The Story of Prophet Yusuf for Kids (Straight from Surah Yusuf)

The story of Prophet Yusuf (عليه السلام) for kids, in short: a boy has a dream of eleven stars, the sun and the moon bowing to him. His jealous brothers throw him into a well. He is sold in Egypt, put in prison although he did nothing wrong, and then made a trusted minister of the land. Years later his brothers come to him for food, and he forgives them. His family are reunited and the dream comes true.

Allah tells the whole story in one surah, Surah Yusuf (chapter 12), and calls it “the best of stories”:

نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ بِمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ

“We relate to you the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur’an…” (Yusuf 12:3)

So I tell it to my children straight from the surah, part by part, with the ayah numbers. Many retellings add names, ages and scenes that are not in the Qur’an. These come mostly from Isra’iliyyat, old stories of the People of the Book. I’ve left them out. What Allah told us is complete.

The Prophet (ﷺ) described Yusuf’s noble family: “The noble one, son of the noble one, son of the noble one, son of the noble one: Yusuf, son of Ya’qub, son of Ishaq, son of Ibrahim.” (al-Bukhari 3390)

Part 1: The dream (12:4-6)

One day young Yusuf told his father, the Prophet Ya’qub:

إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ

“O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.” (Yusuf 12:4)

Ya’qub knew it was a special dream. He told Yusuf: “O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will plot against you. Indeed Shaytan is to man a clear enemy.” (12:5)

Ask your child: Why did Ya’qub tell Yusuf to keep the dream secret?

Part 2: The jealous brothers and the well (12:8-18)

Yusuf’s older brothers were jealous. They said, “Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we are” (12:8). Shaytan stirred them up, and they made a terrible plan. They asked their father to let Yusuf come out to play with them, then they threw him into the bottom of a well (12:15).

But Allah did not leave Yusuf alone. Allah inspired him that one day he would tell his brothers about what they had done, while they would not recognise him (12:15).

That evening the brothers came home crying. They said a wolf had eaten Yusuf, and showed his shirt with false blood on it (12:17-18). Ya’qub knew they were not telling the truth, and he said:

وَجَاءُوا عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ ۚ قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنْفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ

”…So patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against what you describe.” (Yusuf 12:18)

Lesson: Jealousy can lead to terrible things, so we ask Allah to protect our hearts. And when something sad happens, we say fa sabrun jamil: beautiful patience.

Part 3: Sold in Egypt (12:19-22)

Travellers came to the well to get water. One of them let down his bucket and pulled up a boy! (12:19). They sold Yusuf for a few coins (12:20). A man in Egypt bought him and told his wife, “Make his stay comfortable; perhaps he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son” (12:21). Yusuf grew up in that house, and Allah gave him wisdom and knowledge (12:22).

Lesson: Even when things look bad, Allah is planning something good. “And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know” (12:21).

Part 4: A test, and Yusuf says “I seek refuge in Allah” (12:23-35)

How I tell this to young children: “The lady of the house wanted Yusuf to do something Allah has forbidden. She closed the doors. But Yusuf said, ‘I seek refuge with Allah!’ and ran for the door.”

وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ ۚ قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ

Yusuf said: “[I seek] the refuge of Allah. Indeed, he is my master, who has made good my residence. Indeed, wrongdoers will not succeed.” (Yusuf 12:23)

She tore his shirt from behind as he ran. Her husband was at the door. A witness from her own family said: if the shirt is torn from the front, she is telling the truth; if it is torn from the back, he is (12:26-27). The shirt was torn from the back, so everyone knew Yusuf was innocent (12:28).

Even so, Yusuf was later put in prison. He had said:

قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُنْ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ

“My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me…” (Yusuf 12:33)

Lesson: Yusuf chose to obey Allah even when it cost him his freedom. When we are alone and no one sees us, Allah sees us.

For parents: with older children you can read 12:23-34 together and explain it at their level. With little ones, “something Allah has forbidden” is enough.

Part 5: Calling to Allah in prison (12:36-42)

Two young men went to prison with Yusuf. Each one had a strange dream and asked Yusuf what it meant (12:36). Before answering, Yusuf used the chance to teach them about Allah:

يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَأَرْبَابٌ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمِ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ

“O my two companions of prison, are separate lords better, or Allah, the One, the Prevailing?” (Yusuf 12:39)

Then he explained their dreams (12:41). He asked the one who would go free to mention him to the king, but Shaytan made the man forget, and Yusuf stayed in prison several years (12:42).

Lesson: Wherever you are, even in a hard place, you can teach people about Allah. And tawheed comes first.

Part 6: The king’s dream (12:43-57)

The king of Egypt dreamed of seven fat cows eaten by seven thin cows, and seven green ears of grain and seven dry ones (12:43). No one could explain it. Then the man from prison remembered Yusuf!

Yusuf explained: there would be seven good years of harvest, so they should store most of the grain in its ears. Then seven hard years would come, when they would eat what they had stored (12:47-49).

The king asked for Yusuf, but Yusuf would not leave prison until his name was cleared (12:50). The truth came out, and the king said, “Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted” (12:54). Yusuf asked to look after the storehouses of the land: “Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian” (12:55).

Lesson: Patience and honesty bring good in the end. And we plan ahead, like Yusuf saving grain for the hard years.

Part 7: The brothers come for food (12:58-82)

The hard years came, and Yusuf’s brothers travelled to Egypt to buy food. They came to Yusuf. He recognised them, but they did not recognise him (12:58), just as Allah had told him in the well.

Yusuf asked them to bring their younger brother next time (12:59). When they came back with him, Yusuf quietly told his brother who he was (12:69). Then, by a plan that Allah taught him, he kept his brother with him (12:70-76): “Thus did We plan for Yusuf” (12:76).

Part 8: Ya’qub’s patience (12:83-87)

Now Ya’qub was parted from Yusuf’s brother too. He wept until his eyes turned white with grief (12:84). But listen to what he said:

قَالَ إِنَّمَا أَشْكُو بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you do not know.” (Yusuf 12:86)

And he told his sons: “Despair not of relief from Allah” (12:87).

Lesson: It’s okay to be sad, but we complain to Allah, not about Allah, and we never lose hope.

Part 9: “I am Yusuf” (12:88-98)

The brothers came back to Egypt, poor and asking for charity. Yusuf asked them, “Do you know what you did with Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?” (12:89). Suddenly they understood. “Are you indeed Yusuf?” He said:

قَالُوا أَإِنَّكَ لَأَنْتَ يُوسُفُ ۖ قَالَ أَنَا يُوسُفُ وَهَٰذَا أَخِي ۖ قَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا ۖ إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“I am Yusuf, and this is my brother. Allah has certainly favoured us. Indeed, whoever fears Allah and is patient, then indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good.” (Yusuf 12:90)

The brothers were ashamed. And Yusuf, who could have punished them, said:

قَالَ لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ ۖ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

“No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful.” (Yusuf 12:92)

Yusuf sent his shirt home, and when it was placed over Ya’qub’s face, his sight came back (12:93, 12:96).

Part 10: The dream comes true (12:99-101)

The whole family came to Egypt. Yusuf raised his parents up on the throne, and they bowed down to him. Yusuf said, “O my father, this is the explanation of my vision of before. My Lord has made it reality” (12:100). Scholars explain that this bowing was a greeting of respect in their time. In our religion, sujud is for Allah alone.

Then Yusuf made this beautiful dua:

رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِنْ تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ ۚ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنْتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ

”…Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous.” (Yusuf 12:101)

What we leave out, and why

You may have heard names for the wife of the minister, for Yusuf’s younger brother, or details like how long he was in the well and how old he was. None of these are in the Qur’an or the authentic Sunnah. When a detail has no reliable source, we leave it out. Allah ends the surah: “Never was it a narration invented” (12:111).

Lessons from Surah Yusuf for children

• Jealousy between siblings is dangerous. See our guide to sibling rivalry, the Islamic approach.
• Beautiful patience: fa sabrun jamil (12:18).
• Say no to wrong, even in private: ma’adhallah (12:23).
• Tawheed first, even in prison (12:39-40). More on teaching tawheed to children.
• Never despair of Allah’s mercy (12:87).
• Forgive when you are strong (12:92).
• Ask Allah for a good ending (12:101).

Activities by age

Ages 3 to 5: Tell one part a night over ten nights. Keep a “patience jar”: every time your child waits patiently or forgives a sibling, add a bean and say fa sabrun jamil.

Ages 6 to 8: Write the ten part titles on cards (text only) and mix them up. Your child puts them in order and finds one ayah for each card in the Mushaf.

Ages 9 to 12: Read Surah Yusuf in translation over two weeks with a reliable tafsir such as Ibn Kathir’s. Ask your child to find every place where someone is patient, and every place where Allah’s plan is mentioned. Then compare Yusuf’s trials with his great-grandfather’s in the story of Prophet Ibrahim, and see where both appear in our list of the 25 prophets for kids.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the story of Yusuf in the Qur’an? Almost all of it is in Surah Yusuf, chapter 12, which has 111 ayat. The story is told from beginning to end in this one surah.

What lesson does the story of Yusuf teach children? Patience in hardship, saying no to wrong when no one is watching, trusting Allah’s plan, and forgiving people who hurt us.

How many brothers did Yusuf have? The dream mentions eleven stars (12:4), and the scholars of tafsir explain that these stood for his eleven brothers. One of them was his younger brother, who is mentioned in the story without a name.

Is it okay to use Yusuf cartoons or films? No. We don’t use images of prophets or of living beings. The story is strongest told from the Qur’an, in your own words.

May Allah give our children the patience and the purity of Yusuf (عليه السلام). Ameen.