The Prophet Joseph 5

          The new shock ripped open the old wound about Joseph. Jacob started crying and lamenting loudly.  It appeared the sons had not forgiven Jacob for loving Joseph and his brother. Instead of sympathizing with him they said, “Old man, you are sticking to the story of Joseph. If you do not stop dwelling on the past, you will kill yourself with the grief.”  Jacob’s only reply was, “I am not saying anything to you.  I am putting my sorrow and grief in front of almighty God. He has given me insight about which you do not know.” Jacob’s eyes were white with constant crying and his heart was a permanent abode of sadness.

          Jacob was not convinced about the death of Joseph, so he ordered his sons to go back to Egypt and look for him and his brother. The sons went to Egypt, but the financial condition of their family had gone from bad to worse. They were unable to pay for the grain, so they said to Joseph, “Our financial condition is very bad. We won’t be able to pay the full price for the grain; please accept this little money from us and give us full measure as charity.  God helps the charitable people.”

          Joseph’s heart was moved with this appeal. He said, “Do you remember what you have done to Joseph and his brother due to ignorance?”

          “Are you really Joseph?” the brothers said with gaped mouths. It was an excellent chance to take revenge.  The enemy was completely helpless, begging for charity, in an alien land, without any support or help. But Joseph was on the pinnacle of character, where taking personal revenge was beneath human dignity. 

          He replied, “Yes, I am Joseph, and this is my brother. God has been very kind to us. For all those who do not disobey the laws of God in times of adversity and remain steadfast, their rewards are never lost.”

          The brothers said, “By God, you are superior to us; we are to be blamed for all that has happened.”

          “Do not fear any retribution today. I pardon you,” said Joseph. “I will seek your protection from Allah also. He is the best forgiver. Now take my shirt to my father. He will understand my position and status. Come back to me with all your families.”

          The brothers returned to Jacob as Joseph had ordered them. The caravan reached Cannon, and the brothers with Joseph’s shirt ran to see their father. Suddenly, Jacob said, “You may think I have gone senile, but I smell the scent of Joseph. I am quite sure of it.” The people around him said, “You are sticking with your old craziness. There is no sign of Joseph and you smell his scent.”

          In the meanwhile, the man with the shirt arrived, and put the shirt in front of Jacob.  It was the second time the shirt of Joseph was presented to Jacob. The first time, it was a harbinger of doom, sprinkled with false blood; the sons were telling a concocted story of Joseph’s death, and it took all hope and joy from his life.  This time, Joseph’s shirt was conveying a fact about his high status and position.  It was a message of hope and a better future for the entire family. Jacob immediately understood the situation, and said to the people around him, “Did I not tell you that I understand a lot of things that you do not know?”

          The brothers came to the father with bowed heads and eyes lowered with shame. They said to the father, “Please ask Joseph to forgive us because we tried to do harm to him and his brother.”

          Jacob replied, “I will ask Joseph to forgive you.”

          The whole family left for Egypt.  Joseph came out of the city to welcome them.  He made his parents sit at a place of honor, and they bowed to him, as was the custom of the land.  At that time Joseph remembered his old dream of eleven stars, the moon and the sun bowing to him and exclaimed with delight, “This is like the dream which I had when I was a child!”  His heart was so full of gratitude as he remembered his troubled past, when he served as a prisoner. He prayed to God to continuously pour his blessings on him as He had done when He taught him to decipher data and draw correct conclusions. With the help of this knowledge, he was able to rule. God was his real protector and he hoped He would let him die as a believer, so he would join the group of virtuous people in the next life.  Joseph was overwhelmed by the new happy changes in his life. He lodged his parents with him, and the brothers were settled elsewhere in Egypt.

          In the continuous story of Joseph in the Quran, there is no mention of his preaching, but in (40-34) it is mentioned that he preached the law of God.  As is the way of people, some believed in him, and some remained doubtful about his message.

           

The Prophet Joseph 4

(12-57-102)

          The events took place as Joseph had predicted. The people of Egypt enjoyed the seven years of prosperity. In these seven years, the crops were copious, and the yield from the grapes and fruits were abundant.  After these seven years, the demon of famine attacked Egypt.  The farmers, for months and years, looked hopefully at the sky for clouds. The sky never gave a drop of water to the parched, thirsty earth.  The demons of famine jeered at the devastated land, leafless trees, and dry river.

          The hope for life clustered around the granaries which Joseph had built.  The grain he preserved in abundance was useful for this hard time.  There are always some members in a society who want to be rich at the expense of others.  When they saw that staples were scarce in the market, these members started to raise the price of grain.  These capitalists did not mind exchanging the misery of people for gold.

          When the news of this black market trend reached Joseph, he established an inquiry department.  The purpose of this department was to ascertain the real number of people and then give them grain according to their needs.  Joseph announced throughout the country that each citizen could purchase grain from the government, up to the load of a camel, at a controlled price based on family size.  In case of false or exaggerated claims no grain would be given.  Joseph himself supervised this department.

          Return of the brothers

          One day Joseph saw ten of his brothers in the line buying grain.  He recognized them but they were not aware of his presence.  It was beyond their wildest imagination to think that Joseph had acquired such a powerful status.  At the inquiry, they said that they were eleven brothers.  At the time of their departure, Joseph told them, “You see I am a good host; I give full measures, so next time when you come bring your other brother also.  Otherwise your claim will be considered false. I will neither talk to you nor give you any grain.”  He ordered his employees to put the money the brothers had paid for the grain back in their sacks.   

          The brothers reached home and told the whole story to their father. “We cannot buy more grain without Joseph’s brother,” said one of them.  As they opened the sacks, and found the money they had paid returned to them, they were pleased.

          The grain lasted for a short period of time.  The brothers urged their father to send the younger brother with them.  Jacob was old; there was no grain to eat so, he succumbed to their wish.   He allowed them to take the young boy with them after taking an oath in the name of God.  Jacob also advised them to enter the city by different doors so that the people would not become suspicious of them.

          The brothers entered the Egyptian city and went to the granary to buy grain.  In the meanwhile Joseph told his brother about himself. “Do not take to heart their behavior.  I am with you.”  As the brothers were busy buying grain, one of them put the royal cup in Joseph’s brother’s sack.  He thought that if they were successful in smuggling the royal cup, they would have a valuable item.  In case they were not successful, Joseph’s brother would be blamed for theft and earn a bad name.

          On their journey back home, the caravan was stopped by the people who were looking for the royal cup.  “Stop the caravan! You are thieves!”

          “What have we stolen that you are calling us thieves?” said one of them.

          “The royal cup has disappeared.  The king has announced one camel load of grain for the one who retrieves it,” said the officer.

          “We came here before and we have done no misdeed,” said one of the brothers.

          “What is the punishment for the one who has committed such a crime according to your law?” asked the officer.

          “He himself is the penalty for the crime,” they said.    

          When the sacks were opened, the officer found the royal cup in Joseph’s brother saddle-bag.  Seeing this, one of the brothers said, “It is not strange he stole the royal cup; his real brother was a thief like him.”  This remarked pierced the heart of Joseph, who had come there to investigate the matter.  Joseph did not utter a word in his defense. He only declared, “You all belong to one family. Although Joseph was your step-brother, still he was your brother.  What you are saying about him is applicable to you also.  Only God knows the truth about your fabrications.” After saying this he left the place.

          The brothers followed him and begged him to take one of them in place of Joseph’s brother. “Our father is very old,” said one of them. “He is very fond of him.  Please keep one of us and leave him,” they implored.  Joseph refused the request and said, “I cannot set free the criminal and keep an innocent person in his place.”

          After Joseph’s refusal, the brothers got together to discuss and solve the problem.  The eldest one said, “I am not going back with you. I have no courage to face my father. He took an oath from us to protect Joseph’s brother.  We made a mistake about Joseph before.  I am going to stay here until my father calls me back or God decides something else for me.  You all go and tell my father that his beloved son committed a theft in a foreign country. We were unable to do anything.  He can ask the fellow travelers.”

          The brothers reached home and told the story to their father.  Jacob said, “What are you saying? He committed a theft?  You are very pleased with this concocted story, but I will remain patient as I was in Joseph’s case.”