He said, “It makes me sad that you should take him, and I fear that some wolf might eat him up when you are heedless of him.”
Surah Yusuf #13
TAFSEER
He said (and this is an emphasis here again), “Surely it will make me very sad that you should take him away.” This shows us how correct the brothers were when they said that their father was completely in love with Yusuf. He cannot bear to be away from Yusuf for one day.
He said, “I will be sad if you take him away.” SubhanAllah there is a deeper meaning here: “Aren’t I going to be even more sad if you take him away permanently?”
The point is that they wanted to take him away for one day, but there is a subtle message here because they will take him away for a long time, not permanently but for 30-40 years.
He is telling them, “I will go into grief if you take him away.” That is exactly what happens that he goes into grief until he loses his eyesight. He is telling them, and these are the warning signals beforehand, that “I will be very grieved if you take him away.” They don’t heed this advice, and they have deaf ears.
And I am worried and I am scared that a wolf might eat him.
Most scholars say, and this seems to be the strongest opinion, He is not genuinely worried about wolves, but he is trying to find an excuse to somehow prevent. He says one thing that is completely factual: “I will be very grieved if you take him away”, and then he adds another thing, which is not a lie but it’s not the full truth, and this is something that is permissible in Islam and is called tawriyah (double meaning). It is saying one thing, which is understood other than what you intended. His intention is that there is one chance in a million that a wolf would eat him; it’s not a big probability. He is intending to say, “I just don’t want you to take him,” but he cannot say that wording, so he uses a very flimsy excuse, which is factual and not a lie.
There is a back and forth and there is an emotional struggle going on. The brothers are persistent and have laid out the plot to get Yusuf. Ya‘qub could have said yes, but he tries one more attempt, and they refute that attempt as well.
AUTHENTIC TAUHEED
A proper father is aware of the psychological and mental state of his children
- Examine your kids, if they have a
tawheed - A proper father knows how his children think
- A proper father knows his children’s
LESSON
Sometimes you know when someone is lying, but you shouldn’t say it without proof.
It is important to recognize that our parents have knowledge and judgment which should be respected because what you are experiencing as a child or teen, your parents have experienced as well. The same is true for parents. See them as professionals at life, and it will help you to develop a different level of respect for them. Because they have been through what you are going through in your life so they can help and guide you.
- Some children are trials for their parents and parents must learn how to deal with them. We cannot expect our family to be perfect. More often then not they will do things to annoy us or irritate us. We should not express our anger and our hatred towards them. We should not cut our relationships with them. This is what Shaitan wants us to do. Every time Shaitan puts some negative thought in your minds about one of your family members, then you must immediately remember Allah is not pleased with you having such hatred for members of your family.
- Your parents do know what’s right and what’s wrong for you, let your opinion be known, but never disrespect their decision. As you keep reading this story you will understand how costly it can be not to listen to your father. And parents, there is a message for you too here: Don’t treat your children differently on the basis of gender or age, you will see the potential consequences of that in the next few Verses.
Beware of emotional blackmail
Internally Ya’qub sensed that they might do something bad to Yusuf but the brothers kept trying to make the father look bad by insisting that they were his well-wishers and blaming their father for not trusting them. This is similar to kids nowadays who want to go to clubs and blame their parents for not trusting them and that they are going there to give dawah while in fact they are going there to just party.