Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. Ishaq رحمه الله narrated to us. He said: Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Kufi al-Hamadani al-Bazzaz informed us. He said: Al-Mundhir b. Muhammad informed us. He said: Ja`far b. Sulayman narrated to us from `Abdullah b. al-Fadl from Aban b. `Uthman al-Ahmar from Aban b. Taghlub from Sa`id b. Jubayr from Ibn `Abbas. He said: When the Family of Ya`qub was afflicted with what the people were afflicted with – a shortage of food – Ya`qub
عليه السلام gathered his sons and said to them: O my sons! I have been informed that a righteous man who does not imprison the people is selling goodly food in Egypt. So, go to him and buy food from him, for he will be good to you, God-willingly. So, they prepared and journeyed until they reached Egypt. They visited Yusuf
عليه السلام, and he recognized them, but they did not know who he was. So, he said to them: Who are you? They said: We are the children of Ya`qub b. Ishaq b. Ibrahim the Friend of the Merciful, and we are from Mount Canaan. Yusuf said: You are the son of three prophets, but you are not wise. You neither have piety nor humility. Perhaps you are spies of one of the kings, and you have come to my country. So, they said: O king! We are not spies, nor are we people of war. Had you known our father, you would have honoured us, for he is a prophet of Allah and the son of His prophets, and he is grieving. Yusuf
عليه السلام said to them: Why is he in grief when he is a prophet of Allah and a son of His prophets, and Paradise is his safehouse, and he looks to your number and your strength?! Perhaps his grief is due to your foolishness, your ignorance, your lies, your deceit, and your manipulation. So, they said: O king! We are not ignorant fools, and his grief did not come from us. Rather, we had a brother named “Yusuf” who was younger than us in age. He came hunting with us and a wolf ate him. Since then, he has been sorrowing, grieving, and weeping. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to them: Are you all from one father? So, they said: Our father is one, but our mothers are different. He said: What compelled your father to send all of you when he could have confined one of you by whom he can find solace and rest? They said: He did – he confined one of us, and he is younger than us in age. He said: Why did he choose him out of all of you? They said: Because he is the most beloved of his children to him after Yusuf. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to him: I will confine one of you here with me. [The rest of you,] go to your father, send him my salaam, and tell him to send me the son of his which you allege he has confined to himself, so that he may inform me of his grief, the hastening of his greying, his weeping, and his loss of sight. When he said this, they drew lots, and the lot went out against Sham`un, so he was commanded to confinement. When they big Sham`un farewell, he said to them: O brothers! See what I have fallen into. Send my salaam to my father. So, they bid him farewell and they journeyed to the Levant. They visited Ya`qub
عليه السلام and greeted him in a soft voice. So, he said to them: O my sons! Why are you greeting me with a soft voice, and why do I not hear the voice of my friend Sham`un among you? They said: O our father! We have come to you from the greatest king of the people. No person has been seen like him in his wisdom, knowledge, humility, tranquility, and piety. If you had a lookalike, then he would be your lookalike; but we are a people of a house that has been created for calamity. The king accused us, and he said that he would not believe us until you send Binyamin with us to him, with a letter informing him of your grief, the hastening of your greying, your weeping, and your loss of sight. So, Ya`qub assumed that this was a plot of theirs; and he said to them: O my sons! Your tradition is harmful. Every time you go out somewhere, you lose a person. I will not send him with you. When they opened their luggage, they found their goods returned to them without them knowing. So, they went to their father and said: O our father! We have never seen anyone as fearful of sin as this king. He has returned our goods to us in fear of sinning. We will go, and we will protect our brother. Ya`qub said: You know that Binyamin is the beloved to me from you after your brother Yusuf. My harmony is in him, and in him I find consolation from among you, so I will not send him with you until you take a vow by Allah that he is returned to me and that you surround him. So, Yahuda secured him. So, they went out until they reached Egypt. They visited Yusuf
عليه السلام, so he said to them: Did you deliver my message? They said: Yes, and we have brought its response with this young man, so ask him whatever you wish. So, Yusuf said to him: What has your father sent you to me with, young man? He said: He sent me to give you his salaam, and he says: “You have sent for me to ask me about my grief, the hastening of my greying, my weeping, and my loss of sight. Surely, the person with the most intense grief and fear is he who reflects on the Resurrection the most. He who greying hastens the most is he who remembers the Day of Resurrection. I weep and my eye has gone white in grief over my beloved Yusuf. Your grief regarding my grief has reached me, as well as your concern for my matter, so may Allah reward you. Surely, you cannot give me anything that would make me happier than returning my son Binyamin, for he is the most beloved of my children to me after Yusuf. Through him, I found harmony in my loneliness and relation in my solitude. When he said this, Yusuf
عليه السلام choked [with tears], until he stood and entered the house to weep for a moment. Then, he went out to them, and he called for food to be given to them. He said: Let the children of each mother sit at a tablespread. So, they sat down, and Binyamin remained standing. So, Yusuf said to him: Why have you not sat down? So, he said to him: I do not have a brother from the same mother among them. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to him: Do you not have a brother from your mother? So, Binyamin said to him: Of course. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to him: What happened? He said: They say that a wolf ate him. He said: What has your grief over him caused you to do? He said: I have [since] had twelve sons, and I have derived their names from his name. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to him: I see that you have taken on women and children after him! So, Binyamin said: I have a righteous father, and he told me to marry, so that Allah may bring about a progeny that will fill the Earth with glorification [of Him]. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام said to him: Come and sit at my tablespread. So, the brothers of Yusuf said: Allah has blessed Yusuf and his brother to the point where the king has sat him down with him at his tablespread. So, Yusuf
عليه السلام called for the king’s measuring bowl to be given to Binyamin. “So when he had furnished them with their supplies, he put the [gold measuring] bowl into the bag of his brother. Then an announcer called out, ‘O caravan, indeed you are thieves.’ Turning back they asked: ‘What have you lost?’ The officials said: ‘We have lost the king's cup.’ (And their chief added): ‘He who brings it shall have a camel-load of provisions, I guarantee that.’ They said: ‘By Allah, you certainly know that we did not come to act corruptly in this land, nor are we those who steal.’”
(12:70-73) And the law was such that the thief would be taken from, and not cut. “The officials said: ‘If you are lying, what will be the penalty for him who has stolen?’ They replied: ‘He in whose saddlebag the cup is found, he himself shall be its recompense.’ Thusly do We punish the wrongdoers. Then Yusuf began searching their bags before searching his own brother’s bag.’”
(12:74-76) Then, his brothers said when they saw the bowl in the bag of Binyamin: “’No wonder that he steals for a brother of his stole before.’ But Yusuf kept his reaction to himself without disclosing the truth to them. He merely said to himself: ‘You are an evil lot. Allah knows well the truth of the accusation that you are making against me [to my face].’ They said: ‘O powerful chief (al-aziz)! His father is an age-stricken man, [and in order that he may not suffer] seize one of us in his stead. We indeed consider you an excellent person.’ Yusuf said: ‘Allah forbid that we should seize any except him with whom we found our good. Were we to do so, we would surely be one of the wrongdoers.’ Then, when they had despaired of Yusuf they went to a corner and counselled together. The eldest of them said: ‘Do you not know that your father has taken a solemn promise from you in the name of Allah, and you failed in your duty towards Yusuf? So, I will not depart from this land until my father permits me, or Allah pronounces His judgement in my favour. He is the best of those who judge.’ So, go back to your father and tell him: ‘Father! Your son has certainly been guilty of stealing. We did not see him stealing but testify according to what we know, and obviously we had no power to keep watch over that what is altogether hidden from us. You may inquire of the dwellers of the city where we were, and of the people of the caravan with whom we travelled. We are altogether truthful in what we say.’”
(12:77-82) When they returned to their father, they said that to him. He said: Surely, my son does not steal. “But your souls have made it easy for you to engage in a heinous act. So, I will be graciously patient even at this. Allah may well bring them all back to me. He is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
(12:83) Then, he ordered his sons to get ready to go to Egypt. So, they journeyed until they arrived in Egypt. They visited Yusuf
عليه السلام and gave him the letter from Ya`qub, which was sympathetic and requesting for his son to be returned to him. When he looked at it, he was choked [with tears]. He could not be patient, so he stood up, went to his house, and wept for a moment. Then, he went out to them, and they said to him: “O chief! We and our family are struck with distress and have brought only a paltry sum. So, give us corn in full measure, and give it to us in charity. Allah rewards those who are charitable.”
(12:88) So, Yusuf said to them: “’Do you remember what you did to Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?’ They exclaimed: ‘Are you indeed Yusuf?’ He said: ‘Yes, I am Yusuf and this is my brother. Allah has surely been gracious to us. Surely, whoever fears Allah and remains patient, Allah does not allow the reward of such people to go to waste.’ They said: ‘We swear by Allah! Surely, Allah has chosen you in preference to us and we were truly guilty.’ He replied: ‘No blame lies with you today. May Allah forgive you. He is the Most Merciful of all those that are merciful.’”
(12:88-93) So, Gabriel
عليه السلام came down to Ya`qub
عليه السلام and said: O Ya`qub! Shall I not teach you a supplication by which Allah will return your sight and return your son? He said: Of course. He said: Say what your father Adam said which caused Allah to forgive him, and what Nuh said which caused the Ark to settle on Judi and delivered him from drowning, and what your father Ibrahim the Friend of the Merciful said when he was thrown in the Fire and Allah made it cool and peaceful. So, Ya`qub said
عليه السلام: What is that Gabriel? So, he said: Say: “O Lord, I ask You by the right of Muhammad, `Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn that You grant me Yusuf and Binyamin together, and that You return my sight.” So, Ya`qub
عليه السلام did not finish this supplication until the glad tidings came [suddenly]. He cast the shirt of Yusuf
عليه السلام upon him, and his sight returned to him. So, he said to them: Did I not tell you that I know from Allah that which you do not know? “They said: ‘Father! Pray for the forgiveness of our sins; we were truly guilty.’ He said: ‘I shall pray to my Lord for your forgiveness, for He, and indeed He alone, is Ever Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”
(12:97-98) It is reported in a report from al-Sadiq
عليه السلام that he said: When Ya`qub went to Egypt, and Yusuf went out to greet him, he was about to disembark [from his horse] for Ya`qub. Then, he remembered his status with the king, so he did not do it. So, Gabriel
عليه السلام came down to him and said to him: “O Yusuf! Surely, Allah says to you: what prevents you from coming down for My righteous servant? What were you thinking? Stretch out your hand.” So, he stretched it out, and light came out of his fingers. So, he said to him: “What is this, Gabriel?” So, he said: “This means that no prophet will ever come from your loins as a punishment for not coming down for Ya`qub.” So, Yusuf said: “Enter Egypt, God-willingly, in safety. So, he raised his parents to the throne, and they all fell down in prostration to him.”
(12:99-100) So, Yusuf said to Ya`qub: “O my dear father! This is the interpretation of my old dream. My Lord has made it come true.” – until His saying – “Allow me to die as one who submits and join me with the righteous.”
(12:100-101)