It's been far too long since I worked on this project. But better later than never, right?
Analysis of Surah Yusef
Here we have yet another story with which I am already familiar due to my Christian upbringing: the story of the Prophet Joseph (pbuh). I re-read Genesis in the Bible recently, so I'm going to do my best to empty my mind's vessel and read this alternative perspective from a fresh point of view. For inspiration, I have BBC's "Nature's Greatest Events" playing in the background.
In the first few verses of this Surah, the author makes clear that these revelations are being made specifically to Muhammad (pbuh), and that Muhammad (pbuh) was "among those who knew nothing about it." I had assumed that he was aware of these ancient teachings due to reading them or was taught during his childhood. Given the time and place he was born, one would think he already had exposure to these writings. Regardless, it gets me to thinking about Muhammad's (pbuh) childhood. What was it like? What did his parents impart to him? What games did he like to play? What was his first job? He was human, after all, and it's interesting for me to think of these things on a human level.
One moral the story clearly illustrates is the hazardous nature of jealousy, especially within the family. But the horrible, premeditated actions of Joseph's (pbuh) brothers are just pure evil! To throw your brother down a well and leave him to die, then lie to your father about it!?! They even go through the effort of putting false blood on Joseph's (pbuh) clothes to corroborate their story. (These are like Disney character bad guys, their evil seemingly too complete and obvious to be real.) But their father Jacob (pbuh) is too wise and too keen. Somehow, he finds "patience" within himself to discover the truth eventually.
I'm inspired by verses 19-20. A group of travellers find a boy at the bottom of a well and sell him for pennies, not knowing that this boy was worth more than the fortune of an entire kingdom. He can read dreams! But the true value of a man is not always easily seen. It reminds me of another man of immeasurable value whose life was sold for 30 pieces of silver. Note to self: never try to put a price on a human being. Even the lowliest of us is worth more than all the wealth that ever was.
Many of Joseph's (pbuh) experiences resonate in modern times. Instead of violating his moral principles and giving in to a woman's lust (what a problem to have!
), he opts to go to prison instead. And there he stayed for years, despite his display to the prisoners of his power to interpret dreams. Echoes of Ghandi, Mandella, MLK, Solzhenitsyn, and many others come to mind. It's good to see that both the prisoner and the lusty wife redeem themselves in the end. After gaining his position of power, Joseph (pbuh) could have sought retribution, but he didn't. Like Noah (pbuh) and others, he forgave those who wronged him and left it to a higher power to be the final arbiter.
Joseph (pbuh) even finds room in his heart to forgive his brothers, who had treated him so horribly...but not before he taught them a little lesson in humility ;D. It was a sort of convoluted plot to get his family together, but things worked out well in the end. Jacob's (pbuh) faith and patience paid off, and he was rewarded by finally reuniting with his long lost son. I love happy endings!
As a post-script, I note that there is no reference in this Surah to People of the Book, unlike most previous Surahs. The adversary here is not Christians or Jews, but the polytheistic Egyptians. So the primary distinction drawn by the author is Monotheism vs Polytheism. This makes sense because the story is drawn from much older writings, some translation of the Pentateuch (Genisis, Exedous, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
I am reminded yet again that Jews, Christians, and Muslims share much more in common than many would like to admit. They come from the same lands, the same culture, the same blood. And Civil Wars are always the most brutal, the most bloody. Can these ancient brothers ever acheive peace, despite their non-essential differences? One can only hope.
--Dan Edge
Analysis of Surah Yusef
Here we have yet another story with which I am already familiar due to my Christian upbringing: the story of the Prophet Joseph (pbuh). I re-read Genesis in the Bible recently, so I'm going to do my best to empty my mind's vessel and read this alternative perspective from a fresh point of view. For inspiration, I have BBC's "Nature's Greatest Events" playing in the background.
In the first few verses of this Surah, the author makes clear that these revelations are being made specifically to Muhammad (pbuh), and that Muhammad (pbuh) was "among those who knew nothing about it." I had assumed that he was aware of these ancient teachings due to reading them or was taught during his childhood. Given the time and place he was born, one would think he already had exposure to these writings. Regardless, it gets me to thinking about Muhammad's (pbuh) childhood. What was it like? What did his parents impart to him? What games did he like to play? What was his first job? He was human, after all, and it's interesting for me to think of these things on a human level.
One moral the story clearly illustrates is the hazardous nature of jealousy, especially within the family. But the horrible, premeditated actions of Joseph's (pbuh) brothers are just pure evil! To throw your brother down a well and leave him to die, then lie to your father about it!?! They even go through the effort of putting false blood on Joseph's (pbuh) clothes to corroborate their story. (These are like Disney character bad guys, their evil seemingly too complete and obvious to be real.) But their father Jacob (pbuh) is too wise and too keen. Somehow, he finds "patience" within himself to discover the truth eventually.
I'm inspired by verses 19-20. A group of travellers find a boy at the bottom of a well and sell him for pennies, not knowing that this boy was worth more than the fortune of an entire kingdom. He can read dreams! But the true value of a man is not always easily seen. It reminds me of another man of immeasurable value whose life was sold for 30 pieces of silver. Note to self: never try to put a price on a human being. Even the lowliest of us is worth more than all the wealth that ever was.
Many of Joseph's (pbuh) experiences resonate in modern times. Instead of violating his moral principles and giving in to a woman's lust (what a problem to have!
Joseph (pbuh) even finds room in his heart to forgive his brothers, who had treated him so horribly...but not before he taught them a little lesson in humility ;D. It was a sort of convoluted plot to get his family together, but things worked out well in the end. Jacob's (pbuh) faith and patience paid off, and he was rewarded by finally reuniting with his long lost son. I love happy endings!
As a post-script, I note that there is no reference in this Surah to People of the Book, unlike most previous Surahs. The adversary here is not Christians or Jews, but the polytheistic Egyptians. So the primary distinction drawn by the author is Monotheism vs Polytheism. This makes sense because the story is drawn from much older writings, some translation of the Pentateuch (Genisis, Exedous, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
I am reminded yet again that Jews, Christians, and Muslims share much more in common than many would like to admit. They come from the same lands, the same culture, the same blood. And Civil Wars are always the most brutal, the most bloody. Can these ancient brothers ever acheive peace, despite their non-essential differences? One can only hope.
--Dan Edge
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