The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Yusuf

Commentary : Verse 26

(26) لِلَّذينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنى‏ وَ زِيادَةٌ وَ لا يَرْهَقُ وُجُوهَهُمْ قَتَرٌ وَ لا ذِلَّةٌ أُولئِكَ أَصْحابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فيها خالِدُونَ

  1. " For those who do good, is a goodly(reward), and more(than this). Neither dust nor abasement shall over spread their faces. They are Companions of the Garden; they will abide therein forever. "

Commentary :

The Arabic term/ rahiqa/ signifies covering by force and the word/ qatar/ means 'dust', 'smoke' and 'ashes'.

Bestowing incremental and extra rewards on the believers has repeatedly been mentioned in the Qur'an by the words/ ziyadah/,/ zi'f/ and/ 'az'af/. Among them are the following verses: "Whoever brings a good(deed), he shall have ten times its like, "(1) " He will pay them their rewards fully and with bestow upon them more out of His Grace. "(2)

In addition to the complete reward, Allah also bestows upon them more for partaking of his own virtue, there is a seven hundred- fold reward for giving charity for Allah's sake. "The likeness of those who spend their property in the way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain(of corn)that grows seven ears,(with)a hundred grains in every ear. And Allah multiplies(in abundance)for whom He wills; and Allah is All- Embracing, All- Knowing. "(3)

‏ (1) Sura Al- 'An'am, No. 6, verse 160

(2) Sura An- Nisa', No. 4, verse 173

(3) Sura Al- Baqarah, No. 2, verse 261

‏Imam Sadiq(a.s.)declares: "Every thing has its own system of measurement except tears, a drop of which extinguishes fires". Then he(a.s.)said: "He who sheds tears for the sake of Allah, his face will never confront darkness and humiliation, " and he recited: "Neither dust nor abasement shall overspread their face. "(1)

Fad il- bin- Yasar, has narrated from Imam Baqir(a.s.)who said that the Messenger of Allah(p.b.u.h.) declared; "There are no eyes which are soaked with tears for the fear of Allah except that Allah forbids that body to be in the Fire of Hell. Were he to shed tears, his face would not be covered by the dust and abasement"(2)

At any rate, those who turn to other than Allah, have no excuses to make as Allah(s. w. t.)simultaneously extends His invitation to man and, at the same time, leads him; He not only rewards but also rewards more and more. The verse says:

" For those who do good, is a goodly(reward), and more(than this). Neither dust nor abasement shall over spread their faces. They are Companions of the Garden; they will abide therein forever. "

(1) Nour- uth- Thaqalayn, the Commentary

(2) Majma' ul- Bayan

Commentary : Verse 27

(27) وَ الَّذينَ كَسَبُوا السَّيِّئاتِ جَزاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ بِمِثْلِها وَ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ما لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ عاصِمٍ كَأَنَّما أُغْشِيَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ قِطَعاً مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مُظْلِماً أُولئِكَ أَصْحابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فيها خالِدُونَ

  1. " And those who have earned evil will have a reward of like evil; and the dust of ignominy will cover them. No defender will they have from(the wrath of) Allah: as if their faces had been covered with pieces from the darkness of night. They are Companions of the Fire: they will abide therein forever! "

Commentary :

And those who have committed evil acts and sins will be punished accordingly in proportion to their acts. They will be punished to the extent they deserve, not more, for punishment beyond that which a person deserves is something inequitable(which is far from the Divine Providence). On the other hand, the reward for good deeds exceeds what one deserves and it is good to emanate from Allah. Therefore, the objective meaning of the word "like", in this verse, is nothing more and nothing less than one's due. The verse says:

" And those who have earned evil will have a reward of like evil; ..."

The Qur'anic phrase/ wa tar haqahum illah/ signifies that such sinners will be humiliated and become debased, for punishment is coupled with degradation. The verse continues saying:

"... and the dust of ignominy will cover them. ..."

Then the verse implies that there are no guards and obstacles to hinder the punishment of Allah from them. It says:

"... No defender will they have from(the wrath of)Allah: ..."

The obscurity reflected on their faces would be to such an extent that one would imagine that parts of the darkness of the night had cast their shadow, one after another, over them. The verse says:

"... as if their faces had been covered with pieces from the darkness of night. ..."

They shall be coupled with the Hell Fire and will eternally remain within its flames. The verse concludes saying:

"... They are Companions of the Fire: they will abide therein forever! "

Commentary : Verse 28

(28) وَ يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَميعاً ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذينَ أَشْرَكُوا مَكانَكُمْ أَنْتُمْ وَ شُرَكاؤُكُمْ فَزَيَّلْنا بَيْنَهُمْ وَ قالَ شُرَكاؤُهُمْ ما كُنْتُمْ إِيَّانا تَعْبُدُونَ

  1. " And the Day We shall muster them all, then We shall say to those who associated others(with Us): 'Get you to your place! You and your associates', then We shall set a space between them, and their associates shall say: 'It was not us(indeed)that you used to worship! ' "

Commentary :

This verse also follows the previous discussions on the issue of the origin of existence and the Resurrection and the situation of the polytheists.

At first, the Qur'an warns all to remember the Day when Allah will assemble all His subjects and make them rise from the dead. The verse says:

" And the Day We shall muster them all, ..."

Then He will declare unto the polytheists to stay in their place together with their idols so that He may examine their account. It continues saying:

"... then We shall say to those who associated others(with Us): ..."

The Qur'an informs that Allah will separate these two groups from each other; i. e. the worshippers and the worshipped ones, and He will question each individual separately, as it is usual with all courts that they investigate each person separately. The verse says:

"... 'Get you to your place! You and your associates', then We shall set a space between them, ..."

Allah may ask the idol- worshippers why they worshipped idols along with Allah(s. w. t.), and He will also ask the idols why they permitted such an act to occur, that they allowed the polytheists to worship them.

It is at this time that those things that were worshipped as idols will speak, saying to them that they never worshipped idols. In actual fact, they worshipped the creation of their own imaginations, whims and passions. The verse says:

"... and their associates shall say: 'It was not us(indeed)that you used to worship! ' "

Commentary : Verse 29

(29) فَكَفى‏ بِاللَّهِ شَهيداً بَيْنَنا وَ بَيْنَكُمْ إِنْ كُنَّا عَنْ عِبادَتِكُمْ لَغافِلينَ

  1. " Allah is a sufficient witness between us and you: we certainly were Unaware of your worship(of us). "

Commentary :

In the previous verse, those things worshipped were saying that the polytheists did not worship them. Here, they declare that they were unaware of their worship.

The verse says:

" Allah is a sufficient witness between us and you: we certainly were Unaware of your worship(of us). "

Consequently, whatever act of worship is performed without the knowledge of the worshipped is null and void.

Incidentally, there are numerous allusions made to the hatred and disavowal of those objects worshipped from the polytheists and their deeds in the Qur'an, i. e., Sura Al- Furqan, No. 25, verse 17, and Sura Al- Qas as, No. 28, verse 63.

Commentary : Verse 30

(30) هُنالِكَ تَبْلُوا كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ما أَسْلَفَتْ وَ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلاهُمُ الْحَقِّ وَ ضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ ما كانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ

  1. " There will every soul realize(the reward of)the deeds it sent aforetime, and they will be brought back to Allah, their true Lord, and that which they used to fabricate(the false deities)will vanish(away)from them. "

Commentary :

The Day of Resurrection is the day on which the worldly test results are received. The verse says:

" There will every soul realize(the reward of)the deeds it sent aforetime, ..."

The true Lord is Allah and any other than Him, whatever it may be, is absurd.

The verse says:

"... and they will be brought back to Allah, their true Lord, ..."

The Resurrection pertains to all men. And the false effects of the worshipped will be wiped out. The verse continues saying:

"... and that which they used to fabricate(the false deities)will vanish(away)from them. "

All existence has its origin in Him, and the final destination will be towards Him, too.