Surah Yusuf 12:84
ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ
And he turned away from them and said, "Oh, my sorrow over Joseph," and his eyes became white from grief, for he was [of that] a suppressor.
Tafsir of Yusuf 12:84
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 12:84
*“And he turned away from them”* Meaning, he turned away from them, out of aversion to what they had brought.
*“And said, ‘Oh, my sorrow for Yusuf!’”* *Asaf* (sorrow) is the most intense form of sadness for something that has been lost. It is apparent that he, peace be upon him, attributed this sorrow to himself, and the *alif* is a substitute for the first-person possessive pronoun (*ya*) for the sake of lightness. The meaning is: "Oh, my sorrow, come, for this is your time." It has been said that the *alif* is the *alif* of lamentation (*nudba*), with the *ha* elided. The primary interpretation is the first.
He expressed sorrow specifically for Yusuf, even though the recent incident involved the misfortune of his other two sons, because Yusuf’s calamity was the foundation of all his sorrows. Even though a long time had passed, it occupied the entirety of his heart; he never forgot it, and it never left his thoughts. Other misfortunes did not make him forget this, for "striking a wound upon a wound is more painful."
It cannot be argued that this contradicts the status of prophethood—which requires knowledge of Allah the Exalted, and whoever knows Him loves Him, and whoever loves Him has no room in his heart for the love of anything else—because this was a natural love, and it does not conflict with the love of Allah the Exalted. The Imam stated that such intense love removes distracting thoughts from the heart, and its possessor becomes one who frequently turns to Allah the Exalted, and frequently prays and supplicates, thus making it a cause for the perfection of absorption (istighraq). The views of the Sufis—may Allah sanctify their secrets—on this station will be discussed in the chapter on Ishara (allusions), if Allah the Exalted wills.
It has also been said: because he, peace be upon him, was confident that the other two were alive, knew their whereabouts, and had hope for their return. As for Yusuf, there was nothing in his affairs to stir the chains of his hope except the mercy of Allah the Exalted and His grace, though there is some debate regarding this.
Al-Tabarani, Ibn Marduyah, and Al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman recorded from Sa'id ibn Jubayr: "No nation among the nations was given 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un' (Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we return) except for the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace." That is, they did not know it, nor were they granted success to use it when calamity befell them. Do you not see that when Jacob, peace be upon him, was afflicted by what he was afflicted with, he did not say the istirja' (the aforementioned phrase), but said what he said?
In “asafan” and “Yusuf”, there is an elegant paronomasia (tajnis) without affectation, which adds splendor to the sublime speech.
*“And his eyes turned white because of the sadness”* Meaning, due to it. In reality, sadness is the cause of weeping, and weeping is the cause of the eyes turning white; for when tears are excessive, they wipe away the blackness of the eye and turn it into a murky white. Thus, the cause of the cause is used in its place because of its prominence.
"Turning white" is said to be a metonymy for blindness; thus, his sight had departed completely. Abu Hayyan favored this based on the verse, “And he became clear-sighted,” for it stands in opposition to the blind. Others said it is not a metonymy for that; rather, the intent of the verse is that a white veil covered his eyes, yet he still perceived with a weak perception. Discussion on the ruling of blindness regarding the Prophets, peace be upon them, has preceded, and Al-Hasan was among those who deemed it permissible.
Abdullah ibn Ahmad in his Zawa'id, Ibn Jarir, and Abu al-Shaykh recorded from him (Al-Hasan) that he said: "From the day Yusuf left Jacob, peace be upon him, until the day he returned, which was eighty years, sorrow never left his heart, and his tears continued to run down his cheeks. He did not cease weeping until his sight departed. There was no one on earth at that time more honored by Allah the Exalted than him."
The apparent meaning is that this state did not occur only during this final incident. This is supported by what Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, that Gabriel, peace be upon him, entered upon Yusuf in the prison and recognized him. He said: "O King, who is honored by his Lord, do you have knowledge of Jacob?" He said: "Yes." He asked: "What did he do?" He replied: "His eyes have turned white from sadness for you." He asked: "How far has his sadness reached?" He said: "The sadness of seventy mothers." He asked: "Does he have a reward for that?" He said: "Yes, the reward of a hundred martyrs." Ibn Abbas and Mujahid read “min al-huzn” with a fatha on the ha and zay, while Qatada read it with a damma on both.
The verse is used as evidence for the permissibility of sorrow and weeping during calamities. Perhaps refraining from such things is not under compulsion, for few are able to control themselves during times of hardship.
The two Shaykhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated from the hadith of Anas that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wept for his son Ibrahim and said: "The eye sheds tears, and the heart grieves, and we do not say anything except what pleases our Lord, and indeed we are saddened by your departure, O Ibrahim." What is forbidden is what the ignorant do, such as loud lamentation, slapping cheeks, beating chests, rending garments, and tearing clothes.
They also narrated from the hadith of Usama that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a child of one of his daughters brought to him while he was breathing his last. He placed him on his lap while the child’s breathing rattled as if in a water skin, and his eyes (the Prophet's) overflowed with tears. Sa'd said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is this?" He said: "This is a mercy that Allah the Exalted has placed in the hearts of whom He wills of His servants, and Allah the Exalted shows mercy to the merciful among His servants."
In Al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that he, peace and blessings be upon him, was told: "You weep, yet you have forbidden us from weeping?" He replied: "I have not forbidden you from weeping; I have only forbidden you from two foolish sounds: a sound during mirth and a sound during grief." It is reported from Al-Hasan that he wept over a child or someone else, and when questioned, he said: "I have not seen that Allah the Exalted has made sadness a shame for Jacob, peace be upon him."