" Very truly in the narrative of Joseph and his brothers are signs for those who inquire after truth." Quran, Part 12, verse 7.
Joseph's brothers went back to their father Prophet Jacob, and said " O our father! Truly we went racing and left Joseph with out belongings, and the wolf ate him! But never will you believe us, even if we are truthful." Prophet Jacob replied: "No! But it is your own souls that have tempted you to something. Yet nothing is left to me but Beautiful Patience! And God Alone is besought for help against all that you claim." Quran, part 12, verse 17 and 18.
The story of Joseph is manifested with signs of God's Greatness in His Creation and reveals the basic nature of people and their wickedness. Joseph's brothers were jealous of him because their father loved joseph so much that he could not go without his company and yearned for his son, Joseph, to always be close to him and around him. The brothers planned to kill him, so concocted a plan to take him out to the woods and kill him, and then make up a story to their Father, Jacob.
Side note: even your own blood can be swayed and tempted to do ill against because of their jealousy or lack of goodness in their hearts.
So, the brothers asked their Father to take him out, and Prophet Jacob did not want to let his son go because he worried about him, this shows the different level of love he had for his son because of their special bond to the point that Joseph's father did not want him out of his sight.
Side note: You love your kids, but when some of them grow up and some of them develop similar characteristics as you, the parent, sometimes your love grows even more for them, not to say you don't love your other kids but just have a special bond with one over the other.
The brothers convince their father to take Joseph out, so they take him and put him in a well. Afterward, the brothers went to Prophet Jacob, their father, and told him a wolf at him but you wouldn't believe us even if we were telling the truth. Prophet Jacob, a wise man, knew the jealousy the brothers harbored in their chests, and just like you know your kids, you know when they are not telling the truth.
Prophet Jacob replies so, unbelievably and remarkably, telling them something tempted to you from the bit of ill-will in their souls, but I have nothing except for ""beautiful patience.""
How can somebody just hit the news of his son's death, say all i have left is beautiful patience? Why patience, why not time? And, how can patience be beautiful?
Patience is a key element in our everyday lives and, absolutely critical, to overcoming obstacles in life and hardships. Because without patience, we would not be able to deal with not getting the exact job we worked hard and aimed to get, moving from a small crummy apartment to, finally, a descent house to raise a family, or even just driving in traffic for 45mn while, in your head, thinking if I only had a hummer, I would love to drive right through all of these cars and not even care. Time does not heal all wounds, rather patience does. Being patient for a certain amount of time, may heal some. However, ultimately, patience and coming to recognize that we do not have control over what happens or what will happen is, plainly, something we must do when somebody close or our kids suffer from a fatal disease or car accident. Is just not in our hands?
How can patience be beautiful? It's enough to hear news of your son dying, but then responding by saying not only will I be patient, but my patience will be beautiful. Well, first anybody that is able to be patient under those circumstances, news that knocks you to your feet, is beautiful. Anybody, in that position fights a very tough battle with themselves because, I know, if that situation, God Forbid, strikes any one of us, my reaction will be, most likely, anything but patient. Secondly, Prophet Jacob, being so wise, understood, to the bottom of his core, that we have control over nothing: what happens to our kids while they are out playing or what our future holds, will we fulfill our dreams or come up short, who knows what will happen 5 years down the line.
What was Prophet Jacob's solution or the way he dealt with such a calamity? Rather, than becoming angry at Joseph's brothers and blaming them and holding a grudge against his other kids holding that their the reason for Joseph's death and how could you be so stupid to leave him alone in such a dangerous place with wolves all over the place? He took a few moments to think of the effect of his reaction to such news will have on Joseph's brothers and on himself. Because, we all know, that everybody goes through one struggle or receives tough news one way or the other. It's all about how you deal with it that differentiates a person that will spend the rest of their lives blaming others for what happened or living miserably because of what happened. But, Prophet Jacob understood, to his core and in his heart, that he can not control what happens to Joseph every second of every minute of every hour of every day, its IMPOSSIBLE! Hence, he knew in his heart that God has Power over all things and if that is what God willed, then with it I will have ""beautiful patience."
At the end of the story of Joseph, a little synopsis: Joseph was picked up by a caravan driving by, becomes finance minister of an entire land, and the land that Prophet Jacob settled in suffered from a severe drought. But, the land that Joseph was finance minister was the only land with abundant food and drink. So, his father and brothers end up going to Joseph for food and water because there is no where else to get food from. And, in the end Joseph is back united with his beloved father, Prophet Jacob. Prophet Jacob put his whole hearted faith and trust in God knowing that everything happens for a reason and God does not leave any of us if we have faith and trust in HIM.
This is inspiration, and this is a story worth telling!
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