The story of Yusuf in the Quran moves in a stream from beginning to end; its substance and form are equally coherent. It documents the execution of Allah's rulings despite the challenge of human intervention

Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not (Ch 12:21).

This is what the story of Yusuf confirms categorically, for it ends with comfort and marvels, which is described in Quran.

The Dream

The story begins with a dream and ends with its interpretation. As the sun appeared over the horizon, bathing the earth in its morning glory, Yusuf, son of Ya'qub awoke from his sleep, delighted by a pleasant dream he had had. Filled with excitement he ran to his father and related it:

"O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves to me." (Ch 12:4)

His father's face lit up. He foresaw that Yusuf would be one through whom the prophecy of his grandfather, Prophet Ibrahim, would be fulfilled, in that his offspring would keep the light of Ibrahim's House alive and spread Allah's message to mankind.

Therefore, it was narrated that:

Prophet Muhammad was asked: "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He replied: "The most God-fearing." The people said: "We do not want to ask you about this." He said: "The most honorable person is Yusuf, Allah's prophet, the son of Allah's prophet, the son of the faithful prophet of Allah (Ibrahim)." Source unknown

However, the father was well aware of the jealousy of Yusuf's brothers, so he warned him against telling his dream to his brothers.

"O my son! Relate not your vision to your brothers, lest they arrange a plot against you. Verily! Shaitan is to man an open enemy! Thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of dreams and perfect His Favor on you and on the offspring of Yaqub, as He perfected it on your fathers, Ibrahim, and Ishaq aforetime! Verily! your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise." (Ch 12:5-6)

Yusuf heeded his father's warning. He did not tell his brothers what he had seen. It is well known that they hated him so much that it was difficult for him to feel secure telling them what was in his heart and in his dreams.

Yusuf (يوسف) was very handsome, with a gentle temperament. He was respectful, kind and considerate. His brother Benjamin was equally pleasant. Both were from one mother, Rachel.

The Plot Against Yusuf

All of Yusuf's brothers were jealous of him for his talents and because they thought their father favored him over the others (but obviously didn't). They plotted to kill him: "Truly, Yousef and his brother (Benjamin) are loved more by our father than we, but we are Usbah (a strong group). Really our father is in a plain error. Kill Yusuf or cast him out to some other land, so that the favor of your father may be given to you alone, and after that you will be righteous folk (by intending repentance before committing the sin)."

But one of the brothers felt sorry for him, and suggested they throw him into a well so that a caravan might pick him up and take him into slavery. One from among them said:

"Kill not Yusuf, but if you must do something, throw him down to the bottom of a well, he will be picked up by some caravan of travellers." (Ch 12:8-10)

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 attaked by a wolf but their father did not believe them.

"O'father why do you not trust us with yusef while we are(to him) advisors, send him with us tomorrow to play and we will watch over him. He said It would sadden me that you go with him, and I fear, that the wolf devoures him whilst you are unaware. They said if the wolf does eat him when we are strong and many then indeed we would be failures. and as they went and agreed to have him be in the depths of the well, *We(God) indicated that their deed would be prophisised to them by him without them realising. And they came to their father at night crying. They said O' father we went to race and left yusef by our luggage and so the wolf ate him, and you would not believe us even if we were truthful! and they brought forth his shirt with fake blood, he said Nay, but your ownselves have made up a tale. So (for me), patience is most fitting and Allah is who I turn to for what you describe" (12:18)

God's Plan to Save Him

Yusuf 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 al-Aziz in the Quran. The Quran described Yusuf as a very attractive man (see 12:31)

"[12:19] A caravan passed by, and soon sent their waterer. He let down his bucket, then said, "How lucky! There is a boy here!" They took him along as merchandise, and Allah was fully aware of what they did.[12:20] They sold him for a cheap price - a few dirhams - for they did not have any need for him.[12:21] Al-aziz Potiphar who bought him in Egypt told his wife: "Take good care of him. Maybe he can help us, or maybe we can adopt him." "Thus did We establish Yusuf in the land, that We might teach him the interpretation of events. (Ch 12:19-21). Allah's command is always done, And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most people do not know. (Ch 12:21) When he reached maturity, we endowed him with wisdom and knowledge. We thus reward the righteous." [12:22] "And when he (Joseph) attained his full manhood, We gave him wisdom and knowledge (the Prophethood), thus We reward the doers of good." (Ch 12:22)

While working for al-Aziz, he was constantly approached by al-Aziz's wife (Imra'at al-Aziz) (Presumably Zulaikha). She intended to seduce him. Yusuf 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 Yusuf, as a man of God, refused.

"And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him (to do an evil act). She closed the doors and said: "Come on, O you." He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong, evildoers) will never be successful." Indeed she did desire him and he would have inclined to her desire had he not seen the evidence of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might turn away from evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves." (Ch 12:23-24)

She then tore the back of Yusuf's shirt,they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back. They both found her lord (her husband) at the door. (Ch 12:25)

She then said: "What penalty it is for those who want to harm your family except for jail or heavy torture?". Yusuf said: "She came on to me", a witness from the wife's' relatives said: "If his shirt was torn from the front , then she is telling the truth and he is from the liars, and if the hole was from behind then she lied and he is from the truthful". Then, when they saw the hole being in the rear, he said: "This is of your schemes, indeed your (you women) scheming is grand. Yusuf leave this matter, and you (Al-Aziz's wife) beg forgiveness, for you have been of the sinners."

A few women in town said: "Al-Aziz's wife is coming on to her boy, her love for him has blinded her, we find her in complete illusion".

As when she heard of their plot, she invited them, preparing a place for each of them to sit, and gave them knives to cut the fruit. She then ordered Yusuf to go out in front of them. As soon as they saw him they thought of how beautiful and great he was; distracted by his beauty and gracefulness they repeatedly cut their hands. They, then said: "Impossible it is, this is not a human, this is but a graceful Angel!". Al-Aziz's wife soon after replied: "That is the reason for which you blamed me, and if he doesn't do what I ordered him, he will be prisoned, or be pettily humiliated."

Yusuf said: "O Lord, prison is a better choice than what they (Al-Aziz's wife and the women) want me to do, and if you don't save me from it, I'll turn to their blasphemy and be from the non-believers (illiterates)." His Lord then saved him from the depths of their scheme. The male authorities and master therefore thought it would be best to send Yusuf to prison for time. (12:23)

Yusuf Interpreted Dreams

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. On one occasion, two less fortunate royal servants were thrown into the dungeon prior to Yusuf's imprisonment for attempting to poison the food of Amenhotep III and his family. They were haunted by two ambiguous dreams and remained unaware of the dreams due to inability to interpret it until they heard about Yusuf's popularity among the citizens. They went to Yusuf to seek his opinion and ask him if he could help them with solving of the problems.

Yusuf asked them about the dreams they had, and one of them described that he saw himself in the vineyard plucking grapes, pressing it into wine, and presenting it to the king Amenhotep III).

The other one said to have seen himself holding a basket of bread on his head whereof the birds were eating. Yusuf reminded the prisoners that his ability to interpret dreams was a favor from God based on his adherence to monotheism.

Yusuf then stated that one of the men would be released from the prison and serve the King (the one who dreamt of squeezing grapes for wine) but warned that the other would be crucified, and so was done in time.

Yusuf had asked the one whom he knew would be released to mention his case to the king, and how an innocent man is improsned, so perhaps the king could help him. Yusuf then realized that all along, he never asked God to get him out of prison, and that he asked for the King's help first. After realizing this, he repented and God ordered that he remain in prison for an additional number of years. The man who was released, however, had gotten occupied with life after his release, by the will of God because Yusuf was meant to remain in prison, and had forgotten to mention the story of Yusuf until a few years later. (see 12:36)(see 12:37)

The King's dream

One night the King was echoed by a mysterious dream. He was said to have seen seven fat cows being devoured by seven skinny ones and seven green spikes of wheat being replaced with shriveled ones. This dream haunted him every day and night turning him anxious and disoriented. When the servant who was released from prison heard about it, he remembered Yusuf from prison and persuaded the King to send him to Yusuf so that he could return with an interpretation.

Yusuf told the servant that Egypt would face 7 years of prosperity and then suffer 7 years of famine and that the King should be ready for it to have Egypt avoid great suffering. The King followed the instructions and the land was saved from the great famine.

"Yusuf O truthful, inform us about seven fat cows being devoured by seven skinny cows, and seven green spikes, and others shriveled."[12:46] I wish to go back with some information for the people."[12:47] He said, "What you cultivate during the next seven years, when the time of harvest comes, leave the grains in their spikes, except for what you eat.[12:48] "After that, seven years of drought will come, which will consume most of what you stored for them. After that, a year will come that brings relief for the people.[12:49]

The king, after hearing the interpretation, knew that this man must be very wise and useful, and so he sent for him. Yusuf however denied to leave right away, and asked for his name to be cleared first, and it can only be cleared if the king sought into the matter of the women who cut up their hands whom he was imprisoned because of.

The women(and Al-Aziz's wife) when confronted by the king, could not deny what they had done, and the wife admitted fully to her crime.

Yusuf became the advisor of the King.

Yusuf Attains Prominence

After the great success, Yusuf eventually turned out to become a prominent advisor to the King of Egypt. The King elected him as His Royal Treasurer due to his good record.

The King said, "Bring him to me, so I can hire him to work for me." [12:54]

When he talked to him, he said, "Today, you have a prominent position with us."[12:55] He said, "Make me the treasurer, for I am experienced in this area and knowledgeable."[12:56] "We thus established Yusuf on earth, ruling as he wished. We shower our mercy upon whomever we will, and we never fail to recompense the righteous. Additionally, the reward in the Hereafter is even better for those who believe and lead a righteous life."[12:57]

The Family Reunion

Later, he would once again run into his brothers whom he would forgive. He also found that his father Yaqub became blind after crying much over the disappearance of his son Yusuf. However, his fathers vision was restored miraculously after one of the brothers returned home with one of Yusufs shirts, this time as good news. The son threw the shirt on his fathers face and the father breathed deeply knowing this was Yusufs scent and at that his vision returned. Yusuf was reunited with his family, and his dream as a child came true as he saw his parents and eleven of his brothers prosterating for him in love, welcome and respect.

Death

Yusuf eventually died in Egypt. Tradition holds that when Musa (English: Moses) left Egypt, he took Yusuf's coffin with him so that he would be buried alongside his ancestors in Palestine.