Surah-e-Yusuf

←  Sura 12 of the Quran  →

يوسف Yūsuf Joseph
Arabic text · English translation
Classification	Meccan
Position	Juzʼ 12 to 13
Hizb no.	24 to 25
No. of Rukus	12
No. of verses	111
No. of Sajdahs	none

Arabic text · English translation

Sūrat Yūsuf (Arabic: يوسف‎‎) is the 12th sura (chapter) of the Quran. It is said to have been revealed in a single sitting, being unique in this respect. The text narrates the story of Yusuf (the biblical Joseph). While other surahs tend to jump between topics, this sura is special in sticking to its central theme throughout, telling a coherent story in chronological order.

The chapter was first translated into Latin by Thomas van Erpe in 1617 and later in the 17th century published synoptically in Arabic and Latin as part of the Lutheran efforts at translating the Qur'an.

The story of Yusuf (Sura) is about the prophet Yusuf, translated in English as Joseph. Yusuf is one of the sons of Ya'qub (known as Jacob in the English translation) who has the talent of interpreting dreams. One day Yusuf has a dream and he narrates his dream to his father who immediately knows that Yusuf will be a prophet. His father tells him not to tell his brothers to avoid any harm. However, because of Ya'qub's loving treatment towards Yusuf, Yusuf's brothers felt jealous. They wanted to get rid of Yusuf, so their father could love them instead of Yusuf. Their initial plan was to kill Yusuf, but later they decided to throw him in a well. They lied to their father and told him that a wolf had killed him. Later, a caravan rescued Yusuf from the well, who then sold him to a man in Egypt. The man took Yusuf in and was hoping to have him as a son. Later, the man's wife tries to seduce Yusuf, but he resists. The woman seeing his resistance accuses Yusuf of wanting to harm her and demands that he should either be punished severely or sent to jail.

A witness, after Yusuf defends his innocence, testifies "if his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars but if his shirt is torn from the back, then she has lied, and he is of the truthful." The shirt was indeed torn from the back. Soon after this accident, the women of the city talk of how the wife is seeking to seduce Yusuf. The wife of 'Al-Aziz invites them to a banquet, gives each of them a knife, and then tells Yusuf to come out. The women cut their hands in astonishment. 'She said, "That is the one about whom you blamed me. And I certainly sought to seduce him, but he firmly refused; and if he will not do what I order him, he will surely be imprisoned and will be of those debased." http://quran.com/12/32' Yusuf prefers prison to what they call him so he prayed to God. Yusuf is sent to prison.

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