Tafsir of Surah Yusuf - Verse 93

Ya`qub finds the Scent of Yusuf in his Shirt!

Yusuf said, `Take this shirt of mine,

فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَى وَجْهِ أَبِى يَأْتِ بَصِيرًا

(and cast it over the face of my father, his vision will return),' because Ya`qub had lost his sight from excessive crying,

وَأْتُونِى بِأَهْلِكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

(and bring to me all your family.) all the children of Ya`qub.

وَلَمَّا فَصَلَتِ الْعِيرُ

(And when the caravan departed) from Egypt,

قَالَ أَبُوهُمْ

(their father said...), Ya`qub, peace be upon him, said to the children who remained with him,

إِنِّى لأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ

`(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf, if only you think me not senile.), except that you might think me senile because of old age.' `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the caravan departed from Egypt, a wind started blowing and brought the scent of Yusuf's shirt to Ya`qub. He said,

إِنِّى لأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ

(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf , if only you think me not senile.) He found his scent from a distance of eight days away!" Similar was also reported through Sufyan Ath-Thawri and Shu`bah and others reported it from Abu Sinan. Ya`qub said to them,

لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ

(if only you think me not senile.) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ata, Qatadah and Sa'id bin Jubayr commented, "If only you think me not a fool!" Mujahid and Al-Hasan said that it means, "If only you think me not old." Their answer to him was,

إِنَّكَ لَفِى ضَلَـلِكَ الْقَدِيمِ

(Certainly, you are in your old Dalal.) meaning, `in your old error,' according to Ibn `Abbas. Qatadah commented, "They meant that, `because of your love for Yusuf you will never forget him.' So they uttered a harsh word to their father that they should never have uttered to him, nor to a Prophet of Allah." Similar was said by As-Suddi and others.

Commentary

The previous verses about the story of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) have told us about the time when, by the will of Allah, it was appropriate for him to disclose his secret to his brothers. This he did. His brothers sought his forgiveness. He, not only that he forgave them, did not even choose to admonish them for what they had done to him in the past. In fact, he prayed to Allah Ta` la for them. Meeting his father was now his next concern. Given the conditions, he found it better that his father comes to him with the family. But, having come to know that his father had lost his eyesight as a result of his separation from him, that became his first concern. So, he said to his brothers: اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَـٰذَا فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِ أَبِي يَأْتِ بَصِيرً‌ا (Go with this shirt of mine and put it over the face of my father, and he will turn into a sighted man - 93). It is obvious that putting someone's shirt on the face of a person cannot become the physical cause of an eyesight to return. In fact, this was a miracle of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) for he, by the will of Allah, knew that once his shirt was put over the face of his father, Allah Ta` ala will give him his eyesight back.

Tafsir authorities, Dahhak and Mujahid have said that this was the inherent quality of that shirt because it was not like ordinary clothes. Instead, it was brought from Paradise for Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) at the time when he was thrown into the fire naked by Nimrud. Then, this apparel of Paradise remained preserved with Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) . After his death, it passed on to Sayyidna Ishaq (علیہ السلام) . After his death, it came to Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) In view of its status as a sacred legacy, he put it inside a tube, sealed it and made Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) wear it round his neck as a Ta` widh (spiritual charm) so that he remains safe against the evil eye. When the brothers of Yusuf (علیہ السلام) removed the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) to deceive their father and he was thrown into the well without it, Sayyidna Jibra'il al-Amin came, and opening the tube hanging round his neck, took this shirt out from it, and made Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) wear it. Since that time, it remained preserved with him. When needed again, it was Jibra'il al-Amin again who advised Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) that this shirt was an apparel of Paradise. It had a unique property. If put over the face of a blind person, he becomes sighted. He asked him to send it to his father and he would become a sighted man.

The view of Hadrat Mujaddid Alf Thani (رح) is that the beauty, rather the very existence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، was itself a thing of the Paradise. Therefore, every shirt that touched his body could have this property. (Mazhari)

Said in the last sentence of verse 93 was: وَأْتُونِي بِأَهْلِكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ that is, ` all of you, my brothers, bring your entire family to me.' Though, the real purpose was to have his respected father come to him but, here he did not specifically mention his father, instead, talked about bringing the family - perhaps, because he considered that asking his father to be brought to him was contrary to etiquette. However, he was already certain that the sight of his father would return and there would remain no reason which could stop him from coming to him, rather, he would himself want to honour him with his visit. According to a narration reported by Al-Qurtubi, Yahuda (Judah) from among the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) offered to carry this shirt personally - because, it was he who had carried young Yusuf’ s shirt smeared with fake blood and which brought many shocks for his father, and now, it should be him again who should carry the shirt in his own hands, so that amends could be made for past injustices.

When the truth came out into the open, Joseph’s brothers acknowledged Joseph’s greatness and freely admitted their guilt. In the same way, Joseph also showed such broadmindedness as a true God-worshipper is expected to show on such occasions. He did not condemn his brothers. He completely forgot and forgave the bitter experiences of the past and once again entered into fraternal relations with his brothers. In this incident there is an example of a combination of divine and human help. And through this incident, circumstances were created which favoured the Children of Israel leaving Palestine and reaching Egypt where they attained a position of honour and prosperity. It was during the time of Joseph that the family of Jacob shifted to Egypt and for the next five hundred years they lived there with dignity and honour. According to the Bible, the number of members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt was sixty seven.