And they came with lying blood on his shirt. He said, “Rather, your inner desires have tempted you to do something. So, patience is best. It is Allah whose help is sought against what you describe.”
Surah Yusuf 18
TAFSEER
“And they brought forth his shirt with
There is very beautiful Arabic balaghah here: ‘a lying blood.’ Blood does not lie but Allah ascribed the lying to the blood to show how evil and false it was. It should be damin makhdoob (a false blood), but Allah said, “a lying blood.” Allah ascribes the lying to the blood to show what a bold-faced evil lie. It was not the blood of Yusuf, and it is as if the blood itself was lying.
They brought forth his shirt, and it had blood all over it. They sacrificed a rabbit or a goat and splattered the shirt with blood and handed it to him and said that this was his shirt.
“He said, ‘No!…’”
Bal in the Arabic language is harf al-idrab, which means negating completely what has gone before. Take this as a rule: Anytime Allah says bal, it means that whatever has preceded is wrong and not true, and what will come after is the truth.
“…‘Your souls have made some matter appeasing to you…’”
Ya‘qub does not know the story, so he is saying that their souls made something appeasing to them. Why couldn’t Ya‘qub believe the story?
Remember that he was suspicious of them from even before the story began. When Yusuf told him the dream, he was suspicious: “I know something is wrong and they are going to do something to you.” And when they come to him, he says, “No,” and tries to push them away.
Also, scholars say another reason is that he remembers the dream of Yusuf, and the dream of Yusuf has to be fulfilled. “How can Yusuf be dead when I know for a fact that all of us are going prostrate to him?”
Also, they say that the shirt itself was evidence. In their haste, they handed him the whole shirt. It is said that Ya‘qub responded, “What a merciful wolf this is that ate up Yusuf without even one scratch in the shirt.” They forgot to tear the shirt up and handed him the full shirt. Ya‘qub knows this is just not right and something is wrong here.
Another beautiful point of this verse is that Ya‘qub understands that the brothers made a plot, and in order to plot this plot and enact this plot, they need to justify it in their conscience. Ya‘qub did not say “you have done wrong,” but he said, “your souls have convinced you that this doing wrong is good.” Do you see the difference between the two?
To say ‘you have done wrong’ is a factual statement. Instead of just criticizing the action, he criticizes the niyyah behind the action. “Not only have you done wrong, but your souls have managed to concoct some type justification, and you know the justification is wrong.” And of course, this is a plot of Shaytan. Any time we do a wrong, subhanAllah, Shaytan comes and gives us a million and one excuses. Every one of us – myself and you. Shaytan is making this pleasing to us.
“Fa sabrun jamil.”
This is a phrasing in Arabic that cannot be translated into English. In English, either the full phrase is: “I shall have a beautiful patience” or “there is nothing for me to do better than having a beautiful patience.” The ellipses here simply indicate that Ya‘qub is submitting to the will of Allah and saying, “I will have a beautiful patience.” This shows us a number of things:
- The blessings and the beauty of patience. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) tells us in the Qur’an, “Allah is with those who are patient.” There are only a handful of nouns that Allah says He is with. There are only a few, a dozen or less. Of them: muttaqin, saadiqeen, sabireen, Allah says that He shall reward those who are patient without any hisab. Bi ghayri hisab is hardly ever mentioned.
Bi ghayri hisab is the highest level of reward because every good deed is rewarded between 10 to 700 times. There are a few deeds that Allah says bi ghayri hisab, meaning Allah does not count. When Allah does not count, then it is infinity and there is no counting to it. Of them is to be patient. To be patient gives you that elite status. There is hardly anything else in the Qur’an and Sunnah that is bi ghayri hisab. The point of sabr, which Allah says in the Qur’an, “Enter Jannah because you have been patient. What a beautiful reward and what a beautiful place for those who are patient.” The hadeeth and the ayat go on and on about patience.
- This shows us that sabr has many categories. You can have a patience that is not quite beautiful but is patience. There are levels of sabr. Ya‘qub will go to the highest level of sabr. The highest level of sabr is what Yaq’ub has said: fi sabrun jamil (a beautiful patience). Scholars say a beautiful patience is one in which there is no complaining to the creation. You take it directly to Allah ‘azza wa jall. There are types of patience which are okay and good, but you need some help and some uplifting. Sabrun jamil is the highest level. You do not need any sympathy from people but are getting the reward from Allah.
Sabara means ‘to restrain / to withhold.’ The actual meaning of sabara is to hold back. That is why an animal that is reined is called an animal that is masboor. Sabr is called sabr because you are supposed to hold yourself back and restrain yourself. The reason why sabr is so difficult is because it is inaction in the face of wanted action. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told us that the strong person is not the one who can beat up other people, but the strong person is the one who can restrain himself when he is angry. This is the true test of strength. It is not just when angry but there is also sabr in response to calamities and sabr in response to worship. The sabr when having lost a loved one is a very difficult one.
Ya‘qub knows something is wrong. Some people may say, “Why doesn’t Ya‘qub do more with the brothers of Yusuf?” The response is that some scholars say that Allah had inspired him not to do that. This is possible; we will never know. Others have said that in his old age, At the end of the day, they are his sons no matter what they have done, and it is unquestionable that he has some type of love for them.
“And Allah is the One who I will turn to for help against what you have described.”
“[You have described something that surely did not take place. No wolf ate up my son Yusuf. I will turn to Allah to help me against what you have described.]”
Ya‘qub feels helpless, but at the end of the day what can he do? All that he can do is to turn to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and ask Allah to help him in finding Yusuf. This shows us that the believer is never alone and the believer is never without help. Allah is the One who we will turn to for help.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever turns to Allah for help, Allah will be sufficient for him. Whoever asks Allah ‘azza wa jall for protection, it will be sufficient for that person.” Therefore, when we are faced with a calamity or museebah, we turn to Allah immediately and effectively and insha’Allah that is the most effective way of getting our goal.
LESSON
Never lie.
When you are hit with misery/problem in this life, which this life is full of them, all you’ve got is patience. Be patient and your patience is for Allah. There is no end to
The importance of being cautious of the evil results of sins, because one sin often leads to many others. For the brothers of Yusuf tried varying plots when they wanted to separate him from his father; they lied many times, they falsified the blood on the shirt, they came at night pretending to cry, and all of this is as a result of one sin, one thing leading to a next.
Patience gets rewarded.
Prophet Ya’qub deals with the pain by being patient. This is a very important lesson for Muslims of this day and age to learn. The Muslim nation as a whole is going through a very rough period; one of the ways to deal with the utter hopelessness that exists in our nation is to be patient and to ask for Allah’s help.