Yousef (Joseph) 12
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.
23. Accepting transcendental facts, on the condition of certainty
There was a long distance between Egypt and Canaan, which historians mentioned it as 70 days of walking. When prophet Yousef sent his shirt to his father, his brothers put the shirt on Jacob’s face and he regained his sight with it. Since the caravan of Yousef’s brothers left Egypt, Jacob smelled Yousef’s smell and told the people around him about it:
وَلَمَّا فَصَلَتِ الْعِيرُ قَالَ أَبُوهُمْ إِنِّي لَأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلَا أَنْ تُفَنِّدُونِ؛
As the caravan set off, their father said, ‘I sense the scent of Joseph, if you will not consider me a dotard.’ (Yousef: 94)
Yaqoub’s family did not believe his words, but accused him of still making the same old mistake of constantly talking about Yousef and always remembering him and… قَالُوا تَاللَّهِ إِنَّكَلَفِي ضَلَالِكَ الْقَدِيمِ؛ They said, ‘By God, you persist in your inveterate error.’ (Yousef: 95)
When Yousef’s brothers reached Canaan and brought his shirt with them and put it on their father’s face, he regained his sight. Yaqoub said to them: Did you see that I had hidden information that was not understandable for you?
فَلَمَّا أَنْ جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ؛
When the bearer of good news arrived, he cast it on his face, and he regained his sight. He said, ‘Did I not tell you, ‘‘I know from Allah what you do not know?’’ ’ (Yousef: 96)
One of the remarkable points in the story of Yousef’s shirt, and Yaqoub’s knowledge of what others were ignorant of, is that Yaqub, who had such a feeling from such a distance and smelled Yousef’s smell and informed others, did not feel him when he was in the well and he was a few steps away from his village. Could not he smell his son and send others to take him out of the well?
Someone asked that lost-child
O bright, wise old man
You smelled a shirt in Egypt
Why didn’t you see him in Canaan’s well?
He said that our feeling is the condition of the world
Once is visible and once is hidden
While we sit on the high throne
And in occasions we do not see behind our feet
The knowledge and awareness of God’s saints is subject to God’s will and to the extent that God determines. Sometimes they know the secrets of the universe and sometimes they only know about the other people. The holy prophet of Islam said: لِی مَعَ اللّهِ وَقتٌ لا یَسَعُنی فِیهِ مَلَکٌ مُقَرَّبٌ وَ لا نَبِیٌّ مُرسَلٌ؛ I will be with God at times when no king and no messenger will be included.” And of course, the messenger of God does not say that he is always in such a special position with God.
Abusing this position of the Saints by profit-seeking people
We know that man does not have the power to understand all the facts of the universe, and many things happen in the world that is beyond the power of man to understand. This is why the saints of God sometimes inform about things that other people are unaware of. But this fact has caused profit-seekers to think about abusing, and to deceive naive people with false claims.
A wise person should always be careful not to get caught by profit-seeking people who try to seduce others with superstitions and strange claims, or claim to be related to the Waited Imam and abuse those who love him for their own benefits. God gives this position only to people who have gone through various stages of getting close to the almighty God and their eyes have been opened to the truths of the universe. The main characteristic of such people is that they never talk about their spiritual position; they never claim that they know about the whole affairs of the world; they never claim that they can meet the Imam of the time.
O the bird of dawn, learn love from the butterfly;
That was burnt and did not sing;
These claimants are ignorants;
Who was reported, did not send news;
24. Begging forgiveness for the children by the father
At the end of all this story, and after Yousef’s brothers did a lot of bad things to their brother and father, they regretted their actions, and thought of seeking forgiveness from God. In such a situation, they asked their father to mediate between them and the almighty God and ask for God’s forgiveness. Although Ya‘qoub had encountered a lot of harm and suffering from his children, he sympathized with their condition and promised to ask for forgiveness for them. The holy Qur‘an says:
قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ؛ قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ؛
They said, ‘Father! Plead [with Allah] for forgiveness of our sins! We have indeed been erring.’ He said, ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you; indeed He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.’ (Yousef: 97-98)
All non-innocent people fall into error and sin, and they need to receive God’s love and forgiveness. A child with bad behavior to his parents needs his parents to ask for God’s forgiveness. It is good for him to beg his parents to pray for him, and it is good that a parent who has received harm from his child to ask God for mercy and forgiveness to make their regretful child happy. According to the holy Prophet, the prayers of parents for their children will not go unanswered by God.
Yousef was a Moslem
In the last verse with which the story of Joseph ends, the holy Qur’an mentions the true religion of all divine prophets. Through this verse of the holy message, the prophet Yousef, after thanking God for all the blessings that were given to him, asks God to die with the correct religion and Islamic belief:
رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِنْ تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنْتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ؛
‘My Lord! You have granted me a share in the kingdom, and taught me the interpretation of dreams. Originator of the heavens and earth! You are my guardian in this world and the Hereafter! Let my death be in submission [to You], and unite me with the Righteous.’ (Yousef: 101)