HAZRAT YUSAF ( A.S ):
Prophet Yusuf (AS) was the son of Prophet Ya'qub (AS). In the Bible he is referred to as Joseph son of Jacob. The Holy Qur'an has mentioned his story in a beautiful chapter entitled "Surah Yusuf". Prophet Yusuf (AS) had 11 brothers. He was one of the youngest and possessed excellent character and manners. His father loved him dearly.
Prophet Yusuf (AS) once dreamt that eleven stars and the sun and moon were prostrating to him. He related the dream to his father. Prophet Ya'qub (AS) realised that the dream outlined his son's destiny and greatness and cautioned him not to tell his brothers about the dream.
His brothers were jealous of the favour that he enjoyed in their father's eyes and planned to somehow get rid of him. Whenever they took their goats out for grazing they would ask their father if Yusuf (AS) could accompany them. Prophet Ya'qub (AS) always refused, saying that the boy was too young. When Prophet Yusuf (AS) reached the age of 16, his brothers insisted that he was now old enough to accompany them. With reluctance, their father agreed to let them take him with them.
As soon as they were far enough from home, they began to plot about how to dispose of Prophet Yusuf (AS). Then, they came across a dry well. They removed Prophet Yusuf's (AS) shirt, and threw him into the well. Ignoring their young brother's pleas, they heartlessly left him to die of hunger.
On the way back, they slaughtered a goat and stained Prophet Yusuf's (AS) shirt with its blood. They arrived home weeping and told their father that while they were grazing their sheep, a wolf came and ate their brother. He did not believe their story and could do nothing but remain patient and wait for Allah to reunite him with his beloved son.
Meanwhile a caravan of traders passing by the well stopped to draw some water. They were surprised to see Prophet Yusuf (AS) come up holding the bucket. They hid him with their merchandise and sold him to some slave traders for a few pieces of silver.
2. Prophet Yusuf (AS) in Egypt:
Thus, Prophet Yusuf (AS) arrived in Egypt. At the slave market the buyers were all attracted by him, because he was a very handsome young man. News of this remarkable youth swept through the city. The Aziz (Governor of Egypt and Chief Officer of the King), whose name was Fotifaar, offered a price that none could match. He brought Prophet Yusuf (AS) home and told his wife Zuleikha that they would adopthim as their son.
Zuleikha, however, was so taken by Prophet Yusuf's (AS) beauty that she sought to have an illegal association with him. A Prophet of Allah could never be part of such an evil deed and Prophet Yusuf (AS) backed away from the advances of Zuleikha. As he raced for the door she ripped his shirt from behind. At the door they met the Aziz. On seeing her husband, Zuleikha tried to blame Yusuf (AS) by claiming that he had tried to lay a hand on her. Before the Aziz could vent his fury on Prophet Yusuf (AS), a baby spoke up from the cradle, and the Holy Qur'an say And a witness from her own household testified, "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she speaks the truth and he is of the liars. And if his shirt is torn from behind, then she lies and he is of the truthful one.
The shirt was, of course, torn from behind, and the Aziz was extremely angry with his wife for attempting such an act of indecency. The women of the city heard about Zuleikha's actions and began to gossip and make fun of her. To explain her attraction she decided to let them see Prophet Yusuf (AS) themselve.
She called forty of them to the palace for a meal. As soon as they all had a knife to cut some fruit, she called Prophet Yusuf (AS) into the room on some excuse. So dazzled were they by his beauty and presence, that they cut their fingers in their distraction and exclaimed, "This is not a human being - he must be an angel".
Zuleikha was furious with Prophet Yusuf (AS) because he had caused her to be ridiculed. In her anger and frustration, she caused him to be imprisoned on false charges of assault
1. Prophet Yusuf (AS) in Pris:
Due to continued pressure from his wife Zuleikha, the Aziz of Egypt decided to imprison Prophet Yusuf (AS), despite his innocence. The reason he gave was that people would forget the actions of his wife while Prophet Yusuf (AS) lay in prison, and her dignity would be restore
On the same day that Prophet Yusuf (AS) was put into prison, two other men were also imprisoned. One used to serve the king wine, while the other was the royal cook. Both men had been accused of trying to poison the king. On the following day, the wine-server said to Prophet Yusuf (AS), "I saw in a dream that I was crushing grapes to make wine for the king". The cook said, "I dreamt that I was carrying some bread in a basket on my head and birds were pecking at the bread".
Both men saw that Prophet Yusuf (AS) was a noble and pious person and asked him if he could interpret their dreams. Prophet Yusuf (AS) took this opportunity to preach the religion of Allah to his prison-mates. He promised to tell them the meaning of their dreams and informed them that this was a special power given to him by Allah Before he did so, however, he explained to them how senseless it was to believe in various gods and explained to them about the Oneness of Allah and the Day of Resurrection.
Finally he said, "O my prison-mates! The man who dreamt that he was crushing grapes will soon be released from here and will go back to his previous post. The second one, who carried the bread on his head in the dream, will be executed and the birds will start to eat his brain." Prophet Yusuf (AS) thought of getting himself released from prison through the wine-server, and told him to remind the king of his innocence when he saw him. The dreams of both men came true just as he had foretold. One of the captives was released while the other was hanged. Unfortunately, the wine-server forgot all that Prophet Yusuf (AS) had told him to convey to the king.