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The Beginning
of Easiness For The Household of Jacob (PUH)
As attributed to Al-Sâdiq (PUH)
that he said: a nomad came to Joseph to buy some food and he sold some
to him, and when he finished Joseph said to him: where is your home? He
answered: in (some) location, so then he said to him: if you passed by
a valley called (so and so) stand by and call "O Jacob, O Jacob" and then
an old man with nice face will come out to you, then say to him that you
met a man in Egypt and he says peace for you and says that your savings
in that hands of God will never astray, and so when the nomad reached that
location he called: O Jacob, O Jacob, so then an old and tall blind man
got out for him keeping his track by his hand on the walls, and so then
he told him what Joseph told him to say, and when he heard it he fell down
in a coma, then he woke up and said to the nomad: O nomad, need anything
from God? He said: yes, I am a man with lot of money and I have a cousin
that I did not have any children from and I would like you to ask God for
me to have children, and so he did, and the nomad's wife got pregnant for
four times and in each time she gave birth for a twin. Jacob knew that
Joseph was alive and did not die and God will show him after his absence,
and used to say to his children: I know from God that which ye know not.
They say that Jacob went to some
one for some purpose, and the man said to him: why you are so old as I
see you now? He answered: sadness and troubled, and then when he reached
the door God inspired to him: O Jacob, you've complained about me to some
of my servants, so he fell down prostrating at the door step and he was
saying: I will not do it again, then God inspired to him: I forgive you
for this, but do not do it again, and then he did not complain about any
of life's troubles to any one, but one day he said: I expose my distress
and anguish only unto Allah, and I know from Allah that which ye know not(Yousof:86).
We've mentioned before how sad Jacob
was for Joseph in the tale attributed to Al-Sâdiq (PUH) when he said:
like the sadness of seventy mothers that lost their children. It is attributed
to Ibn-`Abbâs that he said: when the household of Jacob suffered
as all other people suffered of famine, he (Jacob) gathered his children
and said to them: O children I've heard that in Egypt they sell there some
nice food and it's owned by a faithful man, so go to him and buy some food
from him, so then they went to Egypt and they went to Joseph and he knew
them but they knew him not, so he asked them about their lands and their
tribes and where are they from, so they said: we are the children of Jacob
ben Isaac ben Abraham, the friend of God, so he said to them: then, you
have three prophets but I do not see any respect in you, and you might
be spies from other lands, so they said to him: O king, we are not spies
nor seeking a war, and if you know our father you would greet us with hospitality
for he is one of God's prophets and a son of prophets and he is sad, so
then Joseph said to them: and why he is sad and he is a prophet of God
and also son of prophets and paradise must be his place and he have you
for his strength, maybe he is sad for your silliness, then they said: O
king we are not silly and he is not sad because of us, but once he had
a son that was the youngest of us and he was called Joseph and then he
went us for hunting but the wolf devoured him and so he is still sad for
him, so then said Joseph: all of you from one father and one mother? They
said: our father is one but our mothers are different, then he said to
them: what made your father release you all without keeping one to be with
him for his aid? They said: he did indeed and he got the youngest of us,
he said to them: and why did he choose him? They said: for he is the most
beloved child for him after Joseph, then Joseph said to them: I will keep
one of them with me here, and you get back to your father and say peace
from me to him and tell him to send me his son that you claimed that he
is keeping with him to tell me what made him (Jacob) sad, and what made
him become so old that fast and what made him blind after crying, and when
he said that and they knew that there is no escape from this, they made
a ballotting and so Sham`un (Simeon) was chosen for this and so he (Joseph)
ordered for him to be imprisoned, and when they said the farewell to Simeon
he said to them: O brothers, see what trouble I am in and say peace to
my father from me, so they said the farewell and went to the lands of Shem
and got to Jacob (PUH) and they said the peace for him so then he said
to them: O children, why I do not hear the voice of Simeon? They said:
O father we came from a king that people saw no one like him in wisdom
and riches, and if you have someone similar to you then he is the one but
we are a household that was made for troubles, and the king charged us
and did not believe us unless you send Benjamin with us with a message
from you telling him about your sadness and about the reason for becoming
so old so fast and about your crying and blindness, so then Jacob thought
that this is a plot that they made so he said to them: woe to you O my
children for your habit, everytime you go out for a purpose one of you
is missed, I will not send him with you.When they opened their when they
opened their belongings they discovered that their merchandise had been
returned to them. They said: O our father! What (more) can we ask? Here
is our merchandise returned to us, then Jacob said: you knew that Benjamin
is beloved to me after your brother Joseph and with him is my joy, so I
will not send him with you till ye give me an undertaking in the name of
Allah that ye will bring him back to me, unless ye are surrounded, then
Judah assured him for this and they went out until they reached Egypt and
went to Joseph and said to him: did you tell my message? They said: yes,
and this kid have your answers so ask him about what you want, so Joseph
said to him: what did your father send you to me for? He said: he sent
me to you to say peace for you and he says that you sent messengers asking
about my sadness and why I got older so fast and about my crying and blindness,
for the saddest of people are those who remember the after-life, and been
older so fast for I do remember the doomsday always, my crying and blindness
all are for my beloved Joseph, and I've been told that you are sad for
my sadness and you cared about my story and may God rewards you with the
best, and the best you can do to me is that you send me back my son Benjamin
for he is my beloved son after Joseph, and hurry up with what I can help
by my children. When he said all of that, Joseph could not hold hisself
and went inside crying for one hour and then he went out and ordered for
some food for them and said to them: every group of one mother let them
sit together on one table, so they sat but Benjamin kept on standing, so
then he said to him: why don't you take a seat? He said: none of them is
my brother from the same mother, then Joseph said: yes there is one, but
they claimed that the wolf devoured him, then said: how sad are you for
him? He (Benjamin) said: I had twelve children and everyone of them have
a name that is derived from his name (Joseph's name), then said Joseph:
seems you ran after women and children after him, so then said Benjamin:
I have a faithful father and he said to me once: get married maybe God
will give you children that fill the lands with their hyming to God, so
then Joseph said to him: come and sit with me on my own table, then his
brothers said: God preferred Joseph and his brother even the king made
him sit with him, and then Joseph ordered for the cup of the king to be
in the saddlebag of Benjamin.
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