23. Book of Quranic Exegesis (Tafsīr)
٢٣۔ كِتَابُ التَّفْسِيرِ
[Machine] The Quran was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , and he recited it to them (the people) over a period of time. They said, "O Messenger of Allah, if only you would narrate stories to us." So Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, revealed the verse {Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the clear Book} [Surah Yusuf: 1]. He recited it to them until he reached the verse {We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories} [Surah Yusuf: 3]. Then they said, "O Messenger of Allah, if only you would tell us." So Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, revealed the verse {Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration} [Surah Az-Zumar: 23]. All of this is commanded by the Quran.
نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَتَلَا عَلَيْهِمْ زَمَانًا فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ قَصَصْتَ عَلَيْنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ﷻ {الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ} [يوسف 1] تَلَا إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ} [يوسف 3] الْآيَةُ فَتَلَا عَلَيْهِمْ زَمَانًا فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ حَدَّثَتْنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ﷻ {اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا} [الزمر 23] الْآيَةُ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ يُؤْمَرُ بِالْقُرْآنِ
[Machine] "O father, hire him, indeed the best among those you can hire is the strong and trustworthy." (Qur'an 28:26) And Abu Bakr, when he emerged in Umar's era.
{يَا أَبَتِ اسْتَأْجِرْهُ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَأْجَرْتَ الْقَوِيُّ الْأَمِينُ} [القصص 26] وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ حِينَ تَفَرَّسَ فِي عُمَرَ
[Machine] She said, "I am prepared for you." [Joseph 23]
So it was said to him, and he replied, "This is how we were taught."
{وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ} [يوسف 23] فَقِيلَ لَهُ فَقَالَ هَكَذَا عُلِّمْنَا
[Machine] Jacob was portrayed to him, so he hit his chest and his desire flowed from his fingers.
فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى {لَوْلَا أَنْ رَأَىَ بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ} [يوسف 24] قَالَ مُثِّلَ لَهُ يَعْقُوبُ فَضَرَبَ صَدْرَهُ فَخَرَجَتْ شَهْوَتُهُ مِنْ أَنَامِلِهِ
[Machine] Yusuf stumbled upon three incidents when he was accused of them and was imprisoned. His words to the man were, "Remember me before your master." (Yusuf 42) So, he remained in prison for a few years until the devil made him forget mentioning his Lord. His words to them were, "Indeed, you are thieves." (Yusuf 70)
عَثَرَ يُوسُفُ ثَلَاثَ عَثَرَاتٍ حِينَ هَمَّ بِهَا فَسُجِنَ وَقَوْلُهُ لِلرَّجُلِ {اذْكُرْنِي عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ} [يوسف 42] فَلَبِثَ فِي السِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِينَ فَأَنْسَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهِ وَقَوْلُهُ لَهُمْ {إِنَّكُمْ لَسَارِقُونَ} [يوسف 70]
[Machine] When they both narrated what they had seen and interpreted it, Prophet Yusuf ﷺ said, "One of you saw nothing, but as for the other, he said, 'Indeed, this is the interpretation of my dream.'"
لَمَّا حَكَيَا مَا رَأَيَاهُ وَعَبَّرَ يُوسُفُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا مَا رَأَيْنَا شَيْئًا فَقَالَ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ
The Prophet ﷺ said, "The honorable, the son of the honorable the son of the honorable, i.e. Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham." (Using translation from Bukhārī 4688)
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِنَّ الْكَرِيمَ ابْنَ الْكَرِيمِ ابْنِ الْكَرِيمِ ابْنِ الْكَرِيمِ يُوسُفَ بْنَ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلُ الرَّحْمَنِ وَلَوْ لَبِثْتُ مَا لَبِثَ يُوسُفُ ثُمَّ جَاءَنِيَ الدَّاعِي لَأَجَبْتُ إِذْ جَاءَهُ الرَّسُولُ فَقَالَ ارْجِعْ إِلَى رَبِّكَ فَاسْأَلْهُ مَا بَالُ النِّسْوَةِ اللَّاتِي قَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ إِنَّ رَبِّي بِكَيْدِهِنَّ عَلِيمٌ
[Machine] "He made some men from the elite of the pre-Islamic era, and Omar said to him, 'Are you Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham?' He said, 'No,' he said, 'That is the son of the noble ones, and you are the son of the wicked. You are only counting on me the men of the people of Hellfire.'"
فَجَعَلَ يَعُدُّ رِجَالًا مِنْ أَشْرَافِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ أَنْتَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ؟ قَالَ لَا قَالَ ذَاكَ ابْنُ الْأَخْيَارِ وَأَنْتَ ابْنُ الْأَشْرَارِ إِنَّمَا تَعُدُّ عَلَيَّ رِجَالَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ
[AI] Umar said to me, “O enemy of God and enemy of Islam, you have betrayed God’s wealth.” He said: I said, “I am not an enemy of God nor an enemy of Islam; rather, I am an enemy of whoever is their enemy. I have not betrayed God’s wealth; rather, these are the prices of my camels and shares that have accumulated.” He said: So he repeated it to me, and I repeated these words to him. He said: So he fined me twelve thousand. He said: Then I stood in the dawn prayer and said, “O God, forgive the Commander of the Faithful.”
Then after that he wanted to appoint me to a post, but I refused him. He said, “And why, when Joseph asked for office and he was better than you?” I said, “Joseph is a prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet; and I am the son of Umaymah, and I fear three and two.” He said, “Will you not say five?” I said, “No.” He said, “Then what are they?” I said, “I fear that I will speak without knowledge, and that I will give legal opinions without knowledge, and that my back will be beaten, and that my honor will be insulted, and that my wealth will be taken by beating.”
قَالَ لِي عُمَرُ: يَا عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ، وَعَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ، خُنْتَ مَالَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ: قُلْتُ: لَسْتُ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَلَا عَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَكِنِّي عَدُوُّ مَنْ عَادَاهُمَا، وَلَمْ أَخُنْ مَالَ اللَّهِ، وَلَكِنَّهَا أَثْمَانُ إِبِلِي وَسِهَامٌ اجْتَمَعَتْ. قَالَ: فَأَعَادَهَا عَلَيَّ، وَأَعَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْكَلَامَ. قَالَ: فَغَرَّمَنِي اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلْفًا. قَالَ: فَقُمْتُ فِي صَلَاةِ الْغَدَاةِ، فَقُلْتُ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
فَلَمَّا كَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَرَادَنِي عَلَى الْعَمَلِ فَأَبَيْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: وَلِمَ، وَقَدْ سَأَلَ يُوسُفُ الْعَمَلَ وَكَانَ خَيْرًا مِنْكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ يُوسُفَ نَبِيٌّ ابْنُ نَبِيٍّ ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ، وَأَنَا ابْنُ أُمَيْمَةَ، وَأَنَا أَخَافُ ثَلَاثًا وَاثْنَتَيْنِ. قَالَ: أَوَلَا تَقُولُ خَمْسًا؟ قُلْتُ: لَا. قَالَ: فَمَا هُنَّ؟ قُلْتُ: «أَخَافُ أَنْ أَقُولَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ أُفْتِيَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ يُضْرَبَ ظَهْرِي، وَأَنْ يُشْتَمَ عِرْضِي، وَأَنْ يُؤْخَذَ مَالِي بِالضَّرْبِ».
[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Jacob, the prophet, had a brother who was like a brother to me in Allah's sight. One day, he asked Jacob, 'What caused your vision to become weak and your back to arch?' Jacob said, 'As for the reason for my vision becoming weak, it is because of crying over Joseph, and as for the reason for my back arching, it is because of grieving over my son Benjamin.' Gabriel then came to him and said, 'Jacob, Allah sends His peace upon you and says, "Are you not ashamed to complain about Me to someone other than Me?"' Jacob said, 'I complain only to Allah about my anguish and sadness.' Gabriel said, 'I know what you complain about, Jacob.' Jacob said, 'My Lord, won't you have mercy on the elderly, as You have caused my vision to become weak and my back to arch? So send my fragrance back to me, so I may breathe it in before I die, and then do with me as You wish.' Then Gabriel came to him and said, 'Allah sends His peace upon you and tells you to be glad and to let your heart rejoice. By my honor, if both of them (Joseph and Benjamin) were dead, I would surely have revived them. So make food for the poor, for My beloved among my servants are the prophets and the poor. Do you not know why your vision became weak and your back arched, and why the brothers of Joseph did what they did? You had slaughtered a sheep while a poor orphan who was fasting was brought to you, and you did not feed him anything from it.' Jacob then, after that, whenever he wanted to have lunch, he would call out for someone to announce, 'Whoever wants lunch from the poor, let them eat with Jacob.' And when he would be fasting, he would call out for someone to announce, 'Whoever is fasting among the poor, let them break their fast with Jacob.'"
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَانَ لِيَعْقُوبَ النَّبِيِّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَخٌ مُؤَاخِيًا فِي اللَّهِ فَقَالَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ يَا يَعْقُوبُ مَا الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ بَصَرَكَ وَمَا الَّذِي قَوَّسَ ظَهْرَكَ؟ فَقَالَ أَمَّا الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ بَصَرِي فَالْبُكَاءُ عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَأَمَّا الَّذِي قَوَّسَ ظَهْرِي فَالْحُزْنُ عَلَى ابْنِي بِنْيَامِينَ قَالَ فَأَتَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَقَالَ يَا يَعْقُوبُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُقْرِئُكَ السَّلَامَ وَيَقُولُ لَكَ أَمَا تَسْتَحْيِي تَشْكُونِي إِلَى غَيْرِي؟ قَالَ فَقَالَ يَعْقُوبُ إِنَّمَا أَشْكُوا بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ قَالَ فَقَالَ جِبْرِيلُ أَعْلَمُ مَا تَشْكُوا يَا يَعْقُوبُ قَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ يَعْقُوبُ أَيْ رَبِّ أَمَا تَرْحَمُ الشَّيْخَ الْكَبِيرَ أَذْهَبْتَ بَصَرِي وَقَوَّسْتَ ظَهْرِي فَارْدُدْ عَلَيَّ رَيْحَانَتِي أَشُمُّهُ شَمًّا قَبْلَ الْمَوْتِ ثُمَّ اصْنَعْ بِي مَا أَرَدْتَ قَالَ فَأَتَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُقْرِئُكَ السَّلَامَ وَيَقُولُ لَكَ أَبْشِرْ وَلْيَفْرَحْ قَلْبُكَ فَوَعِزَّتِي لَوْ كَانَا مَيِّتَيْنِ لَنَشَرْتُهُمَا فَاصْنَعْ طَعَامًا لِلْمَسَاكِينِ فَإِنَّ أَحَبَّ عِبَادِي إِلَيَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَالْمَسَاكِينُ أَتَدْرِي لِمَ أَذْهَبْتُ بَصَرَكَ وَقَوَّسْتُ ظَهْرَكَ وَصَنَعَ إِخْوَةُ يُوسُفَ بِهِ مَا صَنَعُوا؟ إِنَّكُمْ ذَبَحْتُمْ شَاةً فَأَتَاكُمْ مِسْكِينٌ يَتِيمٌ وَهُوَ صَائِمٌ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمُوهُ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا قَالَ فَكَانَ يَعْقُوبُ بَعْدَهَا إِذَا أَرَادَ الْغَدَاءَ أَمَرَ مُنَادِيًا فَنَادَى أَلَا مَنْ أَرَادَ الْغَدَاءَ مِنَ الْمَسَاكِينِ فَلْيَتَغَدَّ مَعَ يَعْقُوبَ وَإِذَا كَانَ صَائِمًا أَمَرَ مُنَادِيًا فَنَادَى أَلَا مَنْ كَانَ صَائِمًا مِنَ الْمَسَاكِينِ فَلْيُفْطِرْ مَعَ يَعْقُوبَ
[Machine] From the Prophet of Allah ﷺ , it was said, "Jacob had a foster brother." So he mentioned the hadeeth in a similar manner.
عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ «كَانَ لِيَعْقُوبَ أَخٌ مُؤَاخِيًا» فَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ بِنَحْوِهِ
[Machine] I said to her the following quote from Allah Almighty: "Until when the messengers despaired and thought that they had been denied..." [Quran 12:110]. I said, "Did they really despair, thinking that they had been denied?" She replied, "I seek refuge in Allah from thinking such a thing about His messengers. They are only the followers of the messengers when victory is delayed and the affliction intensifies upon them. The messengers thought that their followers had been denied."
قُلْتُ لَهَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى {حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَيْأَسَ الرُّسُلُ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ كُذِبُوا} [يوسف 110] قُلْتُ لَقَدِ اسْتَيْأَسُوا أَنَّهُمْ كُذِبُوا حَقِيقَةً؟ قَالَتْ مُعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَكُونَ الرُّسُلُ تَظُنُّ ذَلِكَ بِرَبِّهَا إِنَّمَا هُمْ أَتْبَاعُ الرُّسُلِ لَمَّا اسْتَأْخَرَ عَنْهُمُ النَّصْرُ وَاشْتَدَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْبَلَاءُ ظَنَّتِ الرُّسُلُ أَنَّ أَتْبَاعَهُمُ قَدْ كُذِبُوا