When Yusuf asked his cell-mate to lobby for him with the king, Archangel Gabriel descended near him and kicked the ground. A fissure developed that reached up to the seventh layer of the earth. Archangel Gabriel said, “O Yusuf take a look at the seventh layer beneath the earth, what do you see?” “A small stone.” Then he made a fissure in the stone and said, “What do you see inside?” “A minute worm.” “Who bestows sustenance to this worm?” asked Archangel Gabriel. “The Lord of the worlds,” replied Yusuf. Archangel Gabriel said, “Your Lord says that when He had not ignored a small worm in the seventh layer of the Earth how could you think that He has betrayed you? Why did you request the man to mobilize support with the King? For this misdemeanor you shall remain imprisoned for many years.”
Yusuf wept so much due to this penalty that the walls and doorways wept with him. The prison inmates became distraught and insisted he weep on alternate days. But on the days he did not shed tears his condition was more severe.