Hizb 25

I do not pretend to be blameless, for man’s very soul incites him to evil unless my Lord shows mercy: He is most forgiving, most merciful.’

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The king said, ‘Bring him to me: I will have him serve me personally,’ and then, once he had spoken with him, ‘From now on you will have our trust and favour.’

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Joseph said, ‘Put me in charge of the nation’s storehouses: I shall manage them prudently and carefully.’

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In this way We settled Joseph in that land to live wherever he wished: We grant Our mercy to whoever We will and do not fail to reward those who do good

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The reward of the Hereafter is best for those who believe and are mindful of God

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Joseph’s brothers came and presented themselves before him. He recognized them- though they did not recognize him

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and once he had given them their provisions, he said, ‘Bring me the brother [you left with] your father! Have you not seen me giving generous measure and being the best of hosts

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You will have no more corn from me if you do not bring him to me, and you will not be permitted to approach me.’

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They said, ‘We shall do all we can to persuade his father to send him with us, indeed we shall.’

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Joseph said to his servants, ‘Put their [traded] goods back into their saddlebags, so that they may recognize them when they go back to their family, and [be eager to] return.’

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When they returned to their father, they said, ‘Father, we have been denied any more corn, but send our brother back with us and we shall be given another measure. We shall guard him carefully.’

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He said, ‘Am I to entrust him to you as I did his brother before? God is the best guardian and the Most Merciful of the merciful.’

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Then, when they opened their packs, they discovered that their goods had been returned to them and they said, ‘Father! We need no more [goods to barter]: look, our goods have been returned to us. We shall get corn for our household; we shall keep our brother safe; we shall be entitled to another camel-load of grain- an extra measure so easily achieved!’

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He said, ‘I will never send him with you, not unless you swear by God that you will bring him back to me if that is humanly possible.’ Then, when they had given him their pledge, he said, ‘Our words are entrusted to God.’

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He said, ‘My sons, do not enter all by one gate- use different gates. But I cannot help you against the will of God: all power is in God’s hands. I trust in Him; let everyone put their trust in Him,’

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and, when they entered as their father had told them, it did not help them against the will of God, it merely satisfied a wish of Jacob’s. He knew well what We had taught him, though most people do not

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Then, when they presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his brother apart and said, ‘I am your brother, so do not be saddened by their past actions,’

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and, once he had given them their provisions, he placed the drinking-cup in his brother’s pack. A man called out, ‘People of the caravan! You are thieves!’

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and they turned and said, ‘What have you lost?’

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They replied, ‘The king’s drinking-cup is missing,’ and, ‘Whoever returns it will get a camel-load [of grain],’ and, ‘I give you my word.’

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They said, ‘By God! You must know that we did not come to make mischief in your land: we are no thieves.’

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They asked them, ‘And if we find that you are lying, what penalty shall we apply to you?’

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and they answered, ‘The penalty will be [the enslavement of] the person in whose bag the cup is found: this is how we punish wrongdoers.’

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[Joseph] began by searching their bags, then his brother’s, and he pulled it out from his brother’s bag. In this way We devised a plan for Joseph- if God had not willed it so, he could not have detained his brother as a penalty under the king’s law- We raise the rank of whoever We will. Above everyone who has knowledge there is the One who is all knowing

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[His brothers] said, ‘If he is a thief then his brother was a thief before him,’ but Joseph kept his secrets and did not reveal anything to them. He said, ‘You are in a far worse situation. God knows best the truth of what you claim.’

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They said, ‘Mighty governor, he has an elderly father. Take one of us in his place. We can see that you are a very good man.’

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He replied, ‘God forbid that we should take anyone other than the person on whom we found our property: that would be unjust of us.’

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When they lost hope of [persuading] him, they withdrew to confer with each other: the eldest of them said, ‘Do you not remember that your father took a solemn pledge from you in the name of God and before that you failed in your duty with regard to Joseph? I will not leave this land until my father gives me leave or God decides for me- He is the best decider

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so go back to your father and say, “Your son stole. We can only tell you what we saw. How could we guard against the unforeseen

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Ask in the town where we have been; ask the people of the caravan we travelled with: we are telling the truth.”’

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Their father said, ‘No! Your souls have prompted you to do wrong! But it is best to be patient: may God bring all of them back to me- He alone is the All Knowing, the All Wise,’

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and he turned away from them, saying, ‘Alas for Joseph!’ His eyes went white with grief and he was filled with sorrow

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They said, ‘By God! You will ruin your health if you do not stop thinking of Joseph, or even die.’

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He said, ‘I plead my grief and sorrow before God. I have knowledge from God that you do not have

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My sons, go and seek news of Joseph and his brother and do not despair of God’s mercy- only disbelievers despair of God’s mercy.’

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Then, when they presented themselves before Joseph, they said, ‘Mighty governor, misfortune has afflicted us and our family. We have brought only a little merchandise, but give us full measure. Be charitable to us: God rewards the charitable.’

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He said, ‘Do you now realize what you did to Joseph and his brother when you were ignorant?’

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and they cried, ‘Could it be that you are Joseph?’ He said, ‘I am Joseph. This is my brother. God has been gracious to us: God does not deny anyone who is mindful of God and steadfast in adversity the rewards of those who do good.’

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They said, ‘By God! God really did favour you over all of us and we were in the wrong!’

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but he said, ‘You will hear no reproaches today. May God forgive you: He is the Most Merciful of the merciful

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Take my shirt and lay it over my father’s face: he will recover his sight. Then bring your whole family back to me.’

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Later, when the caravan departed, their father said, ‘You may think I am senile but I can smell Joseph,’

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but [people] said, ‘By God! You are still lost in that old illusion of yours!’

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Then, when the bearer of good news came and placed the shirt on to Jacob’s face, his eyesight returned and he said, ‘Did I not tell you that I have knowledge from God that you do not have?’

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The [brothers] said, ‘Father, ask God to forgive our sins- we were truly in the wrong.’

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He replied, ‘I shall ask my Lord to forgive you: He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’

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Later, when they presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his parents to him- he said, ‘Welcome to Egypt: you will all be safe here, God willing’

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and took them up to [his] throne. They all bowed down before him and he said, ‘Father, this is the fulfilment of that dream I had long ago. My Lord has made it come true and has been gracious to me- He released me from prison and He brought you here from the desert- after Satan sowed discord between me and my brothers. My Lord is most subtle in achieving what He will; He is the All Knowing, the Truly Wise

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My Lord! You have given me authority; You have taught me something about the interpretation of dreams; Creator of the heavens and the earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Let me die in true devotion to You. Join me with the righteous.’

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This account is part of what was beyond your knowledge [Muhammad]. We revealed it to you: you were not present with Joseph’s brothers when they made their treacherous plans

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However eagerly you may want them to, most men will not believe

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You ask no reward from them for this: it is a reminder for all people

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and there are many signs in the heavens and the earth that they pass by and give no heed to

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most of them will only believe in God while also joining others with Him

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Are they so sure that an overwhelming punishment from God will not fall on them, or that the Last Hour will not come upon them suddenly when they least expect it

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