The Prophet Joseph 3

(12- 36-54)

     Two other young men were sentenced to prison along with Joseph.  One was the wine-bearer of the king; the other was head butler. They were impressed by Joseph’s personality and said to him, “Each one of us has had a dream and we want you to interpret our dreams for us.  We are asking you because we think you are a very sensible man. ”

     The first man said, “I dreamt that I was squeezing grapes for the king.”  The other man said, “I saw that I was carrying a basket of bread on my head; birds were picking at it and eating from it.”  

“I will interpret your dreams for you before the time for luncheon arrives,” said Joseph.  “I want to tell you about myself before I interpret your dreams for you.  I do not belong to any prevailing religion.  I am a follower of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, my forefathers.  I believe in one God and his laws only.   I will further illustrate my belief with an example.  One man is a servant of one master and he works according to his orders. Another is a servant of many masters and they order him to do errands for them. The poor servant is always confused.  He does not know which one to obey.  Don’t you think that one master is better than many masters? The many gods you obey are nothing but names without power which you and your forefathers have coined for yourselves. Sovereignty only belongs to Allah. There is no justification or reason for making partners with God.  Sovereignty is only for Allah.”

     “As for the interpretation of your dreams,” he continued, “I think the first one will be restored to his duty as wine-bearer.  The second one is going to be crucified and birds will eat from his head.”  Then he turned to the one he thought would rejoin the king and said, “When you see the king, mention me.”

      The wine-bearer was restored to his duty; the other was crucified. The cup-bearer was so happy to continue his routine that he completely forgot about Joseph. Joseph stayed in prison for several years.

     One night the king saw a strange dream: seven fat cows were gobbling seven thin cows, and he saw seven green ears of corn and seven withered ones. The king went to his court and nobles.  He told them about his dream and demanded an interpretation from the courtiers.  The courtiers said, “This is not a dream. This is a hodgepodge of nightmares. We cannot interpret nightmares.”  The wine-bearer was present in the court. Suddenly he remembered Joseph and said to the king, “Sire, permit me to go to the prison and I shall bring the interpretation of your dream.”

          The permission was granted. The cup-bearer of the king entered the prison and said to Joseph, “Truthful Joseph! Give me the interpretation of the king’s dream.”  If Joseph had been less magnanimous of heart, he might have said, “Now you have come to me when you need me. What about the request that I made? If the king is desirous of an interpretation, let him come and I will give it to him.  Why should I give you a chance to oblige the king?”

          Joseph was too generous to come to this level of selfishness, so he said, “I am going to interpret the dream of the king and the method by which he can cope with the coming calamity.  Tell the king that the coming seven years are going to be years of prosperity and copious crops; but after those, seven years of famine will follow them.  In the years of prosperity, the king should use only a small amount of grain, and let the rest of the grain stay in the ears so it will not rot. The saved grain should be used in the years of famine, and for the cultivation of new crops.  The following year is going to be a year of plenty in which people will have good crops, and they are going to squeeze the juices of grain and grapes.”

          The king was pleased to hear the interpretation and the advice on how to face the coming devastation.  He said, “I want to see the man who has interpreted my dream. Remove him from the prison and bring him in front of me.”

          When the king’s messenger with the order of release for Joseph came to the prison, Joseph said, “I do not want to come out of the prison as a matter of grace from the king. I want to prove my innocence. For that, the king should reopen my case and do an investigation.”

          The king acted as he was requested and the case against Joseph was retried by the king himself. This time it was not a helpless man verses high-society women; it was a powerful monarch of Egypt who had the power to uproot these women and their families from the land.  They were so afraid of the consequences of telling a lie that they admitted the greatness of Joseph’s character without much persuasion.  One by one, all the women witnesses of the case told the king about his integrity.

          Seeing this, Aziz’s wife also blurted out the secret: “As the realty is revealing itself, I must admit my crime.  It was I who wanted to seduce Joseph, but he declined.  The point blank rejection of my wishes by a slave threw me into a fit of fury.  I was completely in the grip of baser passions, and they made me do such a mean thing.”   

          Before leaving the prison, Joseph sent a message to his previous mentor, Aziz, informing him about the case and his exoneration.  He wanted to prove that he was not dishonest about his wife in his absence, and he had not breached his mentor’s trust.

          The king of Egypt met Joseph and talked with him.  The king liked his honesty and intelligence. He declared, “Today I single you out only for myself; you will be given a high place of honor with responsibility.  What type of work would you like to take in my administration?”  Joseph replied, “Sire, Egypt’s economy is an agricultural economy; put me in charge of the resources of land so that I may increase the produce and preserve it.”

          Joseph’s request was granted; in this way God established him in Egypt. He was given the power to do his work without being accountable to anyone except the king.  The shepherd-boy of Cannon, a slave sold for a few coins in a slave- market, and a prisoner who spent many years in prison, was given full control of the Egyptian economy.  He was allowed to act in any way he desired without being answerable to anyone.  This was the result of controlling his passions and acting in accordance with the law of God. God never wastes good actions, and His rewards are bountiful.

The Prophet Joseph 2

                                                          (12-20-40)

     The man who bought Joseph was a governor. He took Joseph to his wife and said, “Look after this boy properly. He seems to me from a good family; if he proves himself worthy of our attention we may adopt him as our son or he may be beneficial to us in some other way.” The governor treated Joseph with kindness. In spite of his young age, Joseph worked so diligently and honestly that he was able to win his master’s admiration for himself. Aziz (the governor) became his mentor and opened the doors of knowledge for him.  In this manner, God gave knowledge and wisdom to Joseph and established him in a powerful Egyptian house, where he got the best education and training.

     Egyptian civilization was one of the most powerful and important civilizations of Joseph’s time. It was a cradle of science, art and knowledge.  Aziz, who bought Joseph from the slave-market, was the governor at that time, and his house was the center of information. Joseph learned the technique of deciphering data and drawing correct conclusions from it in this house.  Moreover, he was very diligent: instead of wasting his time in useless activities, he occupied himself in acquiring knowledge.

      With the help and guidance of the governor, he quickly learned all the useful skills. His character was one thing which distinguished him from the youth of his age.  He led a very pious and clean life; he was always loyal and grateful to Aziz, who made it possible for him to acquire knowledge and learn the prevailing method of administration. In Cannon, Joseph was a shepherd-boy, and it was not possible for him to learn the cultural manners of a civilized nation.  In Egypt, he acquired the best knowledge which he could not gain in Cannon.

     Joseph’s physical development was as astonishing as his mental achievements. He turned out to be a charming youth, with bewitching beauty and graceful enchanting manners.  Aziz’s wife wanted to seduce him and tried everything in her power to attract him.  Joseph remained firm on the path of virtue.  Aziz’s wife was frustrated by the lack of a positive response. One day, she closed all the doors and made a sexual advance towards Joseph. Joseph did not relent; he refused her bluntly and told her, “You cannot pull me down from the high place which God has granted me.  I shall always remain conscious of his laws.”   Aziz’s wife was a perfect coquette; she was completely in the grip of her passions. Without taking any notice of what Joseph was saying, she tried to manhandle him.  In the scuffle, they both ran for the door, each trying to reach it before the other.  In her madness of passion, she tried to stop the running Joseph but was only able to tear his shirt from behind.

     When they reached the door Aziz was standing there.  She quickly changed her position after seeing him and said to her husband, “What do you think should be the punishment of the person who attacks your wife in your absence? Imprisonment or a more severe punishment than that?”

     Joseph said, “She is telling a lie; she was trying to seduce me.  I ran to escape her trap.”

     This unexpected event changed the usual course of things.  Aziz was devastated with the shock.  All the members of his and his wife’s clan came to see them.  Joseph and Aziz’s wife both stuck to their points of view. This state of affairs lasted for some time, till a member of the woman’s family, who was well known for his wisdom and common sense, was appointed as a judge to decide the case.  The wise judge declared, “Look at the shirt; if it is torn from the front, the woman is innocent and Joseph is the culprit.  If, on the other hand, the shirt is torn at the back, Joseph is right and the woman is a liar.” Everyone agreed that it was a fair and impartial decision.  The shirt was seen and it was torn at the back.

      Aziz, who had been reluctant to pronounce the judgment up to this time, said to his wife, “This was an act of guile.  Your cunning and tricks are very dangerous.  You should ask Joseph to forgive you.”

     Then he turned back to Joseph and said, “Overlook this matter; women are like this—foolish and weak.

     The news of this unsuccessful love affair between the governor’s wife and a slave spread like wildfire in the higher society.  Many women criticized Aziz’s wife.  “What type of a woman is she? She cannot allure a mere slave,” said one woman.

     Another remarked, “I think something is wrong with her methods. The right approach could have yielded better results.”     

     When this criticism of her poor methods and failed attempt to allure a mere slave reached Aziz’s wife, she became indignant.  She invited the ladies from the upper class who were talking about sly methods to a party.  The party was luxuriously arranged, with abundant fruits, candy, wine, and many other nice eatables. Each person was allotted a brocade-cushioned seat and table.  On the table a knife was placed beside other utensils.

     Joseph was called.  The invited women were astounded to see his grace and charm.  They tried all their sly methods to seduce him, but Joseph did not budge an inch.  Some women hurt their hands to make it appear that Joseph had attacked them.  In the end Aziz’s wife declared, “This is the slave-boy you were taunting me about; if he will remain obstinate and not comply with my wishes, he cannot work in the palaces as he has been doing.  He has only two options: one is to comply with my desires, and the other is to leave this life of comfortable luxury and go to prison.”

     Joseph prayed to God, “Oh God save me from the guiles of these women. I will prefer prison than what these women are asking from me.” God accepted Joseph’s prayer.

     A new case was registered against Joseph.  This time it was not one man against one woman.  The highly placed women in society were launching a complaint against a friendless, alone man.  The judges knew the worthlessness of the case, but in order to appease the tumult and commotion in the high circle of society, they decided against Joseph and sent him to prison.