Prophets in holy Qur’an (45)
Yousef (Joseph) 3
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
- Man’s innate hatred of sin
Man naturally hates evil and sin. If the divine nature of man does not deviate during his life and finds the religious orders according to his nature, that would take pride in fulfilling them, and on the other hand, would not oppose these orders.
In the story of the prophet Yousef, his brothers knew by their nature that killing their brother was an unseemly act. The holy Qur’an says:
اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ؛
‘Kill Joseph or cast him away into some [distant] land, so that your father’s attention may be exclusively towards you, and thereafter you may become a righteous lot.’ (Yousef: 9)
Man always tries to step away from sin. Even those who disobey religious orders try to show themselves obedient to God’s orders, and they put forward various justifications for their practical opposition to religion. The holy Qur’an says that a sinful person knows that he is a sinner and he does not need a court:
يُنَبَّأُ الْإِنْسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ؛ بَلِ الْإِنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ؛ وَلَوْ أَلْقَى مَعَاذِيرَهُ؛
That day man will be informed about what [works] he had sent ahead [to the scene of judgement] and [the legacy that he had] left behind. Indeed, man is a witness to himself, though he should offer excuses [to justify his failings]. (Qiyamat: 13-15)
- Human’s innate desire for goodness
After devising a plot to throw him into a well, Yousef’s brothers claimed benevolence for him in order to deceive their father. The holy Qur’an says:
قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأْمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَنَاصِحُونَ؛
They said, ‘Father! Why is it that you do not trust us with Joseph? We are indeed his well-wishers. (Yousef: 11)
The fact that Yousef’s brothers stuck to the false claim and benevolence in order to deceive the prophet Yaqoub shows that the act of benevolence is something that human nature likes, and many deceivers in human societies deceive people by claiming it.
When Satan tried to trick Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, he swore that he was their counsel. The holy Qur’an reports:
فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ لِيُبْدِيَ لَهُمَا مَا وُورِيَ عَنْهُمَا مِنْ سَوْآتِهِمَا وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ؛ وَقَاسَمَهُمَا إِنِّي لَكُمَا لَمِنَ النَّاصِحِينَ؛
Then Satan tempted them, to expose to them what was hidden from them of their nakedness, and he said, ‘Your Lord has only forbidden you from this tree lest you should become angels, or lest you become immortal.’ And he swore to them, ‘I am indeed your well-wisher.’ (A’raf: 20-21)
There is also a report of the holy Qur’an about corrupt people whose actions cause the destruction of the society. They claim to reform society’s affairs, while their actions cause destruction and corruption. The holy Qur’an says:
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ؛ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ؛
When they are told, ‘Do not cause corruption on the earth,’ they say, ‘We are only reformers!’ Behold! They are themselves the agents of corruption, but they are not aware. (Baghare: 11-12)
This is a sign that human beings are naturally incline goodness towards other people and hate evil and oppression towards others. And this is the innate human tendency that gives tricks to deceivers to cover their immoral intentions with humanitarian and humane features and deceive people.
You don’t see anyone in the history who officially calls out crime and murder. However, the great powers that always kill people in different countries of the world with lie and cruelty deceive others more than anything with peace and human rights.
Hafez says about the action of Yousef’s brothers and their pretense of benevolence while they were actually thinking of destruction:
The shirt that comes from him smells like Yousef; I am afraid that his pride brothers will clothe it;
- Accusing yourself or self-righteousness
One of the differences between creative people and impolite people is that impolite people always try to make themselves appear innocent in every field, and if there is a flaw, they blame it on others. In the story of Yousef’s brothers, we see that they accuse their father Yaqoub and ask him مَا لَكَ لَا تَأْمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَنَاصِحُونَ They said, ‘Father! Why is it that you do not trust us with Joseph? We are indeed his well-wishers (Yousef: 11). It seems that their father’s failure to recognize them as honest is a mistake on his part, and they are innocent.
On the other hand, we see that self-made and pious people always expose themselves to accusations and complain about themselves in every problem and do not accuse others. Imam Ali, peace upon him, says about the characteristics of the pious: فَهُمْ لاَنْفُسِهِمْ مُتَّهِمُونَ، وَ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ مُشْفِقُونَ They constantly accuse themselves (of shortness and negligence) and worry about their actions.