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012 Yusuf


 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

 1. Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book that makes 
 (things) manifest. 

 2. Surely We have revealed it-- an Arabic Quran-- that you may 
 understand. 

 3. We narrate to you the best of narratives, by Our 
 revealing to you this Quran, though before this you were 
 certainly one of those who did not know. 

 4. When Yusuf said to his father: O my father! surely I saw 
 eleven stars and the sun and the moon-- I saw them making 
 obeisance to me.

 5. He said: O my son! do not relate your vision to your 
 brothers, lest they devise a plan against you; surely the 
 Shaitan is an open enemy to man.

 6. And thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the 
 interpretation of sayings and make His favor complete to you 
 and to the children of Yaqoub, as He made it complete before 
 to your fathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq; surely your Lord is 
 Knowing, Wise.

 7. Certainly in Yusuf and his brothers there are signs for 
 the inquirers.

 8. When they said: Certainly Yusuf and his brother are 
 dearer to our father than we, though we are a (stronger) 
 company; most surely our father is in manifest error:

 9. Slay Yusuf or cast him (forth) into some land, so that 
 your father's regard may be exclusively for you, and after 
 that you may be a righteous people.

 10. A speaker from among them said: Do not slay Yusuf, and 
 cast him down into the bottom of the pit if you must do 
 (it), (so that) some of the travellers may pick him up.

 11. They said: O our father! what reason have you that you 
 do not trust in us with respect to Yusuf? And most surely we 
 are his sincere well-wishers:

 12. Send him with us tomorrow that he may enjoy himself and 
 sport, and surely we will guard him well.

 13. He said: Surely it grieves me that you should take him 
 off, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while you are 
 heedless of him.

 14. They said: Surely if the wolf should devour him 
 notwithstanding that we are a (strong) company, we should 
 then certainly be losers.

 15. So when they had gone off with him and agreed that they 
 should put him down at the bottom of the pit, and We 
 revealed to him: You will most certainly inform them of this 
 their affair while they do not perceive.

 16. And they came to their father at nightfall, weeping.

 17. They said: O our father! surely we went off racing and 
 left Yusuf by our goods, so the wolf devoured him, and you 
 will not believe us though we are truthful.

 18. And they brought his shirt with false blood upon it. He 
 said: Nay, your souls have made the matter light for you, 
 but patience is good and Allah is He Whose help is sought 
 for against what you describe.

 19. And there came travellers and they sent their 
 water-drawer and he let down his bucket. He said: O good 
 news! this is a youth; and they concealed him as an article 
 of merchandise, and Allah knew what they did.

 20. And they sold him for a small price, a few pieces of 
 silver, and they showed no desire for him.

 21. And the Egyptian who bought him said to his wife: Give 
 him an honorable abode, maybe he will be useful to us, or we 
 may adopt him as a son. And thus did We establish Yusuf in 
 the land and that We might teach him the interpretation of 
 sayings; and Allah is the master of His affair, but most 
 people do not know.

 22. And when he had attained his maturity, We gave him 
 wisdom and knowledge: and thus do We reward those who do 
 good.

 23. And she in whose house he was sought to make himself 
 yield (to her), and she made fast the doors and said: Come 
 forward. He said: I seek Allah's refuge, surely my Lord made 
 good my abode: Surely the unjust do not prosper.

 24. And certainly she made for him, and he would have made 
 for her, were it not that he had seen the manifest evidence 
 of his Lord; thus (it was) that We might turn away from him 
 evil and indecency, surely he was one of Our sincere 
 servants.

 25. And they both hastened to the door, and she rent his 
 shirt from behind and they met her husband at the door. She 
 said: What is the punishment of him who intends evil to your 
 wife except imprisonment or a painful chastisement?

 26. He said: She sought to make me yield (to her); and a 
 witness of her own family bore witness: If his shirt is rent 
 from front, she speaks the truth and he is one of the liars:

 27. And if his shirt is rent from behind, she tells a lie 
 and he is one of the truthful.

 28. So when he saw his shirt rent from behind, he said: 
 Surely it is a guile of you women; surely your guile is 
 great:

 29. O Yusuf! turn aside from this; and (O my wife)! ask 
 forgiveness for your fault, surely you are one of the 
 wrong-doers.

 30. And women in the city said: The chiefs wife seeks her 
 slave to yield himself (to her), surely he has affected her 
 deeply with (his) love; most surely we see her in manifest 
 error.

 31. So when she heard of their sly talk she sent for them 
 and prepared for them a repast, and gave each of them a 
 knife, and said (to Yusuf): Come forth to them. So when they 
 saw him, they deemed him great, and cut their hands (in 
 amazement), and said: Remote is Allah (from inperfection); 
 this is not a mortal; this is but a noble angel.

 32. She said: This is he with respect to whom you blamed me, 
 and certainly I sought his yielding himself (to me), but he 
 abstained, and if he does not do what I bid him, he shall 
 certainly be imprisoned, and he shall certainly be of those 
 who are in a state of ignominy.

 33. He said: My Lord! the prison house is dearer to me than 
 that to which they invite me; and if Thou turn not away 
 their device from me, I will yearn towards them and become 
 (one) of the ignorant.

 34. Thereupon his Lord accepted his prayer and turned away 
 their guile from him; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

 35. Then it occurred to them after they had seen the signs 
 that they should imprison him till a time.

 36. And two youths entered the prison with him. One of them 
 said: I saw myself pressing wine. And the other said: I saw 
 myself carrying bread on my head, of which birds ate. Inform 
 us of its interpretation; surely we see you to be of the 
 doers of good.

 37. He said: There shall not come to you the food with which 
 you are fed, but I will inform you both of its 
 interpretation before it comes to you; this is of what my 
 Lord has taught me; surely I have forsaken the religion of a 
 people who do not believe in Allah, and they are deniers of 
 the hereafter:

 38. And I follow the religion of my fathers, Ibrahim and 
 Ishaq and Yaqoub; it beseems us not that we should associate 
 aught with Allah; this is by Allah's grace upon us and on 
 mankind, but most people do not give thanks:

 39. O my two mates of the prison! are sundry lords better or 
 Allah the One, the Supreme?

 40. You do not serve besides Him but names which you have 
 named, you and your fathers; Allah has not sent down any 
 authority for them; judgment is only Allah's; He has 
 commanded that you shall not serve aught but Him; this is 
 the right religion but most people do not know:

 41. O my two mates of the prison! as for one of you, he 
 shall give his lord to drink wine; and as for the other, he 
 shall be crucified, so that the birds shall eat from his 
 head, the matter is decreed concerning which you inquired.

 42. And he said to him whom he knew would be delivered of 
 the two: Remember me with your lord; but the Shaitan caused 
 him to forget mentioning (it) to his lord, so he remained in 
 the prison a few years.

 43. And the king said: Surely I see seven fat kine which 
 seven lean ones devoured; and seven green ears and (seven) 
 others dry: O chiefs! explain to me my dream, if you can 
 interpret the dream. 

 44. They said: Confused dreams, and we do not know.the 
 interpretation of dreams. 

 45. And of the two (prisoners) he who had found deliverance 
 and remembered after a long time said: I will inform you of 
 its interpretation, so let me go: 

 46. Yusuf! O truthful one! explain to us seven fat kine 
 which seven lean ones devoured, and seven green ears and 
 (seven) others dry, that I may go back to the people so that 
 they may know. 

 47. He said: You shall sow for seven years continuously, 
 then what you reap leave it in its ear except a little of 
 which you eat. 

 48. Then there shall come after that seven years of hardship 
 which shall eat away all that you have beforehand laid up in 
 store for them, except a little of what you shall have 
 preserved: 

 49. Then there will come after that a year in which people 
 shall have rain and in which they shall press (grapes). 

 50. And the king said: Bring him to me. So when the 
 messenger came to him, he said: Go back to your lord and ask 
 him, what is the case of the women who cut their hands; 
 surely my Lord knows their guile. 

 51. He said: How was your affair when you sought Yusuf to 
 yield himself (to you)? They said: Remote is Allah (from 
 imperfection), we knew of no evil on his part. The chief's 
 wife said: Now has the truth become established: I sought 
 him to yield himself (to me), and he is most surely of the 
 truthful ones. 

 52. This is that he might know that I have not been 
 unfaithful to him in secret and that Allah does not guide 
 the device of the unfaithful. 

 53. And I do not declare myself free, most surely (man's) 
 self is wont to command (him to do) evil, except such as my 
 Lord has had mercy on, surely my Lord is Forgiving, 
 Merciful.

 54. And the king said: Bring him to me, I will choose him 
 for myself. So when he had spoken with him, he said: Surely 
 you are in our presence today an honorable, a faithful one. 

 55. He said: Place me (in authority) over the treasures of 
 the land, surely I am a good keeper, knowing well. 

 56. And thus did We give to Yusuf power in the land-- he had 
 mastery in it wherever he liked; We send down Our mercy on 
 whom We please, and We do not waste the reward of those who 
 do good.

 57. And certainly the reward of the hereafter is much better 
 for those who believe and guard (against evil).

 58. And Yusuf's brothers came and went in to him, and he 
 knew them, while they did not recognize him.

 59. And when he furnished them with their provision, he 
 said: Bring to me a brother of yours from your father; do 
 you not see that I give full measure and that I am the best 
 of hosts?

 60. But if you do not bring him to me, you shall have no 
 measure (of corn) from me, nor shall you come near me.

 61. They said: We will strive to make his father yield in 
 respect of him, and we are sure to do (it).

 62. And he said to his servants: Put their money into their 
 bags that they may recognize it when they go back to their 
 family, so that they may come back.

 63. So when they returned to their father, they said: O our 
 father, the measure is withheld from us, therefore send with 
 us our brother, (so that) we may get the measure, and we 
 will most surely guard him.

 64. He said: I cannot trust in you with respect to him, 
 except as I trusted in you with respect to his brother 
 before; but Allah is the best Keeper, and He is the most 
 Merciful of the merciful ones.

 65. And when they opened their goods, they found their money 
 returned to them. They said: O our father! what (more) can 
 we desire? This is our property returned to us, and we will 
 bring corn for our family and guard our brother, and will 
 have in addition the measure of a camel (load); this is an 
 easy measure.

 66. He said: I will by no means send him with you until you 
 give me a firm covenant in Allah's name that you will most 
 certainly bring him back to me, unless you are completely 
 surrounded. And when they gave him their covenant, he said: 
 Allah is the One in Whom trust is placed as regards what we 
 say.

 67. And he said: O my sons ! do not (all) enter by one gate 
 and enter by different gates and I cannot avail you aught 
 against Allah; judgment is only Allah's; on Him do I rely, 
 and on Him let those who are reliant rely.

 68. And when they had entered as their father had bidden 
 them, it did not avail them aught against Allah, but (it was 
 only) a desire in the soul of Yaqoub which he satisfied; and 
 surely he was possessed of knowledge because We had given 
 him knowledge, but most people do not know.

 69. And when they went in to Yusuf. he lodged his brother 
 with himself, saying: I am your brother, therefore grieve 
 not at what they do.

 70. So when he furnished them with their provisions, 
 (someone) placed the drinking cup in his brother's bag. Then 
 a crier cried out: O caravan! you are most surely thieves.

 71 . They said while they were facing them: What is it that 
 you miss?

 72. They said: We miss the king's drinking cup, and he who 
 shall bring it shall have a camel-load and I am responsible 
 for it.

 73. They said: By Allah! you know for certain that we have 
 not come to make mischief in the land, and we are not 
 thieves.

 74. They said: But what shall be the requital of this, if 
 you are liars?

 75. They said: The requital of this is that the person in 
 whose bag it is found shall himself be (held for) the 
 satisfaction thereof; thus do we punish the wrongdoers.

 76. So he began with their sacks before the sack of his 
 brother, then he brought it out from his brother's sack. 
 Thus did We plan for the sake of Yusuf; it was not (lawful) 
 that he should take his brother under the king's law unless 
 Allah pleased; We raise the degrees of whomsoever We please, 
 and above every one possessed of knowledge is the 
 All-knowing one.

 77. They said: If he steal, a brother of his did indeed 
 steal before; but Yusuf kept it secret in his heart and did 
 not disclose it to them. He said: You are in an evil 
 condition and Allah knows best what you state.

 78. They said: O chief! he has a father, a very old man, 
 therefore retain one of us in his stead; surely we see you 
 to be of the doers of good.

 79. He said: Allah protect us that we should seize other 
 than him with whom we found our property, for then most 
 surely we would be unjust.

 80. Then when they despaired of him, they retired, 
 conferring privately together. The eldest of them said: Do 
 you not know that your father took from you a covenant in 
 Allah's name, and how you fell short of your duty with 
 respect to Yusuf before? Therefore I will by no means depart 
 from this land until my father permits me or Allah decides 
 for me, and He is the best of the judges:

 81. Go back to your father and say: O our father! surely 
 your son committed theft, and we do not bear witness except 
 to what we have known, and we could not keep watch over the 
 unseen:

 82. And inquire in the town in which we were and the caravan 
 with which we proceeded, and most surely we are truthful.

 83. He (Yaqoub) said: Nay, your souls have made a matter 
 light for you, so patience is good; maybe Allah will bring 
 them all together to me; surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.

 84. And he turned away from them, and said: O my sorrow for 
 Yusuf! and his eyes became white on account of the grief, 
 and he was a repressor (of grief).

 85. They said: By Allah! you will not cease to remember 
 Yusuf until you are a prey to constant disease or (until) 
 you are of those who perish.

 86. He said: I only complain of my grief and sorrow to 
 Allah, and I know from Allah what you do not know.

 87. O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his 
 brother, and despair not of Allah's mercy; surely none 
 despairs of Allah's mercy except the unbelieving people.

 88. So when they came in to him, they said: O chief! 
 distress has afflicted us and our family and we have brought 
 scanty money, so give us full measure and be charitable to 
 us; surely Allah rewards the charitable.

 89. He said: Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his 
 brother when you were ignorant?

 90. They said: Are you indeed Yusuf? He said: I am Yusuf and 
 this is my brother; Allah has indeed been gracious to us; 
 surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient (is 
 rewarded) for surely Allah does not waste the reward of 
 those who do good.

 91. They said: By Allah! now has Allah certainly chosen you 
 over us, and we were certainly sinners.

 92. He said: (There shall be) no reproof against you this 
 day; Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of 
 the merciful.

 93. Take this my shirt and cast it on my father's face, he 
 will (again) be able to see, and come to me with all your 
 families.

 94. And when the caravan had departed, their father said: 
 Most surely I perceive the greatness of Yusuf, unless you 
 pronounce me to be weak in judgment.

 95. They said: By Allah, you are most surely in your old 
 error.

 96. So when the bearer of good news came he cast it on his 
 face, so forthwith he regained his sight. He said: Did I not 
 say to you that I know from Allah what you do not know?

 97. They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults 
 for us, surely we were sinners.

 98. He said: I will ask for you forgiveness from my Lord; 
 surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

 99. Then when they came in to Yusuf, he took his parents to 
 lodge with him and said: Enter safe into Egypt, if Allah 
 please.

 100. And he raised his parents upon the throne and they fell 
 down in prostration before him, and he said: O my father! 
 this is the significance of my vision of old; my Lord has 
 indeed made it to be true; and He was indeed kind to me when 
 He brought me forth from the prison and brought you from the 
 desert after the Shaitan had sown dissensions between me and 
 my brothers, surely my Lord is benignant to whom He pleases; 
 surely He is the Knowing, the Wise.

 101. My Lord! Thou hast given me of the kingdom and taught 
 me of the interpretation of sayings: Originator of the 
 heavens and the earth! Thou art my guardian in this world 
 and the hereafter; make me die a muslim and join me with the 
 good.

 102. This is of the announcements relating to the unseen 
 (which) We reveal to you, and you were not with them when 
 they resolved upon their affair, and they were devising 
 plans.

 103. And most men will not believe though you desire it 
 eagerly.

 104. And you do not ask them for a reward for this; it is 
 nothing but a reminder for all mankind.

 105. And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth which 
 they pass by, yet they turn aside from it.

 106. And most of them do not believe in Allah without 
 associating others (with Him).

 107. Do they then feel secure that there may come to them an 
 extensive chastisement from Allah or (that) the hour may 
 come to them suddenly while they do not perceive?

 108. Say: This is my way: I call to Allah, I and those who 
 follow me being certain, and glory be to Allah, and I am not 
 one of the polytheists.

 109. And We have not sent before you but men from (among) 
 the people of the towns, to whom We sent revelations. Have 
 they not then travelled in the land and seen what was the 
 end of those before them? And certainly the abode of the 
 hereafter is best for those who guard (against evil); do you 
 not then understand?

 110. Until when the apostles despaired and the people became 
 sure that they were indeed told a lie, Our help came to them 
 and whom We pleased was delivered; and Our punishment is not 
 averted from the guilty people.

 111. In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men 
 of understanding. It is not a narrative which could be 
 forged, but a verification of what is before it and a 
 distinct explanation of all things and a guide and a mercy 
 to a people who believe. 



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