The Brothers of Prophet Yusuf (a.s.)

Years after the incident when the brothers of Yusuf (a.s.) had deceptively taken him outside the city, beaten him and flung him into the well thereby forcing their father into perpetual weeping and anguish over his loss, the brothers heard that Yusuf had become the king of Misr. They and their father went to meet him.

The very first sentence which Yusuf uttered upon seeing them, was: And He was indeed kind to me when He took me out of the prison. [ Holy Qur’an, ch. Yusuf (12), vs. 100 ]

Apparently, it was out of courtesy that Yusuf desisted from mentioning the troubles he had experienced; first being flung into the well, then his subsequent slavery and then unpleasant incidents, which he had to endure due to the acts of his brothers. He did not wish to revive those bitter memories, which would cause them to experience mortification and embarrassment.

 He then added, “It was Shaitan who incited my brothers to commit those inappropriate deeds towards me, hurling me into the well and separating me from my father; however, the Glorious God exhibited kindness towards me in that he made those very acts a means for granting eminence and reverence to our family!”

Attributing the unjust acts of his brothers to Shaytan and regarding him as the prime culprit for the crimes of his brothers, was another example of Yusuf’s (a.s.) magnanimity. He thus shielded them from embarrassment and left them with an opportunity to apologize for their deeds.

He said:

“There shall be no reproof against you, (from) this day. [Holy Qur’an, ch. Yusuf (12), vs. 92.]   You can rest assured with respect to me, for I have forgiven you and chosen to disregard all that has happened previously, and on behalf of God too, I can give you this good news and seek from Him that Allah may forgive you and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful. [ Holy Qur’an, ch. Yusuf (12), vs. 92. ]

“Surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient (is rewarded) [Holy Qur’an, ch. Yusuf (12), vs. 90]for surely Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.” [Taareekh-e-Anbiya, pg. 334-347 ]