What Was Yusuf’s Dream, and How Did His Father Respond?
ما رؤيا يوسف عليه السلام، وكيف تلقّاها أبوه؟
When Yusuf was young, he dreamt that he saw eleven stars, and the sun and moon, prostrating before him. His father told him not to share that dream with his brothers, so that his brothers would not harm him and plot against him, and that this would be due to the whispering of Shaitan to them, because his father knew that the dream was about Yusuf, and that the eleven stars were his brothers, and that the moon and the sun were his parents. “Remember when Yusuf said to his father, ‘O my dear father! Indeed I dreamt of eleven stars, and the sun, and the moon, I saw them prostrating to me!’ He replied, ‘O my dear son! Do not relate your vision to your brothers, or they will devise a plot against you. Surely Satan is a sworn enemy to humankind'” (Surah Yusuf 12:4-5). Note: the original answer said his father told him not to share the dream with anyone; the verse says, “Do not relate your vision to your brothers” (12:5), so this has been corrected.
عندما كان صغيرا رأى يوسف عليه السلام في حلمه أن أحد عشر كوكبا والشمس والقمر كانوا يسجدون له، فقال له والده ألا يحكي هذا الحلم لإخوته، حتى لا يتآمر عليه إخوانه، ويكون ذلك بسبب وسوسة الشيطان لهم، لأن يعقوب عليه السلام عرف أن النجوم هم إخوة يوسف عليه السلام، والشمس والقمر هما والداه. قال الله تعالى: إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ ﴿٤﴾ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تَقْصُصْ رُؤْيَاكَ عَلَىٰ إِخْوَتِكَ فَيَكِيدُوا لَكَ كَيْدًا ۖ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٥﴾ (سورة يوسف: 4-5). ملاحظة: ورد في الجواب الأصلي أن أباه نهاه أن يحكي الحلم لأحد، والذي في الآية: “لا تقصص رؤياك على إخوتك” (يوسف: 5)، فصُحّح.
1. A Dream That Opens the Entire Surah | رؤيا تُفتتح بها السورة كلها
The dream appears at the very start of Surah Yusuf, and everything that follows, the betrayal, the years in Egypt, and the family’s eventual reunion, unfolds as the gradual fulfillment of this single image. This detail about how many sons Yaqoub (peace be upon him) had is explored more fully in How Many Children Did Prophet Yaqoub Have?
تأتي الرؤيا في مطلع سورة يوسف، وكل ما بعدها، من غدر الإخوة، والسنوات التي قضاها في مصر، واجتماع الأسرة في الختام، إنما هو تحقّق تدريجي لهذه الصورة الواحدة. أما عدد أبناء يعقوب عليه السلام فقد بيّناه في جواب: كم عدد أولاد النبي يعقوب عليه السلام؟
2. A Father’s Understanding of the Dream | كيف فهم يعقوب عليه السلام الرؤيا
Yaqoub understood the dream’s meaning: he warned Yusuf not to tell his brothers (12:5). The exegetes explain that the eleven stars are his brothers and the sun and moon his parents, as Ibn Kathir reports.
فهم يعقوب عليه السلام مغزى الرؤيا، فنهى يوسف أن يقصّها على إخوته (يوسف 12: 5). وفسّر المفسرون الكواكب الأحد عشر بإخوته، والشمس والقمر بأبويه، كما نقل ابن كثير.
3. A Warning Against Envy and Plotting | تحذير من الحسد والكيد
Yaqoub told Yusuf to keep the dream from his brothers because he feared they would envy him and plot against him, as Ibn Kathir explains under 12:5; how that envy later took hold is told in How Did Yusuf’s Brothers React to Feeling Less Loved by Their Father? The answer adds that such plotting would come through Satan’s whispering, and the verse itself calls Satan a sworn enemy to humankind. Guarding a vulnerable child from foreseeable harm in this way is a lesson in itself.
أمر يعقوب يوسف عليهما السلام بكتمان الرؤيا عن إخوته، خشية أن يحسدوه ويكيدوا له، كما بيّن ابن كثير عند الآية الخامسة من سورة يوسف، وأما كيف تمكّن منهم هذا الحسد بعد ذلك، فقد بيّناه في جواب: ماذا فعل إخوة يوسف عليه السلام حين رأوا أن أباهم يحبه أكثر منهم؟ ويضيف الجواب أن هذا الكيد يكون بوسوسة الشيطان، وقد وصف الله تعالى الشيطان في الآية نفسها بأنه عدو مبين للإنسان. وفي حماية الطفل الضعيف من ضرر متوقَّع على هذا النحو درسٌ قائم بذاته.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What did Yusuf see in his dream?
Eleven stars, the sun, and the moon, all prostrating before him.
What did Yaqoub tell Yusuf to do about the dream?
Not to tell his brothers, fearing it would provoke them to plot against him.
What did Yaqoub understand the dream to mean?
That the eleven stars represented Yusuf’s brothers and the sun and moon represented his parents.