કુરઆન મજીદના શબ્દોનું ભાષાંતર - અંગ્રેજી ભાષામાં અનુવાદ - ડૉ. વલીદ બ્લૈહિશ અલ્ ઉમરી - કાર્ય પ્રગતિમાં છે.
Yūsuf
الٓرۚ تِلۡكَ ءَايَٰتُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ ٱلۡمُبِينِ
[2656] The sura opens up with these three disjointed letters to highlight the Qur’an’s inimitable nature and is meant as a challenge to those who argue with the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Believers regarding the Truthfulness of the Message (c.f. 2: 1).
[2657] The far demonstrative pronoun tilka (those) is employed here to signify the loftiness of the ayas of the Qur’an (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Basīṭ, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr).
[2658] al-Kitāb al-Mubīn (The Elucidating Book) is the Qur’an whose ayas are clear with regards to its language and rulings, and all its meanings. A Book whose Truth is evident and which clears up that which is ambiguous and vague (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr).
The appellative/qualifying adjective ‘elucidating’ is expressive because what is being detailed here is a previously unknown story to the Arabs at the time of revelation who were only generally aware of the stories of other Prophets, especially, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Ibrāhīm, Lūṭ and Shuʿayb, who were either Arabians or had lived along their caravan routes. That this sura came down in Makkah, before the migration of the Messenger (ﷺ) to Madinah and his coming into contact with the Jewish community there is indication enough of the Truthfulness of the Message (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). (To be aware of the significance of this choice see 10:1 where we find the appellation ‘The Wise Book’ employed.)
So the scene for it had to be set in the right way and particularly so because of this narration’s single most significance. It would be hard to imagine let alone claim, that an illiterate man like Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) had at his disposal the scholarly apparatus, especially during his period of isolation in Makkah, to compile such an immaculate, unitary account of the life of a Hebrew Prophet. Thus focus is placed on: the ‘elucidating’ nature of the Qur’an and its ‘Arabicness’ so that its immediate recipients might pay heed, that its source is Divine and that the Messenger (ﷺ) was ‘uninformed’ before this revelation. In a nutshell, what we find here is a previously and totally unknown story beautifully and minutely detailed in a language alien to that in which any record of it had been anywhere in existence as a whole in Makkah.
Moreover, the detailed recounting of the narrative provided here is not the only side of it that is striking for additionally how it was formulated to be ‘the best of stories’ is another astounding aspect, as will transpire as the story unfolds.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ قُرۡءَٰنًا عَرَبِيّٗا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ
[2659] Part of its elucidating nature is that it has been sent down in the tongue of its immediate recipients (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿĀshūr) so that they may reflect and realize the Truth.
نَحۡنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيۡكَ أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ وَإِن كُنتَ مِن قَبۡلِهِۦ لَمِنَ ٱلۡغَٰفِلِينَ
[2660] The foregrounding of the Pronoun of Majesty, ‘We’, which refers to none other than God Almighty (سبحانه وتعالى), is meant to indicate the exclusiveness of the Qur’an’s source and is a pre-emptive response to the accusations of the Deniers, who always cast doubt on the source of the Qur’an (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). What could have been a more apt answer than this very story!
[2661] al-Qaṣaṣ could mean either the act of narration or the story itself (cf. al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 17/39).
Compressed into no more than 1,698 words, this is indeed a story narrated in such an intricate manner, full of subtleties and laden with meanings. It is a wisdom novella with an exciting plot, fascinating characters, vivid descriptions and majestic language that suck the readers into its flow. It animatedly captures the most intense of human emotions: burning jealousy, inflaming lust and a fatherly love so real that it actually causes bodily damage. Yet all this emotional investment is meant for a cathartic effect. It is a multi-layered narration fraught with subtexts, conflict, intrigue and resolution where the end result is given before it even begins. Then we are told how it happens in a captivating mix of subtle voices.
All of this is divided into seven fulsome scenes seamlessly jumping from one to the next without leaving much out. Moreover, it is not a fictional account, not a figment of imagination, but a real life story and one that is really striking. It is authored, both in the world and in narrative by none other than the Shaper of destiny Himself, God Almighty (سبحانه وتعالى). This is how we get to know a behind the scenes glimpse of what really took place and drove events; “You were not with them as they resolved their matter while they were plotting” (Aya 102 below). In short, it is a perfect story that needs neither supplements nor additions (cf. al-Saʿdī).
[2662] al-Ghāfilīn (plural of ghāfil; the oblivious, unaware, cf. Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt). The Prophet (ﷺ) was raised among an illiterate nation with next to no scholarly engagement at all and, on the whole, that had no knowledge, and was thus ‘uninformed’, of such events taking place in the past (cf. al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar).
إِذۡ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيۡتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوۡكَبٗا وَٱلشَّمۡسَ وَٱلۡقَمَرَ رَأَيۡتُهُمۡ لِي سَٰجِدِينَ
[2663] Prophet Joseph (عليه السلام) is a very special character in history. Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The most noble human is Yūsuf, Allah’s Prophet; son of Allah’s Prophet ˹Jacob˺, son of Allah’s Prophet ˹Isaac˺, son of Allah’s close friend ˹Abraham˺” (al-Bukhārī: 4689, Muslim: 2378). As we will see in what comes to be revealed in this story, he is both outstandingly beautiful both inside and outside. Throughout the different stages of his life, his ups and downs as recounted here, Prophet Joseph’s staple characteristic is of him being among the outstanding ‘perfectors’ (al-muḥsinīn cf. Ayas: 22: 36, 56, 78 and 90).
[2664] The story opens with a first line that attracts interest and makes people want to know more and edging to discover. The striking vision of the sun, the moon and eleven planets prostrating captures attention and raises questions that the receiver wants to know the answer to; knowing that some dreams are coded messages. Notably, this dream is only interpreted, by Joseph (عليه السلام) himself, whom God bestowed with the knowledge of interpreting ‘expressions’, at the very end of the story (cf. Ayas: 99-100).
By showing him this vision which promises the great things in store for him, Joseph was being prepared for hard times to come so that he would rest assured that the end would be bright (cf. al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
