Parallels with the Prophet

There is another reason why it is aḥsan al-qaṣaṣ. The Qur'an might mean many things by it; Allah might mean many things by aḥsan al-qaṣaṣ. From the literary point of view, as has just been explained, it has everything that makes a good story: everything, constant movement, so many things together. But there is another thing: it furnishes a very good parallel to the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and indeed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself, for there are a number of parallels with him.

The first: whereas it was the brothers of Yūsuf (peace be upon him) who bore the jealousy, with the Prophet (peace be upon him) it was his Qurayshī brothers with whom he had his difficulties, his uncle among them. Then, just as Yūsuf (peace be upon him) had to leave and go to another region, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to leave. As Yūsuf had to remain in the well, the Prophet (peace be upon him) remained in Ghār Thawr, to hide. Allāhu akbar: he had to go to Madīnah Munawwarah. And Yūsuf (peace be upon him) had to pass through difficulties there before he became the leader: he had to remain in prison for seven years or thereabouts, and then he became, mā shāʾ Allāh, the commander, the leader — or rather not the commander, but the one set in charge of the food and its distribution and other affairs. The Prophet (peace be upon him) too had to pass through much suffering until the conquest of Makkah, when he received the leadership there.

And then, subḥānAllāh, another parallel is the manner in which, when the very people who had thrown Yūsuf (peace be upon him) out and done what they did are identified — and they identify him — he lets them go:

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) does the same afterwards. Indeed he remembers Yūsuf (peace be upon him) after the conquest of Makkah, when they say: what will you do with us? He says that he will do exactly what his brother Yūsuf did with his brothers. Go — antum al-ṭulaqāʾ: you are freed today. You are freed today. Nothing lies upon you. So there are many likenesses.

As has been said, there is no real need to go into the story in depth, since simply reading the translation gives the story. There are, of course, many good books written upon the additional details — much of it from Israelite sources — which give a great deal of the further detail and much analysis. They may be found in other books. One of the teachers, Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, has a book upon the tafsīr of Sūrat Yūsuf; it is one of his first books, in fact. And that has, mā shāʾ Allāh, much good in it; it is based upon a tafsīr and has a great deal of good matter in it. English-speaking people may look at that.

And of course one may look into the tafsīrs; or, for those who understand Arabic, into Qaṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ, or Qaṣaṣ al-Nabiyyīn, Ibn Kathīr's work.^* There is much discussion in it, and many further ideas. One of the most comprehensive books upon the stories of the prophets was written in Urdu, drawn from various sources, and from Ibn Kathīr and others. It is by Mawlānā Ḥifẓ al-Raḥmān Seohārwī, and is called Qaṣaṣ al-Qurʾān. Unfortunately the English translation is not good; someone could do a really good job upon it. He draws from biblical sources, does a great deal of analysis and of reconciliation, and it is a truly good and detailed work.