He replied, “I see a pure form and smell a pleasant fragrance.”

He said, “I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds, and I am the Trustworthy Spirit.”

He said, “What has brought you into the place of sinners, when you are the purest of the pure, the foremost of those brought near, and the trustee of the Lord of the worlds?” (1)

He said, “Do you not know, O Joseph, that Allah Most High purifies dwellings through the purity of the Prophets; that the land they enter is the purest of lands; and that Allah Most High has purified the prison and all that surrounds it through you? O purest of the pure, son of the righteous and chosen servants.”

He said, “How can I deserve the title of the truthful, and how can you count me among the pure and chosen servants, when I have been placed in the abode of sinners and called by the name of the transgressors?”

Gabriel said, “Because your heart was not tempted, and you did not obey your mistress in disobedience to your Lord. For this reason Allah has named you among the truthful, counted you among the chosen servants, and joined you to your righteous forefathers.”

Joseph said, “Do you have any knowledge of Jacob, O Trustworthy Spirit?”

He said, “Yes. Allah has granted him beautiful patience and tested him with grief over you, and so he suppresses his sorrow.”

He said, “How great is his grief?”

He said, “The grief of seventy bereaved mothers.”

He said, “And what reward has he been given for it, O Gabriel?”

He said, “The reward of one hundred martyrs.”

He said, “Will I meet him?”

He said, “Yes.” Joseph’s heart was then comforted, and he said, “I do not care what I have endured, if only I see him.” (2)

His saying, Most High: “And I know from Allah that which you do not know” means: I know of Joseph’s being alive what you do not know.

It is related that the Angel of Death visited Jacob, and Jacob said to him, “O angel of pleasant fragrance and beautiful form, have you taken the soul of my son among the souls?” He said, “No.” Jacob was reassured and hoped to see him, and he said, “I know that Joseph’s dream is true, and that I and you shall prostrate before him.”

Al-Suddi said: When his sons informed him of the king’s conduct, Jacob felt a stirring within himself and began to hope, saying, “Perhaps he is Joseph.” Then he said, “My sons, go and seek news of Joseph and his brother.” (3)