Surah Yusuf English Translation & Transliteration

¹Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book whose message is clear and understandable.

²We have sent down this Quran in clear, understandable Arabic so that you may use your reason.

³By revealing this Quran to you, We relate to you the most beautiful of stories. Before this revelation you were unaware of them.

⁴Joseph said to his father: "Dear father, in my dream I saw eleven stars, the sun, and the moon prostrating before me."

⁵Jacob said: "My dear son, do not tell your dream to your brothers, lest out of envy they try to do you harm. For Satan is a clear enemy to the human being."

⁶"It seems that your Lord will choose you and teach you to understand dreams/the true nature of events. Just as He gave blessings before to your forefathers Abraham and Isaac, He will complete His blessing upon you and upon the family of Jacob. Your Lord surely knows all things and does everything in its proper place."

⁷Indeed, in the story of Joseph and his brothers there are many lessons for those who wish to learn.

⁸Recall when his brothers said: "Though we are many, why are Joseph and his brother dearer to our father than we are? Our father is clearly in the wrong."

⁹"Kill Joseph, or cast him away in some desolate place, so that your father's love and attention will be yours alone. After that you can live happily ever after."

¹⁰Another of them said: "Do not kill Joseph; if you must do it, leave him in the depths of a well, so that some caravan may pick him up and take him away."

¹¹They came to their father and said: "O our father, what is the matter with you that you do not trust us at all concerning Joseph? Yet we always wish him well.

¹²Send him with us tomorrow, so that he may roam and play to his heart's content. We will guard him like the apple of our eye," they said.

¹³Their father said to them: "It worries me that you should take him away. I fear that a wolf may snatch him while you are not paying attention."

¹⁴They said: "If a wolf were to eat him while we are such a large band, then shame on us!"

¹⁵They took Joseph away, and when they had agreed to leave him in a well, We revealed to Joseph: "Now they are unaware of it, but the day will come when you will tell them, one by one, of what they have done."

¹⁶And at nightfall they came to their father, weeping.

¹⁷They said: "O our father! Believe us, we went off a little way to race one another and left Joseph with our belongings. Meanwhile a wolf snatched him and ate him! Now, however truthfully we speak, you still will not believe us!"

¹⁸And they brought Joseph's shirt, smeared with false blood. Their father said: "No, your feelings of envy have driven you to do this. As for me, it is for me to show beautiful patience. Concerning what you describe, Allah is the only One whose help is to be sought."

¹⁹Then a caravan came. They sent their water-drawer to the well. He let down his bucket and said: "What good news! This is a boy!" They hid him in order to sell him. But Allah knew very well what they would do.

²⁰In the end they sold him for a paltry price, a few dirhams. For, wanting only to be rid of him, they sought no profit.

²¹The man in Egypt who bought Joseph said to his wife: "Look after him well; perhaps he will be of use to us, or we may adopt him as our son." Thus We established Joseph there. And We taught him the interpretation of dreams and events. Allah carries out every matter He decrees, but most people do not know this.

²²When he reached maturity, We gave him the ability to judge rightly, and knowledge. This is how We reward those who do good.

²³Then the lady of the house in which he lived felt an intense desire for Joseph and wanted to have her way with him; she shut the doors tight and said: "Come here!" Joseph said: "I seek refuge in Allah from doing such a thing, for your husband is my master and my benefactor. He has given me a good position. It is a fact that wrongdoers who betray those who trust them will never attain what they hope for."

²⁴The woman had indeed set her mind on being with him. And had his Lord not shown him the ugliness of this deed by inspiring him, Joseph too would have yielded to her. We showed him this sign to keep him away from evil and shameful deeds. For he was one of Our most sincere servants.

²⁵Both of them raced toward the door; meanwhile the woman caught up with Joseph and tore his shirt from behind. At that very moment they met the woman's husband at the door. The woman at once said: "What should be the penalty for one who had designs on your wife, other than being thrown into the dungeon or punished severely?"

²⁶Joseph said: "It was she who tried to seduce me." An expert witness from the woman's family said: "If Joseph's shirt is torn from the front, the woman is telling the truth and Joseph is lying.

²⁷But if Joseph's shirt is torn from behind, the woman is lying and Joseph is telling the truth."

²⁸When her husband saw that the shirt was torn from behind, he turned to his wife and said: "This is one of the snares you women lay; for the snares of you women are formidable indeed.

²⁹Joseph, consider this as never having happened! And you, woman, ask your husband's forgiveness for your offense. For you are the one in the wrong."

³⁰Some women in the city said: "The Aziz's wife has tried to have her way with her slave; clearly her love for him has set her heart on fire, and she is head over heels in love with him. We see that she has gone far astray."

³¹When the Aziz's wife heard of the women's gossip about her, she invited them to her house and prepared a lavish banquet for them. She gave each of them a knife. Then she said to Joseph: "Go out to them." When the women saw him, they were so dazzled by his beauty that they lost themselves and cut their hands. And they said: "Allah preserve us! This cannot be a human being; he can only be a wonderful angel!"

³²The Aziz's wife said: "This is the young man on whose account you blamed me. Yes, I desired him, but he behaved chastely and refused me. I swear that if he does not do what I ask, he will certainly be thrown into prison and will languish there."

³³Joseph said: "My Lord! Prison is better for me than doing what these women invite me to. If You do not protect me from their snares, I may incline toward them and, losing my self-control, become one of the ignorant."

³⁴His Lord answered his prayer and protected him from the women's snares. For Allah hears and knows all.

³⁵Even though they had seen all the evidence that Joseph was innocent, they still saw fit to imprison him for a while.

³⁶Two other young men entered the prison with him. One of them said: "In my dream I see myself pressing grape juice to make an intoxicating drink." The other said: "And in my dream I see myself carrying bread on my head, and the birds eating from it. Interpret our dreams for us. For we think you are someone who interprets dreams well."

³⁷Joseph said: "Before your daily food is brought to you, I will tell you the truth that lies behind both your dreams. For this is part of what my Lord has taught me. For I have abandoned the belief system of a people who do not believe in Allah and do not take the Hereafter into account.

³⁸And I have followed the belief system of my forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It would never befit us to ascribe any attribute that belongs to Allah to anyone else. This belief in Allah's oneness (tawhid) is a grace from Allah to us and to all people. But most people are not grateful for this blessing.

³⁹O my fellow prisoners! Is it better to believe in many separate lords, or in Allah, the One, who holds authority over all beings?

⁴⁰Those you place between yourselves and Allah and serve are nothing but names that you and your forefathers have invented. Allah has sent down no knowledge or evidence about them. For judgment belongs to Allah alone. And He has commanded that none but Him be served. This is the right and sound religion; but most people do not know this truth.

⁴¹O my fellow prisoners! One of you will go on serving intoxicating drink to his master, and the other will be hanged, and the birds will peck at his head! This is the interpretation of the dreams you asked me about, and it will come true."

⁴²Joseph said to the one of the two prisoners he thought would be released: "Mention me to your master." But Satan made him forget to mention Joseph to his master, and Joseph remained in the dungeon for a few more years!

⁴³One day the king said: "In my dream I saw seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean cows. I also saw seven green ears of grain and seven dry ones. O chiefs, if you know how to interpret dreams, interpret this dream of mine for me!"

⁴⁴They said: "These are confused dreams. We do not know how to interpret dreams like these."

⁴⁵Then the one of the two fellow prisoners who had been released remembered after all this time and said: "Send me, and I will bring you its interpretation."

⁴⁶"Joseph! O my friend, true in heart and word! Interpret for us what it means to see in a dream seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of grain and seven dry ones, so that I may go back and tell them. I hope that they will come to appreciate your worth."

⁴⁷(Joseph) said: "Sow and reap for seven years, as you have always done. But store what you harvest in its ears, without separating it from the stalk, except for the small amount you eat.

⁴⁸Then there will come seven years of famine. In that period you will consume all of it, except for the small amount you keep as seed.

⁴⁹After that period will come a time of rain, in which people will be delivered from hardship and attain abundance," he said.

⁵⁰The king said: "Bring him to me." When the king's man came to fetch Joseph, Joseph said to him: "Go back to your master and ask him, 'What was the matter with the women who cut their hands back then?' My Lord surely knows their scheming very well!"

⁵¹(The king gathered the women and said to them:) "When you once sought to take advantage of Joseph, what response did you get from him?" The women said: "Allah forbid! In all honesty, we have never witnessed any evil in him." Just then the Aziz's wife said: "Now the truth has come out. It was I who wanted to take him to my bed. He was truthful in all that he said.

⁵²This confession of mine is so that my husband may know that I never betrayed him behind his back. For Allah never lets the schemes of the treacherous succeed.

⁵³Even so, I do not declare myself entirely innocent. For a person's self constantly urges evil/carnal desires, except when my Lord shows mercy. My Lord is surely matchless in forgiveness and possesses infinite mercy."

⁵⁴Thereupon the king said: "Bring him to me; I will make him my special adviser!" And when he had spoken with him, he said: "From now on you will have an honored position with us, and you will be my trusted man."

⁵⁵Joseph said: "Then put me in charge of the storehouses of the land. For I will guard the treasury well, and I know financial matters well."

⁵⁶Thus We granted Joseph power in the land, so that he might build there as he wished. For We give dominion to whomever We will among Our servants, and We never let the reward due to those who do their work rightly go to waste!

⁵⁷And the reward of the Hereafter is far better for those who believe and act responsibly.

⁵⁸Years later Joseph's brothers came (to Egypt to obtain grain) and appeared before him. Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him!

⁵⁹When Joseph had their loads prepared and they were about to leave, he said: "Next time you come, bring me your half-brother on your father's side. You see that I give you grain in abundance and host you in the finest way.

⁶⁰If you do not bring him to me next time, you will get not a single measure of grain from me, nor may you come near me."

⁶¹His brothers said: "We will try to persuade his father to let us bring him; surely we will manage it."

⁶²Meanwhile Joseph said to his officials: "Put the money they paid for the grain back into their grain. When they return to their families, they will realize that we have shown them generosity, and they will come back."

⁶³When at last they returned to their father, they said: "O our father! If we do not take our brother next time, we will not be given even a single measure of grain. So send our brother with us to Egypt so that we may get grain. Rest assured that we will guard him very well."

⁶⁴Their father said: "Am I to trust you with him now, just as I trusted you before with his brother Joseph? Still, Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of the merciful."

⁶⁵When at last they opened their packs, they found that the payment they had taken in exchange for the grain had been returned to them. They said: "O our father! What more could we ask for? Here even our payment has been returned to us! With it we will buy food for our family again, guard our brother, and get an extra camel-load besides. In any case, what we brought is only a small amount."

⁶⁶Their father said: "I will not send him with you unless you give me a firm pledge, swearing by Allah, that you will bring him back to me—unless you are all surrounded and overwhelmed." When they had given him their firm pledge on oath, Jacob said: "Allah is the guarantor of what we have said."

⁶⁷And he added: "My sons, do not enter the city by a single gate; enter by different gates. Yet whatever I say, I cannot avert Allah's decree concerning you. For the final decision and judgment belong to Allah.(1) In Him alone I trust and on Him alone I rely; and let those who would trust rely on Allah alone," he said.(2)

⁶⁸Although they entered as their father had told them, this could in fact not avert anything that was to come from Allah. It merely fulfilled a wish of Jacob's. Jacob surely knew, thanks to the knowledge We had taught him(1). But most people do not know this truth.(2)

⁶⁹When they came into Joseph's presence, he embraced his full brother and said: "I am your brother; do not grieve at all over what they have done!"

⁷⁰While Joseph was having their loads put on, he had a drinking cup placed in his full brother's pack. Then an official called out: "O you of the caravan, you are thieves!"

⁷¹Turning toward them, they said: "What is it that you have lost?"

⁷²The officials said: "We have lost the king's drinking bowl. Whoever brings it of his own accord will be given a camel-load of grain. I guarantee it!"

⁷³They said: "By Allah, we did not come to this land to spread corruption. You know this very well; nor are we thieves."

⁷⁴The officials said: "Then if you are lying, what is the penalty for theft?"

⁷⁵They said: "The one in whose pack the stolen goods are found is himself to be detained as the penalty. This is how we punish wrongdoers who steal."

⁷⁶Joseph searched the other brothers' packs first, and then brought the drinking cup out of his full brother's pack. We taught Joseph this plan. Had Allah not willed it so, he could not have detained his brother under the king's law. We raise in rank whomever We will(1). For above everyone who has knowledge there is always one who knows more(2).

⁷⁷His brothers said among themselves: "If he has stolen, we are not surprised; his older brother stole too, years ago." Joseph swallowed their accusation, kept it hidden within himself, and said nothing to their faces. He said inwardly: "You are in a far worse position, and Allah knows that your accusations are baseless."

⁷⁸They said: "O honored governor! He has an aged father; take one of us in his place. We see that you are one of those who do good."

⁷⁹Joseph said: "I seek refuge in Allah from punishing an innocent person! We detain only the one with whom we found our property; otherwise we would be unjust wrongdoers."

⁸⁰When they had given up hope of freeing him, they drew aside to confer among themselves. The eldest of them said: "Do you not know that your father took a pledge from you, making you swear by Allah? And what is more, the evil you did to Joseph years ago is plain to see. By Allah, I will not leave this place until my father permits me to return, or until Allah, the best of judges, passes His judgment concerning me.

⁸¹You go back to your father and say: 'O our father! Your son has committed theft; we bear witness only to what we have seen and known. We could not guard against what was beyond our knowledge.'"

⁸²"If you do not believe us, ask the people of the town we were in and the caravan we traveled with. We are truly telling the truth."

⁸³Jacob said: "Evidently your feelings of envy have led you to do this. Now it is for me to show beautiful patience. Perhaps Allah will bring them all back to me together. Surely He is the One who knows all things and does everything in its proper place."

⁸⁴Jacob turned his back on his sons and withdrew into himself, groaning inwardly: "Oh, my Joseph! Oh, my grief!" And from this sorrow his eyes turned white. He held all his anger and grief within himself.

⁸⁵His sons said: "Father! By Allah, you are wearing yourself out with your constant 'my Joseph.' One day this grief will lay you up in bed, or even be the death of you!"

⁸⁶Jacob said: "I lay my sorrow and grief before Allah alone, and I know many things about Allah's grace that you do not know.

⁸⁷O my sons! Go and search for Joseph and his brother. Never lose hope of Allah's mercy. For none but the disbelieving people lose hope of Allah's mercy."

⁸⁸When his brothers came into Joseph's presence, they said: "O Aziz! We and our family are in hardship and distress, and moreover the money we have brought you is only a small amount. But give us full measure all the same, and grant us something extra as charity. Allah surely rewards those who give in charity."

⁸⁹Joseph said to them: "You remember what you did, in your ignorance, to Joseph and his brother, do you not?"

⁹⁰They said: "What! Can it be that you are Joseph?" He said: "Yes, I am Joseph, and this is my brother! Allah has truly been gracious to us. Indeed, whoever guards himself against evil and endures hardship patiently, let him know well that Allah does not leave such doers of good unrewarded."

⁹¹They said: "By Allah, Allah has preferred you above us. We have truly done great wrong!"

⁹²Joseph said: "There is no reproach or blame on you today. May Allah forgive you; for He is the most merciful of the merciful!

⁹³Now take this shirt of mine and lay it over my father's face; then he will begin to see. Then come to me, bringing all your family members," he said.

⁹⁴As the caravan left Egypt, their father said: "If you will not accuse me of senility, I will tell you something. I truly sense the scent of Joseph."

⁹⁵Those around him said: "By Allah, you are still in your same old senility!"

⁹⁶At last, when the bearer of good news came and laid the shirt over Jacob's face, he at once began to see. Then he said: "Did I not tell you that I know many things about Allah's grace that you do not know?"

⁹⁷His sons said: "O our father! Ask Allah's forgiveness for our sins on our behalf; for we have truly done wrong."

⁹⁸He said: "I will ask my Lord to forgive you. Surely He, yes He, is the One matchless in forgiveness and an infinite source of mercy."

⁹⁹When they came into Joseph's presence, he embraced his mother and father and said: "By Allah's leave, live from now on in Egypt in peace and security."

¹⁰⁰Joseph raised his mother and father up to his seat of office and sat them beside him. They all prostrated in gratitude to their Lord. Then Joseph said: "Dear father! This is the interpretation of the dream I saw long ago! My Lord has now made it come true, and my Lord has been very good to me. He brought me out of prison, and after Satan had driven a wedge between me and my brothers, He brought you here from the desert and reunited us! My Lord is truly most gracious. He brings about what He wills in ways beyond comprehension. Surely it is He who knows all things, and He who does everything in its proper place."

¹⁰¹"My Lord! You have given me power and authority, and You have taught me the truth that lies behind dreams/events. O You who created the heavens and the earth in a matchless way! You are my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter;(1) take my soul as a Muslim, as one who has devoted his being to You,(2) and join me with the good!" (3)

¹⁰²These are part of the news of the unseen that We reveal to you. For you were not with Joseph's brothers when they joined together and laid their schemes.

¹⁰³And however much you may wish it, most people will still not become believers!

¹⁰⁴Yet you ask them for no wage in return for this.(1) And this Quran is an admonition and a source of honor for all peoples.(1)

¹⁰⁵How many signs there are in the heavens and on the earth that they pass by without even turning to look at them!

¹⁰⁶Indeed, most of them do not believe in Allah without tainting their faith with shirk (associating partners with Him).

¹⁰⁷Do they now feel secure that Allah's punishment will not come upon them and engulf them when they least expect it, or that the Hour, the breakup of this world, will not come upon them suddenly?

¹⁰⁸Say to them: "I call to Allah consciously, on the basis of evidence! I and those who follow me are alike in this. This is my method of calling. Allah is free of and far above all that you attribute to Him, and I am by no means one of those who associate partners with Him."

¹⁰⁹The messengers We sent before you were none other than men We chose from among the people of those lands and to whom We gave revelation.(1) Do these people not travel through the land and see the terrible end of the communities that came and went before them, and take a lesson?(2) The abode of the Hereafter is better for those who guard themselves; will they still not come to their senses?(3)

¹¹⁰When those messengers reached the last limit of their hope and became convinced that they had been utterly rejected as liars, Our help reached them, and We saved those who had not lost hope in Us. For Our punishment can never be turned back from peoples steeped in guilt!

¹¹¹Indeed, in the stories of these messengers there are many lessons for people of good sense/sound reason.(1) This Quran is not a fabricated discourse attributed to Allah.(2) On the contrary, it confirms the revelations that came before it,(3) explains in detail everything needed for religion,(4) and is a guide to the right path and a mercy for a believing people who believe and trust.(5)