Encyclopedia of Islam

Joseph

 

(Arabic: Yusuf)

 

the son of the Israelite 

patriarch Jacob and a Muslim prophet who, because 

of his brothers’ jealousy, was sold to slavery and exiled 

in Egypt

The longest segment of material about Joseph 

appears in sura 12 of the q

Uran

, which is named 

after Joseph, the son of Jacob (Arabic: Yaaqub). 

This sura’s 111 verses constitute the Quran’s 

longest continual narrative of one character’s life. 

They relate Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph; his 

brothers’ jealousy that compels Joseph be sold to 

slavery in e

gypt

; Joseph’s brother’s deceitfulness 

toward their father Jacob; Joseph’s handsomeness; 

the attempted seduction of Joseph by the wife of 

his Egyptian master; as well as Joseph’s impris-

onment, exoneration, and his interpretation of 

dreams, which led to his family’s move to Egypt 

and their acceptance of Pharaoh’s protection.

The sura about Joseph emphasizes the quranic 

theme that God can directly influence human 

affairs. It portrays God as playing a crucial role 

in directing the events in Joseph’s and his family’s 

lives. Joseph also exemplifies the powers associ-

ated with true prophets of God in that Joseph’s 

prophetic dreams foretell future events. Joseph’s 

life as a prophet embodies a pattern found in the 

lives of other quranic prophets: he is severely criti-

cized and marginalized; finally, he is vindicated and 

rises to a position of great honor. As such, Joseph 

is one of many quranic prophets, the pattern of 

whose lives are precursors for the life of m

Uham

-

mad

. The idea of Muhammad’s life reflecting those 

of previous prophets such as Joseph’s is strength-

ened by the belief of many Muslims that the sura 

about Joseph was revealed to Muhammad at the 

very time seventh-century skeptics of Muhammad 

challenged his knowledge of the narratives of the 

children of Israel. According to many Muslims, 

the detail and specificity of the sura provide a very 

persuasive response to this challenge.

Some of the best-known passages in this chap-

ter portray Joseph as being so handsome that the 

women of Egypt cut their hands in their astonish-

K  408  

Joseph

---

ment as they gazed at him. Some Muslims believe 

that this proverbial beauty is one of the rewards 

of heaven, where all men are as handsome as 

Joseph. Commentators have even asserted, “God 

allotted to Joseph two-thirds of (all) beauty and 

divided up the remaining third among humanity” 

(Thalabi 183). The Joseph story also attracted the 

attention of Sufi visionaries such as Muhyi al-Din 

ibn

 

al

-a

rabi

 (d. 1240), Jalal al-Din r

Umi

 (d. 1273), 

and Jami of Herat (d. 1492). Persian and Turkish 

mystical poets in particular were drawn to the 

romance between Joseph and Zulaykha, the name 

given by commentators to the Egyptian’s wife. 

Her desire for him was understood to symbolize 

the desire of the purified soul for union with God, 

the beloved.

The location of Joseph’s remains is disputed. 

Pious Jews and Palestinians believe that they are 

located in the West Bank city of Nablus. This 

shrine has been the focus of conflict between 

Israelis and Palestinians; it suffered damage in 

2000 during the al-Aqsa Intifada.

See also 

dreams

; J

Udaism

 

and

  i

slam

;  m

aJnUn

and

 l

ayla

; 

prophets

 

and

 

prophethood

.

Jon Armajani