Tafsir of Yusuf 12:99

{Then when they entered upon Yusuf} It is said that Yusuf sent provisions and two hundred mounts to his father so that he and those with him could prepare for the journey. Yusuf went out with the King, accompanied by four thousand soldiers, the nobles, and all the people of Egypt. They met Ya‘qub, who was walking while leaning on Judah. When he looked at the horses and the people, he asked, "O Judah, is this the Pharaoh of Egypt?" He replied, "No, this is your son." When they met, Ya‘qub (peace be upon him) said, "Peace be upon you, O remover of sorrows."

It is said that when they met, Yusuf said to him, "O father, you wept for me until you lost your sight; did you not know that the Resurrection would gather us?" He replied, "Indeed, but I feared that your religion would be stripped from you, and a barrier would be placed between me and you."

It is said that Ya‘qub and his children entered Egypt as seventy-two people, men and women. They left it with Musa, their fighting men numbering six hundred thousand, five hundred, and seventy-odd men, excluding the children and the elderly. The children numbered one million two hundred thousand.

{He took his parents to himself} He embraced them and held them close. Ibn Abi Ishaq said: His mother was alive. Others say: They were his father and his maternal aunt. His mother had died, so he married her [the aunt] and treated her as one of the parents, for a stepmother is called a mother because she takes the place of a mother, or because a maternal aunt is a mother just as a paternal uncle is a father. From this is His saying: {The God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Isma‘il, and Ishaq} (Al-Baqarah: 133).

If you ask: What is the meaning of their entering upon him before entering Egypt? I say: It is as if, when he met them, he descended for them into a tent or a house there, so they entered upon him and he took his parents to himself. Then he said to them: {They entered upon Yusuf, he took his parents to himself}. When he entered Egypt and sat in his place, established upon his throne, and they gathered around him, he honored his parents and raised them onto the throne.

{And they fell down to him in prostration} Meaning the eleven brothers and the parents. It is possible that he went out in one of the royal pavilions carried by mules, and ordered his parents to be brought up to him, so they entered the pavilion to him. He took them to himself with an embrace and brought them near him, and said after that: "Enter Egypt."

If you ask: To what does the will [in "if Allah wills"] relate? I say: To the entry, qualified by safety. For the intent is their being characterized by safety in their entry. It is as if it were said to them: "Enter in peace and safety, if Allah wills." Its equivalent is your saying to a warrior: "Return safe and victorious, if Allah wills." The will does not relate to the return absolutely, but is qualified by safety and victory. The estimation is: "Enter Egypt safely, if Allah wills, you shall enter safely." Then the consequence was omitted because the speech indicates it, and the conditional sentence was inserted between the state and the one in that state. Among the novel interpretations is that "if Allah wills" is a case of transposition, and that its place is after his saying: {I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord} (Yusuf: 98) in the speech of Ya‘qub. I do not know what to say about this or its likes.

If you ask: How was it permissible for them to prostrate to other than Allah? I say: Prostration among them was a form of greeting and honor, like standing, shaking hands, kissing the hand, and similar acts that became customary among people as signs of veneration and respect. It is also said: It was nothing but bowing, not rubbing the foreheads [in the dust], and their "falling down" as prostrators contradicts that. It is also said: It means they fell down for the sake of Yusuf, prostrating to Allah in gratitude. This also has a weakness. It is said: "He did good to him and by him," and likewise "He did evil to him and by him."

{From the desert} From the wilderness, for they were people of tents and livestock, moving between water sources and grazing lands.

{Brought about discord} Corrupted between us and caused division. Its root is from the goading of a beast by a trainer to make it run. It is said: nazaghahu and nasaghahu when he goads it.

{Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills} Subtle in His management for him, gentle until it comes to pass according to wisdom and correctness.

It is narrated that Yusuf took Ya‘qub’s hand and walked him through his treasuries. He showed him the treasuries of silver, gold, jewelry, garments, weapons, and others. When he brought him to the treasury of scrolls, he said, "O my son, how undutiful you are! You have these scrolls, yet you did not write to me during the eight stages [of the journey]?" He replied, "Jibril commanded me." He said, "Did you not ask him?" He replied, "You are more familiar with him than I, so ask him." Jibril (peace be upon him) said, "Allah the Exalted commanded me to do that because of your saying: {And I fear that the wolf will eat him} (Yusuf: 13)." He said, "Why did you not fear Me?"

It is narrated that Ya‘qub stayed with him for twenty-four years, then died. He willed to be buried in the Levant beside his father Ishaq, so he went himself and buried him there, then returned to Egypt. He lived after his father for twenty-three years. When his affairs were completed and he knew that [worldly life] would not last for him, his soul sought the eternal, everlasting kingdom. His soul longed for it, so he wished for death. It is said: No prophet before or after him wished for it. Allah took him, pure and clean. The people of Egypt disputed and quarreled over his burial; each wanted him to be buried in their quarter until they almost fought. They decided to make a marble chest, place him in it, and bury him in the Nile at a place where the water would pass over it and then reach Egypt, so that they would all share in his blessing equally.

He had children: Ephraim and Misha. Ephraim had a son, Nun; and Nun had Yusha‘, the servant of Musa. The Pharaohs of the Amalekites inherited Egypt after him, and the Children of Israel remained under their rule, holding onto the remnants of the religion of Yusuf and his fathers, until Allah sent Musa (peace be upon him).

{My Lord, You have given me [something] of sovereignty and taught me of the interpretation of dreams. Creator of the heavens and the earth, You are my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous.}