to attack.
I know I said that you need to be careful about brothers, but behind them is a much larger
problem. “No doubt the devil when it comes to the human being is an open enemy”. Yaqoob (a.s)
is reminding himself that he will take them away from the straight path and will make their
feelings toxic to them. Thus, because of this they will justify all kinds of feelings to
themselves. They will be so much intoxicated that they will not see reality for what it is.
They allow those feelings to brew by keeping it among themselves and talking to only
those who will reinforce those negative feelings. This is what the devil wants because he
himself felt like that towards Adam (a.s), when Allah (s.w.t) said he will create him and ask
everybody to do sajda. He didn’t say anything at that time and let his feelings brew and fester until
Allah (s.w.t) asked him to do sajda. This mistake is what he wants humans to commit.
Shatan will get us to have a bad feeling and he will force us to keep that feeling to ourselves until it
turns into an infection and comes out in the ugliest way. That’s what he did with the brothers of
Yusuf (a.s).
He wants to make us feel, what he felt.
The same word “Mubeen” is used for the devil as for the Quran (in the beginning) WHY?:
Allah (s.w.t) has made his word clear and he's clarified to us the path and the devil (from day one)
has made his intentions clear and Allah (s.w.t) has made it clear (in his word) what he intends and
he will clarify for you what he wants you to do. It’s not a secret (animosity, judgment, assumption),
everything is open in front of us.
He's telling his son that his sons have failed to recognize the scheme of the devil. They think
that their feelings are their own, but they forgot the truth that the devil is obviously and clearly an
enemy to the human being.
Today the devil's game is jealousy but tomorrow it might be lust and the day after that it might be
greed, then arrogance, then forgetfulness and so on. He will use all kinds of games but it doesn't
matter because the devil is a real enemy,“It is the devil who you have to develop your hatred for not them”. So long as a human being is breathing there's hope and they have the opportunity that they recognize the plot of the devil, shun the devil and turn back to Allah (s.w.t).
If you hate people it's as if you've condemned them while you should have been condemning only
and only the devil.
There may be people in the world that have done messed-up stuff but it may be that before their
last breath Allah (s.w.t) shows them or they find it in their heart to turn back to Allah (s.w.t) and
leave the way of the devil and they recognize what shaitaan had made them.
“Immunity”- no family is immune from complications. Allah (s.w.t) will not give you and me a
normal family. There will be some people who trouble you and they may seem unrelated to you,
but Allah (s.w.t) decided that you have to be around certain people in your life, they have to be
your trial and you have to be theirs. Example- Yusuf (a.s) and his brothers looks like a mismatch,
but it's a decree of Allah (s.w.t).
Lesson: we have to let go of the idea of some kind of a life where none of the people in our
lives are going to be a source of difficulty and we also have to let go of the idea that the
people that are a source of difficulty are somehow the devil. They may have failed to
recognize the animosity of the devil towards them, they may have failed to recognize when
the devil was able to use them successfully and they may not be able to let go of their
pride/ ill-conceived notions.
We're also seeing the helplessness of a good father, who knows that his children have a
problem because every human being has to take their own steps.
free from the trap of the devil. Yaqoob (a.s)’s sons are from a blessed lineage, Noah (a.s) son is
from a blessed lineage and Prophet (s.a.w) and Abu Lahab/ Jahl comes from the same blessed
lineage of Ismael (a.s), but thinking that blood/ ethnicity is somehow more righteous, then we
are clearly deluded. Quran makes that very clear on the one hand he tells the Israelites that he
chose them over all other people and gave them preference over all other people and yet you've got
the same lineage having this issue.
ALSO SEE:
(Previous) Tafseer of Surah Yusuf Part 4 (The Dream) by Nouman Ali Khan | 4th Ayah #8
(Next) Tafseer of Surah Yusuf Part 6 (A Vision of the Future, A Sense of the Past) by Nouman Ali Khan | 6th Ayah #10
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