they carried it out, whereupon their father granted the very request they had made, saying, “I shall certainly seek forgiveness for you from my Lord; indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

Ibn Masʿūd, Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, ʿAmr ibn Qays, Ibn Jurayj, and others said: He postponed that supplication until the pre-dawn hours (suḥūr).

Ibn Jarīr reported: Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, Ibn Idrīs narrated to us, I heard ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq recount from Muḥārib ibn Dithār, who said: “An uncle of mine used to frequent the mosque. He once heard someone saying, ‘O Allah, You called me and I responded; You commanded me and I obeyed; now, in this pre-dawn hour, forgive me.’ He listened closely and discovered that the voice came from the house of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd. When he asked Ibn Masʿūd about it, the latter said, ‘Jacob deferred his sons to the time of suḥūr when he declared, “I shall certainly seek forgiveness for you from my Lord.”’”

Allah, exalted is He, has said: “and those who seek forgiveness before dawn” (Āl ʿImrān 17).

It is authentically related in the Ṣaḥīḥ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven and says, ‘Is there anyone who repents so that I may accept his repentance? Is there anyone who asks so that I may give to him? Is there anyone who seeks forgiveness so that I may forgive him?’”

Another report states that Jacob deferred his sons until the night of Friday. Ibn Jarīr said: al-Mathnā related to me, Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Abū Ayyūb al-Dimashqī narrated to us, al-Walīd informed us, from Ibn Jurayj, from ʿAṭāʾ and ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning the words, “I shall certainly seek forgiveness for you from my Lord,” that he said: “—until the night of Friday comes; that is what my brother Jacob said to his sons.” This chain is unfamiliar, and its attribution to the Prophet is open to question; the more likely view is that it is a statement of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him).

“When they entered upon Joseph, he embraced his parents and said, ‘Enter Egypt, Allah willing, in security.’ He seated his parents upon the throne, and they all fell before him in prostration. He said, ‘Father, this is the interpretation of my earlier dream; my Lord has made it come true. He was gracious to me when He freed me from prison and brought you here from the desert after Satan had sown discord between me and my brothers. Truly my Lord is gentle to whom He wills; indeed, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. My Lord, You have granted me some sovereignty and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams. Originator of the heavens and the earth, You are my Guardian in this world and the Hereafter. Cause me to die in a state of submission and join me with the righteous.’” (Yūsuf 99–101)

This passage relates the reunion of loved ones after a lengthy separation that, according to some, lasted eighty years, while others say three—