Surah 12. Yusuf, Ayah 5

See surah {11}, note [65].

As in the Biblical account of Joseph's story, the Qur'an shows that Jacob did not fail to understand the meaning of his son's dream-vision of future greatness, with the eleven stars symbolizing his brothers, and the sun and the moon his parents. But whereas the Bible quotes the father as "rebuking" his son (Genesis xxxvii, 10) in the obvious assumption that the dream was an outcome of wishful thinking, the Qur'an makes it clear that Jacob - who was himself a prophet - at once realized its prophetic quality and its deeper implications.

The young lad Yusuf was innocent and did not even know of his brothers' guile and hatred, but the father knew and warned him.

The story is brought up at once to its spiritual bearing. These wicked brothers were puppets in the hands of Evil. They allowed their manhood to be subjugated by Evil, not remembering that Evil was the declared opposite or enemy of the true nature and instincts of manhood.