[Al-Quran 50:6-8] Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and how it has no rifts? And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind, Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Joseph's قَمِيصَ (Shirt / Jacket)

DRAFT

 Purpose

The significance of the mention of Joseph's clothes, in the backdrop of Adam's clothes, and the learnings for us.   


Full Text 

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُون

O Children (of) Adam! Verily We have sent down to you clothing, it covers your shame and (as) an adornment. But the clothing (of) alttaqwa* [the] righteousness - that (is) best. That (is) from (the) Signs (of) Allah so that they may remember.

[Al-Quran 7:26]

* The root letters of alttaqwa (التَّقْوَىٰ) are و ق ي. Though taqwa is generally translated as righteousness, piety, godliness, etc., the meanings of the root is to save or protect:

Google screenshot


Backdrop 
Surah Ta Ha, ayat 118, explicitly informs us that there was plenty in The Garden for them to not go naked. 

Clothes were sent down to Bani Adam to cover their shame and as an adornment. Q7:26, quoted above, comes after the narration of Khalifa Adam's story in Surah Al- A`raf. Q7:27 informs us that Adam's clothes were stripped off. 

Furthermore, Genesis 3:21 informs us God provided clothes made of skin to Adam and his wife, after they knew that they were naked. 

From Jewish and Christian writings, it seems that Adam's clothes were a means of miraculous protective powers for the wearer. It is believed that Khalifa Adam's clothes were passed on through generations to Nimrod, who used them to elevate himself in the land as it caused all the animals to submit to him. Eventually the clothes came into Prophet Jacob's possession. There is some speculation that the shirt / jacket he gave to his son Joseph was the same as worn by Khalifa Adam. 

Clothes are a means of protection and comfort, but the true provider of protection and comfort is Allah, and the means are in His Control. Nimrod elevated himself yet couldn't harm Abraham. Even if Joseph received Adam's قَمِيصَ (Shirt / Jacket) from his father Jacob, or if a new one was especially made for him, yet it was taken away from him. However, Allah protected Joseph, and through his ordeals, elevated him in the land. As Jacob is quoted saying to his sons: 

  قَالَ هَلْ آمَنُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَمَا أَمِنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَخِيهِ مِن قَبْلُ فَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَافِظًا وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِين

He said, "Should I entrust you with him except as I entrusted you with his brother from before? But Allah (is) the best Guardian and He (is the) Most Merciful (of) the merciful."
[Al-Quran 12:64]


Joseph's قَمِيصَ 
The special piece of clothing which Joseph's father gifted him, is famous in the Judeo-Christian world:  


גוְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אָהַ֤ב אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִכָּל־בָּנָ֔יו כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִ֥ים ה֖וּא ל֑וֹ וְעָ֥שָׂה ל֖וֹ כְּתֹ֥נֶת פַּסִּֽים:

3And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was a son of his old age; and he made him a fine woolen coat.

There is some difference in the translation of the Hebrew text:  
  • a coat of many colours  
  • ornate robe
  • beautiful robe
  • varicoloured tunic
  • long sleeved robe
  • long tunic reaching till the ankles or soles 
  • ... 
In The Quran, we find the Arabic word قَمِيص used for Joseph's clothing, which is mostly translated as shirt. In Surah Yusuf, we find not one but three significant قَمِيصَ of Joseph worthy of mention: 
  1. the first, taken away by his brothers when they threw him in the well
  2. the second, which the master's wife tore 
  3. the third, which he sent to his father   
Screenshot from corpus.quran.com

Comparing Adam and Joseph's clothes: 
  • Allah provided for Adam so they would not be naked in The Garden [Q20:118]
  • Joseph's father (made, and) gave a shirt/jacket to Joseph [T / B Genesis 37:3]  
  • Allah had warned Adam about Iblis' enmity [Q7:22, Q20:117] 
  • Jacob had warned Joseph about Satan's enmity [Q12:5]
  • Adam's original clothes were stripped off through deception [Q7:27]
  • Joseph's shirt/jacket was taken away and stained with false blood [T / B Genesis 37:23; Q12:18]
  • Adam disobeyed Allah, erred, and lost his comfortable clothing [Q2:121] 
  • Joseph disobeyed Jacob, and lost his shirt/jacket [T / B Genesis 37:5, Q12:5] 
  • Allah made new clothes for Adam [T / B Genesis 3:21] to till the soil [T / B Genesis 3:23]
  • Allah made Joseph comfortably enslaved in the Aziz's home in Egypt [Q12:21] 
  • Adam's loss did not benefit Satan [Q2:36]
  • Joseph's shirt did not elevate his brothers in their father's affection [Q12:18] 
  • Adam's clothes were used by Nimrod to elevate himself over others [T / B Genesis 10:8] 
  • Joseph's shirt/jacket, provided in Aziz's house, was torn by Aziz' wife, and she also tried to place false charge against him [Q12:25]
  • Joseph's (royal?) shirt/jacket was sent to Jacob as a means to restore his vision [Q12:93] 
  • Allah's promises royal clothing to the people who inherit The Gardens in the Hereafter [Q18:31, Q22:23, Q35:33, Q44:53, Q76:21] 
  • Adam rejoices when his descendants qualify to return to The Gardens (Testament of Abraham: 11)
  • Jacob witnesses Allah perfecting His favour upon Joseph and the family of Jacob, the fulfilment of Joseph's dream [Q12:6, Q12:100] 

..........


References & Links 


Last updated on March 29, 2021


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