From Abū Baṣīr, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever reads Sūrat Yūsuf every day and every night, will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement as beautiful as Joseph, and he will not be subject to the fear of the Day of Judgement, and he will be amongst the best of God’s righteous servants.’[1]

As always, such merits are for the one who not only recites the words of the surah, but who embodies them in his life. There is no doubt that the one who can master their own self and be in control of their desires, like Prophet Joseph (a), to the extent that a dark cell accompanied with God-wariness is more beloved to them than a palace of lustful sin, will certainly be amongst the best of God’s righteous servants.[2]

There is also a narration that asserts that women should not be taught Sūrat Yūsuf, but instead they should be taught Sūrat al-Nūr. This is probably because Sūrat Yūsuf relates how the Egyptian women were overcome with desire and the worry has been that this would somehow affect the mentality of female readers of this surah as well, whereas Sūrat al-Nūr speaks of modesty. This report does not have a very reliable chain of narration though, and is in fact in contradiction to another report which encourages teaching this surah to one’s family.[3] In any case, it is completely baseless to think that the way the Quran has portrayed the story should have a negative impact on anyone, and such thinking is in fact a highly false accusation against the purity of the Quran. Any claim that the Quran could have a negative impact on people and that parts of it should be withheld from them is not something that should ever be espoused.

[1] Tabrisi, 5/315.
[2] Nemuneh, 9/296-297.
[3] Nemuneh, 9/297.