Two young
men were sent to prison with Yusuf a.s.
One day both the two men had a dream.
They both narrated their dreams to Yusuf a.s. One saw himself in his dream squeezing grapes
and making wine from it. The other
person described seeing himself carrying bread over his head and birds
descending to eat the bread. They both
requested him to interpret their dreams.
He explained the meaning of their dreams. One of them will become the king’s (of Egypt)
winemaker and will pour wine for the king.
He predicted that the other person will be crucified and his remains
will be eaten by the birds beginning with this scalp.
Yusuf
a.s. then requested his fellow prison mate to mention him and his predicament
to the king when they are released from prison.
The fortunate man forget to inform his lord, the king, about Yusuf
a.s. So Yusuf a.s. remained in prison
for another seven years after his fellow-mate’s released.
Years
passed and one day the king of Egypt had a strange dream. He saw
that he was near a riverbank with seven fat cows. Then seven thin cows came and started eating
the fat cows. He then saw seven green
ears of corn and near it another seven barren ears of corn. The barren corn encircled the green corn and
destroyed it all. The dream worried
him and he wanted to know its interpretation.
The king asked his chiefs for an explanation of what the dream meant.
No one
could interpret the dream. It was at
this juncture that the king’s winemaker remembered his prison mate Yusuf a.s.
and his ability to interpret dreams. Yusuf
a.s. explained what the dream meant and also how to handle the various events
that was about to happen. When the royal
winemaker explained the interpretation, the king was pleased. He knew that Yusuf a.s. was no ordinary
man. He ordered that Yusuf a.s. be
brought to him.
When
the king’s messenger came to prison to take Yusuf a.s. out, he refused to
leave. He was determined to leave prison
declared completely innocent. The king
then investigated Yusuf’s a.s. incident further and questioned the ladies who
were involved in conspiring to frame Yusuf a.s.
Al-Aziz’s wife confessed her wrong doings to the king. Yusuf’s a.s. innocent now became clear. The king was assured that he could trust
Yusuf a.s. The king discussed things
with Yusuf a.s. and became acquainted with him.
The king made him the new Minister of Finance.
As Yusuf
a.s. prophesized, the seven continuous years of prosperity and abundance indeed
came about. Yusuf a.s. wisely managed
those years making sure that sufficient grain and food were stored. Then the seven dreadful years set in. The land dried up and the crops withered. Even the animals reared for meat and milk
died. There was no food except what had
been stored in the granaries of Egypt. Starvation
spread reaching the lands of Palestine as well.
Prophet
Ya’qub a.s. and his children were living in Palestine. Food was scarce and made available only at
very expensive prices. Soon news reached
Palestine that Al-Aziz in Egypt was making food available at about the same
price as during the prosperous years. Yusuf’s
a.s. brothers came to Egypt seeking to buy food. They came to see Yusuf a.s.
but did not recognize him. Yusuf a.s.
started to questioned them about their father and mother and so on. After furnishing them with the required
provisions, he demanded that if they wanted to buy food again, they must bring
along their half-brother Benjamin. When they
arrived in Palestine, they immediately related their predicament to their
father, Ya’qub a.s.
The eleven
brothers came to Egypt again for food, and upon arrival separated themselves
following their father’s advice. They entered
Egypt through different gates of the city.
Yusuf a.s. again showed his generous hospitality. He arranged for them to stay in the guest
houses, putting two brothers in each one.
He purposely offered the youngest one, Benjamin, to stay with him. Upon giving the brothers their stock of food,
Yusuf a.s. hid a drinking cup in Benjamin’s saddlebag. When they finished loading their camels and
were about to leave, a man from the palace cried out calling them thieves. The brothers strongly claimed their
innocence.
Yusuf
a.s. deliberately checked the baggage of each brother before that of
Benjamin. He them produced the missing
royal beaker from Benjamin’s saddlebag. The
brothers pleaded that Benjamin be allowed to returned back to his father but
Yusuf a.s. remained firm in his decision.
The eldest brother felt ashamed and vowed to remain in Egypt until Ya’qub
a.s. permits him to return. Ya’qub a.s.
did not accept their explanation nor did he accused them of lying. Previously he had grieved the loss of Yusuf
a.s. and cried himself blind.
Almost
a year had passed since the last trip and they had consumed the food they
bought previously from Egypt. The remaining
brothers set forth to Egypt and pleaded for Yusuf’s a.s. kindness and
charity. Yusuf a.s. then ordered them to
bring his father and all the family to Egypt.
They went back with Yusuf’s a.s. shirt.
As soon as the camels departed from Egypt, Ya’qub a.s. began to sense Yusuf’s
smell. With Allah’s s.w.t. permission
and blessing, the messenger from Egypt arrived and casted Yusuf’s a.s. shirt
over Ya’qub face and he forthwith regained clear sight.
After
a few days, Ya’qub a.s. and his wife with all his sons came to Egypt and
approached Yusuf a.s. He provided
special accommodation for his parents and welcomed all his brothers to Egypt.
STORIES
OF THE PROPHETS IN AL-QURAN
(Lessons that we can
extract, lessons that we can apply)
(Teaser extraction
from the book)
To be continued…
(Enjoy and read the full version
from the book http://www.estore.ansi.com.my/affiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=256_0_3_2
or listen to the narrated stories
through iPhone:
No comments:
Post a Comment