Page 48 - The Prophet Yusuf (as)

PROPHET YUSUF (AS)

buying and selling children in particular. That was why the people
who found him had such cause to celebrate at the prospect of making
commercial gain out of him. However, the continuation of the verse

reveals that they underestimated his value and sold him on cheaply:

d

l
,
h
e

f

y

a
o
s
i
t
a

i
p
t
a

m
c
f
r
o
n
e
a
o
i
s
m
l

l
T They sold him for a pittance, a few small coins,
c
n

s
e
,
w
h
e
S

f
a
o
u
r
h
r
l
t
t

w
e
o

l
(

t
h
.
i
i
o
n
g
i
e
d
n
r
s
o
t
c considering him to be of little worth. (Surah
b

h

i

m
Y Yusuf: 20)
u
s
u
2
0
)
f
:

There is actually great wisdom in this state of affairs. If they
had placed a high value on him, if they had realised that he was a cho-
sen figure, a prophet, they would have wanted to harm him. Similarly,
other unbelievers who came to hear of it would also wish to do him
wrong. The fact that they underestimated him and sold him into slav-
ery in expectation of a material profit actually worked out in his
favour.
The wisdom behind this episode in the life of Prophet
Yusuf (as) lies in the way it indicates the great benefit and protection
for the believers that is hidden in the general tendency of unbelievers
to underestimate them, regarding them as insignificant and inconse-
quential.
There is another noteworthy point here. As we know,
Prophet Yusuf (as) was known for his extraordinary beauty. Yet as we
have seen, this beauty had not yet become apparent at the time he fell
into the slave traders’ hands. They failed to see what a valuable indi-
vidual he was, describing him merely as a "child." That means that
Allah in His wisdom had concealed his beauty at that time, which was
yet another manifestation of His help and protection.
According to the Qur’an, Prophet Yusuf (as) was found by
46