12:98 Yusuf (Joseph)

فـ { قَالَ } مجيبا لطلبتهم، ومسرعا لإجابتهم: { سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ } أي: ورجائي به أن يغفر لكم ويرحمكم، ويتغمدكم برحمته، وقد قيل: إنه أخر الاستغفار لهم إلى وقت السحر الفاضل، ليكون أتمَّ للاستغفار، وأقرب للإجابة.

فعند ذلك قالوا لأبيهم مترفقين له " يا أبانا استغفر لنا ذنوبنا إنا كنا خاطئين قال سوف أستغفر لكم ربي إنه هو الغفور الرحيم " أي من ناب إليه تاب عليه قال ابن مسعود وإبراهيم التيمي وعمرو بن قيس وابن جريج وغيرهم أرجأهم إلى وقت السحر وقال ابن جرير حدثني أبو السائب حدثنا ابن إدريس سمعت عبد الرحمن بن إسحاق يذكر عن محارب بن دسار قال كان عمر رضي الله عنه يأتي المسجد فيسمع إنسانا يقول: اللهم دعوتني فأجبت وأمرتني فأطعت وهذا السحر فاغفر لى قال فاستمع الصوت فإذا هو من دار عبد الله بن مسعود فسأل عبد الله عن ذلك فقال إن يعقوب أخر بنيه إلى السحر بقوله " سوف أستغفر لكم ربي " وقد ورد في الحديث إن ذلك كان ليلة الجمعة كما قال ابن جرير أيضا حدثني المثنى حدثنا سليمان بن عبد الرحمن أبو أيوب الدمشقي حدثنا أبو الوليد انبأنا ابن جريج عن عطاء وعكرمة عن ابن عباس عن رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم " سوف أستغفر لكم ربي " يقول حتى تأتي ليلة الجمعة وهو قول أخي يعقوب لبنيه وهذا غريب من هذا الوجه وفي رفعه نظر والله أعلم.

Yahudha brings Yusuf's Shirt and Good News

Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak said;

الْبَشِيرُ

(good news) means information. Mujahid and As-Suddi said that the bearer of good news was Yahudha, son of Ya`qub. As-Suddi added, "He brought it (Yusuf's shirt) because it was he who brought Yusuf's shirt stained with the false blood. So he liked to erase that error with this good act, by bringing Yusuf's shirt and placing it on his father's face. His father's sight was restored to him." Ya`qub said to his children,

أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَّكُمْ إِنِّى أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(Did I not say to you, `I know from Allah that which you know not'), that I know that Allah will return Yusuf to me and that,

إِنِّى لأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ

(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf, if only you think me not senile.)

Yusuf's Brothers feel Sorry and Regretful

This is when Yusuf's brothers said to their father, with humble- ness,

قَالُواْ يأَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا خَـطِئِينَ - قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّى إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

("O our father! Ask forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been sinners." He said: "I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you, verily, He! Only He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.") and He forgives those who repent to Him. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, Ibrahim At-Taymi, `Amr bin Qays, Ibn Jurayj and several others said that Prophet Ya`qub delayed fulfilling their request until the latter part of the night.

He said ‘Assuredly I shall ask forgiveness for you of my Lord. Lo! He is the Forgiving the Merciful’ he Jacob put off this plea of forgiveness until the last hour before dawn in order to be closer to the likelihood of it being accepted or he put it off until the eve of Friday. They then departed for Egypt where Joseph and the senior courtiers came out to meet them.

The reply given by Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) was: قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ‌ لَكُمْ رَ‌بِّي shall pray to my Lord to forgive you ... - 98).

Here, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) has, instead of praying for them instantly, made a promise that he would pray for them soon. Commentators have generally given a reason for this. According to them, his purpose was to pray for them particularly, in peace and with concentration, towards the later part of the night - because the prayer made at that hour is answered specially. This is as it appears in a Hadith in the Sahib of Al-Bukhari and Muslim that, in the last third part of every night, Allah Ta` ala descends in all His Glory close to the firmament near the Earth, and proclaims: Is there someone who would pray to Me, and I would answer? Is there someone who would seek forgiveness from Me, and I would forgive?