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Love in Surah Yusuf | Sh Ahsan Hanif

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Sūrah Yūsuf is an amazing and beautiful chapter of the Qur’an. I often hear people say that it’s one of their most favourite Sūrahs, and how they love to hear it being recited by as many famous reciters as they can get their hands on. Perhaps, one reason for this is the beautiful story of Yūsuf which is, as Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) describes it, “the best of stories”.[1] It is a story of love, manifested in all of its many shapes and forms.

I want to explore some of these types of love and how the message of this Sūrah, is to display the greatest form of love for Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He).

The first type of love mentioned in this Sūrah is the love of a father for his son. This type of love is one of the strongest bonds known to humans; the love of a parent for their child. It embodies care, protection, patience, sacrifice, fear, hope and so much more. Thus, when Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) as a young boy mentions a dream that he saw to his father, the Prophet Ya’qūb 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him), his father’s reaction was one of fierce protection.

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“O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed, Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy.”[2] Ya’qūb 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him), knowing his other sons and their jealousy of Yūsuf, was wary of how Satan would sow the seeds of enmity between them.

Further on, Ya’qūb 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) is persuaded to let Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) go out and play with his other brothers, and here a second type of love is mentioned; the love of siblings. This should be a love of protection, care and yes, some amount of rivalry and envy. However, when those two latter traits become twisted by Satan, they can outdo the loving and protecting aspects. The brothers of Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) plot against him, and after considering and dismissing killing him outright, they leave him for dead at the bottom of a well. “Do not kill Yūsuf but throw him into the bottom of the well…”[3] Thus, those who should have cared most for their young brother are willing to harm him and leave him for dead.

Allah shows from early on in this Sūrah, the way love can be used for good and evil. The chasm between the love of nurturing care and protection, and the jealousy that love can breed into others is on display here.

Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) is then taken and sold into slavery, into the household of one of the leaders of Egypt. Here, Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) mentions a third type of love; one of lust and desire. Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) is repeatedly seduced by his master’s wife. She was overcome by his beauty and handsomeness. Our Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) told us that Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) was given half of beauty,[4] meaning the beauty that all of us have, is a tiny portion of what we share with the rest of humanity from the half of beauty that was not given to Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him).

Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) says, “And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, ‘Come you’. He said, ‘I seek the refuge of Allah.’”[5] This same beauty would later lead the other women of Egypt’s nobility to cut their own hands when they too were exposed to Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him). Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) says, “…and cut their hands and said, ‘Perfect is Allah! This is not a man; this is none but a noble angel.’”[6]

This is where we see a fourth type of love, one which Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) displays time and time again throughout his life, as is chronicled in this Sūrah; the love of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). A love in which he sacrifices desires, temptations, ease and the trappings of this life for his love of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). As such, he would rather sacrifice his freedom than give into the advances of his master’s wife. Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) says, “He said, ‘My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite.’”[7]

A fifth love is mentioned in the part of the Sūrah which speaks of Yūsuf’s 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) imprisonment. The two prisoners mentioned in the Sūrah love Yūsuf for his righteousness and piety, it is a love we all have deep down for goodness and righteousness. Allah says, “Indeed, we see you to be of those who do good.”[8] This is the same love which the king of Egypt later also had for Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him), when he pardons him from prison, “Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted.”[9]

A sixth type of love is shown towards the end of the Sūrah, when Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) was willing and able to forgive his brothers despite all the hurt and suffering they caused him. This love comes from the love he has to please Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). “He said, ‘No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of those who show mercy.”[10]

Thus, Sūrah Yūsuf is a story of love which show us the different types of love people have, and the lengths to which they are willing to go in order to attain and preserve love. Yet, the deeper message of this Sūrah, and Allah knows best, is how our love for Allah should be greater and bigger than all of these other types of love. Our love for Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) should be greater than the love of a parent for their child, the love of a spouse for their partner, love which breeds jealousy and love of desire and lust.

Furthermore, just as people are willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve and attain love, sacrificing much in its path, our love for Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) should determine that we are willing to sacrifice more. Our love for Allah should help us to wake up early and pray Fajr, or spend some of our nights occasionally in qiyām. It should inspire us to help others, give in charity and fast outside of Ramadan. It should spur us on in maintaining the ḥijāb or growing a beard, despite the pressures of society. That is true love.

Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) was willing to sacrifice it all, and he did so to attain Allah’s pleasure. This is seen in one of the final verses of this Sūrah, wherein Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) summarises his life’s journey, “And He [Allah] was certainly good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you from Bedouin life after Satan had induced between me and my brothers.”[11] Despite his trials, Yūsuf 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) looks back with happiness and positivity. When we attach ourselves to Allah and His love, even difficult trials lessen as we reflect upon the bigger picture and greater reward.

[1] Yūsuf:3.

[2] Yūsuf: 5.

[3] Yūsuf: 10.

[4] Sahih Muslim, no. 5832.

[5] Yūsuf:23.

[6] Yūsuf: 31.

[7] Yūsuf: 33.

[8] Yūsuf: 36.

[9] Yūsuf: 54.

[10] Yūsuf: 92.

[11] Yūsuf: 100.

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The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Shaykh Ahsan Hanif, PhD, was born and raised in Birmingham, UK. He memorised the Qur’an at a young age and at the age of 17 received a scholarship to study at the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. As well as attaining an ijazah in the Qur’an and a diploma in Arabic, Shaykh Ahsan graduated from the Faculty of Shari’ah Studies in 2006. Upon his return to the UK he attained his PhD from the University of Birmingham. He is currently an imam at Green Lane Masjid, Birmingham as well as the head of the Qur’an & Hadith Studies Department for AlMaghrib Institute. He has spoken at Islamic conferences in various countries, published translations of Arabic works and is a presenter of IslamQA for Islam Channel.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Mia

    April 30, 2017 at 12:17 PM

    Ma sha Allah! I *loved* this article. So often in my own life full of painful family drama, I refer back to this story of Yusuf alaihi-salaam. Just because they were great prophets did not exempt them from painful events, yet they overcame all obstacles with the right kind of love- love for Allah.
    I make dua’a that Allah ‘Azza wa Jal loves us and puts His love in all of our hearts, Ameen!

  2. Ahmed

    May 3, 2017 at 8:50 AM

    Subhan Allah, this article is amazing.

    Shaykh Ahsan please do a lecture on this topic so that it may reach more people.

  3. Adrienne

    May 24, 2017 at 5:08 PM

    Thank you for this wonderful article about Allah. I do not share the same religion, but I immensely enjoy reading about all different religions. This post was most excellent and I also love reading everyone comments on all of your posts.

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