“O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.” (Qur’an 12:4) 

Assalamu alaikum, fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. 

We may all know the importance of the Qur’an, the Holy Book written by Allah (swt). However, we may not necessarily follow the teachings of the Qur’an and follow the role models that were sent to the Earth to spread the word of Islam. In order to remind you of the important lessons taught by each of the significant prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, I will In Sha Allah, be starting a prophets series. This will contain lessons I learnt from each of the prophets. 

This Ramadan, we will talk about another prophet. He is Yusuf (pbuh). If you would like to know the story, sources are available below. If I also make any mistakes, I apologise and Allah (swt) knows the best. 

Raheela and Yusuf were the most beautiful people in the world.

If you think that anyone in this world is the most beautiful person, you are wrong because the most beautiful people were Raheela (Yusuf’s mother) and Yusuf (pbuh).

Don’t be jealous.

Yusuf’s brothers were jealous of him because Yaqub (pbuh) paid more attention on him.

Indeed what is to come will be better for you than what has gone by.

Yusuf (pbuh) was thrown into a well at a young age and then he ended up being the chief minister of Egypt.

Keep your promises and be true to your parents. 

The brothers lied to their father, Yaqub (pbuh) that they would keep Yusuf (pbuh) safe and they also lied that a wolf had killed him. They had lied, disobeyed their parents and broke their promises. 

Your good spreads around everywhere.

People in Egypt found out about this handsome young boy when he came to Egypt.

Don’t break the trust of your elders.

Yusuf (pbuh) promised the king that he would not break his trust and he kept his promise.

Lower your gaze in front of opposite sex 

When Zulaykha tried to seduce Yusuf (pbuh), Yusuf (pbuh) resisted his temptations and lowered his gaze.

Do not lie you will be caught

When everyone found out about this act, Zulaykha lied and blamed Yusuf (pbuh) but in the end, everyone found out anyways that she commited the sin.

Your bad deeds spread around

People in Egypt talked badly about Zulaykha as she had tried seducing Yusuf (pbuh).

You will get justice one day if you did the right thing

Yusuf (pbuh) went to prison even though he did not do anything wrong but after many years, he was known to be innocent by everyone and he received justice.

Help others

Yusuf (pbuh) even helped the prisoners who stayed with him in prison when they asked him to interpret their dreams.

Humans are forgetful

Surely, humans are forgetful since the prisoner who was released forgot to tell everyone that Yusuf (pbuh) was innocent.

You will have to apologise for your sins one day

Zulaykha, the women who also cut their hands when seeing Yusuf (pbuh) and the brothers of Yusuf (pbuh) all ended up apologising to him for doing wrong in the end.

Trust in Allah

Through the patience that Yusuf (pbuh) had, Allah allowed him to meet his beloved brother, Benjamin after a long time.

Familial love is important

The love that Yaqub (pbuh) had for Yusuf (pbuh) was very strong.

Don’t backbite

When Benjamin had the gold in his bag, the brothers blamed him for stealing and said that his brother Yusuf (pbuh) used to do that too. They said this in front of Yusuf (pbuh) himself.

Keep patient 

There are many examples of patience in this story for example, Yusuf (pbuh) had to be patient in the well, in prison and having to deal with bad people. Yaqub (pbuh) also had to wait for his son Yusuf (pbuh) to come to him one day.

Ask for forgiveness

If you have done something wrong, you need to admit it, apologise and try not to make that mistake again. 

You will unite with your true family

After many years, Yusuf (pbuh) united with his true family and they bowed down to him, just like in his dream.

Good dreams do have a meaning.

Yusuf’s dream did have a meaning and it was fulfilled.

These were some of the lessons that I captured from Yusuf (pbuh). The story of Yusuf (pbuh) is beautifully said in this Youtube video and book which I used to create this article:

Please share this article with your family and friends to get some rewards this Ramadan. In Sha Allah you will stay well.

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!