The Backdrop of Surah Yusuf | Amazed by Surah Yusuf w/ Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The Backdrop of Surah Yusuf

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Qur'an is understanding the backdrop and the background of the different stories, surahs, and verses that were revealed. It gives us an insight and it gives us a behind-the-scenes understanding of what was happening. It's like how nowadays when there's sports or there's different things that happen, they have the behind-the-scenes.

It gives you a more intimate understanding and a deeper connection to that specific incident. Well, we have a behind-the-scenes of the stories in the Qur'an as well, and that is called the background of the revelation of these stories and verses, and it gives us a deeper understanding and a deeper connection, a more meaningful connection with the story in the surah itself.

The Trials of the Prophet ﷺ

There is a beautiful backdrop of Surah Yusuf, where the Prophet ﷺ struggled and was challenged more than any human in this world — as all of us are going to be challenged and struggle in this world through different challenges and difficulties — how Allah has promised us:

You will be challenged in all these different ways — loss of loved ones, family, children, and wealth. But glad tidings to those that are patient, that are able to keep themselves, able to uphold their iman in those turbulent and difficult situations, as Yaqub and Yusuf were able to do.

The Prophet ﷺ was made to go through more difficulties than anyone else. He said:

I have been made to struggle more than anyone. (Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2472)

And he didn't have emotional support in any physical form — no father, no mother, no uncle, no grandfather. And within a small portion of time, he loses his wife. And sometime later — some say seven days, some say three months — he loses Abu Talib, his uncle, who had taken care of him like a father. And then he seeks comfort in a neighboring tribe in Ta'if.

And he is persecuted and humiliated like never before. How Allah actually asked the Prophet ﷺ, "What was your most difficult day of your life?" And he referred that in Makkah, it was the day of Ta'if. That was very difficult for me.

Allah's Consolation: The Gift of Surah Yusuf

So the onus of consoling the Prophet ﷺ and building him back up and comforting him was upon Allah. So Allah comforted the Prophet. And one of the ways that He comforted him was by giving him the beautiful story of Yusuf ﷺ. That just like you have lost people, and are struggling with people, and are being betrayed by your own family and your own community — enjoy the story and let it unravel itself in front of you. That though there were many lows, at the end of the journey, Yusuf ﷺ was united with his family.

Though it wasn't instantaneous, though it was a long duration of time, and it wasn't easy. There were difficult moments, there were sad moments, there were lonely moments in this journey. But those lonely moments were with Allah. It doesn't matter how alone we are — as long as we have Allah on our side, that loneliness of ours will be mitigated. It doesn't matter how many crowds we have around us. But if the heart is not attached to Allah and the masjid, it will always feel lonely.

And hence there is a difference between loneliness and being alone.

The Words of Ibn Mas'ud on Surah Yusuf

So in this height of difficulty, Allah gave the Prophet this beautiful gem of a story. And through that he would be consoled. And therefore till today, we are consoled by reading this surah. Where Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says:

That no sad person who is stricken by grief reads Surah Yusuf, except that his grief is mitigated, it becomes less, it diminishes.

Because the story is so beautiful. And it has so many difficult moments — how does a Prophet have to deal with this? And then at the end you realize: the father was united with the son, the brothers were united, they got back together, he became a king. Well, it's alright. Maybe my difficulty will also end like that.

Our Story Ends in the Akhirah

And wallahi, even if it does not end like that in this world — because not all stories have happy endings in this world — well, the story never ends in this world. The story ends in the akhirah. And the moment we know that our story, which has been written by Allah, does not end in this world and ends in the akhirah, then we will believe that every difficulty will have a happy ending. Every difficulty will have a good ending, because Allah has promised us as believers that we will be given the best of endings and the best of outcomes:

For those that have taqwa and have belief in Allah. Well, the Prophet ﷺ would say:

"O Allah, there is no life except for the life of the akhirah."

That is something that we are able to learn and take and extract from the beautiful story of Yusuf ﷺ. This is the backdrop — it was there to console the Prophet ﷺ, and hopefully we can also be comforted and consoled through this beautiful story and this beautiful surah, insha'Allah ta'ala.