12. Yusuf

It is said that an officer of the Egyptian government, Potiphar, bought Joseph. He recognized Joseph’s great personality hidden behind an ordinary exterior. He could make out that Joseph was not really a slave but a member of a noble family who, for whatever the reason, had fallen into the hands of the caravan and been sold into slavery. So he asked his wife not to keep Joseph as a slave, but as a family member. He further said that the youth appeared to be a promising young man, capable of managing the affairs of his household and property. Moreover, Potiphar was childless and wanted to adopt somebody as his son. So he intended to adopt Joseph as his son if he lived up to his expectations. When Joseph was about forty years old, God blessed him with prophethood on the one hand and with power and authority on the other. He received this reward owing to his righteous deeds. The door of God’s blessings is always open for righteous people! The only difference is that during the age of prophethood, a deserving person could have been given prophethood as a result of his righteous deeds but, in later periods, (after the Prophet Muhammad, the last messenger of God) he may receive all bounties except that of prophethood.

It is said that an officer of the Egyptian government, Potiphar, bought Joseph. He recognized Joseph’s great personality hidden behind an ordinary exterior. He could make out that Joseph was not really a slave but a member of a noble family who, for whatever the reason, had fallen into the hands of the caravan and been sold into slavery. So he asked his wife not to keep Joseph as a slave, but as a family member. He further said that the youth appeared to be a promising young man, capable of managing the affairs of his household and property. Moreover, Potiphar was childless and wanted to adopt somebody as his son. So he intended to adopt Joseph as his son if he lived up to his expectations. When Joseph was about forty years old, God blessed him with prophethood on the one hand and with power and authority on the other. He received this reward owing to his righteous deeds. The door of God’s blessings is always open for righteous people! The only difference is that during the age of prophethood, a deserving person could have been given prophethood as a result of his righteous deeds but, in later periods, (after the Prophet Muhammad, the last messenger of God) he may receive all bounties except that of prophethood.

Zulaykha, the wife of the nobleman, was charmed by the beauty of Joseph. She constantly tried to seduce him and one day, finding the opportunity, she closed the door of the room. This was a very critical occasion for an unmarried youth, but Joseph had preserved his godly nature and this nature came to his rescue on this occasion. The capacity to distinguish between truth and untruth, right and wrong, is ingrained in every human being by birth and this serves as a warning on all such occasions. To ignore it amounts to ignoring the voice of God. One who does so is deprived of God’s succour so that his moral strength gradually ebbs away. On the contrary, one who immediately bows down before the divine call, as soon as it is given, can count on God’s help; this improves his moral fibre and on future occasions he becomes stronger in the face of evil. What prevented Joseph from indulging in evil was in fact the fear of God but, at that time, invoking God before Zulaykha would have been ineffective. This was not an occasion for a declaration of Truth but an occasion when he had to save himself in a critical situation. In view of this situation he referred to Zulaykha’s husband. He said that ‘her husband was his master and he had maintained him in his house with due honour. Therefore, it was not possible for him to besmirch the honour of his benefactor.’

Zulaykha, the wife of the nobleman, was charmed by the beauty of Joseph. She constantly tried to seduce him and one day, finding the opportunity, she closed the door of the room. This was a very critical occasion for an unmarried youth, but Joseph had preserved his godly nature and this nature came to his rescue on this occasion. The capacity to distinguish between truth and untruth, right and wrong, is ingrained in every human being by birth and this serves as a warning on all such occasions. To ignore it amounts to ignoring the voice of God. One who does so is deprived of God’s succour so that his moral strength gradually ebbs away. On the contrary, one who immediately bows down before the divine call, as soon as it is given, can count on God’s help; this improves his moral fibre and on future occasions he becomes stronger in the face of evil. What prevented Joseph from indulging in evil was in fact the fear of God but, at that time, invoking God before Zulaykha would have been ineffective. This was not an occasion for a declaration of Truth but an occasion when he had to save himself in a critical situation. In view of this situation he referred to Zulaykha’s husband. He said that ‘her husband was his master and he had maintained him in his house with due honour. Therefore, it was not possible for him to besmirch the honour of his benefactor.’

Joseph ran towards the door to save himself and Zulaykha also ran after him and caught hold of his shirt from behind. In this chaos the back of his shirt was torn. However, Joseph was able to open the door and came out. It so happened that Zulaykha’s husband was there outside the door. On seeing him, Zulaykha put all the blame on Joseph. She did not hesitate to make a false accusation against a person for whom she had been professing love only a moment earlier. Joseph said that the matter was entirely the opposite of what Zulaykha claimed. Now the question was to decide as to who was in the wrong. No third person was present on this occasion who could have been an eyewitness. At that time a wise person of the household offered good advice. (In all probability this person was already aware of the situation. Moreover, he might have already seen that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind and not from in front.) He told all those concerned that, in the absence of an eyewitness, circumstantial evidence should be relied upon and the circumstantial evidence was that Joseph’s shirt was a clear proof of the fact that in this case it was not Joseph, but Zulaykha who had made improper advances.

Joseph ran towards the door to save himself and Zulaykha also ran after him and caught hold of his shirt from behind. In this chaos the back of his shirt was torn. However, Joseph was able to open the door and came out. It so happened that Zulaykha’s husband was there outside the door. On seeing him, Zulaykha put all the blame on Joseph. She did not hesitate to make a false accusation against a person for whom she had been professing love only a moment earlier. Joseph said that the matter was entirely the opposite of what Zulaykha claimed. Now the question was to decide as to who was in the wrong. No third person was present on this occasion who could have been an eyewitness. At that time a wise person of the household offered good advice. (In all probability this person was already aware of the situation. Moreover, he might have already seen that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind and not from in front.) He told all those concerned that, in the absence of an eyewitness, circumstantial evidence should be relied upon and the circumstantial evidence was that Joseph’s shirt was a clear proof of the fact that in this case it was not Joseph, but Zulaykha who had made improper advances.

Joseph ran towards the door to save himself and Zulaykha also ran after him and caught hold of his shirt from behind. In this chaos the back of his shirt was torn. However, Joseph was able to open the door and came out. It so happened that Zulaykha’s husband was there outside the door. On seeing him, Zulaykha put all the blame on Joseph. She did not hesitate to make a false accusation against a person for whom she had been professing love only a moment earlier. Joseph said that the matter was entirely the opposite of what Zulaykha claimed. Now the question was to decide as to who was in the wrong. No third person was present on this occasion who could have been an eyewitness. At that time a wise person of the household offered good advice. (In all probability this person was already aware of the situation. Moreover, he might have already seen that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind and not from in front.) He told all those concerned that, in the absence of an eyewitness, circumstantial evidence should be relied upon and the circumstantial evidence was that Joseph’s shirt was a clear proof of the fact that in this case it was not Joseph, but Zulaykha who had made improper advances.

Joseph ran towards the door to save himself and Zulaykha also ran after him and caught hold of his shirt from behind. In this chaos the back of his shirt was torn. However, Joseph was able to open the door and came out. It so happened that Zulaykha’s husband was there outside the door. On seeing him, Zulaykha put all the blame on Joseph. She did not hesitate to make a false accusation against a person for whom she had been professing love only a moment earlier. Joseph said that the matter was entirely the opposite of what Zulaykha claimed. Now the question was to decide as to who was in the wrong. No third person was present on this occasion who could have been an eyewitness. At that time a wise person of the household offered good advice. (In all probability this person was already aware of the situation. Moreover, he might have already seen that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind and not from in front.) He told all those concerned that, in the absence of an eyewitness, circumstantial evidence should be relied upon and the circumstantial evidence was that Joseph’s shirt was a clear proof of the fact that in this case it was not Joseph, but Zulaykha who had made improper advances.

Certain ladies of noble families were invited by Zulaykha to meet Joseph and they saw in him a handsome young man. Joseph also could have seen these ladies as a means of satisfying the desires of his lower self. But even in the most exciting of circumstances, he did not see them as such. The ladies were all so thrilled by his extremely charming personality, that, in their extreme state of absorption, they injured their hands with knives while cutting fruit. But Joseph’s whole attention was directed towards God. God’s greatness and Majesty so dominated his senses that nothing could divert his attention. What a difference there is between one human being and another.