Part 85

Vcrily, he who fea rs All ah with obed ience to Him (by abstaining

from sins and ev il deeds, and by performin g ri ght eous good

deeds), and is pUlien!. then surely, Alla h makes not th e rcward

of the tlflfhsillOOIl (those who do good) to be lost." They sa id.

"By Allah! Indeed All ah has preferred YOll above li S, and wc

certainl y havc been sinners." He sa id, "No reproac h on yo u

th is day. may All ah fo rgive you, and He is th e Most Merciful

o f those who show mercy ! Go wit h Ihis shirt o f mine, and casl

it over the fa ce of my fath er, he will beco me clear-sighted. and

bring to 111 0 all your fa mily," ) (SoO/'ail }'<:>0511[ 12:88-93)

Allah, Most High, informs us abou t the return of yoosuf's

brothers to hi m, their visit to him and their desire for hi s gra in

and for him 10 show charity toward th em by returnin g th eir

brother, Bin yamcen to the ln. ( Th en, whell they cntcreel unto

hi m (Yoos uf), Ihey sa id, "0, rule r of the land! A hard tim e has

hit us and our fa mil y." ) . That is, drought and straite ned times,

in addition to a large famil y ( "and we ha ve brought but poo r

capi tal. . ."' ) . That is, we ha ve brought mo ney for th e food

we want to buy, but it is not substanti al. Ii was sa id Ihat th ey

brought a mean S lllll of dirhams . II was also said thaI they were

goods ofliltle:~xch a nge va lue, ex.ccpt by the one who wou ld be

MelllioJ} (d'ihe I'mgel/)' (!f IhJ't/lteell/ 375

kind cnough to ovcrlook thi s. It was also sa id that th ey brought

pine nu ts, tereb inth seeds (29) and such. It was rcportcd on th e

authority of 'Abdull ah Ibn ' Abbas ,*, that they we re types of

straw sac ks, ropes a nd thc like. ( "So pay us full measure and

bc charitable to us. Trul y, Allah docs reward the charitable."

) . It was said by As-Sliddi th ai itl11cans by accepting what wc

have brought. It was also said that it mcans by retuming our

brothe r to li S. Thi s was th e opinion of Ibn Jura ij .

I-Ie saw the situation they wc re in and the pit iful paymcnt

that they brought and hc felt co mpassion for them and made

hi mself known to them, info rm ing thcm about the COlllmand

of hi s Lord and their Lord. When he had revea led his ide ntity

to them, ( l ie said, " Do you know what you did with Yoosuf'

(Jose ph) and hi s broth er. whcn yo u were ignorant? They said" ) .

They wcre abso lutely amazed to know hi s identity. fo r they had

visited hi m numerous ti mes a nd they had not re('ogni sed him.

( "A rc you indeed Yoosufr I lc said , " I am YooslIf, a nd this is

111y brother (Binyamccn)" ) . That is, I a m Yoosufw ith w hom

you dealt as you did and whol11 you abandoned aforetimes. (

" And thi s is my bro ther (Binya mccn) .·· ) I-Ie said thi s in order

to co nfirm th e truth o f what he had to ld thc m a nd to ma ke clcar

to th em the c nvy that they had harbored toward them and the

dece itful stratagems th ey had emp loyed agai nst the m, wh ich

is why he sa id, ( "A lI nh hn s indeed bec n Gra cious to li S." )

That is, by the ki ndn ess and cha rity He ha s shown to us and

by gatherin g us together afte r having bec n separa ted . This was

the result of our obedi ence to Him and the paticnce wc ha ve

shown in the fac e o f the tria ls that have beset us, in additi on to

the obed ience and fi lin l piety we have shown towa rd our fath er

and his great love a nd affc cti on for us. ( "Verily, he w ho fl!af!.;

(29) Terebi nth : Pistacia vera , a small tree which is grown for its edible seeds

376 II/ell/ioll o/Ihe ProgellY 0/ liJralieem ~

Allah with obedi ence to Him (by abstaini ng from s ins and ev il

deeds, and by per forming right eous good deeds), and is pat ient ,

then surely, Allah makes not the rewa rd of the Mllilsillooll

(those who do good) to be lost. " Th ey sa id. "By Allah ! Indeed

Allah has prefe rred yo u above us." ) That is, He ha s fa vored

you over us and given yo u th <lt wh ich !-I e has not given to us

(Le. Prophet hood) . ( "And we certainl y have bee n sinners'"

) . ThaI is, in what we ha ve done to you; and now here we are

before you. ( He sa id, "No reproach all you Ihi s da y." ) ThaI

is, I will not rebuke you for what you did to me after thi s day.

The n he went furth er, saying to them, ( "may All ah forgive

YOll, and He is the Most Merciful of th ose who show mcrcy!" )

Thcn he ordered them to go wi th hi s shirt, which he wore next

to his skin, and he told them to pl ace it ove r their fathe r's eyes

and he told the m th at his sight would be restored as a result, by

A ll ah 's Penniss ion , after he had lost it. This was an amazing

phenomenon, proo f of his Prophethood and a major mi racle.

Then he ordered th em to bring all of th eir fami lies to the lands

of Egypt, to enjoy goodness, abundant provision and uni ty,

after separation, in the most complete manner. ( And when the

caravan departed, their falh el" sa id. " I do indeed feel the smell I

ofVoosuf, ifonly you think me not a dotard (a person who ha s I

weak ness of mind because of old age)." They sa id, " By Allah!

Certai nl y, YO ll arc in YOllr old error." Th en. when the bearer

of the glad tidings arri ved , he cas t it (t he shirt) over his face

and he became clear-sighted. I-Ie sa id, "D id I not say 10 you

that I know rrom Allah that whic h you know not?" They sa id,

"0, ollr fa the r! Ask ror rorgiveness ( rrom Alla h) for our sins.

indeed we have been sinn ers." He sa id , " I will ask my Lord for

forgiveness ror you, ve ril y, I-Ie, only li e is the Oft-Forgi vi ng.

th e Most Mereifu l." ) (Saara" Yaasuf I2:94-98)

'A bd ur-Razzaq narrated on the 3U1hori lY of 'Abdullah Ibn

Meillioll (l/IIie PmgellJ' o/Ibl'lllteem 377

' Abbas ~ that he said regard in g the Words of Allah, Most

High: ( And when th e cara van dcparled ) , " Whe n the caravan

departed, a wind sprang up and it carried the smell ofYoosuf's

shirt to Ya'qoob ~ and he said, ( I do indeed feel th e smell

o fYoosuf, if onl y you think me not a dotard (a person who has

weak ness of mind beca use of o ld age). ) " Ibn ' Abbas ,*" sa id,

" I-Ie picked up his scent from a di stan ce of eight days' (travel)

away!" Ath-Thawri also narrated it thus, as did Shu 'bah an d

others, on the authori ty of Abu Sinan. AI-H asan AI-Basri and

Ibn Juraij Al-Makki sa id that th e distance betwcen th em was

eighty filrsakhs (30) and th at he had been parted from him for

eighty yea rs. ( " If onl y you thin k me not a dotard (a persa ll

who ha s wea kness of mi nd beca use of old age)." ) That is, you

say that I have on ly sa id thi s beca use I have become old and

seni le. 'Abdu llah Ibn 'Abbas <Ge, ' Ata' , Mujahid, Sa'ced Ibn

Jubair and Qaladah sa id that it mea ns: "yo u think me fooli sh."

Mujahid also said - as did AI-Hasan Al-B asri - that it mean s

"you think me senile and decrepil." ( They said , '· By Allah!

Ce rtainl y, you arc in your old error.'· ) Qatadah and As-Suddi

said that they spoke harsh word s 10 him . Allah, Mos t Hi gh,

says, ( "When the bea rer of the glad tidi ngs arrived. he cas t it

(the shirt) over hi s face and he beca me clear-s ight ed." ) Tha i

is, as soon as he arrived with the shirt, he put it ove r Ya ' qoob 's

face and immedia tely, his sight returned, after having been

bli nd. When thi s happened, he said to hi s sons, ( '·Did I not

say to yo u that I know from All ah that which you know notT

) That is, I know that Allah wi ll reunite me with Yoos uf ~,

th at my eyes wi ll be deli ghted by (seei ng) him and th ai He

will show me th at which will please me regardi ng hi s situ ation.

At this point, ( They said. "'0, our father! Ask for forgiveness

(from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been s inners." ) They

(30) Fa,..wkl,: A parasang, whieh is an ancient Persi an unit of d ist:lI1ec.

378 A/ell/ioll of/he PnlgellY of Ihmlleem ~

req uested from him that he ask A ll ah, the Almi ght y, th e A II-

Powe rful to forgi ve them for what they had done, what they

had inflic ted on hi m and his son a nd what they had resolved

to do against him (i. e. Yoosuf :-MJ). And beca use they had

made the intention 10 repeI1l before cOlllmi ning the deed , Allah