Commentary

The address of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in the previous verses was to his respected father. Now, after having achieved an important objective by meeting his parents and brothers, he was at peace to devote himself directly to praising Allah Ta` ala and to supplicating before Him. at he said appears immediately above. The ` salihin' or ` the righteous' or morally the most perfect servants of Allah can be the prophets themselves for they are Divinely protected (ma` sum) against all sins. (Mazhari)

Worth noticing in this du a' is the prayer for a good end to life. It presents before us a profile of the typical servants of Allah who have the honour of being accepted in the sight of their Creator. Their attitude is that they may be enjoying the highest possible ranks in this world and in the Hereafter, and they may have all sorts of power and office beneath their feet, yet, they would never wax proud over these. In fact, they keep fearing lest such things around them may be taken away or cut down. So, they keep praying that the physical and spiritual blessings given to them by Allah Ta` ala continue to be with them, even keep increasing, right through the hour of death.

At this stage, the unusual story of Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام ، and the subsequent chain of instructions and lessons, as mentioned in the Qur'an, has reached its completion. at happened after that has not been re-ported in the Holy Qur’ an, or in any Marts' Hadith (with its chain of re-porting authorities ascending to the Holy Prophet himself). Most com-mentators have reported that with reference to historical or Isra'ili narrations.

Based on a narration by Hadrat Hasan (رح) ، it has been reported in Tafsir Ibn Kathir that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was seven years old when his brothers had thrown him into a well. Then, he remained separated from his father for eighty years, remained alive for twenty three years after having met his parents, and died at the age of one hundred and twenty years.

As in the narrations of the People of the Book, reports Muhammad ibn Ishaq, the period of separation between Sayyidna Yaqub and Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was forty years. Then, Sayyidna Ya` qub after his arrival in Egypt, lived in the company of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) for seventeen years. After that, he died.

As in the annals of historians, reports the author of Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Sayyidna Yaqub (علیہ السلام) died after having lived for twenty four years in Egypt. Before his death, he ordered Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) that his body should be sent to his home country and that he be buried by the side of his father, Sayyidna Ishaq (علیہ السلام) .

Sayyidna Said ibn Jubayr has said that the body of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) was placed in a coffin made of wood from saul tree and taken to Baytul-Maqdis. For this reason, it became common custom among Jews that they would take their dead from faraway places to Baytul-Maqdis for a burial there. The age of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) was one hundred and forty seven years when he died.

When Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) entered Egypt with his family, says Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ ، they were a total of ninety three men and women - and when this progeny of Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، that is, the Bani Isra'il, left Egypt with Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) their number was six hundred and seventy thousand1. (Qurtubi Ibn Kathir)

1. As pointed out earlier, this is based on Israelite narrations. Ibn Khaldun, the well-known Muslim historian, has criticized this narration in his Muqaddimah and has urged that the number of Bani Isra it was not that big - (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

It has been mentioned earlier that, after the death of the former ` Aziz of Misr, the king of Egypt had arranged the marriage of Zulaikha with Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) .

It appears in the Torah and in the historical accounts of the People of the Book that they had two sons, Ifra'im and Mansha, and a girl, Rahma bint Yusuf. Rahma was married to Sayyidna Ayyub (علیہ السلام) .Of the progeny of Ifra'im, there was Yusha' ibn Nun (علیہ السلام) who was a companion of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . (Mazhari)

Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) died at the age of one hundred and twenty years and he was buried by the bank of the river Nile.

Based on a narration by Sayyidna ` Urwah ibn Zubayr (رح) ، Ibn Ishaq has reported: When Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was commanded to leave Egypt with the Bani' Isra'il, it was revealed to him that he should not leave the body of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in Egypt and he was ordered to take it with him to Syria and bury him close to his ancestors. In obedi-ence to this order, Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) made investigations and succeeded in locating his burial place. He found his body in a marble coffin which he took with him to Canaan in Palestine. There he buried him beside Sayyidna Ishaq and Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہما السلام) . (Mazhari)

After Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، the Amalkites took over Egypt as the new Pharaohs. As for the Ban' Isra'il, they lived under them but kept adhering to the Faith of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . However, they were taken as foreigners and subjected to all sorts of painful discriminations. Finally, Allah Ta` ala delivered them from this punishment through Sayyidna Musa علیہ السلام (Tafsir Mazhari)

Rules and Points of Guidance

1. From the previous verses (99-100), we learn that paying due respect to parents is obligatory (wajib) - as it stands proved from what Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) did.

2. We also learn from here that a prostration of reverence was permissible in the religious code of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) which is why his parents and brothers prostrated to him. But, in the Shari’ ah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، this Sajdah or Sujud has been declared as a particular mark of ` Ibadah (worship) and it cannot be done before anyone other than Allah. If done, it is حَرَام Haram. The Holy Qur’ an has said: لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ‌ (prostrate not to the Sun and the Moon ... - 41:37). And in Hadith, it is said that Sayyidna Mu` adh ؓ ، when he went to Syria, saw local Christians prostrating to their parents. After his return from there, he started making a prostration before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He (ﷺ) asked him not to do that. He said: If I were to take prostration before anyone as permissible, I would have told a wife to prostrate before her husband. Similarly, when Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi ؓ wished to prostrate to him, he said:

لَا تَسجُد لِی یَا سَلمانُ وَاسجُد لِلحَیِّ الَّذِی لَا یَمُوتُ

Do not prostrate to me, 0 Salman, instead, prostrate to the Ever Living who would never die. (Ibn Kathir)

This tells us that a prostration done as a token of respect for the Holy Prophet ﷺ is not permissible. With that being the truth, how can it become permissible if done before a saint, or an elder or pir?

3. From: هَـٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُ‌ؤْيَايَ مِن قَبْلُ (here is the fulfillment of my early dream - 100), we learn that the fulfillment of the interpretation of a dream could sometimes take a long time to materialize - as it was in the present case when it manifested itself after forty, or eighty, years. (Ibn Jarir Ibn Kathir)

4. The words:' وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِي (He favoured me - 100) said by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) prove that if a person after having been suffering from a disease or disaster, finds him or her delivered from it, then, following the traditional way of prophets, he or she must show gratitude to Allah for this deliverance, and forget about any remembrance of that disease or disaster.

5. From the statement: إِنَّ رَ‌بِّي لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَاءُ (Surely, my Lord does what He wills, in a subtle way - 100), we learn that, when Allah Ta` ala intends to do something, He has His subtle ways of arranging things and causes secretly in a manner that no one can get the slightest inkling about it.

6. The words of prayer: تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا (Make me die a Muslim - 101) refer to the prayer of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in which he has wished to die while adhering to his Belief and Faith ('Iman and Islam). This tells us that to make a dua' for death under particular conditions is not prohibited. And as for the prohibition of wishing for death in sound and authentic Aha-dith, the purpose there is to tell people that it is not correct to go about asking for death just because of depression from worldly hardships or simple lack of patience. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: Let no one ask for death because of some hardship. If one has to say something like that, let him say: ` Ya Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and give me death when death is better for me.'