An Epic Journey part 1

حيم الر حمن الله الر بسم

First and foremost Alhamdulillah, I have been given the chance to share what I have gained during the short course. Most of the following notes are taken from the course binder (yes, I copied directly) as I am in no capacity to come out with the insights and learning on my own.  

Am sure some of the readers knows more than I do, so please, if any of the facts and learning presented here is misleading, kindly let me know, so we will not astray in the road for Allah’s blessing. The main learnings are all numbered (in blue) and InsyaAllah I will try my best to share all, in no particular time frame  :) Besides the tafseer of the ayat, I will also be sharing some useful info on general tafseer as well.

Ulama’ dives into tafseer by means of : 

• Arabic language grammar
• Expressiveness’ of the ayat : the ayat was being told as a form of reminder, order, or to tell a story
• Reasons for revelations of the ayat and surah
• Different qira’at
• Tells about other verses that has association with the story and ayat.

From Palestine to Egypt, An Epic Journey

Taught by: Sheikh Sajid Ahmed Umar

Introductory information about Surah Yusuf

Name : The surah is named thus because it is dedicated in entirety to the biography of Yusuf A.S

Place of revelation:

• According to the majority of scholars, the entire surah is Makki
• According to b. Abbas and Qatadah, the surah is Makki with the exception of ayat 1,2,3 and 7

Number of ayat

It is composed of 111 ayat according to the most correct opinion. The story of Yusuf A.S are told in 102 verse, the rest are conclusion to the story.

Reasons for revelation (Asbab al-Nuzul)

1. Test:

1.1 One view is that Surah Yusuf was revealed after the Jews attempted to test the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W in an effort to discredit him. Thus, because the Prophet (S.A.W) was from the lineage of Ibrahim (A.S), they asked him about Yusuf (A.S).

1.2 Another version states that the Jews told the idolaters of Makkah to question the Prophet (S.A.W) about Yusuf (A.S), and how the family of Ya’qub (A.S) moved from Palestine to Egypt, in order to test his prophethood. The Jews were of the opinion that the Prophet (S.A.W) would seek the answer by asking them about Yusuf (A.S), thus exposing himself (Prophet Muhammad S.A.W) as a fraud. However this plot of theirs failed because Allah SWT revealed this surah to his messenger (Prophet Muhammad S.A.W). in fact Allah SWT further said :

Surah Hud, verse 49

Salasilah Nabi/Rasul

Prophet Muhammad S.A.W was from Isma'il (A.S), as we can see above the lineage of all other Rasuls before him (after Isma'il A.S) are from Ishaq (A.S), which belongs to Bani Israel. This is one of the refute the Jews has in terms of not accepting Muhammad S.A.W as the final Rasul, as he is of Bani Quraish.

 

2. Best of stories:

2.1 Al-Hakim reports that Sa’ad b. Abi Waqas reported that, as the Qur’an was being revealed to the Prophet, he was relaying it to its companions, until the companions requested “Please relate to us stories”. So Allah revealed: “We relate to you, [O, Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur’an although you were, before it, among the unaware.”[Surah Yusuf, 12:3]

Then Prophet conveyed the story of Yusuf to the Companions until they said, “please speak to us”; so Allah revealed : Allah has sent down the best statement, a consistent Book wherein is reiteration….”[Surah al-Zumar, 39:23]

In other narration by Sa’id b. Jubayr it is added that the Prophet spoke to the companions, until a time when they asked the Prophet, “please remind us,” so Allah then revealed: “Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?….” [Surah al-Hadid, 57:16]

1. This teaches us the importance of being diverse in our teaching and propagating methods. Audience must be kept engaged in a way that their hearts continue to yearn for more.

Was Surah Yusuf revealed near the beginning or end of the Makkan period?

Timeline of Surah Yusuf revelation

2. The way to alleviate someone’s pain is to tell a story of somebody else’s who has experienced the same ordeal. This is how Allah SWT ease Rasulullah SAW’s pain due to many difficulties faced at that time.

I think this is quite long for introductory and I am not done with the muqaddimah yet :D That’s all for now, till next part, wassalam..