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5 Lessons from Surat Yusuf

ByShaykh Haytham Tamim

1. Allah’s favours can be a test too

In Surah Yusuf, we see that Yusuf (peace be on him)’s beauty was a test for him. Not only with his brothers, but also with the wife of al-Aziz, who would not have come near him if he was not beautiful.

His beauty was a blessing from Allah, but Allah’s blessings can also be tests. This is also true of things like wealth, health, and status. Sometimes we think that only those who are poor or ill are being tested, but this is not true.

2. Don’t publicise people’s sins

Although the incident between Yusuf (peace be on him) and Zuleykha, the wife of al-Aziz, happened behind closed doors, someone from the household then spread the news, and the public went wild, with everyone in the city talking about it.

Zuleykha was embarrassed by this, and ended up exposing herself even more because of it. She invited some of the women who had been gossiping to her house and introduced Yusuf (peace be on him) to them, and herself admitted what she had done – also making things more difficult for Yusuf (peace be on him) in the process, so much so that he preferred to be thrown in prison than left in that environment.

This is why Allah tells us not to spread indecency in public. We see this in several places in the Quran, like in Surat an-Nisa’, and in detail in Surat an-Nur.

لَّا يُحِبُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْجَهْرَ بِٱلسُّوٓءِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْل

Allah does not like the evil words to be said openly [4:148]

وَلَوْلَآ إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَآ أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَـٰذَا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ

And why, when you heard of it, did you not say, “It is not for us to speak about this. Glory be to You (O Allah). [24:16]

In private, sins like this can be contained and dealt with. Once it is public, people lose control. If everyone already thinks the worst of them, they may as well keep doing the sin.

There are many hadith from Prophet Muhammad (pece be on him) about concealing other people’s sins.

Whoever conceals the (hidden) fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever exposes the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will expose his faults, until (so that) He shames him, due to it, in his (own) house. [Ibn Majah]

This is not to say we should accept sins and there should be no consequences, but the sins should be contained and not made public. This is quite different from the social media trends of today, where people’s sins are plastered everywhere and sometimes even celebrated.

3. Allah may change your life in unexpected ways

The story of Yusuf (peace be on him) started with a dream, and after his many troubles, a dream was also what ended it. It may seem like a small thing – just a dream that the king had, the kind of thing we can often dismiss as irrelevant. And yet Allah made this the way for Yusuf (peace be on him) to be released from prison, after so many years. Allah’s wisdom is beyond our comprehension, and something you consider insignificant could be the thing that makes or breaks your life.

4. The deeds of a believer are never wasted

إِنَّهُۥ مَن يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

Surely, whoever fears Allah and observes patience, Allah does not let the reward of such good people to go to waste. [12:90]

When you are with Allah, He will protect you. Whatever plots are hatched around you, have taqwa and be patient, and Allah will facilitate a way out for you.

Inshallah we will see this for the people of Palestine: they have such strong taqwa and sabr and Allah will not waste their deeds, but he may find them a way out through something that seems as insignificant as a dream.

5. The qualities of a leader

While Yusuf (peace be on him)’s outward beauty was a test, his inward beauty was ultimately what saved him. Not just his faith and trust in Allah, but also his good character. His truthfulness and trustworthiness were the qualities the king saw in him that led to him being appointed in charge – not his appearance. These are the qualities a leader should have, and which many of our leaders today seem to be lacking.

We ask Allah to make us among the muttaqeen and sabireen. Ameen.

Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 28th Ramadan 2025. Transcribed by H Khan.

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