Story Of Prophet Yusuf ✔

PART 44:THIS IS MY WAY, I CALL TO ALLAH [Surah Yusuf 12: 107-109]

107. Do they feel safe that there will not come upon them the covering of Allah’s punishment, or the Hour should come upon them suddenly while they are not aware?

108. Say “This is my way, I call to Allah, on clear evidence, I and those who follow me, and Glorified be Allah, and I am not of those who do shirk.”   

109. And we did not send before you except men onto whom We revealed from the people of the towns, have they not traveled in the earth to see what was the end of those before them, and the home of the Hereafter is better for those who have Taqwa, will you not think?

Allah continues to console the Prophet (PBUH) in these verses also. Allah tells him not to become disheartened at the fact that most of the people had rejected the Message. Allah Knows well of their rejection, and their rejection is in no way a fault of the Prophet (PBUH). Just as these people feel safe from Allah’s punishment, they also feel safe from the Hour. The Hour here, of course, refers to the Last Hour. The Hour after which there will be no more hours. The Hour after which time will end. These people feel safe that this Hour will not come upon while they are alive. Allah (swt) Himself tells us in this ayah that the Hour will occur suddenly. It will come upon them suddenly when they are not even aware. They will be going about their lives, and then all of a sudden, it will befall them.

Let us remind ourselves once again that this Surah was revealed during the last years in Makkah. For over twelve years the Prophet (PBUH) had carried dawah to his tribe of Quraysh, and still, there was no sign of success. Now even when he had brought to them the story of Yusuf (AS) like they had asked for, they were still not willing to accept him as the Messenger.

Allah commands the Prophet (PBUH) to say in this ayah “This is my way, I call to Allah.” So for years, the Prophet (PBUH) had been carrying dawah to these people, and for years they had been rejecting him. Does this mean that he (PBUH) should give up? What should be his response to such rejection? This statement is the response. The Prophet (PBUH) should only tell them that this is his way. He (PBUH) calls to Allah (swt). That is what he does. That is his job. So even if the dawah should proceed for years without success, it will proceed.

Allah then reminds the Prophet (PBUH) of the nature of every single prophet that He had sent before him. All of the prophets and messengers whom Allah had ever sent were men. Allah has never sent a woman, or a child, or anything that was not human as a messenger. These men were not hermits who lived in caves. Allah never sent a messenger except that he had a life and he had a family. He had people that he knew and people that he interacted with. He had responsibilities and duties. He had to care for his family, and he had to spend time with the people he knew. In other words, he was just like us. Every messenger whom Allah (swt) sent was just like us.

Then Allah reminds us that every human being is faced with the choice of this world or the Hereafter. Do you want to spend this moment serving your desires for this world or do you want to spend it serving Allah for the Hereafter? This is a fundamental question that every human being faces. In this ayah, Allah tells us what is the right answer to this question. Of course, the home of the Hereafter is better. How does this world even compare with the Hereafter?

Finally, Allah (swt) asks us “will you not think?”. What is the matter with you? When you know all that you know then why would you ever choose this world? Why would you ever turn away from Allah (swt)?