Ghaybat of Prophet Yusuf (as)

In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, the period of the occultation of Prophet Yusuf (as) was that of twenty years. During this time he never applied oil to his hair, did not use Kohl and perfume and didn’t touch a woman till the time the Almighty Allah once more gathered the scattered family of Yaqoob and brought together Yusuf, his brothers, his father and maternal aunt.

Of these twenty years he was in the well for three days and in the prison for some years. And for the remaining years he was the ruler. He was in Egypt while Yaqoob (as) was in Palestine and the distance between them was only nine days of travel. He passed through various circumstances during the period of his occultation. Sometimes his brothers united to eliminate him and later changed the plan and decided to throw him down the well. Then they sold him as a slave for a minor sum of money. After that he was involved in the deceit and plot of the wife of the Egyptian king. Then he was forced to live in imprisonment for some years. After that he became the ruler of Egypt and in this way the Almighty Allah reunited his family and fulfilled the vision he had seen.

Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) said: Prophet Yaqoob (as) asked the Angel of death: Tell me whether you capture the souls together or you capture each of them separately? He replied: Separately. Then Yaqoob (as) asked: Is the soul of Yusuf there among the souls that you have captured? “No,” said the angel. Thus after this Yaqoob (as) told his sons, “O my sons, go out and search for Yusuf and his brother.’ Thus the condition of the people of our time who know about the Master of the Time living in concealment and those who have his recognition is the same as the condition of Yaqoob (as) regarding Prophet Yusuf and his concealment. And those who are ignorant and foolish, they behave in the same way as did the family members and relatives of Yaqoob (as). They were so ignorant about Yusuf and his occultation that they used to tell their father: “By Allah, you are most surely in your old error.” And the saying of Yaqoob when the bringer of good news rubbed the shirt of Yusuf on his face and he regained his eyesight that: “Did I not say to you that I know from Allah what you do not know?” This proves that he knew that Yusuf was alive and that he had to go into occultation by way of test.

In another tradition, Imam Sadiq (as) said, “The Qaem is also having a similarity to Prophet Yusuf (as).” The narrator says: I said: Perhaps you want to tell us about him or his occultation. He told me: “In this Ummah, the opponents who resemble swine, don’t oppose that Yusuf’s brothers were among the children of prophets but they sold away Yusuf while all of them were his brothers and he was also a brother to them, yet when they met they could not recognize him till Yusuf introduced himself and said: “I am Yusuf and this is my brother.” Thus how can this Ummah deny if the Almighty Allah wants to keep His Proof concealed from them in a period of time?

And one day Yusuf became the king of Egypt and the distance between him and his father was only of 18 days’ travel. When Allah, the Blessed and the High wanted that his status and value be recognized, by Allah, the people of his house covered this distance in nine days after getting the glad news. Thus how can this Ummah deny that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime can do with His Proof the same as what He had done with Yusuf? His Proof should walk among them, pass by them in the markets and sit among them and they could not recognize him. Until Allah, the Mighty and Sublime permits the Divine Proof to introduce himself as He had permitted Yusuf (as) to do so when he said: “Do you know how you treated Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant? They said: Are you indeed Yusuf? He said: I am Yusuf and this is my brother.” (Surah Yusuf, verses 89-90)

Read more about Ghaybat of:
Hazrat Ibrahim (as) | Hazrat Idrees (as) | Hazrat Musa (as) | Hazrat Saleh (as) | Hazrat Yusuf (as)