Texts of Islam

The Qur'ân, ed. Palmer (SBE6): XII. The Chapter of Joseph

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This is a passage from E.H. Palmer's 1880 English translation of Surah Yusuf (Chapter 12) of the Qur'an, published in the Sacred Books of the East series. The text presents the Qur'anic account of the story of Joseph (Yusuf), spanning his youth through his rise to power in Egypt — covering his brothers' jealousy and betrayal, his sale into slavery, his resistance of seduction by Potiphar's wife, his imprisonment, his interpretation of the king's dream about seven fat and lean cattle, and his eventual reunion with his family. The narrative closely parallels the biblical account in Genesis but is rendered in the distinctive Qur'anic style of direct speech and divine interjection, with God repeatedly affirming Joseph's virtue and confirming that events unfold by divine will. A notably distinctive feature is the Qur'anic framing: the story is introduced explicitly as "the best of stories," revealed to the Prophet Muhammad as divine scripture, and punctuated throughout with theological commentary emphasizing monotheism, prophecy, and submission to God's judgment. The translation reflects 19th-century academic orientalism — formal, somewhat archaic in register — and is part of Max Müller's landmark comparative religion project to make world scriptures accessible to Western scholarly audiences.

The Qur'ân, ed. Palmer (SBE6): XII. The Chapter of Joseph

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