Draft:Prophet Joseph
Prophet Joseph is one of the twelve sons of Prophet Jacob (peace be upon him). The Quran addresses the story of his life in a chapter named after him. According to what is stated in this chapter, Joseph was envied by his brothers in childhood and they plotted to throw him into a well. But a caravan found him and took him to Egypt and the Aziz of Egypt purchased Joseph from them. When Joseph reached youth, due to avoiding the love of Zulaikha, he was imprisoned and after years, due to interpreting the dream of the ruler of Egypt, he gained his attention and became the Aziz of Egypt. According to what is stated in the Quran, God gave him judgment and knowledge and taught him the interpretation of narratives (science of dream interpretation).
Etymology of Yusuf
Yusuf: (with damma on Ya and Sin) means "He will add" and his mother named him Yusuf because of her belief that God would grant her another son[1].
Lineage of Prophet Joseph
Yusuf is the son of Jacob son of Isaac son of Abraham (peace be upon them)[2].
Biography of Prophet Joseph
In the Quran, in Surah Yusuf, the story of Joseph's life is described in detail. The Quran has named his story AHSANU AL-QASAS (the best of stories)[3]. and has described it with details of his adolescence, being thrown into the well, being sold to the Aziz of Egypt, the story of Zulaikha and Joseph, his imprisonment, meeting his father and brothers, and his rule in Egypt[4].
In books of Stories of the Quran, Joseph is described as a very handsome youth[5]. Therefore, Zulaikha, the wife of the Aziz of Egypt, became infatuated with him and constantly invited him to sin, but Joseph exercised self-restraint and did not yield to Zulaikha's wish[6]. This matter reached the ears of the city's people, and a group of women in the city blamed Zulaikha. She arranged a gathering, invited the noble women of the city, and gave them knives and fruit. Then she invited Joseph to the gathering. When he entered, the women were so impressed by his beauty that they cut their hands severely[7].
After this incident, because women daily requested illicit relations from Joseph, he asked God to imprison him to escape them. After some time, he was imprisoned by Zulaikha's order[8].
Prophet Joseph in the Quran
The name of Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him), son of Prophet Jacob (peace be upon him), has come 27 times in the Quran, and one chapter of the Quran, namely the twelfth chapter of the Quran, is named Surah Yusuf, which has 111 verses and from beginning to end it is about the life story of Joseph (peace be upon him). Joseph (peace be upon him) had eleven brothers, and only with one of his brothers named Benjamin were they from the same mother, Joseph was younger than all brothers except Benjamin and was very beloved by his father Jacob (peace be upon him)[9].
Joseph's Dream (peace be upon him)
Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him), when he was nine years old, one day came to his father and said: "My father! I saw in the dream world that eleven stars and the sun and moon were prostrating before me." Jacob, who knew dream interpretation, said to Joseph (peace be upon him): "My son! Do not recount your dream to your brothers, lest they plot danger against you, for Satan is an open enemy to mankind, and thus your Lord chooses you, and teaches you the interpretation of dreams, and completes His favor upon you and upon the family of Jacob, just as He completed it before upon your fathers Abraham and Isaac (peace be upon him), indeed your Lord is Knowing and Wise[10]."
This dream indicated that one day Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) would become the head of government and king of Egypt, his eleven brothers and his father and mother would come beside his magnificent throne and bow and pay homage to Joseph[11] and perform prostration of thanks[12] and according to some narrations, some of Jacob's wives heard about Joseph's dream and informed Joseph's brothers (peace be upon him), thus the brothers' jealousy towards Joseph (peace be upon him) increased to the point that they made a dangerous decision regarding him.
The Plot of Joseph's Jealous Brothers (peace be upon him)
Joseph's brothers in a secret meeting and at the suggestion of Levi (or: Reuben, or Judah) who warned the brothers against killing Joseph (peace be upon him), threw him into a well that was on the path of caravans so that some passersby who come to that well to draw water would find Joseph and take him with them to distant places, and as a result, he would be hidden from their father's sight forever[13].
Ethics, Virtues, and Characteristics of Prophet Yusuf
God has designated Yusuf (peace be upon him) as one of the Mukhlisin, Siddiqin, and Muhsinin, bestowed upon him judgment and knowledge, and taught him the interpretation of narratives. He chose him, perfected His grace upon him, and joined him to the righteous (these were the praises bestowed upon him in Surah Yusuf), and in Surah Al-An'am, where He praised the lineage of Prophet Nuh and Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon them), He also mentioned him among them[14].
Burial Place of Prophet Yusuf
Tabarsi has narrated in his exegesis that when Prophet Yusuf passed away, the people of Egypt disputed, and each tribe wanted Yusuf's body to be buried in their location so that his grave would be a source of blessing in their lives. Finally, it was decided to bury the body of Prophet Yusuf in the Nile River so that the Nile water would pass over it and reach all cities, ensuring people were equal in this benefit and the blessing of Hazrat would reach all people equally. Therefore, after the death of Prophet Yusuf, they placed him in a marble coffin and buried him in the middle of the Nile River[15].
Story of the Relocation of Prophet Yusuf's Tomb and Its Current Location
The body of Prophet Yusuf remained buried in the Nile River for a long time, until for a period the moon (due to dense clouds) did not rise for the Children of Israel. God revealed to Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) to take Yusuf's bones out of the grave so that the moon would rise for them.
Musa (peace be upon him) asked the people who knew the burial place of Prophet Yusuf? They said: An old woman knows. Musa (peace be upon him) ordered that the old woman, who had become decrepit and blind due to old age, be brought to him. Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) said to her: "Do you know Yusuf's grave?" The old woman said: Yes. Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) said: Inform us of it. She said: I will not inform unless you fulfill four requests of mine:
- First: That you heal my legs.
- Second: That I return from old age and become young.
- Third: That you restore my sight.
- Fourth: That you take me with yourself to Paradise.
It was revealed to Musa (peace be upon him) from God to fulfill her requests. The old woman's requests were fulfilled. Then she showed the location of Yusuf's (peace be upon him) grave. Musa (peace be upon him) retrieved Yusuf's (peace be upon him) body, which was in a marble coffin, from the middle of the Nile River, and then the moon rose[16].
According to Yaqut Hamawi, the historian of the sixth and seventh centuries AH, Prophet Musa buried the body of Prophet Yusuf in Palestine[17]. The shrine of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) is now located near the city of Nablus, one of the cities of Palestine, and six parasangs from Jerusalem, in a place called Quds Khalil.
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Hujjat al-Tafasir wa Balagh al-Iksir, Vol. 1, Introduction, p. 194.
- ↑ Quranic Role Models and Their Propaganda Methods (Mustafa Abbasi Muqaddam).
- ↑ Surah Yusuf, Verse 3.
- ↑ Surah Yusuf, Verses 8 to 100.
- ↑ Al-Jazairi, Al-Nur al-Mubin, 1423 AH, p. 217; Balaghi, Stories of the Quran, 1380 SH, p. 98; Sahafi, Stories of the Quran, 1379 SH, p. 114 & 115.
- ↑ Sahafi, Stories of the Quran, 1379 SH, p. 115 & 116; also see Surah Yusuf, Verse 23
- ↑ Sahafi, Stories of the Quran, 1379 SH, p. 117 & 118; also see Surah Yusuf, Verses 30 & 31.
- ↑ Al-Jazairi, Al-Nur al-Mubin, 1423 AH, p. 221; also see Surah Yusuf, Verses 33 to 35.
- ↑ Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, Vol. 2, p. 410.
- ↑ Yusuf/Surah 12, Verses 5-6.
- ↑ Yusuf/Surah 12, Verse 100.
- ↑ Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, Vol. 2, p. 410.
- ↑ Majma' al-Bayan, Tafsir Safi, Jami' al-Jawami' and Nur al-Thaqalayn, under Verses 9-10 of Surah Yusuf.
- ↑ Translation of Al-Mizan (Musavi Hamedani, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir), Vol. 11, p. 356.
- ↑ Majma' al-Bayan, Vol. 5, p. 266262.
- ↑ Ilal al-Shara'i, p. 107, Bihar, Vol. 13, p. 127.
- ↑ Yaqut Hamawi, Mu'jam al-Buldan, 1995 AD, Vol. 1, p. 478.