Page 28 - The Prophet Yusuf (as)

PROPHET YUSUF (AS)

the disrespectful way they treated their father. Despite their father
being a chosen prophet and a man of superior intelligence and under-
standing, they claimed that their father was "clearly making a mis-

take" because of his love for Yusuf (as) and his brother. This
impudence towards a prophet shows just how weak their faith was.
Furthermore, the way they attempted to kill Prophet Yusuf (as) is

proof again of the weakness of their faith and their mischief-making
natures. It is quite evident that nobody who fears Allah, who believes
he will have to account for his actions in the hereafter, and who knows

that Allah sees and hears him at every moment could ever favour tak-
ing such a course of action, and would never even consider it for a mo-
ment. Yet in order to make their father love them or to satisfy their

feelings of jealousy, these men believed the answer was to kill Prophet
Yusuf (as) or abandon him somewhere on the road.
Killing is in any case a sin, and abandoning a young child by

the roadside is a wicked action. People who could even consider doing
such a thing clearly have no conscience or sense of compassion.
Prophet Yusuf’s brothers (as) were therefore, cruel and ruthless.
Their thought processes were also totally defective. They

hoped that after committing such a sin and doing such a wicked thing
to Yusuf (as) they could still remain one of those "who do right." Of

course if someone truly wishes Allah to forgive him after he has trans-
gressed he may still hope to amend his ways and be one of the God
fearing. However, these men hoped to remain one of the God fearing
even in the full knowledge that their actions were wrong. This is an-

other piece of evidence that they lacked the power of reason and the
character of the true believer.

It can be seen in the continuation of the verse that in mo-

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