Actor

1 series in the catalog

Yusuf (Arabic: يُوْسُف ٱبْن يَعْقُوْب ٱبْن إِسْحَاق ٱبْن إِبْرَاهِيْم, romanized: Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb ibn ʾIs-ḥāq ibn ʾIbrāhīm, lit. 'Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham') is a prophet and messenger of God mentioned in the Qur'an and corresponds to Joseph, a person from the Hebrew and Christian Bible who was said to have lived in Egypt before the New Kingdom. Amongst Yaqub's children, Yusuf reportedly had the gift of prophecy through dreams. Although the narratives of other prophets are presented in a number of surah, Yusuf's complete narrative appears in only one: Yusuf. Said to be the most detailed narrative in the Quran, it mentions details that do not appear in its biblical counterpart.

Yusuf is believed to have been the eleventh son of Ya'qub (Arabic: يعقوب) and, according to a number of scholars, his favorite. Ibn Kathir wrote, "Yaqub had twelve sons who were the eponymous ancestors of the tribes of the Israelites. The noblest, the most exalted, the greatest of them was Yusuf." The narrative begins with Yusuf revealing a dream to his father, which Yaqub recognizes. In addition to the role of God in his life, the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha (Al-Aziz(Potiphar)'s wife in the Old Testament) became a popular subject of Persian literature and was elaborated over centuries.

In the Qur'an

The story of Yusuf in the Qurʾān is a continuous narrative in its twelfth chapter, named Surah Yusuf (Arabic: يوسف‎ سُورَة, lit. 'the chapter of Yusuf'). There are over one hundred verses in this chapter, encompassing many years; they "present an amazing variety of sciences and characters in a tightly-knit plot, and offer a dramatic illustration of some of the fundamental themes of the Qurʾān." The Qur'an notes the story's importance in the third verse: "and We narrate unto you aḥsanal-qaṣaṣ (Arabic: أحسن ٱلقصص, lit. 'best (or most beautiful) of stories')" (Qur'an, 12:3). Most scholars believe that this refers to Yusuf's story; others, including al-Tabari, believe that it refers to the Qur'an as a whole. It documents the execution of God's rulings despite the challenge of human intervention ("And God hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not").

Before the dream

Muhammad al-Ṭabari provides detailed commentary on the narrative in his chapter on Yusuf, relaying the opinions of other well-known scholars. In al-Ṭabari's chapter, the physical beauty of Yusuf and his mother Rahyl is introduced; they were said to have had "more beauty than any other human being." His father, Yaqub(Yaqub), had given him to his (Yaqub's) oldest sister to be raised. Al-Ṭabari writes that there was no greater love than what Yusuf's aunt felt for him, since she raised him as her own; reluctant to return him to Yaqub. According to al-Ṭabari, she could do this because of a belt given to her by her father, Is-haq(Issac) (Isaac): "If someone else acquired it by guile from the person who was supposed to have it, then he would become absolutely subject to the will of the rightful owner." Yusuf's aunt puts the belt on Yusuf when Yaqub is absent; she accuses Yusuf of stealing it, and he remains with her until her death. Yaqub is reluctant to give Yusuf up, and favors him when they are together.

The dream

The narrative begins with a dream, and ends with its interpretation. As the sun appeared over the horizon, bathing the earth in morning glory, Yusuf (son of Yaqub) awakens delighted by a pleasant dream. Filled with excitement, he runs to his father and reports what he saw.

Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!

According to Ibn Kathir, Yaqub knows that Yusuf will become important in this world and the next. He recognizes that the stars represent his brothers; the sun and moon represent himself and Yusuf's mother, Rahyl(Rachel) (Arabic: راشيل). Yaqub tells Yusuf to keep the dream secret to protect him from the jealousy of his brothers, who are unhappy with Yaqub's love for Yusuf. He foresees that Yusuf will be the one through whom the prophecy of his grandfather, Ibrahim, would be fulfilled: his offspring would keep the light of Abraham's house alive and spread God's message to mankind. Abu Ya'ala interpreted Yaqub's reaction as an understanding that the planets, sun, and moon bowing to Yusuf represented "something dispersed which God united." Yaqub tells Yusuf, "My son, relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they concoct a plot against thee: for Satan is a clear enemy to humanity. Thus your Lord has selected you and given you the knowledge to interpret dreams, and has perfected His blessing upon you and upon the family of Yaqub just as He perfected it on your forefathers before: Ibrahim and Is-haq (Isaac). Your Lord is Knowing, Wise" (Qur'an, Surah 12 (Yusuf) Ayat 5–6).

Yusuf does not tell his brothers about his dream (unlike the Hebrew Bible version), but they remain very jealous. Al-Ṭabari writes that they said to each other, "Verily Yusuf and his brother (Binyamin) are dearer to our father than we are, though we may be a troop ('usbah). By 'usbah (Arabic: عُصۡبَةٌ) they meant a strong group, for they were ten in number. They said, "Our father is plainly in a state of aberration." Yusuf has a gentle temperament and is respectful, kind, and considerate, like his brother Binyamin (Arabic: بنيامين); both are Rahyl(Rachel)'s sons. From amongst the ahadith (Arabic: أحاديث, romanized: aḥādīth, lit. 'narration'), one states:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Some people asked the Prophet: "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He replied, "The most honorable among them is the one who is the most Allah-fearing." They said, "O Allah's prophet! We do not ask about this." He said, "Then the most honorable person is Joseph, Allah's prophet, the son of a Allah's prophet, the son of a Allah's prophet, the son of Allah's Khalil (Arabic: خليل الله, lit. 'Friend of God')."

Plot against him

The Qur'an continues with Yusuf's brothers plotting to kill him: "In Yusuf and his brothers are signs for those who seek answers" (Qur'an, 12:7). Yusuf's brothers said about him: "He is more loved by our father than we are, and we are a group. Our father is in clear error. Let us kill Yusuf or cast him to the ground, so that your father's face will be toward you, and after him you will be a community of the truthful". One brother argues against killing him and suggests throwing him into a well (said to be Jubb Yusif (Arabic: جب يوسف, lit. 'Well of Joseph')), where a caravan might rescue and enslave him: "Slay not Yusuf, but if ye must do something, throw him down to the bottom of the well: he will be picked up by some caravan of travelers". Islamic scholar Mujahid ibn Jabr identifies the brother as Simeon. Another scholar, al-Suddi, identifies him as Judah, and Qatada ibn al-Nu'man writes that it was the eldest, Reuben. Scholars suggest that Yusuf may have been as young as twelve when he was thrown into the well. He would live to be 110 or 120.

The brothers ask their father to let them take Yusuf into the desert to play, and promise to watch him. Yaqub hesitates, aware of their resentment towards their brother. Yaqub's excuse is that a wolf (Arabic: ذئب, romanized: dhi'b) might hurt him while they are not paying attention. The brothers insist on their strength, calling themselves losers if they are not able to protect Yusuf. With their father convinced, they throw Yusuf into a well. They return with a blood-stained shirt, saying that he had been attacked by a wolf, but unlike in the biblical narrative, Yaqub does not believe them.

According to the Quran

They said: "O our father! why dost thou not trust us with Joseph, – seeing we are indeed his sincere well-wishers?Send him with us tomorrow to enjoy himself and play, and we shall take every care of him."(Jacob) said: "Really it saddens me that ye should take him away: I fear lest the wolf should devour him while ye attend…