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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Yusuf 12:97

Word by word

قَالُوا۟ يَـٰٓأَبَانَا ٱسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا خَـٰطِـِٔينَ

They said, "O our father, ask for us forgiveness of our sins; indeed, we have been sinners."

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Now, when the truth of the matter became clear, the brothers of Yusuf asked for the forgiveness of their father in a spiritually endearing style by saying: قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ‌ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ : 'Our father, pray to Allah to forgive us our sins. Surely, we have been wrong - 97.' Thus, it is obvious that a person who prays to Allah Ta` ala for the forgiveness of their sins would do that himself too.

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.