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The true beauty of Quranic stories can only be fully appreciated by those who live in the reality of life—those who face injustice, denial, mockery, and the need for prolonged patience and perseverance.
There is a crucial point to consider: was Surah Yusuf (peace be upon him) a Meccan or Medinan revelation? It is a Meccan surah, revealed at a time when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was in dire need of it. Imagine the Prophet (peace be upon him) reciting these verses and this surah while his people denied him and persecuted him and his companions.
This surah descended upon the heart of our Prophet (peace be upon him) like rain upon parched earth. That is why he (peace be upon him) carried it with him throughout his journey. At one stage of the call to Islam, he supplicated:
"O Allah, make it for them years like the years of Yusuf (peace be upon him)."
And in the end, when he (peace be upon him) entered Mecca—according to a hadith deemed good by some scholars—after gathering the leaders of Quraysh who had fought him, expelled him, and committed all kinds of atrocities, he said to them:
"No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you; and He is the most Merciful of the merciful."
He spoke the very same words of Yusuf (peace be upon him), for he carried the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) in his consciousness.
Thus, the surah was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) at a time when he was in dire need of it. He learned from it, internalized its etiquettes, morals, ideas, and meanings, and filled his heart with its certainty. He then applied all of this in his reality (peace be upon him).