83. He said “Bal, rather your souls have made the matter seem light to you, so beautiful patience, perhaps Allah will bring them all to me, surely He is the Knowing and the Wise”.
84. And he turned away from them, and said “O my sorrow for Yusuf”, and his eyes turned white from sadness, and he was suppressing.
In these verses, Allah continues to relate to us the words of Yaqoob (AS) when his children brought him the terrible news. They had told him that his beloved son Binyamin was a thief and that he had been taken as a slave by the Egyptians. His eldest son had remained behind in Egypt, and he had vowed not to leave until his father forgives or Allah judges for him. His family was in the grip of a terrible famine, and now their only source of food had been cut off. So in the midst of a famine, Ya'qoob (AS) finds that he has lost three of his sons. Wave upon wave were the trials that Yaqoob (AS) had to face. Trials that would have broken most other men. So reflect once again on the trials that Allah gave for this man. This man who had done nothing but worship and sever Allah (swt) for his whole life. How then can you and I complain at the trials and difficulties that we have to face?
Ya'qoob (AS) then said the same words that he spoke to the brothers the last time when they came and told him that Yusuf had been eaten by the wolf. He tells them that their souls have made a great matter seem small to them. But what is this great matter? Is the situation here the same as was with Yusuf (AS)? Is Ya'qoob (AS) certain that these brothers were lying this time? Does he think that they had done something to Binyamin like they had done to Yusuf? It seems, and of course, Allah Knows best, that Y'aqoob (AS) knew that the brothers were speaking the truth this time. He knew that they were not lying in what they said, but he also knows that there is no way Binyamin would steal. He knows something is wrong, but he is sure that his son is not a thief. So why then does he once again say to them that their souls had made a great matter seem small to them? What is this great matter of evil that their souls have made seem small?
It is their treatment of their brothers and their disregard for the oath that they had given their father. The first evil that these brothers had done was the injustice that they did against Binyamin with their tongues. The cruel words that they spoke against him. Binyamin was their own brother and their brother in Islam, but still, they spoke against him and told their father that he was a thief. This was not right. They should have known better than to speak such evil about their brother. If anything they should have said that the Egyptians had accused Binyamin of theft instead of saying that he was a thief. They should have avoided saying anything evil about their brother at all costs. But they did not. They spoke evil about him and called him a thief because they still had jealousy and hatred for him.
The second matter of great evil that these brothers had done was the lack of regard that they had for the oath which they had taken from Allah Himself. The elder brother realized the weightiness of this oath. He was terrified to go back to Philistine without Binyamin, but others didn't. Thus did their souls make this great matter of breaking an oath from Allah seem light to them.
The grief was overflowing, and all that Yaqoob (AS) could do was try to the best of his ability to contain it and suppress. Beautiful patience was all that Yaqoob (AS) could have, and surely he was able to make it through these trials by his remembrance of Allah (swt). His beautiful patience came from his thoughts of his Lord. Yaqoob (AS) then speaks of a wish that he has. A great hope that he has in his Lord. A prayer that he is making to Allah. Perhaps, perchance, his Lord will bring all his sons back to him. Even after all of these years, he still has a hope that Allah will return Yusuf to him. How many years now must it have been since Yusuf (AS) was taken away from him? It must be 35 to 40 years. But he still has this hope that Allah will bring the boy back to him. Even though everything that he saw of the world was telling him that his son was gone, he still knew that Allah was there. When Allah is there, then there is always hope.
He then turned away from them, because he could see that these brothers had not reformed, and said, “O my sorrow for Yusuf”. So much was his grief for the loss of Yusuf (AS) that this grief consumed all other grieves. His eyes turned white meaning he almost went blind due to excessive crying. This grief weighed the heaviest on his heart. Even after all of these years the pain of that wound had not eased. Every day that he did not see Yusuf was like a dagger in his heart. That is why in this ayah he cries out for his sorrow for Yusuf (AS). He calls out to this sorrow for it consumes him. He asks of it to leave him for a moment. To show him a moment of mercy.
LESSONS
1. Backbiting and the breaking of promises are as great sins in the Sight of Allah as lying and physical assault are. So even if your Muslim brother or sister had done some evil, to speak about his evil to other people for no reason is as great a sin as attacking him or her with a knife.
2. The key to making it through this life is patience and the key to patience is our relationship with Allah. Islam is nothing but our relationship with God. This Deen is nothing but our quest to know our Lord and our quest to come closer to Him (swt) in everything that we do. This remembrance is what will help us to make it through this life and all of the trials that this life contains.
3. Never give up on your prayers. Never stop making dua if a response does not come immediately nor can we question as to why the response is not coming. We have to keep praying to Allah and know that He (swt) hears our prayer. We have to realize that He (swt) loves us and that He (swt) has a Wisdom in not responding immediately. The moment that we give up on our prayer, the moment that we question as to why a response is not coming, that is when we may have destroyed our prayer.
4. Yaqoob (AS) ends his prayer to bring back his children by saying “surely He is the Knowing and the Wise”. Here he reminds himself of these two Names of his Lord. Allah Knows every single thing with the most perfect and complete of Knowledge, and He has the most perfect Wisdom. So whenever you make dua to Allah then remember these two Names. Because Allah Knows how desperate we are in need of what we are asking for. Allah knows our need more than we ourselves know it. He is also Wise in that He Knows when is the best time for Him to give us what we are asking for. Remember that in justice and in fairness, if you were in any way deserving of what you are asking for, and if what you are asking for is truly what is best for you then In sha Allah you will get it. But you will get it when Allah Sees it fit for you to have it. Allah Knows and we do not know, Allah is Wise and we are not. May Allah help us to realize this! May He help us to always remember these Names of His (SWT) whenever we call out to Him.
5. Those who are close to Allah are the most severely tried by Him (swt). So if you are facing any trial in your life then take glad tidings at the fact that this very well could mean that Allah is pleased with you. Allah wants to bring you closer to Him (swt) through that trial. Do not necessarily think that it is because you are evil or because of a sin that you did that this trial has befallen you. Look at Yaqoob (AS). He was a prophet of Allah. That means that he did not commit any sins. Still a calamity this great befell him. So do not ever think that your difficulties and your pain are because of your sins. It may well be that Allah wants to raise you in rank and bring you closer to Him (swt). Just as you console yourself by reminding yourself of how others like you have gone through such trials, you must also be grateful to Allah (swt) that He (swt) has not given you a trial so severe like He (swt) gave to Yaqoob (AS). Men are supposed to be emotionally stronger than women and children. Yaqoob (AS) was not only a man, but he was also a prophet and the head of his family. So without a doubt, he was strong emotionally. How great then must have been his sorrow for him to cry like this? Of all of the trials and difficulties that Allah (swt) has given you, has He (swt) ever given you a calamity that has made you cry? Even when you have
cried, have you cried like Ya'qoob? If only we compare the difficulties that we are facing to what Ya'qoob (AS) had to face, then we will see that what we are going through is nothing. So you should be thankful to Allah (swt) that He (swt) did not give you a trial as great as this.