Tafsir of Yusuf 12:94

"And when the caravan departed..."

That is, when it exited from the outskirts of Egypt, heading toward the location of Ya'qub (Jacob), peace be upon him. He was near Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem); the claim that he was in the Jazira (Mesopotamia) is not relied upon. It is said: "Fasala min al-balad" (he departed from the city), "yafsilu fusulan" (he departs), if he separates from it and passes beyond its walls; this is intransitive. And "fasala al-shay'" (he separated the thing), "faslan" (separation), if he divides it; this is transitive. Ibn Abbas recited: "Wa lamma infasalat al-'ir."

"Their father said"—Ya'qub, peace be upon him, to those with him—"Indeed, I find the scent of Yusuf." That is, I perceive it, for it is an act of the sense of smell. Allah, the Exalted, enabled him to smell what had adhered to the shirt of the scent of Yusuf, peace be upon him, from a distance of eight days' journey, according to what is narrated from Ibn Abbas. Al-Hasan and Ibn Jurayj said: from eighty leagues. In another narration from al-Hasan: from a journey of thirty days. In yet another from him: from a journey of ten nights.

The wind had sought permission, according to what is narrated from Abu Ayyub al-Harawi, to deliver the fragrance of Yusuf, peace be upon him, so Allah, the Exalted, granted it permission. Mujahid said: The wind struck the shirt, and the fragrances of Paradise blew into the world and reached Ya'qub, peace be upon him, so he found the scent of Paradise and knew that there was nothing in the world like that shirt, so he said what he said. The attribution [of the scent] is remote; at that time it was [attributed] for the slightest connection, whereas it was so before [the arrival of the shirt] as well, but it was much stronger than it was at that time, as is not hidden.

"If you do not think me senile." That is, if you do not attribute me to al-fand (with two fathas). It is used to mean corruption, as in the saying: "Except for Sulayman, when the God said to him, 'Stand in the wilderness and delimit it from *al-fand'." It also means weakness of opinion and intellect due to senility and old age. It is said: "Fannada al-rajul" (he accused the man of fand) if he attributed him to fand. It is—according to what is said—derived from al-fand, which means a stone; as if he were made a stone due to his lack of understanding. As it was said: If you do not love and do not know what passion is, Then be a stone of dry, hard rock. Then, the usage expanded, and it was said: "Fannadahu" if his opinion weakened and he blamed him for what he did. The poet said: O my censurer, leave off my blame and my accusation, For what you have said of the matter is not to be rejected.

"Afada al-dahru fulanan" also came to mean "destroyed him." Ibn Maqtal said: "Let time do what it wishes, for if it is tasked with corruption among people, it corrupts." It is said: "Shaykh mufannad" (a senile old man) if his opinion is corrupted. It is not said: "Ajuz mufannada" (a senile old woman), because she has no opinion in her youth that could weaken, as stated by al-Jawhari and other linguists. Al-Zamakhshari mentioned it in al-Kashshaf and others, and al-Samin deemed it strange. Perhaps the rationale is that she possesses an intellect—even if deficient—whose deficiency intensifies with old age; so contemplate this.

The response to "Lawla" (if) is omitted; that is: "If it were not for your accusing me of senility, you would have believed me," or "I would have said: 'Verily, the place of Yusuf is near,' or 'his meeting [is near],' or something similar."

As for the addressees, it is said: Those of his children who remained, other than those who went to procure provisions, and they were many. It is also said: His grandchildren and those of his relatives who were present with him, which is the well-known opinion.