The Quran

Preface

وَلَقَد جاءَكُم يوسُفُ مِن قَبلُ بِالبَيِّناتِ فَما زِلتُم في شَكٍّ مِمّا جاءَكُم بِهِ ۖ حَتّىٰ إِذا هَلَكَ قُلتُم لَن يَبعَثَ اللَّهُ مِن بَعدِهِ رَسولًا ۚ كَذٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن هُوَ مُسرِفٌ مُرتابٌ

Yusuf Ali

“And to you there came Joseph in times gone by,¹ with Clear Signs, but ye ceased not to doubt of the (Mission) for which he had come: At length, when he died, ye said: ?No messenger will God send² after him.?### thus doth God leave to stray such as transgress and live in doubt,-

So far he has been speaking of general religious tradition. Now, as an Egyptian, addressing Egyptians, he refers to the mission of Joseph in Egypt. Joseph was not born in Egypt, nor was he an Egyptian. With what wonderful incidents he came into Egypt ! What difficulties did he not surmount among his own brothers first, and in the Egyptian family which afterwards adopted him! How injustice, spite, and forgetfulness on the part of others, yet wove a spell round him and made him a ruler and saviour of Egypt in times of famine! How he preached to prisoners in prison, to Zulaykha in her household, to the Egyptian ladies in their banquet, and to the Court of Pharaoh generally! The Egyptians profited by the material gains which came to them through him, but as a nation remained sceptical of his spiritual truths for many generations after him. (Cf. S. 12).
See Appendix 4, p. 406, for a discussion of the interval between Joseph and Moses. Perhaps the interval was about one to three centuries, a very short period for the memory of a learned nation like the Egyptians. And yet they as a nation ignored his spiritual work, and afterwards even persecuted Israel in Egypt until Moses delivered them. They actually saw the benefits conferred by Joseph, but did not realise that God’s Kingdom works continuously even though men ignore it. See Appendix 5, pp. 408-13; for a sketch of Religion in Egypt. For such men how could the Grace and Guidance of God be effective in their hearts?