12:1  Alif Lam Ra. These are the Verses of the open, clear and self-explanatory Book

12:2  We have indeed sent it down as an Arabic Quran in order that you understand it

12:3  We narrate to you the best of narratives by Our revealing to you this Quran. And, before this, you were indeed among those who did not know

12:4  When Joseph said to his father, "O my father! I did indeed see eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them prostrating to me."

12:5  He said, "O my son! Do not relate your dream to your brothers, lest they devise a plan against you. The Satan is indeed an open enemy to man."

12:6  "And accordingly [according to interpretation of the dream, that is,] your Lord will choose you and teach you the interpretation of events and complete His favour upon you and upon the children of Jacob, as He did complete it, before, upon your fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Your Lord is indeed Knowledgeable, Wise."

12:7  Certainly in Joseph and his brothers there are signs for the seekers

12:8  When they said, "Certainly Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we. And we are more in number and strength. Our father is indeed making a manifest mistake."

12:9  "Kill Joseph or abandon him into a distant land, so that your father dotes on you exclusively. And thereafter you can become righteous people."

12:10  One of them said, "Do not kill Joseph, but, if you must do something about him, put him down into the bottom of a well so that some travellers may pick him up."

12:11  They said, "O our father! Why do you not trust us with regard to Joseph? And we are indeed his sincere well-wishers!"

12:12  "Send him with us tomorrow that he may eat, drink and play. And we will indeed guard him well."

12:13  Their father said, "It does indeed grieve me that you should take him away. And I fear lest the wolf devour him while your attention is diverted from him."

12:14  They said, "Surely if the wolf should devour him even when we are a strong group, we should then indeed be the doomed ones!"

12:15  So then they went off with him and mutually agreed that they should put him down at the bottom of a well. And We revealed to him, "They know it not, but you shall one day certainly tell them of this act of theirs."

12:16  And they came to their father in the evening, weeping

12:17  They said, "O our father! We did indeed get ourselves engaged in the racing game and left Joseph behind with our goods. Then, the wolf ate him. And you will not believe us though we do tell you the truth."

12:18  And they brought his shirt with fake blood thereon. He said, "Nay, you yourselves have contrived this tale. All I can do is resort to graceful patience. And it is Allah's help that is sought, against what you tell me."

12:19  And a caravan of travellers did come there and they sent their man to draw water from the well and he let down his bucket. He exclaimed, "O goodness! There is a boy there." And they took him along as an article of merchandise. And Allah knew what they did

12:20  And they sold him for a paltry price — a few dirhams — and they had been eager to get rid of him

12:21  And the man from the city who bought him said to his wife, "Make his stay comfortable. Maybe he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son." And thus did We establish Joseph in the land and taught him the interpretation of events. And Allah is in complete control of what He does, but most people know not

12:22  And when he attained his maturity, We gave him authority and knowledge. And thus do We reward those who are good

12:23  And she, in whose house he lived, solicited him, closed the doors and said, "Come on!" He said, "I seek Allah's protection. My master has indeed given me good shelter. Those who do wrong shall indeed not prosper."

12:24  And she did desire him. And he would have desired her too, had he not seen a clear sign from his Lord. Thus did We turn evil and indecency away from him. He was indeed one of Our sincere worshippers

12:25  And they both hastened to the door, and she tore off his shirt from behind and they met her husband at the door. She said, "What is to be done to him who wanted to molest your wife except to imprison him or give him some other painful punishment?"

12:26  He [Joseph] said, "It was she who tried to seduce me." And a witness from her own family said, "If his shirt is torn off from the front, she speaks the truth and he is the liar."

12:27  "And if his shirt is torn off from behind, she is telling a lie and he is telling the truth."

12:28  So when he (husband of the woman) saw his (Joseph's) shirt torn off from behind, he (the husband) said, "It is indeed an instance of female cunningness. You women are indeed great at being cunning."

12:29  "Joseph! You stay away from this; and (to his wife) You ask forgiveness for your sin, You are indeed the one at fault."

12:30  And the city women gossiped, "The nobleman's wife has tried to seduce her young slave. She is surely overcome with love for him. We do indeed see her going manifestly astray."

12:31  So when she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and arranged comfortable seats for them. And she gave everyone of them a knife, and asked Joseph to come out before them. So when they saw him, they were so much stunned by his personality that they cut their hands, and said, "Glory to Allah! This is not a man; this is none but a noble angel."

12:32  She said, "This is the man whom you blamed me about. And I did certainly seek to seduce him, but he resisted. And if he does not do my bidding, he shall certainly be imprisoned, and he shall certainly suffer the ignominy."

12:33  He said, "My Lord! I would prefer to go to jail rather than do what they invite me to. And unless You make their scheme against me ineffective, I will be tempted towards them and behave as one ignorant."

12:34  His Lord then accepted his prayer and made their scheme against him ineffective. He (Allah) does indeed hear, know

12:35  Then, after weighing the pros and cons of the matter, they thought it advisable to keep him in the prison for the time being

12:36  And two youngsters entered the prison with him. One of them said, "I saw myself making wine." And the other said, "I saw myself carrying bread on my head, birds eating wherefrom. Tell us what it means. We do indeed see you as a good man."

12:37  He said, "I shall tell you both what the dreams mean before the food you eat is brought to you. This is one of the things my Lord has taught me. I have indeed forsaken the lifestyle of people who do not believe in Allah, and who deny the Hereafter."

12:38  "And I follow the lifestyle of my forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We do not have to worship anything other than Allah. This is by Allah's grace upon us and on mankind, but most people are ungrateful."

12:39  "O my two prison mates! Are sundry lords better or Allah the One, the Almighty?"

12:40  "What you worship besides Him are but fictitious things to which you and your fathers have given names. Allah has not sent down any authority for them. The absolute authority is with Allah alone. He has commanded that you shall not worship anything or anybody but Him. This is the established way of life, but most people know not."

12:41  "O my two prison mates! As for the first one of you, he shall serve wine to his lord. And as for the other, he shall be crucified, and the birds shall peck from his head. The matter you inquired about is so decreed."

12:42  And he (Joseph) said to the one of the two, whom he thought was definitely going to be saved, "Mention me to your lord." But the Satan caused him to forget mentioning him to his lord, so he remained in the prison for a few years

12:43  And the king said, "I saw seven fat cows, but seven lean cows ate them up! And I saw seven ears of corn that were green and other ears that were withered and dry. O chieftains! Explain to me my dream, if you do know how to interpret dreams."

12:44  They said, "Dreams are jumbled, and we do not know the interpretation of dreams."

12:45  And of the two prisoners, the one, who survived, recollected after a long time Joseph's request to him and said, "I will give you its interpretation, and let me go out now to get it."

12:46  "Joseph! O truthful one! Explain to us the dream in which there were seven fat cows, but seven lean cows ate them up! Besides, there were seven ears of corn that were green and other ears that were withered and dry. Explain, so that I may go back to those people and let them know."

12:47  Joseph explained, "You shall sow for seven years continuously, then leave what you reap in ears, except the little that you need for immediate consumption."

12:48  "Then there shall come thereafter seven years of hardship which shall eat away all that you would have preserved for those years, except for a little thereof."

12:49  "Then there will come after that a year in which people shall have rain and in which they shall produce wine/oil."

12:50  And the king said, "Bring him (Joseph) to me." So when the messenger came to him, he said, "Go back to your lord and ask him about the case of the women who cut their hands. My Lord does indeed know their guile."

12:51  The king called for the women and asked them, "What have you to say on the affair when you sought to seduce Joseph?" They said, "Glory to Allah! We knew of no evil on his part." And the chieftain's wife said, "Now that the truth has come out, it was I who tried to seduce him, and he is indeed the truthful one."

12:52  "This is to let him (Joseph) know that I have not betrayed him behind his back and that Allah guides not the scheme of the betrayers."

12:53  The Chieftain's wife continued, "And I do not claim to be innocent. The self is indeed prone to evil, except for such as my Lord has had mercy on. Indeed! My Lord is Forgiving, Merciful."

12:54  And the king said, "Bring him to me. I will make him my personal aide." So when Joseph was brought to him, the king said, "You are indeed from today a trusted person in an honourable position with us."

12:55  Joseph said, "Place me in authority over the treasures of the land. I know how to keep them well preserved."

12:56  And thus did We give Yusuf an honourable position in the land. He could settle therein in whatever way he liked. We bestow Our mercy upon whom We please. And We do not let good people go unrewarded

12:57  And certainly the reward of the Hereafter is much better for those who believe and fear Allah

12:58  And Joseph's brothers came and went in to him, when he recognised them and they did not recognise him

12:59  And when he furnished them their provision, Joseph said, "Bring to me the other brother you have from your father! Do you not see that I give you your full ration and offer you hospitality at its best?"

12:60  "But if you do not bring him to me, you shall have no ration from me, nor shall you come near me."

12:61  They said, "We will plead for him with his father, and we will most certainly do that."

12:62  And Joseph told his men, "Put back their payments secretly in their bags so that they come to know about it only when they go back to their family. It may induce them to come back here."

12:63  So when they returned to their father, they said, "O our father, our ration would be denied to us. Therefore send our brother with us. We may then get our ration, and we will most certainly take care of him."

12:64  He said, "Shall I entrust him to you just as I entrusted to you his brother before? But Allah is the best Protector, and He is the most Merciful."

12:65  And when they opened their goods, they found returned to them what they had paid therefor! They said, "O our father, what more can we desire? Here is our capital returned to us! Now we can feed our family, take care of our brother, and have a surplus of a camel load of grains. This would make our problem of getting sufficient ration easy."

12:66  He said, "I will not send him with you until you give me a pledge, in Allah's name, that you will most certainly bring him back to me unless in the circumstance that you are besieged. And when they gave him their pledge, he said, "Allah is Witness and Trustee to what we say."

12:67  And he said, "O my sons! Do not enter by one gate and enter by different gates. And I can avail you nothing against Allah. The absolute authority is with none but Allah. On Him I do trust. And on Him then let those who trust, put their trust."

12:68  And when they entered as their father had bidden them, it availed them nothing against Allah. It was an act deemed prudent by Jacob and he expressed it. And indeed he had the knowledge We taught him, but most people know not

12:69  And when they went in to Joseph, he took his brotherhto stay with himself, and told him, "I am your brother, therefore grieve not at what they do."

12:70  So when he gave them their provisions, he placed a cup in his brother's bag. Then someone cried out, "O people of the caravan! You are most surely thieves."

12:71  Joseph's brothers in the caravan came forward and asked, "What is it that you find missing?"

12:72  Joseph's men replied, "We find the king's cup missing, and he, who comes up with it, shall get a camel-load of extra grains." And Joseph added, "I am guarantor of this."

12:73  Joseph's brothers said, "By Allah! You know for certain that we have not come to make mischief in the land, and we are not thieves."

12:74  The men asked, "But what should be the punishment for this, if you happen to be lying?"

12:75  The brothers said, "The punishment for this is that the person in whose bag it is found shall himself suffer it. Thus we do punish the wrongdoers."

12:76  So he (Joseph) began the search with their (his step-brothers') packs before searching the pack of his brother, and then he brought it (the king's cup) out from his brother's pack. Thus did We plan a stratagem for the sake of Joseph. He could not legally take and keep his brother with him under the king's laws, unless Allah pleased.We raise the ranks of whomsoever We please. And over every person of knowledge, there is one having better knowledge

12:77  They said, "If he has stolen, a brother of his did indeed steal before." And Joseph kept his secret with himself and did not disclose it to them. He said, "You have been in a wicked state of mind and Allah knows the truth about the clarification you have given."

12:78  They said, "Sir! He has a very old father; so, retain one of us in his place. We do indeed see you as a good man."

12:79  He said, "Allah forbid that we seize a man other than him with whom we found our property. We would indeed then be doing a very wrong thing."

12:80  Then when they got despaired of him, they conferred among themselves. The eldest of them said, "Do you not know that your father took from you a pledge in Allah's name, and that you committed excesses in respect of Joseph, before? Therefore I will not leave this place until my father permits me or Allah otherwise decrees for me. And He is the best Ruler."

12:81  "Go back to your father." They went back and said, "O our father! Your son did indeed commit theft, and we do not bear witness except to what we have known. And we could not keep watch over the unseen."

12:82  "And make enquiries at the place in which we had been to and with the caravan with which we had proceeded. And what we say is most certainly true."

12:83  He (Jacob) said, "Nay, you have made up a convenient story for yourselves! So it is better for me to be patient. Maybe, Allah will bring them all together to me. He is indeed Knowledgeable, Wise."

12:84  And, turning away from them, he silently cried, "Alas for Joseph!" And his eyes turned white with grief, and he did control his emotions

12:85  They (Joseph's brothers) said to him, "By Allah! You will cease not remembering Joseph until you get severely ill or get perished."

12:86  He said, "I complain of my distress and grief only to Allah. And I know from Allah what you do not know."

12:87  "O my sons! Go and make enquiries about Joseph and his brother, and despair not of getting relief from Allah. Indeed, none but the people who suppress the Truth despair of getting relief from Allah."

12:88  So when the brothers came back to Joseph, they said, "Sir! Distress has afflicted us and our family and we have brought but little capital to pay for the rations. Give us the full ration and be charitable to us. Allah does indeed reward those that are charitable."

12:89  He said, "Do you know how you treated Joseph and his brother in your ignorance?"

12:90  They said, "Are you indeed Joseph?" He said, "I am Joseph and this is my brother. Allah has certainly been gracious to us. Indeed, such is the reward for him who fears Allah and exercises patience. And, indeed, Allah does not let the reward, of those who do good, go waste."

12:91  They said, "By Allah! HE has certainly chosen you over us, and we were indeed the sinners."

12:92  He said, "No reproof against you this day. Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful."

12:93  "Take this shirt of mine and put it on my father's face. He will be able to see. And then come back to me with your entire family."

12:94  And when the caravan had set out, their father said, "I do indeed get the smell of Joseph, unless you consider me delirious."

12:95  Those who were there with him said, "By Allah, you are indeed in your old error."

12:96  And when the bearer of good news (Joseph's brother with Joseph's shirt) did arrive, he put the shirt on the face of Jacob, who then got back his sight. Jacob said, "Did I not tell you that I know from Allah what you know not?"

12:97  They said, "O our father! Pray for forgiveness of our sins. We indeed did wrong."

12:98  The father said, "I will pray to my Lord to forgive you. He is indeed Forgiving, Merciful

12:99  When they then came to Joseph, he got his parents to stay with him and said, "Welcome to Egypt. You will, Allah willing, be safe here."

12:100  And Joseph raised his parents upon the throne; and they fell down in prostration before him. And he said, "O my father! This is the interpretation of the dream I had seen before. My Lord has indeed made it come true. And He was indeed kind to me when He brought me out from the prison and brought you from the desert after the Satan had fomented discord between me and my brothers. My Lord is indeed benevolent to whom He pleases. He is indeed Knowledgeable, Wise."

12:101  "My Lord! You have given me some political power and taught me some knowledge on interpretation of events. Originator of the heavens and the earth! You are my waliin this world and the Hereafter. Make me die as one who willingly submits to You and make me join the ranks of the righteous people."

12:102  This is from annals of the unseen past which We reveal to you. And you were not with them when they got together to act, and they conspired

12:103  And most men will not believe, though you desire eagerly that they believe

12:104  And you ask them not for any reward for this. It is nothing but that which all human beings need to constantly refer to for rightful decisions and actions in their respective worlds.

12:105  And how many a sign, in the heavens and the earth, do they pass by? And yet they turn aside from it

12:106  And most of them do not believe in Allah without worshipping others besides Him

12:107  Do they then feel secure that some punishment from Allah will not envelope them or that the Hour may not come to them suddenly and unknowingly

12:108  Say, "This is my path: I call to Allah. I and my followers are on right guidance. And glory is to Allah! I am not one of those who worship others besides Allah."

12:109  And We did not send before you any but men, from among the same communities, to whom We sent revelations. Have they not then travelled on land and seen for themselves what end those before them met with? And the abode of the Hereafter is certainly better for those who fear Allah. Do you not understand this

12:110  The Messengers continued propagating the divine Message to the people until the Messengers despaired and reckoned that the people would not believe them. Then did Our help come to them and every person, whom We pleased, was saved. And Our punishment was not dispensed with for the sinners

12:111  In their annals there is certainly a lesson for those endowed with insight. This is not a fabricated hadeeth, but a confirmation of what has preceded it and a detailed explanation of all things and a guide and a mercy to people who believe