Katika hatua hii Yusuf anatoa hoja yake ya mwisho na yenye uamuzi, akiwawekea wazi wasikilizaji wake mahali ambapo mamlaka yote na hukumu zilipo, na ni nani anayestahili kutiiwa na jinsi utiifu huo unavyopaswa kukiri. Kwa kifupi, ni kwa nani ibada inapaswa kutolewa.
At this point Joseph makes his final and decisive point, making it clear to his interlocutors where all power and judgement lie, and to whom obedience is owed and how it must be acknowledged. Or, in short, to whom worship should be offered:
"Hukumu yote ni ya Mwenyezi Mungu peke yake. Ameamuru kwamba msimwabudu yeyote isipokuwa Yeye. Hii ndiyo dini ya kweli, lakini watu wengi hawajui."
“All judgement rests with God alone. He has ordained that you should worship none but Him. This is the true faith, but most people do not know it.” (Verse 40)
Hukumu na mamlaka havina mwenye haki nazo isipokuwa Mwenyezi Mungu. Yeye ndiye Mungu pekee mwenye uungu, mwenye mamlaka ya kutunga sheria na kuhukumu. Hakika ukuu, unamilikiwa na Yeye, kwani ukuu ni miongoni mwa sifa za msingi za Mungu. Yeyote anayedai haki yoyote juu yake, awe ni mtu binafsi, tabaka, chama, shirika, jamii au shirika la kimataifa linalowakilisha binadamu, huwa anapingana kwa hakika na uwezo wa Mungu. Yeyote anayejidai kwa nafsi yake sifa hii ya msingi kabisa ya Mungu, huwa amemkufuru Mungu. Ukafiri wake ni wa aina ya kukataa sehemu ya imani ambayo kwa msingi wake, ni jambo linalojulikana kwa wote kama ukweli.
Judgement and authority belong to no one other than God. It is He who is the Godhead, with authority to legislate and judge. Indeed, sovereignty, belongs to Him, for sovereignty is one of God’s basic attributes. Whoever claims any right to it is indeed disputing God’s power, whether the claimant be an individual, a class, a party, an organization, a community or an international organization representing mankind. Anyone who claims this very basic attribute of God’s for himself disbelieves in God. His disbelief is in the form of denying a part of faith which is essentially and universally known as a fact.
Kudai madaraka ya utawala ambayo ni ya Mungu peke yake hakuna njia moja tu ya kuyatwaa. Mtu kudai sifa ya msingi ya uungu, nayo ni utawala, hahitaji kuwa mkali kiasi cha kusema, 'Sijui Mungu yeyote ambaye mnaweza kumwabudu isipokuwa mimi mwenyewe,' au, 'Mimi ndiye Bwana wenu, Aliye Juu,' kama alivyofanya Firauni. Kwa kweli, anadai haki hizi akipinga mamlaka ya Mungu anapoanza kutoa sheria kutoka chanzo chochote kingine isipokuwa sheria ya Mungu, akitangaza kwamba chanzo cha nguvu na mamlaka ni taasisi au kiumbe kingine isipokuwa Mungu. Hata taasisi hiyo ikiwa ni taifa zima au ubinadamu wote, matokeo ni yale yale. Katika mfumo wa Kiislamu, taifa huchagua mtawala, na kumpa mamlaka ya kutawala kulingana na sheria ya Mungu. Taifa, au jamii, si chanzo cha utawala kinachotunga sheria na kuipa nguvu yake. Chanzo cha utawala ni Mungu. Wengi ni wale wanaochanganya utekelezaji wa nguvu na chanzo chake. Mkanganyiko huu unapatikana hata miongoni mwa wanazuoni wa Kiislamu. Tunachosema ni kwamba binadamu, kwa jumla yao yote, hawana haki ya utawala. Wao hutekeleza tu kile ambacho Mungu ameweka kuwa sheria.
Usurping the rights of sovereignty which belong to God alone does not come in one form only. For a person to claim the basic characteristic of Godhead, which is sovereignty, he need not be so crude as to say, ‘I know no God whom you may worship other than myself,’ or, ‘I am your Lord, the Most High,’ as Pharaoh did. He actually claims these rights disputing God’s authority when he starts to derive laws from any source other than God’s law, declaring that the source of power and authority belongs to some institution or being other than God. Even when that institution is the whole nation or all humanity, the result is the same. In the Islamic system, the nation selects the ruler, giving him the authority to govern in accordance with God’s law. The nation, or the community, is not the source of sovereignty which enacts the law and gives it its power. The source of sovereignty is God. Many are those who confuse the exercise of power and its source. This confusion is found even among Muslim scholars. What we say is that human beings, in their total aggregate, do not have the right of sovereignty. They only implement what God has legislated.
Kile ambacho Yeye hakukiwekea sheria hakina uhalali. Hakina idhini ya Mwenyezi Mungu.
What He has not legislated has no legitimacy. It does not carry God’s sanction.
Yusufu (amani iwe juu yake) anathibitisha kauli yake kwamba mamlaka yote ni ya Mungu peke yake kwa kusema: "Hukumu yote ni ya Mungu peke yake. Ameamuru kwamba msimwabudu yeyote isipokuwa Yeye." (Aya ya 40) Hatuwezi kuelewa hoja hii kama Waarabu walivyoielewa wakati wa kuteremshwa kwa Qur'ani, isipokuwa tukielewa maana ya 'ibada' ambayo inaweza kutolewa kwa Mungu peke yake.
Joseph (peace be upon him) justifies his statement that all sovereignty belongs to God alone by saying: “All judgement rests with God alone. He has ordained that you should worship none but Him.” (Verse 40) We cannot understand this justification as the Arabs did at the time of the revelation of the Qur’ān unless we understand the meaning of ‘worship’ which can only be offered to God.
Maana ya kitenzi ʿabada, yaani "kuabudu", katika Kiarabu ni "kunyenyekea au kujisalimisha". Katika siku za mwanzo za Uislamu, haikumaanisha tu, kwa istilahi za Kiislamu, "kutekeleza ibada za kiibada". Kwa kweli, hakuna hata moja ya ibada hizo kilikuwa bado kimewekwa kuwa wajibu. Kwa hiyo kauli hiyo ilieleweka zaidi kwa maana ile ile ya kiisimu iliyokusudiwa, na baadaye maana hiyo ikawa maana yake ya Kiislamu. Maana yake wakati huo ilikuwa kujisalimisha kwa Mungu peke yake, na kutii amri na maagizo Yake, iwe yanahusu ibada za kiibada, miongozo ya kimaadili au hukumu za kisheria. Kujisalimisha kwa Mungu katika haya yote ndiko kiini cha ibada, ambayo lazima ielekezwe kwa Mungu peke yake. Haiwezi kamwe kuelekezwa kwa mmoja wa viumbe Wake.
The meaning of the verb, `abada, or ‘to worship’ in Arabic is ‘to submit or surrender’. In the early days of Islam it never meant, in Islamic terminology, only ‘to offer worship rituals’. In fact none of the worship rituals was as yet imposed as a duty. So the statement was rather understood in the manner it was meant linguistically, and this later became its Islamic meaning. What it meant then was submission to God alone, and obeying His orders and commands, whether they related to worship rituals, moral directives or legal provisions. To submit to God in all these was the essence of worship which must be addressed to God alone. It could never be addressed to any of His creatures.
Tukielewa maana ya ibada kwa mtazamo huu, tunaelewa kwa nini Yusuf alisema kuwa ibada inaweza kuelekezwa kwa Mwenyezi Mungu pekee, kama hoja yake ya kusema kuwa hukumu zote na utawala ni wa Yeye peke yake. Kujisalimisha kwa Mwenyezi Mungu hakutakuwa uhalisia endapo hukumu na utawala ni wa mtu mwingine. Hili linatumika katika mambo ambayo mapenzi ya Mwenyezi Mungu yanatekelezwa kupitia sheria za maumbile ambazo Mwenyezi Mungu ameziweka zifanye kazi katika ulimwengu, na katika mambo ambayo binadamu ana uchaguzi kuhusu vitendo vyake na mienendo yake. Kujisalimisha kwa kweli kwa Mwenyezi Mungu kunatumika katika maeneo yote mawili.
When we understand the meaning of worship in this light, we understand why Joseph stated that worship can only be addressed to God as his justification for saying that all judgement and sovereignty belong to Him alone. Submission to God will not become a reality if judgement and sovereignty belong to someone else. This applies to matters where God’s will is done by the laws of nature which God has set in operation in the universe, and to matters where human beings have a choice with regard to their actions and practices. True submission to God applies in both areas.
Tena tunarudia kusema kwamba kupinga mamlaka ya utawala ya Mungu kunamtoa mpinzani nje ya dini ya Uislamu kabisa. Hii ni kanuni ya msingi ya Uislamu inayojulikana kimsingi kwa wote. Hii ni kwa sababu kupinga haki na mamlaka ya Mungu kunamaanisha kukataa kumwabudu Yeye peke yake. Ni kwa msingi tendo la kumshirikisha Mungu na washirika, ambayo ina maana kwamba wale wanaopinga haki za Mungu za utawala si Waislamu hata kidogo. Vivyo hivyo kwa wale wanaokubali madai yao na kuwatii bila kukataa, hata kwa moyo, kitendo chao cha kuchukua haki na mamlaka ya Mungu. Mdai huyo na wale wanaomtii ni sawa katika mtazamo wa Kiislamu.
Once more we say that to dispute God’s right of sovereignty takes the disputant out of the religion of Islam altogether. This is a basic rule of Islam that is essentially known to all. This is because disputing God’s right and authority means a rejection of worshipping Him alone. It is essentially an act of associating partners with God, which means that those who dispute God’s rights of sovereignty are not Muslims at all. The same applies to those who approve their claims and obey them without rejecting, even mentally, their action of usurping God’s right and authority. The claimant and those who obey him are the same in the Islamic view.
Yusufu (amani iwe juu yake) anasema kwamba dini ya kweli ni ile inayompa Mungu peke yake hukumu yote, kwa kutekeleza ukweli kwamba yeye peke yake ndiye anayestahili kuabudiwa. "Hiyo ndiyo dini ya kweli." (Aya ya 40) Hii ni kauli ya kuweka mipaka. Hakuna dini inayoweza kuwa ya kweli isipompa Mungu mamlaka yote na kufanya hilo kuwa utekelezaji wa vitendo wa kumwabudu yeye peke yake.
Joseph (peace be upon him) states that the true faith is that which assigns all judgement to God alone in implementation of His being the only one to be worshipped. “This is the true faith.” (Verse 40) This is a statement of limitation. No faith can be true unless it gives all sovereignty to God and makes this a practical implementation of worshipping Him alone.
"Lakini watu wengi hawajui." (Aya ya 40) Ukweli kwamba hawajui hauwafanyi kuwa wafuasi wa dini ya kweli. Mtu asiyejua kitu hawezi kukiamini wala kukitekeleza. Ikiwa watu hawajui kiini cha imani, haina mantiki kusema kwamba wanaifuata. Ujinga wao si sababu ya kuwaelezea kuwa Waislamu. Bali ujinga wao unawazuia kwanza kupata sifa hiyo. Kuamini kitu kunadhania kukijua. Hiyo ni ukweli wa msingi na wa kimantiki.
“But most people do not know it.” (Verse 40) The fact that they do not know does not make them followers of the true faith. A person who does not know something cannot believe in it or implement it. If people do not know the essence of faith, it is illogical to say that they follow it. Their ignorance is not an excuse for describing them as Muslims. Rather, their ignorance bars them from that characteristic in the first place. To believe in something presupposes knowing it. That is a basic, logical fact.
Kwa maneno machache lakini yaliyo wazi, Yusuf (amani iwe juu yake) anaeleza imani yake kikamilifu, akionyesha nguzo zake zote, na kuitikisa kabisa misingi ya ukafiri, ushirikina na udhalimu.
In a few clear words Joseph (peace be upon him) outlines his faith completely, showing all its constituent elements and shaking to the core the foundations of disbelief, polytheism and tyranny.
Dhuluma haiwezi kutokea katika nchi yoyote bila ya kudai sifa muhimu zaidi ya uungu, yaani utawala wake juu ya maisha ya watu. Hii ni haki ya kuwalazimisha watu kutii sheria na amri zake, na kutekeleza itikadi yake. Hata kama haisemi hivyo kwa maneno, inalitenda hilo kwa vitendo. Dhuluma haipo isipokuwa imeondolewa imani ya kweli katika fikra na maisha ya watu. Kwa sababu ni pale tu watu wanapoamini kwa uthabiti kwamba mamlaka yote na hukumu ni ya Mungu peke yake, kwa kuwa ibada ni Yake, ndipo hapabaki nafasi ya dhuluma katika maisha yao.
Tyranny cannot take place in any land without its claiming the most essential quality of Godhead, namely His lordship over people’s lives. This is the right to make people submit to its laws and orders, and implement its ideology. Even if it does not say so in words, it actually practises it. Tyranny does not exist unless the true faith has been removed from people’s thoughts and lives. For only when people firmly believe that all sovereignty and judgement belong to God alone, because worship belongs to Him, is there no room left for tyranny in their lives.
Katika hatua hii Yusuf amekwisha kamilisha kazi yake ya kuwahubiria imani ya Mungu, baada ya kuiunganisha mwanzoni na jambo lililokuwa likiwashughulisha. Kwa hiyo anarejea kwenye jambo hilo na kuwafasiria ndoto zao, ili wamwamini zaidi anachosema na wawe tayari zaidi kupokea anachohubiri: "Enyi wenzangu wawili wa jela! Mmoja wenu atamnywesha bwana wake mvinyo. Na mwingine atasulubiwa, na ndege watakula kutoka kichwani mwake." (Aya 41) Hasemi moja kwa moja ni nani atakayeachiwa na ni nani atakayekumbana na mwisho wa kuhuzunisha, kwa sababu hapendi kumkabili yeyote na habari mbaya. Anasisitiza kwamba ana hakika na elimu aliyopewa na Mungu: "Jambo ambalo mlilotaka kufafanuliwa limeshaamuliwa." (Aya 41) Litatokea tu kama Mungu alivyoamuru. Hakuna njia ya kulikwepa.
At this point Joseph has completed his task of preaching God’s faith to them, having attached it initially to the matter which preoccupied them. He therefore reverts to that point and interprets their dreams for them, so that their trust in what he says is strengthened, and they are more amenable to what he preaches: “My two prison companions! One of you will give his lord wine to drink. The other will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head.” (Verse 41) He does not point out directly who will be released and who will meet the depressing end as he does not want to confront anyone with bad news. He stresses that he is certain of the knowledge imparted to him by God: “The matter on which you have sought to be enlightened has thus been decided.” (Verse 41) It will only be as God has decreed. There is no escape from it.
Yusuf alikuwa mfungwa asiye na hatia, aliyefungwa kwa msingi wa tuhuma za uongo, bila uchunguzi wowote wa kutosha wa kesi yake. Huenda tukio la mke wa Waziri Mkuu na wanawake wengine lilielezwa kwa Mfalme kwa namna iliyopotosha kabisa ukweli, kama mara nyingi hutokea katika kesi za aina hii. Ilikuwa jambo la kawaida basi kwamba Yusuf alitaka kesi yake ifikishwe kwa Mfalme, kwa matumaini kwamba angeamuru ichunguzwe ipasavyo. Hivyo, Yusuf "alimwambia yule ambaye aliyeamini kwamba ataachiwa: 'Nikumbuke mbele ya bwana wako.'" (Aya ya 42) Alimwomba hasa kutaja kesi yake na hali yake kwa Mfalme, na kumwambia ukweli ambao alikuwa ameuona kwake. Alimwita bwana wake kwa sababu alikuwa mtawala ambaye alikuwa akimtii.
Joseph was an innocent prisoner, jailed on the strength of false accusations, without any proper investigation of his case. It may be that the incident of the Chief Minister’s wife and the other women was portrayed to the King in a way that totally misrepresented the facts, as often happens in such cases. It was only natural then that Joseph wanted his case to be put to the King in the hope that he would order that it be looked into properly. Hence, Joseph “said to the one whom he believed would be released: ‘Remember me in the presence of your lord.’“ (Verse 42) He actually asked him to mention his case and situation to the King and to tell him of the truth he had seen in him. He describes him as his lord because he was the ruler to whom he submitted.
Neno ‘bwana’ hapa lina maana ya ‘mwenye kumiliki, mtawala, mtu mwenye mamlaka yanayotambulika, na mtunga sheria’. Hii inasisitiza tena maana ya ubwana katika istilahi za Kiislamu.
The term ‘lord’ here means ‘master, ruler, a person of acknowledged authority and a legislator’. This re-emphasizes the meaning of lordship in Islamic terminology.
Katika hatua hii, sura haitaji kwamba ndoto za wale wafungwa wawili zilitimia kwa namna hasa ambayo Yusuf aliieleza. Kuna pengo hapa, pamoja na dalili kwamba inatosha kwetu kujua kwamba haya yote yalitokea. Mfungwa ambaye Yusuf alihisi kwamba angeachiliwa, aliachiliwa kweli, lakini hakutenda kwa kile ambacho Yusuf alimwomba. Alisahau mafunzo yote ambayo Yusuf alimfundisha. Alisahau kumkumbuka Mola wake wa kweli kwa kuwa alikengeushwa na mahitaji ya maisha katika ikulu baada ya kurudi huko. Hakika, alimsahau Yusuf kabisa: "Lakini Shetani alimfanya asahau kumtaja Yusuf kwa bwana wake, basi akakaa gerezani miaka kadhaa." (Aya ya 42)
At this point, the sūrah leaves out mentioning that the two prisoners’ dreams came true in exactly the manner Joseph described. There is a gap here, as well as an implication that it is sufficient for us to know that all this took place. The prisoner whom Joseph felt would be released was actually released, but he did not act on what Joseph requested. He forgot all the lessons that Joseph had taught him. He forgot to remember his true Lord as he was distracted by the demands of life in the palace after he returned there. Indeed, he forgot all about Joseph: “But Satan caused him to forget to mention Joseph to his lord, and so he remained in prison for several years.” (Verse 42)
Neno "he" katika kifungu cha mwisho linamrejelea Yusufu. Mungu alitaka kumfundisha somo ili akate mafungamano yote kwa ajili ya uhusiano wake na Mungu mwenyewe. Kwa hiyo, hakufanya kutimizwa kwa alichokitaka kutegemee mtu yeyote au kitu chochote kinachohusiana na binadamu. Hili ni kipengele cha heshima ambayo Mungu alimpa Yusufu. Waja wema wa Mungu wanapaswa kujitoa kikamilifu kwake. Wanapaswa kuacha maamuzi yote yanayohusu maisha yao kwa Mungu peke yake. Pale udhaifu wa kibinadamu unapofanya jambo hili kuwa gumu mwanzoni, Yeye huwapa neema yake na kuwafanya wasiweze kuchukua mtazamo mwingine, ili wajue baraka zake. Kisha wanaweza kuukubali kwa upendo na utiifu kwa Mungu. Kisha Yeye huwapa baraka na neema zake zaidi.
The pronoun ‘he’ in the last clause refers to Joseph. God wanted to teach him a lesson so that he would sever all ties in favour of his tie with God Himself. Hence, He did not make the achievement of what he wanted dependent on any human being or on anything relating to a human being. This is an aspect of the honour God gave Joseph. God’s true servants should be totally dedicated to Him. They must leave all decisions concerning their lives to God alone. When human weakness initially makes this impossible, He bestows on them His grace and makes them unable to adopt a different attitude so that they know its blessing. They are then able to accept it out of love and obedience to God. He then gives them more of His blessings and grace.