Reunited After Decades: Lessons from Yusuf (AS) | From Trial to Triumph

Reunited After Decades: Lessons from Yusuf (AS) — From Trial to Triumph

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَعَلَى آخِرَةِ الْمُتَّقِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ، سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ النَّبِيِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، أَمَّا بَعْد

Recap: Binyamin Joins the Brothers

Last week we ended off the discussion of Yusuf (AS)'s brothers asking their father to send Binyamin with them. And finally the father gives permission for Binyamin to be taken with the brothers upon an oath that they took — that regardless of what takes place, regardless of what happens, they will make sure that Binyamin comes back with them. In no situation should there be a potential of the brothers returning and Binyamin not coming back. This was the oath that they took.

And the father advises them on how to enter into Misr — do not enter from one door, enter from different doors — because the potential of the evil eye, or ayn, that could affect you will be minimized.

Entering Egypt from Different Doors

So from there, Allah says:

When they entered in the way that their father instructed them to do so — they entered from different doors. It is said that there were four different doors that entered into this area; they entered from separate doors, one by one, as their father instructed.

In reality, Allah is saying that what Yaqub (AS) instructed them to do — which was to enter from different doors — that in itself cannot actually change anything from Allah's decision. In other words, we protect ourselves from ayn, we protect ourselves from being harmed by people or even being harmed by ourselves. But ultimately, it doesn't change anything that Allah decrees. It's our form of seeking the asbab and seeking what is available to us.

Except that it was a need that Yaqub had — that he told his sons, don't enter from one space — so that's what they fulfilled. But the protection ultimately is in the hands of Allah. And the reason why he told them to enter from separate doors is because he is a person of knowledge. Showing off your blessings will ultimately lead to either it being harmed or it somehow being deficient.

So إِنَّهُ لَذُو عِلْمٍ — he is a man of knowledge — and he understood that his sons, who are present, physically beautiful, intelligent, united — if people see them from a distance, it will attract their attention, it will attract their eyes. So it is best that you enter from separate doors. He knew that this would be a good way to protect his kids. وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ — most people don't understand this.

The Second Arrival: Yusuf (AS) Reunites with Binyamin

Now the next passage begins:

Now they enter upon Yusuf (AS). This is their second time coming to Egypt. The first time they came, they came as the ten brothers and Binyamin was not with them. This is the second time, and this time Binyamin is also with them.

So when they enter upon Yusuf (AS), they say to him, "O king — ya ayyuhal malik — this is Binyamin, our brother that you were asking us to bring. Our father agreed upon it and we brought Binyamin with us, so that you can fulfill the entire portion for our family."

In the tafsir written by Imam al-Alusi, rahmatullahi alayhi, he says that Yusuf (AS) welcomed them to Egypt and had them sit in pairs for eating together. It is mentioned in the tafsir that they would normally share a plate and eat — which is also a sunnah. The idea of eating together is not something foreign to our tradition. So two, two, two, two, two. And Binyamin is the eleventh. And as he sits alone, he says, "Ah, I wish my brother was alive. If my brother was alive, he would have been eating with me." So Yusuf (AS) sits and begins eating with him.

In one narration it says that when these brothers came, the king would host guests in rooms — almost like guest rooms — each room could facilitate two people. So he set them up: two, two, two, two. And Binyamin again said, "Just like I ate alone, now I have to sleep alone. I don't have a partner with me. Each of them has another sibling." So Yusuf (AS) says to him, "Why don't you come into my room?" — pretty much, why don't you become a guest of the king? So he takes him into his space.

This is where the word that Allah chooses is: آوَىٰ إِلَيْهِ أَخَاهُ — Aawa. Aawa means to take someone into your protection, to take them into your care. It is a form of honoring someone — that you don't have to worry mentally, emotionally, or physically for anything. I am taking care of you.

Allah refers to نِعْمَ الْمَأْوَى — what a beautiful place of shelter — in reference to Jannah. Because all of the needs of a person will be fulfilled in Jannah. It is called ma'wa. Just as Jahannam is also called ma'wa — because for the disbelievers, that will be their form of shelter.

The Whisper: "I Am Your Brother"

So he took Binyamin into his care, into his home. And when he brought Binyamin into his home and took him into his room, he asked him about his lost brother. And Binyamin narrated the story once again. And you can imagine Yusuf (AS)'s emotions at this point. He hasn't seen him for — you could say the lowest number is 40 years. For all these years, he has been kept away from his blood brother — from the mother's side and the father's side. And they were only nine months apart. Some say they were a year apart. So they were very close in age, very close in their relationship. And he was stripped away from them.

So after hearing the story from Binyamin, Yusuf (AS) takes off the helmet or the crown that the king or the treasurer would wear that would hide his face. He takes it off, and he comes and he hugs his brother — Binyamin not knowing who this person is. And he whispers in his ear:

He says, "Hey brother, welcome home. I am your brother. I know you have been worried about me. You have been alone all these years. I am your brother." And then: فَلَا تَبْتَئِسْ — don't grieve. Don't be concerned about what they did to me. Forget about it. Let's enjoy the moment.

Sometimes when you're enjoying and marinating in a moment of happiness and joy, and someone says, "But you went through so much" — you're like, who cares about that right now? Let me just enjoy the moment. Let me just take it all in.

Who Had It Harder — Yusuf or Binyamin?

They say: who had it more difficult? Who had it harder? Did Yusuf (AS) have it harder, or did Binyamin have it harder? Ultimately of course, Yusuf (AS) is the one who experiences all the pain he goes through. He is the one thrown into a well. He is the one sold into slavery — sold into bondage. He goes to prison. All of this happens to him.

But they say — yes, Yusuf (AS) did go through more in physical torment. But the pain of Binyamin's heart was no less. Because in respect to Yusuf, he at least knew the entire time that his brother was alive and taken care of. But in respect to Binyamin, he was under the assumption that his brother was killed. He lived his entire life in the pain and grief of his brother being killed. That was his closure — that my brother is not alive. And he lived like this for his entire life. So the pain of his heart was equally as heavy as the separation that Yusuf (AS) had to deal with.

And then on top of that, Imam al-Razi mentioned something very interesting. He says: on top of that, Binyamin had to live in the same house as those who harmed his brother. He had to see them on a daily basis. He had to tolerate them on a daily basis. He had to live with them on a daily basis. But these were the people whose hands broke and harmed him — who literally did away with Yusuf (AS) in what they said. So the pain of Binyamin's heart was heavy.

So the moment Yusuf (AS) said, "I am your brother" — he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. And Yusuf (AS) said, "This is me, this is what happened to me." In some narrations they say that Binyamin was able to recognize Yusuf (AS) from a mark on his shoulder — he said, "How would you have this mark if you're not Yusuf?" Another narration says it was from his smile, because he was very beautiful, and when he smiled, Binyamin said, "You are Yusuf — because my brother would smile like this too."

And then, after recognizing that it was his brother Yusuf (AS), he embraces him. In the narration of Imam al-Alusi, he says that Yusuf (AS) and Binyamin continued to embrace each other from the time they entered the room at nighttime all the way to the time of Fajr. You know when someone that you miss and you love, you meet them after a long time — you meet them, and then you let them go, and they come meet you again. Or when you are leaving someone that you love, you have to hug them like ten times. It's because of love. So you can imagine the type of love that was cultivated between these two brothers.

In some narrations it says that Yusuf (AS), missing his brother so much, starts smelling him, and he takes the kameez that Binyamin was wearing and says, "If you're going to leave me, leave this shirt behind with me — so when I miss you, I can smell you." And Binyamin said, "Oh brother, I'm not planning to leave anymore. I'm staying here. I'm not planning to go nowhere."

A Glimpse of Jannah: Reunions in This World and the Next

And you know, something to reflect upon — if this is what people experience, you could perhaps see a snippet of the glory of being reunited in dunya. When we saw the videos of the wrongly incarcerated prisoners taken in Palestine and released in the hostage exchange. Or when the oppressive regime in Syria was toppled and you saw those wrongly incarcerated Muslims released after 10, 15, 20, even 30 years in prison — not knowing who was alive and who was dead in their families. And you see the son, the daughter, the son specifically, running back to meet the mother after 20 or 30 years. Or meeting his wife. Or meeting his kids. Those videos will shake you to your core. Because this is being reunited. They thought their son or their husband was dead in prison. They hadn't heard from him in 20 or 30 years — just as Binyamin assumed about Yusuf (AS). And they meet, and they embrace. It's like a snippet taken from Jannah. Those emotions cannot be translated into words.

When you separate — life, this world, has different phases — but every single person experiences these four phases. Number one, everyone experiences huzn. But everyone also experiences farah. Huzn is grief, farah is happiness. No one perpetually stays in one state. That is not the sunnah of Allah. There will be hamm, and there will be huzn, and there will also be farah. Number two, there is ijtima' and there will always be iftiraq. There will be moments in your life when you are being reunited with someone that you love, but in that same life of ours, there will be moments when we are broken apart and separated again. That is the nature of life. You work so hard to meet someone, you go visit them after years, and after two weeks you have to leave. You meet your loved one after 10 or 15 years, but after a month you have to leave again. No one stays together forever in dunya. Dunya does not have the capacity to give something so beautiful as ijtima' as something everlasting. That is for akhirah.

And that is why the akhirah is so unique in every sense — but specifically in the relationships that we have. If this is the enjoyment and the sweetness experienced from being reunited with loved ones in dunya, from the prisons of dunya, imagine what emotions it would feel like for people to be reunited with their loved ones in akhirah. And this is why the sahaba saw that to be the ultimate promised land for themselves — that in akhirah we are reunited with the Prophet ﷺ.

"Tomorrow I will meet the Prophet." When Uthman ibn Affan (RA) was about to be killed and murdered by the rebels in Medina, and he was holding the Qur'an and he snoozed off and fell asleep for a few moments and woke up smiling — his wife Na'ila (RA) said to him, "O Uthman, why were you smiling in your dream?" He said, "When I fell asleep, the Prophet of Allah ﷺ came in my dream and he said to me:"

"O Uthman, have the people of the city of Medina prevented you from eating food?" — for he was under house arrest, under siege by the rebels. They did not allow any food or water to come into his house, except for that which came through people like Hasan, Husayn, and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (RA). "Have they prevented you from eating and drinking?" He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." "Do they prevent you from praying in my masjid that you helped build and finance — they don't let you pray here?" He said, "No, they don't let me pray, O Messenger of Allah." And then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said to him: "Be patient."

"Be patient, O Uthman — tonight you will break your fast with us." And when the Prophet ﷺ told him this, he smiled — in his dream he smiled. Because today, I will be reunited with the Habib ﷺ.

Jannah being personal is a very strong catalyst for a person to keep their life on a pathway through which we can hope for Allah's mercy. And when something is personal — even in dunya — you work harder for it, because there is a personal incentive, a personal attachment. The reason why we struggle to work for akhirah is we don't seek it to be something personal. The moment it becomes personal, it has a personal attachment.

I remember four years ago, my brother passed away. We were standing on his grave and a man came next to us — someone we had never seen before, a youngster, a revert. My brother, I later found out, used to play basketball with him. He had reverted maybe a few months or a year before, and he is standing there, and he looks and says, "You know, brother, I have to tell you — he just made Jannah personal for me." And that was a very heavy statement, because Jannah becoming personal is what allows you to work for it. And until you don't make the goals of akhirah personal — like, this is something that I will benefit from — Jannah is not something that only your family will benefit from. You will benefit from it. And I will benefit from it. The primary beneficiary of our deeds is oneself. And Jannah became personal for us 1450 plus years ago when the Prophet of Allah ﷺ left this world.

So imagine the happiness and the joy that people experience in akhirah when they are reunited with each other. This is dunya — this is what Binyamin and Yusuf (AS) are experiencing. Just 30 to 40 years of separation, and these are the emotions that are cultivated.

The Underrated Relationship: Siblings

One of the underrated, underappreciated relationships that we happen to deal with in life are siblings. Often you hear lectures about respecting your parents, the rights of one's spouse, being responsible for your children. And these are all relationships that we are liable for and have a responsibility for. But rarely do we hear about the importance of upholding the rights of one's siblings. Your spouses you choose — your siblings Allah chooses. So you have a responsibility to uphold that relationship. And the whole concept of silat al-rahim — fulfilling the ties of kinship — primarily starts with your siblings. Especially as you grow older and have your own independent families or independent careers — that relationship is a right that Allah has placed upon you and me, and to fulfill it is very important.

Every right and every relationship through which Allah highlights us believers is attached to brotherhood and sisterhood. So when Allah says:

"Verily, the believers are brothers and sisters." This means that the relationship which is the most sacred in regards to the fulfillment of rights is the relationship of siblings. Therefore Allah used the parable of siblings, of brotherhood and sisterhood. When the Prophet ﷺ would say, إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ — that a Muslim is a brother or sister to their fellow Muslims — again the parable of siblings is used.

Yes, the only difference would be that within siblings, you're never liable to take care of each other in the sense that everyone is independent. But character is not always attached to a liability. That would mean we are very shallow people — if we only know how to exercise character and goodness and excellence in our conduct when there is a liability that we are afraid of. Character is not something exercised only where there is a sin I am afraid of. It's like a person saying, "I'll only pray the fara'id because I have no choice — but I'm never going to pray tarawih or nawafil." This is a very dangerous mentality, because ultimately the goal is to build upon what we have.

There are narrations among the sahaba where their moment of joy and pride was when their siblings became Muslims. Allah highlights that siblings is a complicated relationship. You have stories in the Qur'an about siblings who hated each other — Qabil and Habil, where one kills the other. You have the relationship of the ten brothers of Yusuf (AS) who attempted to kill him. But then you have the relationship of Yusuf and Binyamin (AS). You have the relationship of Musa and Harun (AS) — a brother who has not seen his older brother in at least ten years, and he asks Allah to make him a prophet too. The rule within siblings is: whatever you want, you want your brother or sister to have it too. And if you are older, you have the right to take care of the younger siblings. And if you are younger, your responsibility is to have honor and respect for the elder siblings.

There are no ifs, buts, or whys in the laws of Allah. This is the standard. The exceptions will always be the anomalies. Never make yourself the exception. No one is defaulted to being the exception. The rule is the same for everyone.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4943; also reported in Musnad Ahmad)

"Whosoever does not show shafaqah — whoever does not show mercy to those who are younger than them, their younger siblings, the youngsters — and does not honor those who are elders in their family, they are not from amongst my ummah." Because this trait of knowing how to respect one another is directly a part of our iman and faith.

Growth doesn't necessarily have to equal entitlement. Growth doesn't have to mean that we become egotistic. Growth doesn't have to mean that we forget who our family members are. Our Muslim tradition upholds the family structure in a manner that perhaps no other system does — because iman is cultivated within this family structure, as the family of Ibrahim (AS) teaches us. So the idea of upholding the responsibility and the respect and the love that we have for one another is a part of our faith.

Don't treat siblings like extras in your life. Treat them as the main characters in your life. And it's okay — people say, "Yeah, we argue a lot, we have differences." It's perfectly fine. It's acceptable. But no one is going to love you like your siblings love you. When people prefer their friends, it's understandable — maybe you want to grow yourself, create your own circle, prove yourself. It's perfectly fine. But know in the back of your head: no one is going to have your back and protect you like your siblings will.

And if you don't have siblings, it's perfectly fine — Allah didn't give you that test. But if you do have siblings, fulfill that responsibility. And as annoying as younger siblings may be, that's your test. I'm number four, so I'm definitely giving my brothers a hard time — but it's perfectly fine.

The reward that Allah has given in upholding relationships is far greater than the reward of even worship. One of the greatest sins is breaking the ties of kinship. And when people get married, they have their own spouses — don't let that affect your sibling relationship. Your relationship with your siblings is completely independent of what your spouses have with them. It's your relationship. Just like no one has a right to dictate what your relationship with your mother should look like, no one has a right to dictate what your relationship with your siblings should look like — as long as you are not taking away from someone else's rights, as long as you are fulfilling the rights of your children, your spouse, and your parents.

No one has a right to tell you what your relationship should be like — "They're cheating you, they're manipulating you." Yes, advice is good. But not at the cost of depriving you from the God-given blessing that you have in your life. How many people do we deal with so often that drift apart simply because of other situations that come into their life? Being competitive is the nature of life — we should be competitive — but not in a toxic way like how Yaqub's sons were towards Yusuf. In a loving way.

So this bond that Allah gave us — and He attributes all the believers as brothers and sisters because this bond of siblings is the most complete bond — hence believers are attributed as being brothers and sisters. Allah does not attribute our relationship as believers to any other relationship. He attributes it through siblings, because that is a complete bond.

Fulfill each other's rights. Make sure you are present for each other as best as you can. Don't go on a path of intending to avoid people from your family — this is breaking off ties. The Prophet ﷺ says that Allah forgives everyone in Ramadan except for a person who breaks off ties of kinship. Now, exceptions are there — but you have to ask yourself: am I the exception? Maybe you are. Maybe you're not. But you are not defaulted to be an exception. Neither am I.

The Plan: The King's Cup

After they meet and have this embrace, Binyamin says, "I'm not going back. I'm staying with you." And Yusuf (AS) says, "No, you can't stay with me — because if you stay with me, you already saw what happened to our father when he lost me. If he loses you, ازْدَادَ هَمُّهُ وَحُزْنُهُ — he's going to become even more sad, he's going to grieve more. You have to go back." But Binyamin says, "I'm not going back. I'm staying with you. I was away from you for all these years. Now I'm staying here. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

So Allah says: at this point, it is not Yusuf (AS) who proposes that Binyamin stays — Binyamin is the one who proposes it. So Yusuf (AS) puts a plan in place. He cannot just keep him — that won't work. So he plots:

When he fulfills their portions of provisions that they came for — their stipends are fulfilled — he places his cup, the king's mug, in the luggage of Binyamin. And as they are leaving and departing, as they go through a security check, a man calls out and says:

أَيَّتُهَا الْعِيرُ — O caravan! 'Ir refers to a group of camels or donkeys carrying merchandise or wealth on top of them, as they were. أَيَّتُهَا الْعِيرُ means أَصْحَابُ الْعِيرِ — the people of the caravan. So he is saying, "Stop — listen up! إِنَّكُمْ لَسَارِقُونَ — there is someone amongst you who is a thief!"

They turn back and say, "What did you lose that you are accusing us of being thieves?" They replied, "We are seeking the king's cup." And this cup, they say, was unique — in that shari'ah it was permissible to use a cup adorned with gold, pearls, and precious stones all around it. It was a very valuable cup as their crowns were valuable. "We lost that specific cup of the king, and we believe that you all took it. And whosoever brings the cup back and finds it, the king will reward him with a camel's load full of goods."

The brothers say: تَاللَّهِ — we swear by Allah. You know for a fact that we did not come to your land to cause any form of ruckus. We did not come to disturb your peace. لِنُفْسِدَ فِي الْأَرْضِ — we did not come to create chaos. We came to take from you. Why would we come to harm you? وَمَا كُنَّا سَارِقِينَ — and we are definitely not thieves. And they were telling the truth, because they weren't thieves.

Then the security — the authority of Yusuf (AS) — says: "What should the consequence and punishment be if you all happen to be lying? We will search your caravan, your bags, and if it so happens that the cup is found, what should the punishment be?" Obviously this is a plan that Yusuf (AS) has set. But Allah is showing us what is happening on the surface.

And they respond: "The punishment for this person should be the punishment that is set for it." It is a very interesting answer. First of all, being accused and convicted as a criminal in a foreign land is far different from being convicted in your own space. In a foreign land you don't have the same rights — you're not a citizen, you don't have the same due process. These people are foreigners here. They don't know the due process of this land. They don't know what the system is like or what the punishment for stealing is. So they say the punishment should be whatever it is for these people.

But Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi, rahmatullahi alayhi, a great scholar of tafsir, comments and says: this was very wise of the brothers to say. In the shari'ah of Yaqub (AS) — who is Israel, the founder of this family — the punishment for stealing was that the hand should be cut. That was the punishment. As is the punishment in our tradition: over a certain amount, if the prerequisites apply, then the hand is cut. So this was their punishment. When Yusuf (AS) asked them what the punishment should be, the brothers were smart enough to say: the punishment should be what the punishment of this land is. Because the punishment from where they came from was that the hand should be cut off. So they took a different approach — they said: the punishment should be for this person whatever you have institutionalized in your country. It almost protected them from the potential of being the thieves.

كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الظَّالِمِينَ — this is how we compensate those who are oppressors.

Yusuf (AS) is very intelligent. He begins the search from the other brothers' bags — he doesn't start from Binyamin. Imagine if he had started straight from Binyamin — everyone would have said, "This was definitely planted. How do you know it was in his bag?" So he was smart about it. He was not hasty in the process. He took his time. They started with the bags of the brothers, went through each one, and finally got to the bag of Binyamin. And from the bag of Binyamin, they found that the king's cup was in there — and they pulled it out.

كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — This Is Our Plan for Yusuf

Allah says: كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — and this is how We planned the entire plan for Yusuf (AS). Allah's plan is in motion. Allah's plan was in motion not when he became the king — Allah's plan was in motion when he was thrown in the well. Everyone recognizes the qudra and the greatness of Allah's decree when they are successful. But we must recognize that Allah's decree is great even in the moments where we are struggling, because there is a plan in play.

And it might not happen that we have our moment of conquest like Yusuf (AS) did. It's possible that there's not a happy ending. It's possible, by the way. And we are okay with that. We don't have this euphoric, romanticized idea that Allah has to give us an outcome that we expect. That is not true. If that were the case, Musa (AS) would have ended up in the promised land. He didn't. He never got into Bayt al-Maqdis. For 40 years they were walking around the desert. There was no great ending — it didn't happen. You have stories of prophets who do have great endings, but you don't have a Hollywood-style ending for 'Isa (AS)'s story that makes us feel like everything is okay. That's akhirah for us.

Art has a big impact on how we see happiness. Because we consume so much of the culture we live in, we decide that happiness has to look a certain way. And if it doesn't look like that, that means it wasn't what we thought it should have been. It doesn't have to be a certain way. It doesn't have to be the way that you saw it in a movie or in a show.

كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — Allah says: this is Our master plan. Ali (AS) would say: whosoever desires to appreciate the divine decree of Allah, they don't need to read a book of aqeedah — just read Surah Yusuf. Because you will appreciate Allah's precision in His planning and His attention to fine detail. How every movement is being put together for Yusuf (AS). If he had not lived as a slave in the palace of the treasurer, he would never have had the know-how to be a treasurer. He only knew how to be a treasurer because he was the assistant of one for all those years. It wasn't that Allah gave him inspiration to be an expert in finance, a CFO — he was able to experience the knowledge through his master. And then he was removed from prison.

كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — this is how We made Our plan for Yusuf (AS). Everyone is within the plan of Allah. We are all in the design of Allah. And when we fight it, it creates anguish — almost an internal fight that we have with Allah. It begins because we are not allowed to ask Allah why. We are allowed to ask Allah for patience. We are not allowed to ask Allah why.

Yusuf (AS), the king, would not have had permission to take Binyamin into his possession if it were not for the fact that Allah allowed it. We allowed this plan to unfold. Sometimes you have every I dotted and every T crossed, but you lose sight that this entire system is only kept together and glued together by Allah. You can have as many I's dotted and T's crossed in your life, but if you are unaware that this plan is coming together because of Allah, there will be mishaps. And there will be mishaps even if you know that Allah is in control — but at least you can appreciate the fact that if He is responsible behind the scenes for why this didn't unfold the way you planned, then you know that He is taking care of it anyway.

The idea of حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ is quite encouraging. Because this is what is said when things don't go right. But a person will not have the ability to internalize the idea of Allah being with them and Allah being sufficient for them if they have always believed only in themselves. The belief in the self should not negate the belief in Allah.

The belief in the self — which is something so clearly highlighted in our culture — becomes a form of self-worship:

The idea that you are the most important person — no, we are not the most important person all the time. The belief in the self is important for confidence, but not to paralyze our ability to rely upon the Creator. The idea of "self-made" is a phrase or slogan that is filled with elements resembling shirk. How can someone be self-made?

Were they created from nothing? Are they the creators? Do they have the ability to actually enforce an outcome in their life? Never. They couldn't keep Binyamin — if Allah had not allowed it, they could not have planned it. But Allah is saying: this was Our plan.

Above Every Knowledgeable Person Is One More Knowledgeable

"We raise the ranks of whomever We wish. And above every person of knowledge, there is someone more knowledgeable than them." Above every person of generosity, there is someone more generous than you too. Above every person of good character, there is someone with better character than me too. وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — in every quality that Allah has endowed us with: first, it came from Allah; and second, there is someone who may have more of that quality than me, and that is okay. Ultimately, Allah has the most of everything. Allah is Al-'Alim.

And why is Allah mentioning this ayah here? If you are studying tafsir, sometimes you ponder over the placement of phrases and verses of the Qur'an, and this would be one of them. What is the wisdom in Allah choosing to place this portion of the ayah in this surah? وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — above every knowledgeable person, there is someone more knowledgeable. You would think this fits better in a surah that talks about knowledge. But this surah is speaking about Yaqub and Yusuf and Binyamin and the brothers. What does knowledge have to do with it?

It has everything to do with it. Sometimes you think — and I think — I know what is better for me in this moment. I believe that my knowledge is telling me this is going to harm me, this is going to benefit me, this is the right thing to do. Allah says: well, above every person of knowledge there is someone more knowledgeable, and ultimately Allah is the most knowledgeable. So when people are looking at the story of Yusuf (AS) and pointing out how things went wrong, Allah is saying: I know what is going on. I am Al-'Alim. There is no detail in the story of Yusuf (AS) that I am unaware of or that caught Me off guard. I know of it. I am Alim.

So وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ is Allah's way of soothing us and comforting us — that your knowledge perhaps has failed you and me, but there is Al-'Alim above you. So it is comforting, but it is also a warning. It is a warning that we never become completely self-reliant and cut off from Allah. Self-care and self-reliance are very important — the Prophet ﷺ was very confident. He never asked anyone for anything except Allah. He never turned towards anyone but Allah. The idea of the self and worshipping the self should not become a potential cause of turning one away from Allah.

وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — and we will end here, insha'Allah. We will continue from here next Sunday, which will be our last session before Ramadan, and after Ramadan, hopefully we will be able to finish this off in the summer insha'Allah. JazakAllah khair for coming out.