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

Commentary : Verse 36

(36) وَ ما يَتَّبِعُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ إِلاَّ ظَنًّا إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لا يُغْني‏ مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئاً إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ بِما يَفْعَلُونَ

  1. " And most of them follow nothing but conjecture: truly, conjecture can be of no avail against the Truth. Verily Allah is well aware of what they do. "

Commentary :

Thus the reason for their being misled and misguided is that they follow their own conjectures and their own corrupt speculations. Conjectures will never lead us to the Truth and to Reality. Following conjectures only results in the doing of indecencies.

The verse says:

" And most of them follow nothing but conjecture: truly, conjecture can be of no avail against The Truth. ..."

What is of real value is "knowledge". Sound conjecture and confidence, if based on proper solid grounds is valuable, i. e. those conjectures deducted from the apparent words of the holy verses(and quotations)derived from the Allah's commandments which are practiced by Islamic jurisprudents(Fuqaha')in even the minute details of problems.

The verse says:

"... Verily Allah is well aware of what they do. "

However, conjectures in the realm of ideas, if they are rooted in pursuing the vain way of one's ancestors or fanaticism based on ignorance are groundless, and hence, are of no avail.

Commentary : Verse 37

(37) وَ ما كانَ هذَا الْقُرْآنُ أَنْ يُفْتَرى‏ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَ لكِنْ تَصْديقَ الَّذي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَ تَفْصيلَ الْكِتابِ لا رَيْبَ فيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعالَمينَ

  1. " And this Qur'an is not such as to be produced by other than Allah; but it is a confirmation of(revelations) that went before it, and a(clear) explanation of the Book, wherein there is no doubt, from the Lord of the Worlds. "

Commentary :

The comprehensive nature of the Qur'an and its contents are such that any kind of unsound allegation ascribed to it and relating it to other than Allah(s. w. t.)is unreasonable. The holy verse says:

" And this Qur'an is not such as to be produced by other than Allah; but it is a confirmation of(revelations)that went before it, ..."

All heavenly Books confirm each other; their differences lie only in the conciseness and detail of their contents. The verse continues saying:

"... and a(clear)explanation of the Book, wherein there is no doubt, from the Lord of the Worlds. "

Commentary : Verse 38

(38) أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَراهُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِثْلِهِ وَ ادْعُوا مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صادِقينَ

  1. " Or they say, 'He has forged it. ' Say: 'Bring then a Sura like unto it, and call(to your aid)anyone you can, besides Allah, if you are truthful! '"

Commentary :

The Qur'an has reiterated on several occasions that the words of Allah(the Qur'an)are miracles because of the inability of man and jinn to present something similar, and it has presented this challenge to both of them. Among the verses that testify to this fact, one may cite verse 31 of the Sura Hud. Despite the fact that Islam has had millions of opponents throughout history and still has such enemies, and they have striven to weaken the Qur'an and defeat Islam, carrying out intensive activities in the process, yet this confident challenge of the Qur'an has been left unanswered and will continue to be so until the Day of Resurrection.

Since we are dealing with setting the dimensions and the definition of the Qur'an, we will now point out some aspects of this divine miracle.

1.It distills extensive and profound wisdom into concise words. For instance, regarding the relationship of man and woman, it comments: "They(your wives)are a clothing for you and you are a clothing for them. '(1) To explain the fragility and vulnerability of the non- divine powers, it likens them to a spider's web or declares that they are unable to create even a

(1) Sura Al- Baqarah, No. 2, verse 187

‏gnat. It says: " verily those whom you call upon besides Allah cannot create a gnat. "(1)

  1. Its profundity and the sweetness of words do not render it monotonous even if it may be read over and again for more than thousand times; on the contrary, each time it is studied it presents new messages.

  2. Its harmony of words is especially outstanding and if a Qur'anic verse is placed among other Arabic texts or passages it can be easily distinguished from them.

  3. The comprehensive nature of the Qur'an: It includes reasoning and demonstration to citing examples from worldly affairs to the life in hereafter, and also the facts concerning family problems, legal, political, military, ethical, historical teachings etc.

  4. Its realism: Its contents are not based upon conjecture; even its stories are documented and real.

  5. The universal and all- embracing nature of the Qur'an: All people will benefit from it at all levels and in all places regardless of whenever or wherever they are; it is not a Book particular to a special time, place, or people.

  6. The eternal effect of the Qur'an: The older the age of humanity and the more the sciences progress the more of its secrets are discovered.

  7. Its ever- increasing and its everlasting development: Despite having an increasing number of enemies and the growing number of attacks launched against it during its history, it has not only survived but also it has secured the highest station.

(1) Sura Al- Hajj, No. 22, verse 73

  1. It is an ever- existing miracle by itself. A miracle that is available to all and is composed of the kind of words that put it at everyone's disposal.

  2. It is both a miracle and a Book of commandments and legal codes.

  3. It is a token from an illiterate man from a region deprived of literacy.

  4. Nothing has been added to it or deducted from it and it has been kept intact from distortion. The Qur'an puts forth the simplest challenge, of calling people to present a Sura like it, to prove its being miraculous. It declares:

" Or they say, 'He has forged it. ' Say: 'Bring then a Sura like unto it, ..."

The Qur'an is a miracle not only in its entirety but also every one of its suras proves the same. This challenge of the Qur'an is not confined to a specific time and place. It will stand unanswered all over the globe until the end of the life of mankind and the Day of Resurrection. The Qur'an's challenge is not only issued to the common people, on the contrary, it is issued to all of mankind, including: jurisconsults, men of letters, and geniuses. It continues saying:

"... and call(to your aid)anyone you can, besides Allah, if you are truthful! '"

Commentary : Verse 39

(39) بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِما لَمْ يُحيطُوا بِعِلْمِهِ وَ لَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْويلُهُ كَذلِكَ كَذَّبَ الَّذينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الظَّالِمينَ

  1. " Nay, they belied that which they comprehended not with the knowledge of it, which whose interpretation has not yet come to them. Even thus did belie those before them, see then what was the end of the unjust ones. "

Commentary :

The opponents of the prophets have often had two reasons for their dissidence throughout history, one of which was due to their ignorance and the other to their lack of knowledge and intellectual appreciation of the glorious Qur'an as well as the other heavenly Books. It says:

" Nay, they belied that which they comprehended not with the knowledge of it, which whose interpretation has not yet come to them. Even thus did belie those before them, ..."

They rejected the Qur'an before they knew the truth about it and had not grasped command of its interpretation and meaning; because it was fundamentally against their ancestral religion. Hence, as to the eventual fate of the oppressors, the verse continues saying:

"... see then what was the end of the unjust ones. "

Commentary : Verse 40

(40) وَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ لا يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَ رَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُفْسِدينَ

40."And some of them believe in it and some of them do not believe in it;and your Lord knows best the mischief makers."

Commentary :

A leader must not expect everyone to believe in his way. He must lead them on to the Right Path and if they do not follow, he can only let them wait for the divine punishment.

The verse says:

" And some of them believe in it and some of them do not believe in it; and your Lord knows best the mischief makers. "