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And Surah Yusuf is a favorite for many people, for good reason, including some of the Sahaba of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, who were noted for reciting it so frequently that you could memorize it, just praying behind them and salat al-Fajr.

This Surah has so much to offer. And Subhanallah, what I wanted to focus on tonight was actually the curious case of the brothers of Yusuf Arihi Salam.

They are an interesting group of people, the brothers of Yusuf Arihi Salam.

We know Yahu Arihi Salam, a Prophet of Allah who was tested in a very severe way with his son being taken away. We know the status of Yusuf Arihi Salam, a Prophet who was tested, taken from place to place, situation to situation, eventually brought to glory in this life and the next.

Allah Subhanahu Alaihi Wasallam granted him victory. But what's different about the story from all of the other prophets is the fact that it was Yahu Arihi Salam's own sons that caused him this pain and that through Yusuf Arihi Salam into the well which caused all of this to unfold.

What makes us different with Yusuf Arihi Salam is that it was literally his own brothers. With everyone else we're talking about their people, their people, their people harming them.

But here you're talking about within the family itself. Now the question becomes the brothers of Yusuf Arihi Salam.

You know they show up in the story as those that caused the pain to Yusuf Arihi Salam and then the discussions between them and Yahu Arihi Salam seeking out a better life and then what happens with Binyamin Arihi Salam.

And then eventually seeking or being put in a situation where they now realize that Yusuf Arihi Salam is a king over them and seeking his grace even though they tried to kill him and they abandoned him when he was young.

So here's a question, first question. Were the brothers of Yusuf Arihi Salam forgiven for their sins? Yes or no? They were forgiven.

Subhanallah, look at the list of crimes here. They tried to kill their brother, a prophet. They lied about trying to kill their brother, a prophet or abandoning him and throwing him into the well.

They broke up their family. They caused pain to Yahu Arihi Salam. I mean Subhanallah, the list goes on. I mean you don't get more severe of a list of sins than this. I mean this is an extremely severe list of sins.

And Subhanallah still, when they go to Yusuf Arihi Salam, when Yusuf Arihi Salam speaks to them and addresses them, the last thing he tells them, you know when they figure out he's Yusuf, he reminds them.

He said, is this remember what you did to Yusuf, what Ahihi, what Antum Jahirun, when you were ignorant? It's probably not a show can, I'm going to tell you something beautiful here.

He says, when Yusuf Arihi Salam told them, when you were amongst the ignorant, that was Ertifah, that was a means of making an excuse for them. Like when the prophets of Allah, who was salam, was being beaten and urred, and almost killed, and the prophets of Allah, who was salam said, Allah Mufrediqawni fa innamun, na yaklamun.

Oh Allah, forgive my people, they just don't know any better.

So Yusuf Arihi Salam is making an excuse for them and saying, that's when you were ignorant, that's when you were amongst the ignorant fools.

Removing from them the worst of intentions and the worst of assumptions about them, and then that's when they realize, wait a minute, are you Yusuf?

And immediately when they realize it's Yusuf, they've had years to think about the crime that they have committed, and by the way they all processed it differently.

One of them, one of them said, you know, let's not kill him, but let's just throw him into the well, one of them. So they're not all exactly the same, and they've had all these years to process it.

They've seen their father crying himself blind, they've seen the pain that they've caused, they've seen the alienation, they now feel from their father because of what they did to Yusuf Arihi Salam.

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