Yusuf On the Throne
- philhoraia
- Apr 3
- 3 min read
In this short post we shall be looking at a verse.
S 12:100 And he raised his parents upon the throne and they fell down to him doing sujud. And he said: My father, this is the interpretation of my dream before. My lord has made it true. And he did good to me when he took me out of the prison and brought you from the Bedouin life after the Devil had incited between me and my brothers. My lord is nice to what he wills. He is the knower, the wise.
THE throne is spoken of, not of his throne. The definite article suggests that there was but one throne. Even if it was his throne, why might he have had one?
We might exclude Yusuf's having been the Pharaoh as the author of quran evidently thought that Fir'awn was a proper name.
Might he have been Fir'awn's equal? We read of Haman's troops and they are referenced together in a number of passages. Might Haman have had a throne and been Fir'awn's equal?
A side note: Yusuf raised his parents, including his late mother, upon the throne. Does this mean that they all sat on the one throne? How many people might the throne have accommodated?
The Jalalayn say:
And he raised his parents he seated them next to him upon the throne and they fell down that is his parents and brothers prostrating before him — a prostration that was actually a bowing down not placing their foreheads down on the ground; this was their standard form of greeting at that time. Then he said ‘O father this is the interpretation of my vision of old. Indeed my Lord has made it true. And indeed He has been gracious to me since He brought me out of the prison — he did not say ‘out of the well’ in a show of magnanimity lest his brothers feel ashamed — and has brought you from the desert after Satan had incited ill feeling made trouble between me and my brethren. Truly my Lord is Subtle in bringing about what He will. Truly He is the Knower of His creatures the Wise in His actions. His father Jacob remained with him for 24 years or for 17 years. The duration of his separation from Joseph had been 18 or 40 or 80 years. When death approached him he charged Joseph to take him and bury him by his father Isaac and so he Joseph himself went and buried him there. He Joseph then returned to Egypt and remained alive for another 23 years.
The * تفسير Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs:
(And he placed his parents on the dais) on an elevated platform (and they fell down before him prostrate) i.e. his parents and brothers fell prostrate before him. This prostration was a sign of greeting between them: the person of humble standing prostrated to the person of high standing, the youth to the elderly and the young to the old; it is a slight bowing as is known among non-Arabs, (and he said: O my father! This) prostration (is the interpretation of my dream of old. My Lord hath made it true, and He hath shown me kindness, since He took me out of the prison) and saved me from slavery (and hath brought you from the desert after Satan had made strife between me and my brethren) through resentful envy. (Lo! my Lord is tender unto whom He will) my Lord is tender in that He brought us together. (He is the Knower) of that which has befallen us, (the Wise) in separating and then bringing us together. altafsir.com
The text speaks of the 'ARSH, not of the 'dais' (English translation). The Arabic has 'bed'. https://shamela.ws/book/12877/1868
Both commentators have a problem with his parents doing sujud to him. The author of the Tanwir has a problem with their being on the throne.
Further reading:
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