A Conversation Between Father and Son | Amazed by Surah Yusuf w/ Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

A Conversation Between Father and Son

One of the aspects that is fascinating about the journey of Yusuf ﷺ is right at the beginning of it, when this child has a very candid and open conversation with his father about something that he's vulnerable about — about a dream that he saw. Many a times, as parents, it is our responsibility, the onus falls upon us to create an environment that is comfortable enough for our children to come and speak to us about things that they are uncomfortable about, things that they're challenged with, things that they're experiencing that they cannot speak to anyone else about. And if they're not speaking to us about it, then they're definitely speaking to someone else.

The child needs to feel comfortable to come to the father or the mother and have this conversation. So Yusuf ﷺ, as a young boy, comes to the father and speaks to him about something that he is experiencing. And he has no hesitation.

The Etiquettes of Speaking to Parents

He says, يا أَبَتِ! And the start of this conversation starts with such love. Oh my beloved father! Oh my honorable father! Oh my respected father! يا أَبَتِ! In this time and age, sometimes it feels like the more formalities and the more professional we become, the less etiquettes we seem to have. Etiquettes are not oxymoronic of being professional and formal. Rather, it is synonymous to being formal. Etiquettes is something which makes every conversation become more beautiful, every interaction become more meaningful.

The etiquettes of speaking to parents and speaking to elders — which is, يا أَبَتِ! Oh my beloved father!

So my father — this young boy coming to the father — he said, "Guess what I saw? I saw أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا — 11 stars, the sun, and the moon." And like how a child when they narrate stories, they repeat themselves. "But you know what I really saw? I ended up seeing them — that they were all prostrating to me."

And it is from this subtle statement of Yusuf عليه السلام that we can understand the intelligence that Allah had given him — that he had already understood the interpretation of the dream. Where he is saying that I saw them prostrating to me, by repeating رَأَيْتُهُمْ — I really saw this, oh father.

The Response of Ya'qub

And the father responds in the best of ways. Ya'qub عليه السلام was the best father as a prophet. There was nothing lacking within him. Generally as parents, if a child comes to us — I mean forget a dream, if they speak to us about a reality which we don't understand — we say, "Oh, it's not a big deal. Just relax. Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal." That's our response.

Ya'qub عليه السلام, who is responsible for his entire community, has enough time to respond with a sense of love for his son. And he's looking after his son. He says, يَا بُنَيَّ — Oh, my beloved son. Everyone knows that in Arabic, ابني is son. يَا بُنَيَّ — Oh, my beloved son. And he gives him advice to protect Yusuf عليه السلام.

The Depth of Their Love

This beautiful conversation that takes place between a father and a son — Ya'qub عليه السلام and Yusuf عليه السلام — is enough for us to understand: A, the etiquettes of speaking to one another; B, the deep inseparable love that these two people have for one another. And when we understand from this small conversation how much they loved each other, then the rest of the journey allows us to feel their pain, allows us to resonate with their pain. That separation was not something which was going to easily be filled.

And hence, it was never filled until Yusuf عليه السلام came back. And hence, Ya'qub عليه السلام cried his eyes out until he became blind because he missed his son. And therefore, when Ya'qub finally came back, it was the highlight of Yusuf's life.

May Allah allow us to also engage with our families and children in a manner that is respectful to them, in an environment that they're comfortable in, and allow us to connect how Ya'qub and Yusuf عليهما السلام connected.