Yusuf (Joseph)

101. “O my Lord! You have given me to rule, and have taught me the interpretation of dreams. (O!) Originator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Protector in the world and the Hereafter. Cause me die a Muslim (in submission (unto you) and join me with the righteous.”

When they witness their own glory and power, the men of Allah are at once reminded of the Almighty. They are aware that everything that exists has its origin in Him.

Turning to the true Proprietor, the everlasting Benefactor, Yusuf gave thanks to Almighty Allah for bestowing upon him great political power, and the science of dream interpretation. This science had created tremendous changes in his life and that of the majority of His subjects and what a profound science it is!

The verse says:

“O my Lord! You have given me to rule, and have taught me the interpretation of dreams...”

It is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth and it is for this reason that everything is humble when facing Him; He is our Guardian and our Protector in this world and in the world Hereafter.

Yusuf continues his plea to Allah saying:

“…(O!) Originator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Protector in the world and the Hereafter. Cause me die a Muslim (in submission (unto you) and join me with the righteous.”

Explanations

1. It is a Divine prerogative to bestow sovereignty upon someone. Therefore, one should not consider one’s sovereignty as a consequence of one’s own initiative, thinking, power, allies, or one’s own plan; on the contrary, the Divine will is the root and the main factor in one’s rise to power.

2. Abu Hamzah has said that Ya‘qub (as) lived for 147 years and he was 130 years of age when he called upon Yusuf in Egypt and stayed there for 17 years. Ibn Ishaq has said that when Ya‘qub died, his body was placed in a casket made of Ebony wood and taken to the city of Bayt ul Muqaddas (Jerusalem).

After burying his father there, Yusuf returned to Egypt in accordance with the will of that great man. He lived for 23 years more after his father died. He was the first Messenger of the Children of Israel. He stated in his will that he would be buried near the grave of his fathers.

Some have said that he was buried in Egypt until Moses (as) brought his remains with him and buried them near the tomb of his father.

It is said that the position of prophecy was accorded to Robil after him and Yahuda acceded to the rank after the latter’s term.

In the Book, An-Nubuwwah, Muhammad ibn Muslim, is quoted as saying:

“I asked Imam Baqir (as) who was /hujjah/, Allah’s Authority on the earth at that time? Was it Ya‘qub or Yusuf? He answered that Ya‘qub (as) was, and Yusuf was the sovereign.

When Ya‘qub passed away, Yusuf laid him in a casket, brought him to Damascus, and buried him in Bayt ul Muqaddas, and then Yusuf became the Authority of Allah after Ya‘qub. I asked if Yusuf was a prophet and a messenger of Allah as well.

He answered: “Yes, have you not heard what Allah, the Glorious and the Magnanimous has said: meaning: ‘Yusuf came to you previously along with evidences’?”1

Imam Sadiq (as) is narrated to have said:

“When Yusuf went to prison, he was twelve years old. He remained in prison for 18 years and he lived for 80 years after his release from prison which amounts to a total of110 years.

And as Allah the Almighty destined him to pass away in Egypt, he was put into a casket made of marble and was buried in the middle of the Nile River. The reason why he was buried in such a way was because the people of Egypt started to vie with each other to bury him in their own quarter of the city and hence benefit from the blessings of the presence of such a pure body among them.

Thus it was considered more appropriate to bury the body in the middle of the Nile River, making it possible for the river water to flow over it and allow all the inhabitants to benefit from it.

This tomb remained in the Nile River until the time of Moses (as) when he took it out of the Nile and out of Egypt with himself.

A closer look at a few of the previous verses would reveal the following points of note:

1- Is Prostration Allowed to Other Than Allah?

As we discussed a foretime, regarding issues relating to the prostration of the angels to Adam; prostration can signify worship which in this case is particular to Allah, and it is not allowed for anyone in any religion to worship any being other than Allah. The monotheism of worship is an important part of general monotheism about which all prophets had a similar message and outlook.

Therefore, from this particular point of view, prostration must only be for Allah the same Allah Who had accorded so many favors and sovereignty to Yusuf, and who removed all of Ya‘qub’s difficulties.

However, although prostration can be for Allah’s sake, in the case of Yusuf it could also have been a sign of glorification and respect for Yusuf as well, because it had been performed in view of the grandeur of the favours which Allah had bestowed upon him.

From this point of view, the Arabic pronoun /lahu/ meaning ‘before him’ in the phrase: “and they fell down prostrating before him” which definitely refers to Yusuf is compatible with this meaning.

Another way of looking at it is that prostration in its broad meaning indicates humility or modesty, and is not always used according to its prevalent meaning as worship, rather it sometimes can refer to a very profound type of respect.

2- Social Security is a Great Blessing from Allah

Among all the merits and bounties of Egypt, Yusuf Pointed out the bounty of security. This shows that the bounty of security is the root of all merits.

It is indeed true because when security disappears other material and spiritual subjects of welfare will be in danger. When an environment is not secured, is not possible to worship Allah, nor is life with honesty and free mind, nor struggle and effort and endeavour for progression and social aims.

This phrase may be; however, an illusion to this fact that Yusuf wanted to say that the land of Egypt, where he was governing, was not any more the former country of Pharaoh. Those despotic behaviours, crimes, exploitations, cruelties and tortures had been disappeared. It was a completely secured site.

3- The Important Position of Knowledge

At the end of the holy verse, Yusuf once again stresses the importance of the science of dream interpretation and compares it with the sovereignty bestowed upon him. He finally concludes that knowledge, even such a science as dream interpretation has a great impact even on such matters as political rule.

4- Man Can Undergo a Great Deal of Changes Throughout His Lifetime

However, the last years are the milestones in one’s life, because it marks the conclusion of one’s life, and the final judgment depends on it. Therefore, faithful and conscious people always ask Allah to illuminate the last years of their lives and Yusuf did as such saying:

“…Cause me die a Muslim (in submission unto You), and join me with the righteous!”

5- Did Yusuf’s Mother Come to Egypt?

One can well conclude from the above verses that Yusuf’s mother was still alive at that time and that she came to Egypt along with her husband and her sons. To compensate for this blessing she prostrated.

However, some commentators insist on the matter that his mother, Rail (Rahil), had already passed away and it was his aunt who came to Egypt and had substituted for his mother. Nevertheless, in the Torah it says that Rail passed away after giving birth to Benjamin.¹

This conclusion can also be drawn from other narrations such as those narrated by Wahab ibn Bunyah and Ka‘b ul Akhbar both of which have been apparently taken from the Torah.

Anyway, we cannot explain away or interpret the verses of the Qur’an at face value which say that Yusuf’s mother was alive that day and this fact should not be overlooked without adequate justification.