Joseph the Prophet

Joseph or Yosef (Yusof) is an important character from the Hebrew Bible. is a prophet in the Quran, the holy scripture of Islam. Joseph was the eleventh of the twelve sons of Jacob and the first of the two sons of Rachel. He was the favorite son of his father. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but rose to become the most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh. He then brought his entire family down to Egypt, where they were settled in the land of Goshen. The story has been of great importance in later Jewish, Islamic and Western culture. ####Modern Biblical criticism views it as a 5th-century BCE novella.
Islamic view
Although the narratives of other prophets are mentioned in various chapters, the complete narrative of Joseph is given only in one chapter (Yusof). However, it is said to be the most detailed narrative in Quran and bears more details from the Biblical counterpart. Quran depicts this story as the most beautiful of stories narrated in the Quran ([Qur'an 12:03]).The story of Joseph moves in a stream from beginning to end; its substance and form are equally coherent. Joseph was very handsome, with a gentle temperament. He was respectful, kind and considerate. His brothers were jealous of him. They asked their father's permission to take him out to play, who granted them their request, on the condition that they would keep watch over him. The brothers proceeded with their plan, dropped him into a well and left him there. They returned with a blood stained shirt and said he had been attacked by a wolf but their father did not believe them. Joseph was rescued by a passing caravan. They had stopped by the well hoping to draw water to quench their thirst and saw the boy inside begging for help. So they retrieved him and sold him into slavery in Egypt, to a rich man referred to as Aziz in the Quran. The Quran described Joseph as a very attractive man. While working for Aziz (Potiphar), he was constantly approached by Aziz's wife Zulaikha. She intended to seduce him. Joseph continuously rejected her because he feared his Lord. One day she became furious and angry to the point where she plotted trapping him in a room. Zulaikha locked seven doors and pleaded him to come into her but Joseph, as a man of God, refused. Joseph then was imprisoned. After being imprisoned for a few years, God had granted him with the ability to interpret dreams, a power in which he became popular amongst the prisoners. One night the King was echoed by a mysterious dream. Only Joseph could interpret it. Joseph then became the advisor of the King. Zulaikha when confronted by the king, could not deny what they had done, and admitted fully to her crime.

The Family Reunion
Later, he would once again run into his brothers whom he would forgive. He also found that his father Jacob became blind after crying much over the disappearance of his son Joseph. However, his fathers vision was restored miraculously after one of the brothers returned home with one of Joseph’s shirts, this time as good news. The son threw the shirt on his fathers face and the father breathed deeply knowing this was Joseph’s scent and at that his vision returned.

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