Yusuf (sura)

Sūrat Yūsuf (Arabic: يوسف‎) is the 12th sura (chapter) of the Quran. It is said to have been revealed in a single sitting, being unique in this respect. The text narrates the story of Yusuf (the biblical Joseph). While other surahs tend to jump between topics, this sura is special in sticking to its central theme throughout, telling a coherent story in chronological order.

The chapter was first translated into Latin by Thomas van Erpe in 1617 and later in the 17th century published synoptically in Arabic and Latin as part of the Lutheran efforts at translating the Qur'an.

Narrative

The story of Yusuf (Sura) is about the prophet Yusuf, translated in English as Joseph. Yusuf is one of the sons of Ya'qub (known as Jacob in the English translation) who has the talent of interpreting dreams. One day Yusuf has a dream and he narrates his dream to his father who immediately knows that Yusuf will be a prophet. His father tells him not to tell his brothers to avoid any harm. However, because of Ya'qub's loving treatment towards Yusuf, Yusuf's brothers felt jealous. They wanted to get rid of Yusuf, so their father could love them instead of Yusuf. Their initial plan was to kill Yusuf, but later they decided to throw him in a well. They lied to their father and told him that a wolf had killed him. Later, a caravan rescued Yusuf from the well, who then sold him to a man in Egypt. The man took Yusuf in and was hoping to have him as a son. Later, the man's wife tries to seduce Yusuf, but he resists. The woman seeing his resistance accuses Yusuf of wanting to harm her and demands that he should either be punished severely or sent to jail.

Yusuf

Yusuf (also transliterated as Jusuf, Yousof, Yossef, Yousaf, Youcef, Yousef, Youssef, Yousif, Youssif, Youssouf, Yousuf, Yusef, Yuseff, Usef, Yusof, Yesufu or Yussef, Arabic: يوسف‎ Yūsuf and Yūsif) is a male Arabic name, meaning "Allah increases in piety, power and influence". It is the Arabic equivalent of both the Hebrew name Yossef and the English name Joseph.

In Islam, the most famous "Yusuf" is the prophet Yusuf in the Quran.

Given name

Jusuf

Yossef

Youcef

Yousif

Youssef

Surah

A Surah (/ˈsʊərə/; also spelled Surat, Sura; Arabic: سورة‎ sūrah, plural سور suwar) is a chapter of the Qur'an. There are 114 chapters of the Qur'an, each divided into verses. The chapters or suras are of unequal length, the shortest chapter (Al-Kawthar) has only three ayat (verses) while the longest (Al-Baqara) contains 286 verses. Of the 114 chapters in the Qur'an, 86 are classified as Meccan, while 28 are Medinan. This classification is only approximate in regard to location of revelation; any chapter revealed after migration of Muhammad to Medina (Hijrah) is termed Medinan and any revealed before that event is termed as Meccan. The Meccan chapters generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter while the Medinan chapters are more concerned with organizing the social life of the nascent Muslim community and leading Muslims to the goal of Dar al-Islam by showing strength. Except sura At-Tawba, all chapters or suras commence with 'In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate'. This formula is known as the basmala and denotes the boundaries between chapters. The chapters are arranged roughly in order of descending size therefore the arrangement of the Qur'an is neither chronological nor thematic. Suras (chapters) are recited during the standing portions (Qiyam) of Muslim prayers. Sura Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Qur'an, is recited in every unit of prayer and some units of prayer also involve recitation of all or part of any other sura.

Sura (city)

Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia, located west of the Euphrates River. It was well known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley. It was also a major center of Torah scholarship and home of an important yeshiva, which, together with the yeshivas in Pumbedita and Nehardea, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud.

According to Rav Sherira Gaon, Sura (Hebrew: סורא) was identical to the town of Mata Mehasia (מתא מחסיא), which is also mentioned in the Talmud, but Matha-Mehasia is cited in the Talmud many times, either as a nearby town or a suburb of Sura, and the Talmudist academy in Matha-Mehasia served as a branch of the Sura Academy. Sura Academy was founded by Rav (Abba Arika) in the third century.

A Syriac source describes it as a town completely inhabited by Jews, situated between Māḥōzē (i.e. Al-Mada'in) and Al-Hira in southern Iraq. A responsum of Rabbi Natronai Gaon says that Sura was about 6 km from Al-Hira.

See also

Sura (disambiguation)

A Sura is a chapter of the Qur'an.

Sura may also refer to:

People

Places

Food and drink