Adapted from Tafsir Ibn Ashur

Themes and purpose:

This surah is a detailed narrative of the entire life story of Prophet Yūsuf (Joseph). Its main purpose is to console the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) by showing how other prophets endured betrayal even from their own family and how Allah's divine plan ultimately grants victory to the patient and righteous. It also demonstrates the inimitability of the Quran in its masterful storytelling.

Context of Revelation:

Era: Decisively Makkan; suggestions that some verses are Madinan are extremely weak.

Time: It has been counted as the 53rd surah in chronological order, revealed after Sūrat Hūd and before al-Ḥijr.

Context: It was revealed in the late Makkan period after the Muslims requested a story, showing Allah's favor in granting him knowledge of the unseen history of prophets. It also counters the Makkan polemic that the Quran is “tales of the ancients” or learned from others.

Name and Ayah Count:

Name: "Sūrat Yūsuf". It is the only name known for this surah, as the one that narrates the complete story of Prophet Yūsuf; the name serves to distinguish it from the other Alif-Lām-Rā surahs (Yūnus, Hūd, etc.). No other prophet's story is related in the Quraān in such a long, single, detailed narrative.

Ayah Count: 111 by unanimous agreement.

Surah Overview:

• The central purpose of the surah is the sustained narrative of Yūsuf’s story, especially his ordeal with his brothers and what he endured.
• Establishing that some dreams are a form of prophecy, and that dream interpretation is knowledge gifted by Allah to whomever He wills of His righteous servants. [4-6, 36-42, 43-49, 100]
• Jealousy and rivalry can arise even among close relatives. [8-10]
• Showing Allah's subtle care for those He chooses often through hidden turns in events. [21, 24, 56, 100]
• Providing the lesson of patience under trial, as demonstrated by Yaʿqūb and Yūsuf. [18, 83, 90]
• Consoling the Prophet (ﷺ) concerning the pain caused by his own relatives, emphasizing that harm from close kin is often the hardest to bear. [7, 102]
• Underscores the link between character and consequences, highlighting loyalty, trustworthiness, truthfulness, and repentance. [26-27, 51-53, 54-55, 97-98, 100]
• Hinting that the Quraysh will eventually emigrate to follow the Prophet (ﷺ) to Madinah, mirroring Yaʿqūb’s family moving to Egypt. [99-100]
• Demonstrating a special mode of Qur’ānic inimitability: sustained, masterful narrative storytelling answering those who claimed it was merely ancient fables and “storytelling like others.” [3, 102, 111]
• Lessons from ancient civilization’s norms and systems: law/punishment, governance, trade, prison conditions, slavery/captivity, and oversight of measures. [19–21, 36, 58–65, 70–76]