Surah Yusuf: The Story That Brings Comfort (Part 1 of 5)

As earlier mentioned, Quran is not only a good source for the seerah of the Prophet Muhamad, but for the seerah or history of other prophets and their counterparts as well.  Not being the story book, however, the stories on those prophets and their counterparts are scattered everywhere in the pages of the Quran.

Such is not the case, however, with the story of Prophet Joseph (Nabi Yusuf).  In one whole chapter of moderate length (111 verses), the Surah Yusuf talks only about his story.  There is a special reason for this.

The stories of the earlier prophets and their people are meant to set as examples so that lessons can be derived from them.  For instance, if Muhammad was rejected by his own people, so were earlier prophets.  If the fledgling Islamic community under Muhammad faced persecution, so were the earlier communities.  If they face great difficulties, earlier communities encountered worse. 



Aside from the above, these stories also highlight important events, such as the meeting between Abraham (Nabi Ibrahim) and the two angels who came to bring the news that his wife, Sarah, was about to conceive a baby despite her advance age.  These two angels also brought the news that they were about to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the community of his nephew, Prophet Lot, for their sexual perversity.

All these stories, however, are revealed in bits and pieces throughout the Prophet's life.  As these stories are revealed in bits and pieces, they are likewise arranged in the Quran, in bits and pieces scattered throughout the Quran. 

The Surah Yusuf, however, was revealed all at once in its complete whole.  It was likewise arranged in the Quran, in its complete whole, all in one surah.

Furthermore, the stories of the other prophets are not complete.  The case is different with regard to the story of Prophet Joseph.  It is complete.

The reason for this is quite simple.  While the stories of other prophets are meant to serve as a lesson or to highlight a certain event, the story of Joseph is meant to console.

Surah Yusuf was revealed after Prophet Muhammad had lost two of the most important people in his life: his uncle the protector, Abu Talib, and his wife the comforter, Khadijah.  Abu Talib and Khadijah's death came closely to one another.  Abu Talib died first, then about two months later (some say only three days), Khadijah followed suit. 

With the death of Khadijah, the Prophet had lost his comforter, a wife who had been a source of happiness and comfort all his life, both before his prophethood, and more so after he was raised as a prophet.

It was Khadijah who comforted and consoled him when he was seized by great fear upon receiving the first revelation, thinking that he had been possessed by demon and that he had gone mad.  Valuing healthy mind above all else, nothing was more dreadful to Muhammad than being accused of going mad.  While the Prophet was trembling because of the experience, Khadijah consoled him, saying that a man of his stature could not have been seized by evil, and that whatever he was experiencing must have been angelic. 

It was Khadijah who believed in him when most others rejected him.  It was Khadijah who spent all her wealth--and she was a rich lady--for the sake of her husband's mission.  It was Khadijah who comforted and consoled him after he was being regularly abused and persecuted by the Quraysh.  It was Khadijah who made his heavy burden lighter.  It turned out that it was only Khadijah who gave him surviving children.  While the Prophet had many wives later in his life, his descendants were all from Khadijah. 

For that reason, Khadijah meant the world to him.  His love and affection to Khadijah were so deep and profound that these attracted great envy and jealousy from his other wives.  Well, Muhammad never took other wives while Khadijah was alive, but he married about a dozen after the death of Khadijah.  Even after her death, she became the rival to his other wives, as can be seen from Aisha's statement: "I'm not envious of my living rivals, but the deceased one.  Even after her death, he loves Khadijah more than the rest of us."  

The love story between Muhammad and Khadijah, if ever there was one, is very much business-like.  Khadijah was a much sought after rich widow and Muhammad was her employee, working on commission, trading her merchandise.  She liked Muhammad, and Muhammad also liked her but dared not make a move on account of his poverty.  When Khadijah proposed through her agent, he accepted.  Nothing romantic about that, one would say.  Or, nothing complicated like the "love story" of Joseph and Zuleikha.

The story of their love, as opposed to their love story, occurred after the marriage, whereby both were very much dedicated and deeply loved one another.  He had the best woman for a wife and she had the best man for a husband.  It was this profound love that made him remembered her throughout his life, as Aisha was to learn later.  Irritated perhaps, because Muhammad often mentioned Khadijah, Aisha snapped one day.

"She was just an old lady, and Allah replaced her with a better one for you."  By a better one, she meant herself, for she was a young maiden when the Prophet married her, while Khadijah was a twice widow 15 years his senior when Muhammad married her.

"Indeed Allah did not grant me better than her; she accepted me when people rejected me, she believed in me when people doubted me, she shared her wealth with me when people deprived me, and Allah granted me children only through her."  He replied, equally irritated with Aisha's remark.

After that incident, Aisha learnt to keep quiet whenever Khadijah's name was mentioned.

When someone like that died, we couldn't imagine how great the loss, and how deep the sorrow the Prophet must have felt.  The loss he felt was probably not any lesser than felt by Shah Jahan when his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died, except that the Prophet did not build a monument in her memory.

The death of Abu Talib, however, brings different implication, and this requires some explanation.  We shall cover it in the second part.

The End of Part 1