Yusuf
Encyclopedia
Yūsuf , is an Islamic prophet
mentioned in the Qur'an
, the holy scripture
of Islam
. The figure corresponds to the character from the Jewish
texts and the Christian
Bible
as Joseph and is the Arabic variant of that name. It is one of the common names
in the Middle East
and among Muslim nations
.
Yusuf is believed to have been the eleventh son of Jacob
(Yaʿqūb), and his favorite. Of all of Jacob's children, Joseph was the one given the gift of prophecy
. Although the narratives of other prophets are mentioned in various sura
s, the complete narrative of Joseph is given only in one sura, Yusuf
. However, it is said to be the most detailed narrative in the Qur'an and bears more details than the Biblical counterpart (although the Biblical account greatly pre-dates the Qur'anic one). The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha
(Potiphar's wife
of the Old Testament) became a popular subject in Persian literature
, where it became considerably elaborated over the centuries.
rulings despite the challenge of human intervention ("And Allah
hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not.")
This is what the story of Yusuf confirms categorically, for it ends with comfort and marvels, which is described in Qur'an.
His father's face lit up. He foresaw that Yusuf would be one through whom the prophecy of his grandfather, Ibrahim
, would be fulfilled, in that his offspring would keep the light of Abraham's house alive and spread God's message to mankind.
From hadith
:
However, the father was well aware of the jealousy of Joseph's brothers, so he warned him against telling his dream to his brothers.
Joseph 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.
Joseph was very handsome, with a gentle temperament. He was respectful, kind and considerate. His brother Benjamin
was equally pleasant and both were from the same mother, Rachel
.
But one of the brothers, in the Bible this is said to be Ruben
, felt sorry for him, and suggested they throw him into a well, said to be Jubb Yussef (Joseph's Well)
, so that a caravan might pick him up and take him into slavery. One from among them said:
They asked their father's permission to take him out to play, who granted them their request, on the condition that his beloved brothers 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 lied he had been attacked by a wolf but their father did not believe them, as he was a sincere man who loved his son.
As the verses say,
, to a rich man referred to as 'Aziz in the Qur'an or Potiphar
in the Bible. The Qur'an described Joseph as a very attractive man.
While working for 'Aziz, he was constantly approached by 'Aziz's wife (Imra'at al-Aziz) (presumably Zuleika
) who intended to seduce him. Joseph continuously rejected her because he feared God. One day she became furious and angry to the point where she trapped him in a room. Zuleika locked the doors and pleaded with him to come to her, but Joseph, as a man of God, refused.
She then ripped the back of Joseph's shirt and they raced with one another to the door where her husband was waiting. At that point she attempted to blame Joseph and suggested that he had attacked her. However, Joseph said that it was Zuleika who had attempted to seduce him and his account is confirmed by one of the household. 'Aziz believed Joseph and told his wife to beg forgiveness.
Zuleika's circle of friends thought that she was becoming infatuated with Joseph and mocked her for being in love with a slave. She invited them to her home and gave them all apples, and knives to peel them with. She then had Joseph walk through and distract the women who cut themselves with the knives. Zuleika then pointed out that she had to see Joseph every day.
Joseph prayed to God and said that he would prefer prison to the things that Zuleika and her friend wanted. He stated that if he was not God fearing he would have joined them. The male authorities decided that it would be best if Joseph was imprisoned for a time.
The account of Joseph and the wife of 'Aziz is called Yusuf and Zulaikha
and has been told and retold countless times in many languages. The Qur'anic account differs from the Biblical version in which Potiphar believes his wife and throws Joseph into prison.
in the account of Moses, the account of Joseph refers to the Egyptian ruler as a "king", not a pharaoh.
After being imprisoned for a few years, God had granted him 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 Joseph's imprisonment for attempting to poison the food of the king, the name is not given either in the Qur'an or the Bible, and his family. They were haunted by two ambiguous dreams and remained unaware of the dreams meaning due to their inability to interpret it. Having heard about Joseph's popularity among the citizens they went to him to seek his opinion and ask him if he could help them with solving of the problems. Joseph asked them about the dreams they had, and one of them described that he saw himself in pressing grapes into wine. The other one said that he had seen himself holding a basket of bread on his head and the birds were eating it. Joseph reminded the prisoners that his ability to interpret dreams was a favor from God based on his adherence to monotheism
. Joseph 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.
Joseph had asked the one whom he knew would be released to mention his case to the king. However, according to the Qur'an, the Devil
made the man forget about it for several years.
The king had a dream of seven fat cows being eaten by seven skinny ones and seven ears of corn being replaced with shrivelled ones, but none of his advisor's could interpret it. When the servant who was released from prison heard about it, he remembered Joseph from prison and persuaded the king to send him to Joseph so that he could return with an interpretation.
Joseph told the servant that Egypt would face seven years of prosperity and then suffer seven years of famine and that king should prepare for it so as to avoid great suffering. The king followed the instructions and the land was saved from the great famine.
The king, after hearing the interpretation sent for Joseph. Joseph however declined to leave prison right away, and asked for his name to be cleared first. The king confronted the women and they admitted what they had done.
Joseph was brought to king and at Joseph's request he was given Egypt's warehouse
s to look after.
(Moses
) left Egypt, he took Joseph's coffin with him so that he would be buried alongside his ancestors in Palestine
.
The king (of Egypt) said: "I do see (in a vision) seven fat kine, whom seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of corn, and seven (others) withered. O ye chiefs! expound to me my vision, if it be that ye can interpret visions." [Qur'an 12:43]
"Then after them We sent Mûsa (Moses) with Our Signs to Fir'aun (pharaoh) and his chiefs, but they wrongfully rejected them. So see how was the end of the Mufsidûn (mischief-makers, corrupters)."
-Al-Araf 7:103
"And the king said: "Bring him to me." But when the messenger came to him, [Yûsuf (joseph)] said: "Return to your lord and ask him, 'What happened to the women who cut their hands? Surely, my Lord (Allâh) is Well-Aware of their plot.'"
-Yusuf 12:51
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
-Genesis 47:11
s - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - Joseph too was awarded the gift of prophecy like his forefathers. Joseph's Qur'anic narrative is perhaps one of the Book's most detailed accounts of the life and deeds of a prophet. Joseph, as a figure, is symbolic of the virtue of beauty - his life being a thing of beauty in itself. Most importantly, though, Joseph is admired as a great preacher of the Islamic faith, who had an extremely strong commitment to God and one who tried to get people to follow the path of righteousness. The Qur'an recounts Joseph's declaration of faith:
with that of the biblical figure. In recent years however, they claim that an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yussuf (Joseph) Dawiqat, was buried there two centuries ago. According to Islamic tradition, the biblical Joseph is buried in Hebron
, next to the Cave of the Patriarchs
where a medieval structure known as Yussuf-Kalah, the "Castle of Joseph", is located.
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
mentioned in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, the holy scripture
Religious text
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...
of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The figure corresponds to the character from the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
texts and the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as Joseph and is the Arabic variant of that name. It is one of the common names
Yusuf (name)
Yusuf is a male Arabic name, meaning "God increases in piety, power and influence", and is the Arabic form of the English name Joseph.The name is given to...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and among Muslim nations
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
.
Yusuf is believed to have been the eleventh son of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
(Yaʿqūb), and his favorite. Of all of Jacob's children, Joseph was the one given the gift of prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
. Although the narratives of other prophets are mentioned in various sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
s, the complete narrative of Joseph is given only in one sura, Yusuf
Yusuf (sura)
Sura Yusuf is the 12th sura of the Qur'an, with 111 ayat. It is a Makkan sura. This sura tells the story of Prophet Yusuf, who is also known as Joseph in English by way of the Bible or Torah....
. However, it is said to be the most detailed narrative in the Qur'an and bears more details than the Biblical counterpart (although the Biblical account greatly pre-dates the Qur'anic one). The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha
Yusuf and Zulaikha
Yusuf and Zulaikha is the Quranic verse of Yusuf and Zulaikha . It has been told and retold countless times in many languages spoken by Muslims, especially Persian. Its most famous version was written in Persian by Jami , in his Haft Awrang...
(Potiphar's wife
Potiphar's Wife
Potiphar's Wife is a 1931 British romance film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Nora Swinburne, Laurence Olivier and Guy Newall. It is also known as Her Strange Desire. It was based on a play by Edgar C...
of the Old Testament) became a popular subject in Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
, where it became considerably elaborated over the centuries.
The story of Joseph, as told by Qur'anic verses
The story of Joseph in the Qur'an moves in a stream from beginning to end; its substance and form are equally coherent. It documents the execution of God'sGod in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
rulings despite the challenge of human intervention ("And Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not.")
This is what the story of Yusuf confirms categorically, for it ends with comfort and marvels, which is described in Qur'an.
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, Joseph, son of Jacob awoke from his sleep, delighted by a pleasant dream he had. Filled with excitement he ran to his father and related it:His father's face lit up. He foresaw that Yusuf would be one through whom the prophecy of his grandfather, Ibrahim
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, would be fulfilled, in that his offspring would keep the light of Abraham's house alive and spread God's message to mankind.
From hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
:
However, the father was well aware of the jealousy of Joseph's brothers, so he warned him against telling his dream to his brothers.
Joseph 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.
Joseph was very handsome, with a gentle temperament. He was respectful, kind and considerate. His brother Benjamin
Benjamin
Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...
was equally pleasant and both were from the same mother, Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
.
The plot against Joseph
All of Joseph'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:But one of the brothers, in the Bible this is said to be Ruben
Reuben (Bible)
According to the Book of Genesis, Reuben or Re'uven was the first and eldest son of Jacob with Leah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben.-Etymology:...
, felt sorry for him, and suggested they throw him into a well, said to be Jubb Yussef (Joseph's Well)
Jubb Yussef (Joseph's Well)
The ruins at Jubb Yussef in the Galilee are identified with the pit in Dothan, into which the Biblical figure Joseph was cast into by his brothers, later to be sold to a caravan of Midianites making its way toward Egypt...
, so that a caravan might pick him up and take him into slavery. One from among them said:
They asked their father's permission to take him out to play, who granted them their request, on the condition that his beloved brothers 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 lied he had been attacked by a wolf but their father did not believe them, as he was a sincere man who loved his son.
As the verses say,
God's plan to save Joseph
Joseph 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 EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, to a rich man referred to as 'Aziz in the Qur'an or Potiphar
Potiphar
Potiphar or Potifar is a person in the Book of Genesis's account of Joseph. Potiphar is said to be the captain of the palace guard and is referred to without name in the Quran. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, is taken to Egypt where he is sold to Potiphar as a household slave...
in the Bible. The Qur'an described Joseph as a very attractive man.
While working for 'Aziz, he was constantly approached by 'Aziz's wife (Imra'at al-Aziz) (presumably Zuleika
Zuleika (legendary)
Zuleika is the name given to the wife of Potiphar in Jewish legend and Muslim scripture.The most famous tale about Zuleika is told in a Jewish legend and in the Muslim Qur'an....
) who intended to seduce him. Joseph continuously rejected her because he feared God. One day she became furious and angry to the point where she trapped him in a room. Zuleika locked the doors and pleaded with him to come to her, but Joseph, as a man of God, refused.
She then ripped the back of Joseph's shirt and they raced with one another to the door where her husband was waiting. At that point she attempted to blame Joseph and suggested that he had attacked her. However, Joseph said that it was Zuleika who had attempted to seduce him and his account is confirmed by one of the household. 'Aziz believed Joseph and told his wife to beg forgiveness.
Zuleika's circle of friends thought that she was becoming infatuated with Joseph and mocked her for being in love with a slave. She invited them to her home and gave them all apples, and knives to peel them with. She then had Joseph walk through and distract the women who cut themselves with the knives. Zuleika then pointed out that she had to see Joseph every day.
Joseph prayed to God and said that he would prefer prison to the things that Zuleika and her friend wanted. He stated that if he was not God fearing he would have joined them. The male authorities decided that it would be best if Joseph was imprisoned for a time.
The account of Joseph and the wife of 'Aziz is called Yusuf and Zulaikha
Yusuf and Zulaikha
Yusuf and Zulaikha is the Quranic verse of Yusuf and Zulaikha . It has been told and retold countless times in many languages spoken by Muslims, especially Persian. Its most famous version was written in Persian by Jami , in his Haft Awrang...
and has been told and retold countless times in many languages. The Qur'anic account differs from the Biblical version in which Potiphar believes his wife and throws Joseph into prison.
Joseph interprets dreams
This account refers to the interaction between the prophet Joseph and the ruler of Egypt. It is important to note, that unlike the references to PharaohPharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
in the account of Moses, the account of Joseph refers to the Egyptian ruler as a "king", not a pharaoh.
After being imprisoned for a few years, God had granted him the ability to interpret dreams
Dream interpretation
Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. In many ancient societies, such as those of Egypt and Greece, dreaming was considered a supernatural communication or a means of divine intervention, whose message could be unravelled by people with certain powers...
, 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 Joseph's imprisonment for attempting to poison the food of the king, the name is not given either in the Qur'an or the Bible, and his family. They were haunted by two ambiguous dreams and remained unaware of the dreams meaning due to their inability to interpret it. Having heard about Joseph's popularity among the citizens they went to him to seek his opinion and ask him if he could help them with solving of the problems. Joseph asked them about the dreams they had, and one of them described that he saw himself in pressing grapes into wine. The other one said that he had seen himself holding a basket of bread on his head and the birds were eating it. Joseph reminded the prisoners that his ability to interpret dreams was a favor from God based on his adherence to monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
. Joseph 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.
Joseph had asked the one whom he knew would be released to mention his case to the king. However, according to the Qur'an, the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
made the man forget about it for several years.
The king had a dream of seven fat cows being eaten by seven skinny ones and seven ears of corn being replaced with shrivelled ones, but none of his advisor's could interpret it. When the servant who was released from prison heard about it, he remembered Joseph from prison and persuaded the king to send him to Joseph so that he could return with an interpretation.
Joseph told the servant that Egypt would face seven years of prosperity and then suffer seven years of famine and that king should prepare for it so as to avoid great suffering. The king followed the instructions and the land was saved from the great famine.
The king, after hearing the interpretation sent for Joseph. Joseph however declined to leave prison right away, and asked for his name to be cleared first. The king confronted the women and they admitted what they had done.
Joseph was brought to king and at Joseph's request he was given Egypt's warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s to look after.
The family reunion
Later, he would once again run into his brothers whom he would forgive. He also found that his father Jacob became blind after crying much over the disappearance of his son Joseph. However, his fathers vision was restored miraculously after one of the brothers returned home with one of Joseph's shirts, this time as good news. The son threw the shirt on his fathers face and the father breathed deeply knowing this was Joseph's scent and at that his vision returned. Joseph was reunited with his family, and his dream as a child came true as he saw his parents and eleven of his brothers prostrating before him in love, welcome and respect. Joseph eventually died in Egypt. Tradition holds that when MusaIslamic view of Moses
Musa , known as Moses in the Old Testament, is considered an Islamic prophet, messenger, lawgiver and leader in Islam. Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual, and his life is narrated and recounted more than that any other prophet...
(Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
) left Egypt, he took Joseph's coffin with him so that he would be buried alongside his ancestors in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Use of 'King' vs. 'Pharaoh'
In the Qur'an, the title of the Ruler of Egypt during the time of Joseph is specifically said to be King whilst that of the Ruler of Egypt during the time of Moses is specifically said to be Pharaoh. This is interesting because in the narration of Yusuf in the Bible, the title Pharaoh is used interchangeably. But according to historical sources, the title Pharaoh only began to be used to refer to the rulers of Egypt (starting with the rule of Thutmose III) in 1479 B.C. - approximately 21 years after Prophet Joseph died.The king (of Egypt) said: "I do see (in a vision) seven fat kine, whom seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of corn, and seven (others) withered. O ye chiefs! expound to me my vision, if it be that ye can interpret visions." [Qur'an 12:43]
"Then after them We sent Mûsa (Moses) with Our Signs to Fir'aun (pharaoh) and his chiefs, but they wrongfully rejected them. So see how was the end of the Mufsidûn (mischief-makers, corrupters)."
-Al-Araf 7:103
"And the king said: "Bring him to me." But when the messenger came to him, [Yûsuf (joseph)] said: "Return to your lord and ask him, 'What happened to the women who cut their hands? Surely, my Lord (Allâh) is Well-Aware of their plot.'"
-Yusuf 12:51
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
-Genesis 47:11
The legacy of Joseph
Joseph is one of the most revered men in Islamic history. Having come through an especially noble line of patriarchPatriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
s - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - Joseph too was awarded the gift of prophecy like his forefathers. Joseph's Qur'anic narrative is perhaps one of the Book's most detailed accounts of the life and deeds of a prophet. Joseph, as a figure, is symbolic of the virtue of beauty - his life being a thing of beauty in itself. Most importantly, though, Joseph is admired as a great preacher of the Islamic faith, who had an extremely strong commitment to God and one who tried to get people to follow the path of righteousness. The Qur'an recounts Joseph's declaration of faith:
Burial
Historically, Muslims also associated Joseph's TombJoseph's Tomb
Joseph's Tomb is a funerary monument located at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 325 yards northwest of Jacob's Well, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, near Tell Balāṭa, the site of biblical Shechem...
with that of the biblical figure. In recent years however, they claim that an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yussuf (Joseph) Dawiqat, was buried there two centuries ago. According to Islamic tradition, the biblical Joseph is buried in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, next to the Cave of the Patriarchs
Cave of the Patriarchs
The Cave of the Patriarchs or the Cave of Machpelah , is known by Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham or Ibrahimi Mosque ....
where a medieval structure known as Yussuf-Kalah, the "Castle of Joseph", is located.
See also
- Yousuf e Payambar (film)Yousuf e Payambar (film)Yousuf-e- Payambar or Joseph, the Prophet is an Iranian television movie from 2008, directed by Farajullah Salahshur, which tells the story of Prophet Joseph from the Quran and Islamic traditions...
- Biblical narratives and the Qur'an
- Legends and the Qur'an
- Prophets of IslamProphets of IslamMuslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
- Stories of The ProphetsStories of The ProphetsStories of The Prophets or Qasas al-anbiya is a famous work of Islamic literature, written by the Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir. In the book, Kathir has compiled all accounts of information regarding various prophets and messengers through Islamic history...