So So Petty
Yusuf (as) suffered from forced alienation from his father as a child, abuse and abandonment by his brothers, the shock and horror of being alone and unprotected in a well in the wilderness for only Allah knows how long, being subjected to child trafficking and all the horrors that come with it, being coerced into slavery with no hopes of going home, being falsely accused, then being found innocent and being thrown in a dungeon for years anyway, being left without a chance to have his day in court, losing the best years of his youth to prison and more.
But the Quran takes this one moment of his life after all that suffering was behind him and his brothers stood before him unaware of who he is as they tried to explain why their half brother (Benjamin or BinYameen) would have stolen. They make this comment that Allah deemed worthy to note in His final revelation.
12:77
إِن يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ
“If he he’s stealing, then (no surprise) a brother he had before stole too. “
Let’s make a few observations:
1. a few ayaat before they called him “our brother” when they were assuring their father they’ll safeguard him. (Ayah 65). Now they’re saying “a brother he had…”. As if he’s not really their brother. He’s from a different biological mom and they are insinuating his mom’s genes have a stealing problem…it runs on their side of the family.
2. They came at a time of desperation and had to provide accurate headcount of the household. Yet in this moment, they dropped their guard and made reference to a brother that used to be there. This would have raised questions to the authorities about who he was and what happened to him but in that moment they just blurted this out without caution.
3. What they said had no value in a court of law. It had no benefit before the authorities. It did nothing to exonerate their brother or lighten the burden of the crime from the group. You can’t just say “oh he’s just got a stealing problem, runs in his side of the family. 
”
” So why say it then? Their grudge against Yusuf (as) should have been over once they did their worst to him. But no. It’s been decades. They’re all married now. They even have kids. But the spite they have for Yusuf lives rent free in their head. And in this moment, the moment there was a chance to take yet another shot at someone they think might be presumably dead for all they know, they struck with strong impulse.
I started this post talking about the unthinkable suffering Yusuf (as) went through as a child. Any one of those horrors would be enough damage to scar a person for life. Yet we don’t find the Quran recording Yusuf (as) crying, lamenting, expressing his pain, sadness or fear. No reminiscing of the past and no anger over injustice. My point isn’t that he didn’t feel these things. My point is the Quran didn’t record it for all those major tragedies.
But then there’s this petty remark about how he was a thief too. That too years later made in passing. And they don’t know they’re making their smug petulant remark to Yusuf’s face. And it is at this moment that the Quran records an instance of pain, rage, frustration, disappointment, shock and disbelief Yusuf (as) was feeling at what he’d just heard.
فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَلَمْ يُبْدِهَا لَهُمْ ۚ
“So Yusuf kept IT hidden deep within himself and didn’t show IT to them…”
What is IT? Why not say he hid his anger or his disbelief or his shock or his sadness. Divine artistic rhetorical genius would suggest here that it can’t be limited to one emotion. It is a flood of them. And he had the composure to hide all of them inside. Saying that is very telling. Allah didn’t say Yusuf kept his emotions contained at any of the other tragedies. It is as if Allah is saying keeping them contained at this moment took remarkable strength and wasn’t easy even for the likes of Yusuf (as) who has seen the worst of mankind over and over.
Yusuf (as) has self talk. He says to himself
قَالَ أَنتُمْ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا ۖ
You’re all even worse off where you stand (you’re even more vile than before),
This might suggest that this allegation was a new one! They’d thrown a lot at him physically and now that they couldn’t hurt his body anymore they figured let’s take shots at his honor. A child!!!
People when they are that far gone can’t be reasoned with. So look at his final words to himself
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تَصِفُونَ
Allah knows better about the depictions you paint.
The word for depictions here is of note. It tells us that they elaborate, convincing and compelling story tellers. They’re not just petty. They know how to sell it. How to dramatize it. And Yusuf (as) is telling himself it’s going to be hard for people not to fall for the theater but I take comfort in knowing Allah knows and is above your theatrics.
I shared this post because I wanted to highlight the power of pettiness. When someone lives in spite, they have a hole inside that doesn’t have a bottom. They get very good at building a narrative that makes their spite look justifiable. They get good at selling it. They get this weird satisfaction that people in a courtroom in Egypt years after Yusuf is gone will have a bad opinion of him. They no longer live for a nurturing purpose. Their purpose is the loathing that eats them from within. Does this sound familiar? I hope you realize I’m talking about the devil, not your cousin or ex spouse or estranged uncle. Ya’qoub (as) hinted to Yusuf (as) a long time ago that his brothers might be falling into the devils trap. Now you see what that looks like.
It’s a long post. You’ll get over it. Almost done. Notice that petty behavior aims at humiliation and emotional suffering. Notice that the admirable thing to do is not let that pain show. Keep it within. Notice that you can’t out do the dramatizations of the petty. That’s ok. Allah knows. Take comfort in that. We also seem to learn that petty people don’t get better overtime. They get worse. And the only thing that has any hopes of reforming them is them humbled by circumstances. So if you’re petty, have a conversation with yourself before Allah creates a reality that gives you a khutbah you won’t forget. And if you’re on the receiving end, keep it inside and remind yourself of the words of Yusuf (as).
Ok bye
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