Surah Yusuf. 

The Unveiling of the Mysteries and the Provision of the Pious, - Kashf Quran Transalation.

We will tell you the most beautiful of tales.
What a beautiful story is the tale of Joseph!
It’s a story of passion and the one who inspires it,
a tale of separation and reunion.
It calls to those struck by pain to read of others in pain.
It invites the passionate to share the ache of love,
and the fire of those who burn for it.
It seeks those who are scorched,
so their longing leaves a mark.
I am the servant of the one who yearns,
lighting the fire of desire at the Friend’s doorstep.
I envy the eye that weeps tears of love,
mourning separation from the Beloved.
I offer my spirit and heart to the broken-hearted,
who tell the story of those lost in love.

In the city, my heart leans, my dear,
to the one who sings your tale of passion, my dear.

When the seed of passion’s pain was planted in familiar hearts,
Jacob, the prophet, walked this path of longing.
He found growth in solitude and detachment.
He entered the fire of discipline and self-purification,
and his heart opened to the seed of passion’s pain.
When that seed touched his heart’s soil,
divine light watered it,
until the jasmine of the Covenant bloomed.
Joseph’s beauty became his focus – a reason,
and his human nature found its reflection.
A cry echoed – Jacob’s heart was caught in desire for Joseph.
Behind the veil of jealousy, the voice of truth whispered,
“Call me Arsalan, so none may know my name.”

When Joseph spoke to his father,
he said, “O my father, I saw stars, the sun, and the moon.
They bowed before me in reverence.”

God says the stars shine brightly on their own,
guiding people on their way.
In the same way, Joseph’s brothers carried the light of prophecy,
and their hearts held guidance for others.
Their betrayal and envy toward him were small faults,
the kind that prophets may bear.
The wisdom here is clear – only God is perfect,
one and unique.
Everything else has flaws.

A poet sang,
“I am flawed, and my Lord is pure.
My faults prove His perfection.”

They asked Hasan, “Can a man of faith feel envy?”

He answered, “Have you forgotten the sons of Jacob?”

Some might say Joseph was just a child when he had this dream,
and a child’s actions carry no weight in the law.
If his actions don’t count, how can his dream?
The answer is this – a child’s choices may show their flaws,
but a dream is a gift from God.
In dreams, children and adults are equal.

So, when they took him and agreed to cast him into the well,
We revealed to him,
“You will one day tell them of this deed,
when they least expect it.”

Even when his father’s care was cut off,
Joseph received guidance from his Protector.
This is God’s way –
He never sends a trial to His friends,
without opening doors of clarity and closeness to their hearts.

If a trial blocks a servant’s path, so what?
God clears the way with the gift of friendship.
If He takes one small blessing, what’s the loss?
He gives a hundred more in return.

As they say,
“If I broke your necklace in my carelessness,
I’ll buy you a hundred golden beads to replace it.”

Though Joseph grieved, separated from his father,
why should he have mourned?
He was touched by the light of divine revelation.
The whisper of truth in that lonely well,
was sweeter than reunion with Jacob in Canaan.
Indeed, all comfort lies within suffering –
beneath one disappointment, a thousand treasures wait.

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“If the signs of closeness are true,
everything from the Friend is beautiful.
When you trust the Friend’s choices,
complaining is a mistake.
If this truth holds,
happiness and grief become one.”

A poet declared,
“My spirit is marked with love for You,
whether You lead it to joy or sorrow.”

They sold him for a small price.
It’s no surprise that Joseph’s brothers sold him cheaply.
What’s surprising is that travelers bought someone like Joseph,
for so little!
It’s not shocking that people trade eternal paradise,
for this fleeting world.
What’s astonishing is that they gain such a glorious paradise,
with just a loaf of bread given to the poor!
Truly, good fortune has no price,
and God’s generosity is a pure gift.

If Joseph’s brothers had seen his true qualities –
his purity, his closeness to God, his wisdom –
they would not have sold him so cheaply,
nor called him a slave.
A glimpse of those qualities was shown to the governor of Egypt and Zulaykha.
See how they gave their kingdom to serve him,
and how much they valued him!
When the women of Egypt saw his beauty,
they said, “This is no human!
This is a noble angel.”
Yes, it’s the revealing that matters, not just the seeing.

Mustafa prayed,
“O God, show us things as they truly are!”

A wise voice said,
“Beauty is of two kinds – outward and inward.
Outward beauty is a lovely form, a creation adorned.
Inward beauty is perfect character and noble conduct.”

God showed Joseph’s outward beauty to his brothers.
They saw nothing more,
though in God’s eyes, the outward matters little.
So, they sold him for a small price.
But a hint of his inner beauty was shown to the governor of Egypt,
who said to his wife, “Give him a generous home.”
This teaches the world that in God’s eyes,
value lies in inner beauty, not outer appearance.

Mustafa said,
“God does not look at your looks or your wealth,
but at your hearts and your actions.”

It’s told that one day Joseph looked in a mirror,
and saw his perfect beauty.
He said, “If I were a slave, what would my price be?
Who could afford me?”
God did not let that pass.
Joseph faced the consequence of admiring himself –
he became a slave, sold for a meager price.

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“Don’t look at yourself – self-admiration is worthless!
Don’t decorate yourself – self-decoration has no value!
Don’t praise yourself – self-approval has no foundation!”
Stay away from those who worship their own habits.
Kiss the dust at the feet of those who reject self.

“Do not adorn yourself,”
and let the Divine adorn you.
“Do not approve of yourself,”
and let the Divine approve of you.
Do not belong to yourself,
and let the Divine belong to you.

On the night of the ascent,
God said to Mustafa,
“Be for Me as if you were not,
and I will be for you as I have always been.”

It’s also said they sold a soul that should not be sold.
Even a high price would have been too low.
What’s more surprising is this –
you sell your soul for the smallest desire,
after selling it to your Lord for the highest price,
as God says, “Surely God has bought the souls of the faithful.”

The king said, “I see fat cows being eaten by lean ones.”

Joseph’s trial began with a dream,
where he saw stars bowing to him.
His freedom also came through a dream –
the king of Egypt’s vision of cows.
This shows that all things happen by God’s plan and care.
He alone guides and provides.
Though causes seem clear,
focusing only on them is a mistake.

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“Ignoring the cause is foolishness,
but clinging to the cause is idolatry.
Move past the cause to reach the One who causes all.
Don’t shut the door of causes,
or you’ll lose your way to yourself.”

“The wise do not fix their eyes on the Tablet or the Pen.
They are not tied to Eve, nor trapped by Adam.
They thirst always, even with a cup in hand.
O generous Guardian, O merciful Source of Bounty!
Take the cup away once,
so this weary soul may breathe!”

It’s said that Joseph was perfect in two ways –
his natural beauty and his knowledge.
Beauty of form is the perfection of appearance,
while knowledge is the perfection of meaning.
God decided that his beauty would bring trials,
and his knowledge would bring freedom.
This teaches the world that true knowledge outshines beauty.
As the saying goes, “Knowledge gives, though it may be slow.”
Since Joseph’s understanding of dreams led to his rule in this world,
why is it surprising that knowing God’s qualities,
leads to a kingdom in the next?
God says, “When you see it, you will see bliss and a great kingdom.”

The governor’s wife said,
“So he may know I did not betray him in secret.”
She also said, “I do not excuse my own soul.
The soul pushes toward wrong.”

When she spoke of not betraying him,
she saw God’s protection and guidance.
When she admitted her soul’s fault,
she saw her own shortcomings.
The first shows gratitude for God’s help,
the second shows regret for her flaws.

A servant must always move between gratitude and apology.
When he looks to God, he sees blessings,
feels joy, and grows in thanks.
When he looks at himself, he sees sin,
burns with regret, and seeks forgiveness.
Through gratitude, he earns more blessings.
Through apology, he earns forgiveness.

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“O God, when I look at myself,
I wonder who is more wretched than I.
When I look at You,
I wonder who is greater than I.”

When my gaze falls on my own dust,
I see nothing worse in the world.
When I rise above my traits,
I see myself from the throne of heaven.

Fudayl was seen alone in a mosque corner,
keeping God’s memory as his closest friend.
He lived in the knights’ retreat with the Divine,
on a carpet of openness, under the tent of God’s presence.
A friend came and saw him alone.
He felt blessed to see him and sat nearby.

Fudayl said,
“My brother, why do you sit with me?
Why intrude on my solitude?
Such boldness to approach me!”

The dervish replied,
“Forgive me, I didn’t know.
I was unaware of your sacred moment.
Please, share something of your state,
a small truth from your journey,
so I may share in your companionship.”

Fudayl said,
“I’ll speak what suits you.
Know that Fudayl ignores others,
because he gives thanks for God’s blessings,
and seeks pardon for his mistakes.
His heart has no room for anything else.
When I look at myself, I seek forgiveness for my errors.
When I look at God, I give thanks for His gifts.”

Then Fudayl turned to the heavens and said,
“O God, who can truly thank You?
Who can serve You as You deserve?
O God, those whose friendship with You is mere talk,
they are cheated!
Those whose spirit and heart walk this path,
what need have they for Your union?
O God, Your greatest gift to me,
is that I’ve never been patient in my love for You.
With spirit and heart, I seek the dust of Your street.
With hope, I knock at the door of Your friendship.
Wherever I find someone lost in this world,
I share my story with them.”

Then he turned to the dervish and said,
“Respect your place, guard your words,
and ask God to forgive your sins,
and those of all the faithful, men and women.”

The soul pushes toward wrong.
Know that the soul has four levels –
the commanding soul, the deceiving soul,
the sorcerous soul, and the serene soul.

The commanding soul has not been shaped by discipline,
nor stripped of its raw nature.
When dealing with God’s creation,
it acts with hostility, like a predator.
It speaks ill of others,
defends only itself,
and follows its own desires.
It roams in the world of human nature,
drinking from the stream of whim.
It knows only eating, sleeping, and doing what it wants.

God says of those with this soul,
“Leave them to eat, enjoy, and chase empty hopes –
they will soon learn.”
Their appearance is human,
but their nature is dark.
God calls them “satans of jinn and men.”

This soul is a heavy veil,
a destroyer of faith,
a source of every kind of wrong,
and a root of evil.
To escape it, one must oppose it.
As the Glorious Quran says,
“Those who fear standing before their Lord,
and restrain their soul from whim,
will find paradise as their home.”
All prophets and messengers urged people,
to fight this soul with fierce resolve.

Mustafa said,
“We’ve returned from the smaller struggle,
to the greater struggle.”
“The hardest struggle is against the soul.”

Struggle for God as He deserves.
The true struggle means you do not feed,
the commanding soul’s traits –
greed, desire, pride, hatred, or envy.
You keep them in check.
When they rise, you push them back,
with the strength of your struggle.

A knight said,
“The serpent-soul coils around your heart’s treasure –
strike it with the stone of struggle,
to keep your heart’s promise!
If your spirit is sick and fears fate’s tricks,
pour effort into your soul,
like a drink from the cup of striving.”

The deceiving soul is weaker than the commanding soul.
It cannot fight a person directly,
but it hides, waiting for a chance to take hold.
For example, it sees someone striving in faith,
and suggests a good deed, like a pilgrimage or battle.
It says, “This is better, higher in the path of obedience.”
It speaks truth, but it’s a trick.
It wants to pull the seeker from their focus,
scatter their thoughts, and confuse them.
They may reach their goal, or they may not.
Even if they do, they may lose their inner peace.

Junayd said,
“A thousand seekers walked this path with me,
but they fell short, and I rose above.”

This is why seekers need a guide on the path of longing.
Guides know the stages of this journey,
and the deceiving soul’s traps are clear to them.
They watch over the seekers’ hearts,
and lead them to what fits their progress.

The great ones of faith say,
until a person gains inner stability,
they are not safe from the deceiving soul.
A small impurity spoils a little water,
but the ocean stays pure.
Beginners are fragile –
a bad thought from the deceiving soul can sway them.
But the stable ones, the masters of the end,
stand like mountains, unmoved by the wind.

After the deceiving soul comes the sorcerous soul.
It hovers around those who live in truth.
When it sees them strong in obedience and discipline,
it says, “Be kind to your soul –
it has rights over you.”
If the person is not fully aware,
it pulls them from the heights of truth,
to the level of law, offering an easy way out.
When they take that ease,
the soul grows stronger,
and drags them back to the commanding soul.

Ibrahim Khawass said,
“For years I fought my soul,
which craved bread and yogurt.
One day, I felt pity for it.
I took lawful money and walked in Baghdad,
to buy bread and yogurt.
I entered a ruin and saw an old man,
collapsed in the scorching heat,
bees tearing at his flesh.
I pitied him and said, ‘Poor soul!’
He raised his head and said,
‘Khawass, what poverty do you see in me?
Is the crown of submission not on my head?
Is the pearl of wisdom not in my heart?
You’re the poor one.
After years, you still can’t stop your soul,
from craving bread and yogurt.’”

In short, the sorcerous soul does not push toward sin,
but toward obedience.
When a person walks the path of obedience,
a sense of pride rises from the act itself.
It says, “You’re better than the reckless sinner.”
The person believes this,
approving of themselves,
while looking down on others,
until they are ruined.

Abu Bakr looked at himself with the eye of truth,
and saw his own reality.
He said, “Remove me, for I am not the best of you.”
Yet the faith and sacred law reply,
“The best of people after God’s Messenger,
is Abu Bakr the Truthful.”

Here begins the serene soul.
It belongs to prophets and God’s friends.
It is shielded from sin,
and wrapped in divine kindness.
Prophets dwell in the shelter of protection,
and friends live behind the curtain of care and favor.
If that protection were lifted from prophets,
even for a moment,
they would falter like Pharaoh or Haman.
If God’s care were cut from His friends,
all would stray into disbelief.
If the Prophet had journeyed for a thousand years,
without God’s closeness,
where would he have reached?

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“O God, I am glad that at first I was not,
but You were.
You blended the fire of discovery,
with the light of understanding.
You sent the breeze of closeness,
from the garden of union.
You poured solitude’s rain,
on the dust of my human nature.
You burned water and clay,
with the fire of friendship.
And so, You taught my eyes to see You.”

Thus, We planned for Joseph.
We lift up whomever We choose.

A wise voice said,
“We tested him with many trials,
until We raised him to honor and greatness.”

In a deeper sense, God says,
“We put Joseph through many hardships,
keeping him in confusion and regret,
until We brought him to a place of generosity and honor,
letting him taste the sweetness of closeness.
Beside this blessing, those trials were light.
Beside this nearness, that regret was nothing.”
This is the way of the Lord of all –
happiness is built on suffering,
and beneath one loss lie a thousand treasures.

To make this wisdom clearer,
it means, “We decided long ago,
that Joseph would rule Egypt.
First, We showed him the shame of slavery,
so he would know the sorrow of captives.
Then, We tested him with prison,
so he would feel the pain of prisoners.
We cast him into the darkness of exile,
so he would not ignore the helplessness of the banished.”

Be a mother to orphans, care for them gently.
Be kind to those who ask, meet their needs.
The generosity We showed you in your poverty and loss,
show the same, O noble one, to Our creation.

We raise whomever We choose.
First comes walking the straight path,
then the unveiling of truth,
then gazing upon the Divine.
We give high rank to those We wish,
lifting them step by step –
first through obedient acts,
then through the reward of those acts;
first through purifying deeds,
then through clarifying the heart;
first through steadfast service in the law,
then through finding divine vision in truth itself.

The straight path points to the law,
unveiling points to the spiritual way,
and divine vision points to truth itself.
The law is service,
the way is selflessness,
and truth is freedom within both.

Free yourself from all that exists –
be the Heart-taker’s companion in the cave.

Return to your father and say,
“O our father, your son has stolen.”

When Jacob was lost in grief,
torn apart by separation from Joseph,
helpless in his pain with no cure,
he sought comfort in remembering his dear one.
He longed to share his love,
with someone tied to Joseph.
He chose Benjamin as his comfort and confidant,
for they had shared the same upbringing,
nurtured in the same care.
A lover’s heart always seeks someone,
who reminds them of their beloved.
Do you not see how Majnun,
wandered the desert chasing a gazelle?
Its eyes and neck resembled Layla’s.
He stroked its neck, kissed its eyes,
and said, “Your eyes are hers, your neck is hers!”

When Jacob bound his heart to Benjamin,
finding some peace in him,
time drew its cruel blade again,
and Benjamin was taken from his father.
Then, they called him a thief,
adding pain to pain –
like salt on a wound,
the burn flared anew.
Just as fire seeks to ignite scorched cloth,
so the pain of separation clings to a wounded heart.

Whenever pain rises in my heart,
another takes its place in my chest.
I embrace every pain,
for fire blazes when it finds the burned.

Whenever Jacob saw Benjamin,
he found solace in him,
for “those kept from their beloved,
are comforted by a trace.”
But when Benjamin was taken,
the pain reached its peak,
and Jacob groaned from the ache in his heart.
With the voice of longing, he cried,

“Oh, my grief for Joseph!”
His eyes turned white from the sorrow he held inside.

Revelation came from the Creator of all,
“O Jacob, you grieve so much for him,
but not for what you miss of Me,
while lost in your sorrow for him!
O Jacob, how long will you mourn,
and sigh in separation from Joseph?
Do you not grieve,
that your focus on him keeps you from Me?”

“You cannot walk straight,
with two directions in your heart –
either seek the Friend’s approval,
or follow your own whims.”

“O Jacob, do not speak Joseph’s name again,
or I will remove you from the ranks of prophets.”

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“Jacob’s thoughts of Joseph planted heartache,
while Joseph’s thoughts of Jacob brought ease.
Since Jacob was rebuked for remembering Joseph,
anything but remembering God is a loss.
They say remembering the Friend is like the spirit.
Look closer – it is the spirit itself!”

When Jacob felt the weight of God’s rebuke,
he stopped speaking Joseph’s name.
Then the mercy and kindness of the Divine,
gave this command to Gabriel,
“O Gabriel, go to Jacob and remind him of Joseph.”
Gabriel came and spoke Joseph’s name.
Jacob sighed.
Revelation came from the Divine,
“O Jacob, I know the pain behind your sighs.
By My greatness, if he were gone,
I would bring him back,
for the beauty of your loyalty.”

His eyes turned white from the sorrow he held.
It does not say, “Jacob went blind,”
for that would seem cruel.
True blindness is a heart that cannot see,
as God says, “It is not the eyes that are blind,
but the hearts within the chest.”
Jacob’s heart was clear and saw perfectly,
but his eyes saw only Joseph.
In the grip of passion,
when the beloved is absent,
a lover’s eyes must not see others.
In the faith of friendship,
seeing another in place of the beloved is betrayal.

A poet sang,
“Once I knew I could not see you,
I closed my eyes and looked at no one.”

“My eyes are for seeing the Friend –
without the Friend, what use are eyes?”

Go with this shirt of mine,
and place it on my father’s face,
so he may see again.

Joseph said,
“Take my shirt to Jacob,
for his pain has not stopped,
since he saw it stained with wolf’s blood.
Its healing will come from my shirt.”

When they carried the shirt from Egypt,
the morning breeze was told,
to carry its scent to Jacob’s heart.
Before Joseph’s messenger could bring the news,
Jacob received it from God’s messenger,
and felt God’s perfect kindness and favor.
The wise say this is the divine breeze,
wandering the world,
seeking pure hearts and open souls to rest in.

Her love found me before I knew love –
it crossed a carefree heart and claimed it.

The Prophet hinted at this,
“Your Lord sends breezes in your time.”
For Jacob, this kindness came through his love for Joseph.
A great secret lies here.
The truth is, Jacob’s gaze on Joseph,
was a gaze on the Divine.
When Jacob saw Joseph with his eyes,
he saw God with his heart’s vision.
So, when he could no longer see Joseph,
his heart lost sight of the Divine.
All Jacob’s pain and grief,
came from losing that divine vision,
not from missing Joseph’s company.
His longing and cries for Joseph,
were for the mirror he had lost.
He wept not for the mirror,
but for the intimate heart he could no longer see.
He burned for that loss.
So, when he saw Joseph again,
he fell in prostration,
for his heart saw the Divine.
He bowed to that vision,
for only God is worthy of such reverence.

Their father said,
“I sense Joseph’s scent.”

The wonder is that the shirt’s bearer caught no scent,
but Jacob felt it from far away.
That was the scent of passion,
and only the passionate can sense it.
It does not always come.
Until a person is forged by passion’s fire,
and crushed by its trials,
that scent will not reach them.
At the story’s start, when Joseph was taken,
and thrown into the well,
Jacob had no hint of it, no scent.
Only later, in Canaan,
did he say, “I sense Joseph’s scent.”

It’s said that in the House of Sorrows,
Jacob wept deeply every dawn.
Sometimes he mourned in despair,
sometimes he wailed in his lowliness,
sometimes he opened the book of passion,
and read its chapters aloud.
Sometimes he rested his head on his knees,
sometimes he pressed his face to the dust,
his hands raised in prayer.
Sometimes he caught Joseph’s scent in the dawn breeze,
and said with the voice of his soul,

“The dawn wind carries your scent, my dear –
I am its servant, following your trail.”

So, on the day of relief,
the morning breeze brought Joseph’s scent to Jacob,
drawing him near.
This is the way of lovers –
asking the lands, speaking to ruined places,
and seeking news from the winds.

A poet sang,
“I’ll let the winds lead me to your scent,
when they blow from your way.
I’ll ask them to carry my greetings to you.
Answer me, if they reach you one day.”

When they came to Joseph,
he embraced his parents.
He raised his parents to the throne,
and they bowed before him.

He said,
“God was kind to me,
when He freed me from prison,
and brought you from the desert,
after discord stirred between me and my brothers.
Surely my Lord is gentle in His will.”

All were equal in their journey to Egypt.
But in the moment of closeness and care,
they were different.
Joseph placed his father and aunt,
on the throne of generosity,
choosing them for companionship and embrace.
But his brothers,
he set in the place of service,
as they bowed before him.
This hints at the day of resurrection,
when all the faithful enter paradise –
both the forgiven and the favored.
Those forgiven for their wrongs,
will rest in paradise.
But those who know God,
will be chosen for the honor of closeness,
brought near to the Divine Presence,
before an Almighty King.

The Pir of the Tariqah said,
“Those who serve are one thing,
those who are companions are another.
Servants are captives of paradise,
companions are its masters.
Captives live in joy and bliss,
but companions share whispers with the Merciful.”

God was kind to me when He freed me from prison.
The true kind one is not who starts with kindness,
but who shows kindness after your failure.
Joseph saw his own soul’s disloyalty,
when he asked the cupbearer in prison,
to remember him to his lord.
But he saw his freedom came from God’s mercy,
and called it kindness.
He said, “God was kind to me,
when He brought me out of prison.”
Though he faced the trial of the well,
he did not speak of it again,
for he saw it as a blessing.
In the well, he received God’s revelation,
heard the King’s message,
and saw Gabriel, the messenger of the Divine.
God said, “We revealed to him,
‘You shall tell them.’”
So, Joseph saw the trial as a gift,
and the hardship as a blessing.
This is why he spoke not of the well,
but of the prison.
He said, “God was kind to me,
though I deserved blame,
He showed mercy through His grace.
He saw my faults, yet delivered me from prison,
and reunited me with the honored ones after separation.
He did this through His gentleness,
His care for His servants,
and His loving kindness.
Surely my Lord is gentle in His will.
He is a Lord who returns to the hopeful with loyalty,
overlooks their hidden flaws with generosity,
and sets their lives right in this world and the next.”