The story of the jealousy of Prophet Yusuf's brothers because he was more beloved to their father, until they agreed to plan a way to remove him from the family.
The Story of Prophet Yusuf and His Brothers
Prophet Yusuf was the seventh of the twelve sons and daughters of Prophet Ya'qub. He and his brother Benjamin shared the same mother, Rahil, who was a cousin of Prophet Ya'qub. Allah blessed him with a beautiful appearance, handsome features and a well-built body that made him the ideal of every woman and the memory of young girls. He was a spoiled child of his father, more beloved and cherished compared to his other brothers, especially after being left alone—namely the death of his biological mother Rahil when he was still twelve years old.
The discriminatory treatment from Prophet Ya'qub towards his children had aroused feelings of jealousy and envy among Yusuf's other brothers, who felt they were treated as stepchildren by their father who was unjust toward his children, spoiling Yusuf more than the others.
The frustration they felt toward their father and jealousy toward Yusuf awakened a sense of loyalty among Yusuf's brothers, unity and close brotherhood among them.
In a secret meeting they held to discuss the fate they were experiencing and arrange the actions they should take to make their father aware, demanding fair and equal treatment, one of them said: "Do you not feel that the treatment toward us as his children is unjust and biased?
The Story of Prophet Yusuf and His Brothers
He spoils Yusuf and loves and cherishes him more than us, as if Yusuf and Benjamin alone are his biological children and we are his stepchildren, yet we are older and more capable than them both, and it is we who always accompany our father, taking care of all his needs and the needs of our household. We are amazed why only Yusuf and Benjamin alone are favored in our father's eyes.
Is his mother closer to our father's heart than our mother? If that is indeed the reason, then what is our fault? That we were born of a mother who holds the second place in our father's heart, or is it Yusuf's appearance which is more handsome and more capable than our appearance and face which was indeed created this way by the Lord and certainly not by our will or our efforts? We are greatly sorry for our father's treatment and actions which are regrettable and wrong, and we must do something to end this imbalanced and frustrating situation for all of us."
The Story of Prophet Yusuf and His Brothers
Another brother said, continuing: "The matter of love or hatred, sympathy or antipathy is a matter of the heart that grows like our fingers, one cannot ask why one is lower than the other and why the thumb is bigger than the little finger. What we regret is that our father cannot control his excessive love for Yusuf and Benjamin, causing him to treat us unjustly as his fellow children.
The imbalance in our relationship with our father will not disappear if we do not eliminate its main cause. And as you know, the main cause of this frustrating situation is the presence of Yusuf among us. He is the obstacle for us to penetrate into the depths of our father's heart and he is a thick wall that separates us from our father whom we love very much.
Therefore, the only way to end our worry is to remove him from among us and throw him far away from our father's company and our family. We must kill him with our own hands or exile him to some place where there are wild beasts that will devour him as easy and delicious prey.
And we need not doubt that once Yusuf has disappeared from our father's sight and company, he will return to loving and cherishing us as his children who deserve fair and equal treatment from our father, and the household atmosphere will return to being harmonious, peaceful and serene, with nothing disturbing our hearts and oppressing our minds."
The Story of Prophet Yusuf and His Brothers
Judah, the fourth son of Prophet Ya'qub and the most capable and wise among his brothers, said: "We are all sons of Ya'qub, the Messenger of Allah, and descendants of Prophet Ibrahim, the Messenger and beloved of Allah. We are all people of faith and sound mind. Killing is something forbidden by religion and not accepted by sound reason, especially when the one we would kill or surrender to wild beasts is our own brother, of the same womb, same blood, same flesh, who has done no wrong and has never done anything that hurt our hearts or wounded our feelings.
And that he is more loved and cherished by our father is something beyond his control and certainly cannot be blamed upon him. Therefore, in my opinion," Judah continued, "the best way to remove Yusuf is to throw him into a dry well that is located at a crossroads where caravans and travelers stop to rest and feed their riding animals.
In this way there is a possibility that one of the travelers will find Yusuf, lift him out of the well and take him far away as an adopted child or as a slave who will be bought and sold. By the method I have presented, we have been able to achieve our goal without committing murder and taking the life of our innocent brother."
The Story of Prophet Yusuf and His Brothers
The thought and proposal put forward by Judah received good reception and was unanimously agreed upon by his other brothers and they would implement it at the right time and opportunity. The secret meeting dispersed with a promise from each brother present to keep silent and keep this evil plan as secret as possible so it would not leak out and be heard by their father before its implementation.
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