The story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph)

The story in short

Arabic name

يوسف

English name

Joseph

Named in the Quran

27 times

Sent to

The people of Egypt, and his own family

Main surahs

Yusuf, Ghafir, Al-Anam

In the list of 25

11 of 25

In short: Yusuf, son of Yaqub, saw eleven stars, the sun and the moon prostrating to him. His jealous brothers threw him into a well, and he was sold as a slave in Egypt. He refused the advances of his master's wife, was put in prison, and there interpreted the dreams of two prisoners and then of the king. He was put in charge of Egypt's storehouses before a famine, his brothers came to him for grain, and in the end the whole family was reunited and the dream came true.

The story of Yusuf

The dream and the well

"O my father, indeed I have seen eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me" (12:4). Yaqub told him not to tell his brothers. The brothers, jealous of their father's love for Yusuf, persuaded Yaqub to send him out with them and threw him into the bottom of a well. They came back at night weeping, with his shirt stained with false blood, and said a wolf had eaten him (12:8-18). A caravan drew him out of the well and sold him in Egypt "for a reduced price, a few dirhams" (12:20). The man who bought him, the Aziz, told his wife: "Make his residence comfortable. Perhaps he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son" (12:21).

The test in the palace

When he reached maturity, the woman of the house sought to seduce him, closed the doors and said "Come, you." He said: "I seek the refuge of Allah. Indeed, he is my master, who has made good my residence" (12:23). He ran to the door, she tore his shirt from behind, and a witness from her family judged that if it was torn from behind, he was truthful (12:25-28). When the women of the city gossiped, she invited them, gave each a knife, and when they saw Yusuf they cut their hands and said: "This is not a man; this is none but a noble angel" (12:31). Yusuf prayed: "My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me" (12:33).

Prison and the king's dream

In prison two young men told him their dreams. Before interpreting them, he called them to tawheed: "Are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the Prevailing?" (12:39). One would be freed and serve wine to his master, the other would be crucified (12:41). Years later the king dreamed of seven fat cows eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry. The freed man remembered Yusuf. Yusuf explained: seven years of plenty, then seven years of hardship, and he advised them to store the grain in its ears (12:43-49). He refused to leave prison until his innocence was cleared, and the Aziz's wife confessed: "Now the truth has become evident. It was I who sought to seduce him" (12:51).

The brothers come to Egypt

The king made Yusuf "over the storehouses of the land" (12:55). In the famine, his brothers came for grain. He knew them; they did not know him (12:58). He asked them to bring their youngest brother, Binyamin, then kept him through a plan involving the king's measuring cup (12:70-76). On their third visit he asked: "Do you know what you did with Yusuf and his brother?" They said: "Are you indeed Yusuf?" He said: "I am Yusuf, and this is my brother. Allah has certainly favoured us" (12:89-90). He forgave them at once: "No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you" (12:92).

The dream fulfilled

Yaqub's sight returned when Yusuf's shirt was cast over his face, and the family came to Egypt. Yusuf raised his parents upon the throne, and they bowed to him. He said: "O my father, this is the explanation of my vision of before. My Lord has made it reality" (12:100). He ended with a dua: "Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous" (12:101). The Prophet ﷺ was asked who is the most noble of people, and said: "Yusuf, a prophet, son of a prophet, son of a prophet, son of the friend of Allah".¹ On the Miraj he met Yusuf in the third heaven and said he had been given half of all beauty.²

Key verses

Lessons from the story

• Allah's plan works through hardship: the well and the prison led to the throne. "Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills" (12:100).
• Chastity is strength. Yusuf chose prison over sin and sought Allah's refuge.
• Calling to Allah comes first, even in prison and even before solving people's problems.
• Forgive when you are able to punish: "No blame will there be upon you today."
• Jealousy between siblings can lead to great wrong. Parents should be just between their children.

Where it is in the Quran

The main passages about Yusuf, with links to read and listen to each surah:

• Surah Yusuf (the whole surah)
• Surah Ghafir 40:34
• Surah Al-Anam 6:84

What is authentic, and what is not

The Quran calls the woman "the wife of al-Aziz". The name Zulaykha comes from later reports and Isra'iliyyat, as does the popular story that Yusuf married her after her husband's death. Neither is confirmed by the Quran or a sahih hadith. On "he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord" (12:24), scholars explain that Yusuf did not act on any desire. Strange reports about what he saw at that moment come from Isra'iliyyat and were rejected by careful commentators.

We follow Ibn Kathir's Qasas al-Anbiya only where it rests on the Quran and sound hadith. Isra'iliyyat are reports taken from earlier scriptures and storytellers. Scholars allow mentioning them only when they do not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, and they are never treated as certain.

Questions

Sources

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 3353; Sahih Muslim 2378.
2. Sahih Muslim 162.
3. Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya, chapter on Yusuf, and his tafsir of Surah Yusuf.
4. Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. In quotations within the text, the prophets' names are given in their Arabic form (Musa for Moses, Ibrahim for Abraham).

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.