God—w. n. b. e.—has said: ‘Verily in Yusuf and his brethren there are signs to those who ask.’* The story of Yusuf is a wonderful narrative and a strange tradition. Its beginning is affection and love, its middle desire and longing, its end chastity, mercy and pardon; every one of its words is based on moral axioms, and every chapter contains an application of them. As the learned and the excellent of ancient and of modern times, according to the various sources from which they drew their information, and, according to their respective abilities, have derived high enjoyment from this recital, and have gathered fruits from this tree, due notice of them has been taken, and reference to their writings has been made in the elaboration of the present narrative; and this poor, unskilled, and inexperienced individual [i.e. the author] having followed the attendants of the excellent and the company of the eloquent, considers himself, according to the proverb, that ‘he who resembles people, is one of them’ to belong to their number; he has appealed to their pure spirits to aid his aspirations, and having selected their ways and followed their laws, he proceeds according to the suggestions of his mind, and, by the assistance of his natural abilities, to begin the recital of this exquisite story and sublime narrative, hoping and expecting it to meet with the approbation and praise which, as must be confessed without dissimulation, are the Qiblah of authors, to which the aspirations of the eloquent are directed, although this is not meritorious in the sight of Allah.