About the Occultation
Al-Imāma wa’l-Tabṣira min al-Ḥayra|Volume 1|Book 3|Chapter 10
عبداللّه بن جعفر الحميري، عن أحمد بن هلال، عن عبدالرحمن بن أبي نجران، عن فضالة بن أيوب، عن سدير قال: سمعت أبا عبداللّه عليه السلام يقول: إنّ في القائم سنّة من يوسف عليه السلام. قلت: كأنّك تذكر خبره أو غيبته؟ فقال لي: وما تنكر من ذلك هذه الاُمّة، أشباه الخنازير، إنّ إخوة يوسف كانوا أسباطاً أولاد أنبياء، تاجروا يوسف وبايعوه، وهم إخوته وهو أخوهم فلم يعرفوه حتى قال لهم: ﴿أَنَا۠ يُوسُفُ﴾. فما تنكر هذه الاُمّة أن يكون الله عزّ وجل—في وقت من الأوقات—يريد أن يستر حجّته؟! لقد كان يوسف عليه السلام اليه ملك مصر، وكان بينه وبين والده مسيرة ثمانية عشر يوماً، فلو أراد الله عزّ وجل أن يُعرّفه مكانه لقدر على ذلك، والله لقد سار يعقوب وولده عند البشارة مسيرة تسعة أيّام من بدوهم الى مصر. فما تنكر هذه الاُمّة أن يكون الله عزّ وجل يفعل بحجّته ما فعل بيوسف أن يكون يسير في أسواقهم، ويطأ بُسطهم، وهم لا يعرفونه؟ حتى يأذن الله عزّ وجل أن يُعرّفهم بنفسه كما أذن ليوسف حتى قال لهم: ﴿قَالَ هَلْ عَلِمْتُم مَّا فَعَلْتُم بِيُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ إِذْ أَنتُمْ جَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوٓا۟ أَءِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ يُوسُفُ ۖقَالَ أَنَا۠ يُوسُفُ وَهَـٰذَآ أَخِى﴾و.
ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar al-Ḥimyarī, from Aḥmad b. Hilāl, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Najrān, from Faḍḍāla b. Ayyūb, from Sudayr, who narrated: “I heard Abā ʿAbd Allāh عليه السلام saying: “There is in the Qāʾim a precedent from Yūsuf عليه السلام.” I said: “It is as though you are mentioning his story, or his occultation?,” so he told me: “What of it does this community object to? They resemble swine! Verily, Yūsuf’s brothers were the grandsons and offspring of Prophets, and they traded with Yūsuf and had commercial dealings with him. They were his brothers, and he was theirs, yet they did not recognise him until he said to them: ﴾‘I am Yūsuf’﴿ [12:90]. So, what does this community object to that Allāh عز وجل would, at any time, seek to conceal His Divine authority?! Yūsuf عليه السلام was the king of Egypt, and there was between him and his father a distance of eighteen days’ travel. Had Allāh عز وجل intended to render Jacob cognisant of Yūsuf’s whereabouts, He had all power to do that. By Allāh, when they received the glad tidings, Jacob and his sons travelled for nine days from their hinterland encampment towards Egypt. So, what does this community object to that Allāh عز وجل would do with His Divine authority as He did with Yūsuf, that he would be walking among their markets and treading on their carpets, yet they would not recognise him? Until Allāh عز وجل permits him to make himself known to them, just as He permitted in the case of Yūsuf, whereupon he said to them: ﴾He said, ‘Have you realized what you did to Yūsuf and his brother, when you were senseless?’ They said, ‘Are you really Yūsuf?!’ He said, ‘I am Yūsuf, and this is my brother.’﴿ [12:89-90]