ابْنُ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ حَنَانِ بْنِ سَدِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ (عليه السلام) قَالَ قُلْتُ لَهُ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ قَوْلِ يَعْقُوبَ (عليه السلام) لِبَنِيهِ اذْهَبُوا فَتَحَسَّسُوا مِنْ يُوسُفَ وَ أَخِيهِ أَ كَانَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ حَيٌّ وَ قَدْ فَارَقَهُ مُنْذُ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ نَعَمْ قَالَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ عَلِمَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ دَعَا فِي السَّحَرِ وَ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ أَنْ يَهْبِطَ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَهَبَطَ عَلَيْهِ بريالُ وَ هُوَ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ لَهُ بريالُ مَا حَاجَتُكَ يَا يَعْقُوبُ قَالَ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْأَرْوَاحِ تَقْبِضُهَا مُجْتَمِعَةً أَوْ مُتَفَرِّقَةً قَالَ بَلْ أَقْبِضُهَا مُتَفَرِّقَةً رُوحاً رُوحاً قَالَ لَهُ فَأَخْبِرْنِي هَلْ مَرَّ بِكَ رُوحُ يُوسُفَ فِيمَا مَرَّ بِكَ قَالَ لَا فَعَلِمَ يَعْقُوبُ أَنَّهُ حَيٌّ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ لِوُلْدِهِ اذْهَبُوا فَتَحَسَّسُوا مِنْ يُوسُفَ وَ أَخِيهِ.
238. Ibn Mahboub, from hanaan Bin Sudeyr, who has said: I said to Abu Ja’far , ‘Inform me about the words of Yaqoub  to his  sons: “[12:87] O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his brother”, Did he  know that he  was alive, and there was a separation of twenty years between them?’ He  said: ‘Yes’. I said, ‘How did he  know?’ He  said: ‘He  supplicated before dawn and asked Allah (azwj) Mighty and Majestic that he (azwj) should Send down to him  the Angel of Death. So Biryaal descended unto him , and he is the Angel of Death. So Biryaal said to him : ‘What is your  need, O Yaqoub ?’ He  said: ‘Inform me about the souls. Do you capture them altogether or separately?’ He said, ‘But, I capture them separately, soul by soul’. He  said to him: ‘So inform me, Did you come across the soul of Yusuf  in what you have passed by?’ He said: ‘No’. Thus Yaqoub  came to know that he  was alive. So, due to that he  said “[12:87] O my sons! Go and inquire respecting Yusuf and his brother”.