Surah Yusuf (Joseph — يوسف) (Ayah 108)

In Verse Yusuf 12:108 ^⧉ , the Holy Prophet has been asked to state his position before these people:

قُلْ هَـٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَ‌ةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ

"Say, (you believe it or not) 'This is my way. I call (people) to Allah with full cognition - myself and my followers. And pure is Allah. And I am not among the associators - (108) "

It means that the da'wah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is not based on some summary view of things, instead, it is the outcome of insight, reason and wisdom. In this act of ` full cognition,' the Holy Prophet ﷺ has included his followers as well. According to Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ it refers to the noble Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them all. They are the soldiers of Allah subhanahu wa Ta’ ala. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ said: The Sahabah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are the best people of this whole Ummah. Their hearts are pure and their knowledge is deep. They are far removed from formality. Allah Ta’ ala has chosen them to accompany and serve their Rasul. You should learn their morals, habits and ways because they are the ones who are on the straight path.

It is also possible to take the expression: مَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي (and my followers) in the general sense whereby it would mean every person who is doing the duty of conveying the da'wah of the Rasul of Allah to his Ummah right through the last day of the Qiyamah. According to Kalbi and Ibn Zayd, this verse also makes it necessary for one who claims to follow the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he should spread his da'wah among people and make the teaching of the Qur’ an available to all. (Mazhari)

The last sentence of Verse Yusuf 12:108 ^⧉ is: سُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ (And pure is Allah [ that is, free from Shirk ]. And I am not among the Mushriks [ that is, not of those who practice Shirk ]). Since, a little earlier, mention was made that there are people who, when they profess belief in Allah, would mix it up with Shirk, whether open or padded or concealed. Therefore, he has declared that he has absolutely nothing to do with Shirk. The gist of what has been said here is: My da'wah does not aim at inviting people to become my servants. In fact, I myself am, also a servant of Allah - and it is this kind of servitude, servitude to none but Him, that I invite people to. However, since I am the dai (the original maker of this call), it is obligatory that faith be put in me.

To this, the disbelievers of Makkah used to object. They took the plea that a Rasul or messenger of Allah should not be a human being. He should, rather, be an angel. A reply to this doubt has been given in the next verse