Tafsir

Ya`qub finds the Scent of Yusuf in his Shirt!

Yusuf said, `Take this shirt of mine, فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَى وَجْهِ أَبِى يَأْتِ بَصِيرًا(and cast it over the face of my father, his vision will return),' because Ya`qub had lost his sight from excessive crying, وَأْتُونِى بِأَهْلِكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ(and bring to me all your family.) all the children of Ya`qub. وَلَمَّا فَصَلَتِ الْعِيرُ(And when the caravan departed) from Egypt, قَالَ أَبُوهُمْ(their father said...), Ya`qub, peace be upon him, said to the children who remained with him, إِنِّى لأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ`(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf, if only you think me not senile.), except that you might think me senile because of old age.' `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the caravan departed from Egypt, a wind started blowing and brought the scent of Yusuf's shirt to Ya`qub.

He said, إِنِّى لأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf , if only you think me not senile.) He found his scent from a distance of eight days away!" Similar was also reported through Sufyan Ath-Thawri and Shu`bah and others reported it from Abu Sinan. Ya`qub said to them, لَوْلاَ أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ(if only you think me not senile.) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ata, Qatadah and Sa'id bin Jubayr commented, "If only you think me not a fool!" Mujahid and Al-Hasan said that it means, "If only you think me not old." Their answer to him was, إِنَّكَ لَفِى ضَلَـلِكَ الْقَدِيمِ(Certainly, you are in your old Dalal.) meaning, `in your old error,' according to Ibn `Abbas. Qatadah commented, "They meant that, `because of your love for Yusuf you will never forget him.' So they uttered a harsh word to their father that they should never have uttered to him, nor to a Prophet of Allah." Similar was said by As-Suddi and others.