سورة يوسف

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah, Blessed and Exalted, did not make any prophet a king and sovereign upon the earth except four ... As for Yusuf (peace be upon him), he was the ruler of Egypt and its deserts, and had no authority beyond that.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Abbas ibn Yazid said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was sitting among his family when he said: "Yusuf (peace be upon him) wished to make himself secure." They said: "How, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)?" He said: "When the Aziz of Egypt stepped down from his position in his favour, he put on two new — or perhaps fine — garments and went out to a plain outside the city and prayed four rak'ahs. When his prayer was finished, he raised his hands towards the sky and said: رَبِّ قَدْ آتَیْتَنِی مِنَ المُلْکِ وَ عَلَّمْتَنِی مِن تَأْوِیلِ الأَحَادِیثِ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِیِّی فِی الدُّنُیَا وَ الآخِرَةِ [My Lord! You have given me of the kingdom and taught me the interpretation of sayings. Originator of the heavens and the earth! You are my guardian in this world and the hereafter]." And he continued: Jibril came to Yusuf (peace be upon him) and asked him: "O Yusuf (peace be upon him)! What is your need?" He said: "O Allah! Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Yusuf (peace be upon him) feared trials."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): One of the affairs of Yusuf (peace be upon him) was that he took under his control the territory of the king and its surroundings up to the land of Yemen.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abbas ibn Hilal al-Shami said: I said to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "May I be your ransom! How pleasing to the people is the one who eats coarse food, wears rough clothes and shows humility." He said: "Do you not know that Yusuf (peace be upon him) was himself a prophet and the son of a prophet?! His robes were of silk and adorned with gold. He would attend the gatherings of the family of Pharaoh and pass judgement. The people had no need of his clothing; rather they were in need of his justice. So it is expected of the Imams that when they speak, they speak truly; and when they promise, they are truthful; and when they judge, they establish justice."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mas'ada ibn Sadaqa said: "Sufyan al-Thawri came into the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and saw that he was wearing white garments as bright as the white membrane of an eggshell. He said to the Imam: 'Is such clothing befitting your station?!' The Imam said: 'Listen well and remember what I tell you, for it is good for you both now and in the future, on condition that you depart from the world upon truth and the Sunnah, not upon innovation. Know that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) lived in a time of poverty and destitution, but if the world turns towards people and their means of livelihood improve and hands become open, the most deserving of the people to enjoy and benefit from the world are the righteous, not the wicked and the sinful. It is the right of the believers to enjoy the blessings, not the hypocrites; benefiting from the world befits the Muslims, not the disbelievers. So, O Thawri, what did you find displeasing in me? ... Know that I heard from my father, who narrated from his forefathers, that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) said: I do not marvel at anything the way I marvel at the affair of the believer and his station; for if his body were cut to pieces with scissors it would be good for him, and if the kingship and sovereignty of all the east and west of the earth were given to him, that too would be good for him. In short, whatever Allah does regarding him will be good for him. Tell me: where do you stand compared to Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him)? Yusuf (peace be upon him) said to the 'Aziz of Egypt: اجْعَلْنِی عَلی خَزائِنِ الْأَرْضِ إِنِّی حَفِیظٌ عَلِیمٌ [Place me over the storehouses of the land (of Egypt); indeed I am a keeper, knowing!] (Yusuf/55). So he attained what he sought and took for himself the authority of the king of Egypt and the surrounding lands as far as Yemen. The people of these lands would come to him to obtain provisions, and because of the famine that had befallen them, he would provide their food. Yusuf (peace be upon him) spoke the truth and acted upon it. And we do not know of anyone who took Yusuf (peace be upon him) to task for such possessions.'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Ya'qub (peace be upon him) lived one hundred and forty years, and Yusuf (peace be upon him) lived one hundred and twenty years in the world.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)- Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Awsi narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: Yaqub (peace be upon him) and al-Eis lived one hundred and forty-seven years. When the Lord gathered Yusuf's family before him and Yusuf's eyes were brightened by reaching what he desired, he asked Allah to die after Yaqub, and said to Allah: "رَبِّ قَدْ آتَیْتَنِی مِنَ الْمُلْکِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِی مِن تَأْوِیلِ الأَحَادِیثِ [My Lord! You have given me of the kingdom and taught me of the interpretation of sayings]." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "None of the prophets asked Allah for death except Yusuf (peace be upon him)." When the time of Yusuf's (peace be upon him) death drew near, he instructed his brothers to carry his body to Sham and bury him beside his forefathers. After Yusuf (peace be upon him), Yahuda, then Rubil, then Riyalun, then Sham'un, then Ma'jaz, then Ma'ma'il, then Dan, then Lawi, then Shadakh, then Khabir, and then Harun and Musa — may Allah's blessings be upon Muhammad and his family and upon Harun and Musa — succeeded him, and they were from the descendants of Lawi. The interval between Yusuf's entry into Egypt and Musa's entry into that land was four hundred and eighty years.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Yazid al-Kunasi narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: Before Islam, the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) went to the house of a man in Ta'if, and that man honoured the Prophet. When Allah raised Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) as a Prophet, it was said to that man: "Do you know whom Allah has sent to the people?" He said: "No." They said to him: "He is Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, the orphan of Abu Talib, and he is the same one who came to you on such-and-such a day in Ta'if, and you honoured him." That man came to the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), greeted him and became a Muslim, and then said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you know me?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Who are you?" That man said: "I am the owner of the house you entered in Ta'if on such-and-such a day during the age of ignorance, and I honoured you." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to him: "Welcome. What is your need?" That man said: "I want from you two hundred sheep along with their shepherds." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) ordered that what he had asked for be given to him, and then said to his companions: "What harm would there have been for this man had he asked of me the same request that the old woman of the Children of Israel asked of Musa (peace be upon him)?" His companions asked: "What did the old woman of the Children of Israel ask of Musa (peace be upon him)?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Musa (peace be upon him) to carry the bones of Yusuf (peace be upon him) from Egypt with him, before leaving for the holy land of Syria. Musa (peace be upon him) inquired about the burial place of Yusuf (peace be upon him), and an old man came to him and said: 'If there is anyone who knows that place, it is a certain woman.' Musa (peace be upon him) sent for her, and when she came into the presence of Musa (peace be upon him), he said to her: 'Do you know where the grave of Yusuf (peace be upon him) is?' She said: 'Yes, I know.' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'Take me there, and in return I will give you whatever you want.' The old woman said: 'I will take you there, but in return you must give me whatever reward I ask.' Musa (peace be upon him) said: 'Paradise shall be yours.' The old woman said: 'No, you must give me what I myself want.' Then Allah revealed to Musa (peace be upon him): 'Let it not be heavy upon you to accept her condition.' Musa (peace be upon him) said to her: 'Whatever you want, I will give you.' The old woman said: 'My wish is that on the Day of Resurrection I be in the same rank in Paradise as you.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "What would it have mattered if this man too had asked of me the same request that the old woman of the Children of Israel made?"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Yaqub (peace be upon him) began his prophethood in the land of Canaan and descended to the land of Egypt, and he died there. His body was then brought and buried in Canaan. And the dream in which Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw eleven stars and the moon and the sun prostrating to him — that was the beginning of his prophethood in Egypt.