Yusuf (Joseph)
Verse 93
Table of Contents
93. “Go with this shirt of mine and lay it on my father’s face, he will (again) be able to see; and bring me your family all together.”
This shirt has been mentioned in several occurrences of the story of Hadrat Yusuf.
A - At first the brothers had stained the shirt of Yusuf with fake blood and took it to his father, claiming that the wolf had eaten him.1
B - A shirt was torn from the back and was instrumental in identifying the offender.2
C - A shirt caused Ya‘qub to regain his eyesight.
The verse says:
“Go with this shirt of mine and lay it on my father’s face, he will (again) be able to see; and bring me your family all together.”
We see that Yusuf’s shirt on the face of a blind man can make him regain his sight, therefore, one can hope to be cured by whatever is in contact with the men of Allah, such as their mausoleums, courtyards, houses, doors, the earth, the walls, clothing, and anything else.
We have already been covering the stages in which Yusuf was recognized, their apologies to him, the pardon he granted and his request for Divine forgiveness; but the father’s blindness, which had been a clue to the brothers’ crime, was still outstanding. We have the solution to this problem in this verse.
Incidentally, the traditions say that Yusuf said:
“The person who takes my shirt to my father must be the same one who had taken my blood stained shirt to him, so that he may rejoice after having been saddened by it.”
The traditions say that Yusuf seated all his brothers next to him every day and night for their meals and they always felt ashamed. So they sent him a message saying that they wanted to have their meals separately since looking at his face made them feel ashamed.
Yusuf answered:
“I take pride in sitting next to you and having my meals with you.”
One could only say: ‘Allah is the greatest’ for such a magnitude of spirit.
Explanations
1. Taking recourse to objects, which are somehow associated with men of Allah, is permitted. Yusuf’s shirt, for example, makes a blind man regain his eyesight.
2. He who fights against his carnal desires and passions, even his clothing becomes sacrosanct and sanctified.
3. There is no age limit for performing miracles and wonder workings by a saint.
4. Yusuf was knowledgeable about the invisible world, otherwise, how could he know that the shirt could cure his father’s blindness?
5. Affluent children ought to provide for their less well to do relatives especially their elderly parents.
6. Social conditions leave their impact on the performance of one’s duties.
7. One must take care of one’s family, in Yusuf’s case, he had to look after his family in order for them to come to Egypt. Attending to one’s relatives is a necessity once one fully observes the rights of others.
8. Migration and changing one’s residence have many effects, one of which is that it removes sad and bitter memories.