THE BEST STORY
Prophetic Method
IN chapter twelve, the Quran narrates a story, which it calls ‘the best of stories’. It is about the Prophet Joseph, who lived in Palestine with his father and stepbrothers. When Joseph was in his teens, his stepbrothers became jealous of him. They contrived to throw him into a dry well situated in a forest. But God came to his rescue—a caravan spotted him in the well and pulled him out. Later, he was sold as a slave in an Egyptian market. That was how he travelled from Palestine to Egypt.
Luckily his master was a courtier of the Egyptian king. As for his religion, the king was a polytheist, while Joseph, who belonged to the family of Abraham, was a believer in the oneness of God. After some years, when Joseph reached the age of maturity, he came in contact with the King. The King, greatly impressed by his personality and wisdom, offered him a high office in his government. In present terms, this was the equivalent of being the Minister for Agriculture. According to the Biblical narration, the Egyptian king said: “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” (Genesis 42: 40)
Do not stand against the rulers and confront them in the political field. Accept their position and avail of the opportunities that arise in other nonpolitical spheres.
Joseph accepted this offer and successfully managed the agricultural affairs of the land at a time when there was a severe drought in Egypt and the surrounding areas. People became so happy that they accepted him as their hero. After narrating this story, the Quran says: “God does not waste the reward of those who do good, who are righteous and steadfast.” (12: 90) What qualities did Joseph possess which elevated him to this high status? After reading his story, as given in the Quran, we can summarize these qualities:
Joseph’s stepbrothers hatched an evil plot against him which was intended to cause his death. But Joseph did not harbour any hatred or feelings of revenge towards them. Instead, he forgave them and gave them a warm welcome in Egypt as mentioned in the Quran.
When in Egypt, he never created any problems for his master or the king. The King of Egypt did not enforce his religion on others. Prophet Joseph did not clash with the polytheists in Egypt at that time. Following the principle of avoidance of conflict, he availed of the opportunity given to him by the Egyptian ruler. He accepted the political position of the king and worked under him governing the ministry of agriculture for a long period, serving the people of his country and of the other countries around the area.
Each prophet in the Quran has a different lesson for mankind. The ‘deen’ (religion) that the prophets are given are the same. But they are given different situations due to which they react giving us different lessons. The Quran says: ‘Follow the ways of the previous prophets.’ The lesson from Prophet Joseph’s example however is: Do not stand against the rulers and confront them in the political field. Accept their position and avail of the opportunities that arise in other non-political spheres.
You will surely find excellent examples for emulation in Prophet Joseph’s personal, social and political life.
The Quran refers to this story of Joseph as ‘the best story’. Why does the Quran refer to this story as ‘the best story’? In Chapter Joseph (Yusuf), you will not find any reference to any joyous moments of Prophet Joseph’s life that might make his story ‘the best story’. However, you will surely find excellent examples for emulation in Prophet Joseph’s personal, social and political life. In this respect, Chapter Joseph in the Quran can be considered as ‘the best story’ in terms of the methodology and not just as a story.
A Believer
A believer is one who is not beguiled by the
outward splendour of worldly things.