Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (4/276)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Then, when the bearer of good news arrived, he laid it over his face, and he regained his sight. He said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know from Allah what you do not know?’ They said, ‘Our father, ask forgiveness for our sins; we were indeed at fault.’ He said, ‘I shall ask my Lord to forgive you; He alone is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’” (96–98)

“They said”—that is, his grandchildren—“By Allah, you are still in your former error”: that is, your former mistake of continuing to remember Joseph and being unable to forget him. Error is to depart from the path of what is right. They believed that Joseph had died, and they saw that Jacob remained absorbed in mentioning him.

“Then, when the bearer of good news arrived”: he was the one who brought news of Joseph. Ibn Mas‘ud said, “The bearer of good news arrived ahead of the caravan.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “It was Judah.”

Al-Suddi said that Judah said: (1) “I was the one who took the blood-stained shirt to Jacob and told him that the wolf had eaten Joseph. So today I will take the shirt to him and tell him that his son is alive, gladdening him just as I had grieved him.” (2)

Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Judah carried it and set out barefoot and bareheaded, running, with seven loaves of bread. He had not finished eating them before he reached his father, though the distance was eighty parasangs.”

It was also said that the bearer of good news was Malik ibn Dhu’r.

“He laid it over his face”: that is, the bearer of good news laid Joseph’s shirt over Jacob’s face, “and he regained his sight.” Thus, he regained his sight after having been blind; his strength returned after weakness, his youth after old age, and his joy after sorrow.

He said, “Did I not tell you that I know from Allah what you do not know?”—namely, that Joseph was alive and that Allah would reunite them.

It is related that he said to the bearer of good news, “How did you leave Joseph?” He replied, “He is the king of Egypt.” Jacob said, “What have I to do with kingship? Upon what religion did you leave him?” He replied, “Upon Islam.” He said, “Now the blessing is complete.” (3)

They said, “Our father, ask forgiveness for our sins; we were indeed at fault”: that is, sinful.

He said, “I shall ask my Lord to forgive you.” Most exegetes said that he delayed the supplication until the pre-dawn hours, which is the time when

(1) Omitted from “A.” (2) See Tafsir al-Tabari, 16:259. (3) Ibn al-Jawzi said in Zad al-Masir, 4:286: “It was narrated by Yahya ibn Yaman from Sufyan.” In al-Durr al-Manthur, 4:583, al-Suyuti attributed it to Ibn Abi Hatim, on the authority of al-Hasan, as a mawquf report (stopping with al-Hasan).

﴿فَلَمَّا أَنْ جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ (٩٦) قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ (٩٧) قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ (٩٨) ﴾ . ﴿قَالُوا﴾ يَعْنِي: أَوْلَادَ أَوْلَادِهِ، ﴿تَاللَّهِ إِنَّكَ لَفِي ضَلَالِكَ الْقَدِيمِ﴾ أَيْ: خَطَئِكَ الْقَدِيمِ مِنْ ذِكْرِ يُوسُفَ لَا تَنْسَاهُ، وَالضَّلَالُ هُوَ الذَّهَابُ عَنْ طَرِيقِ الصَّوَابِ، فَإِنَّ عِنْدَهُمْ أَنْ يُوسُفَ قَدْ مَاتَ وَيَرَوْنَ يَعْقُوبَ قَدْ لَهِجَ بِذِكْرِهِ. ﴿فَلَمَّا أَنْ جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ﴾ وَهُوَ الْمُبَشِّرُ عَنْ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْعِيرِ. قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: هُوَ يَهُوذَا. قَالَ [السُّدِّيُّ: قَالَ يَهُوذَا] (١) أَنَا ذَهَبْتُ بِالْقَمِيصِ مُلَطَّخًا بِالدَّمِ إِلَى يَعْقُوبَ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّ يُوسُفَ أَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ، فَأَنَا أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ الْيَوْمَ بِالْقَمِيصِ فَأُخْبِرُهُ أَنَّ وَلَدَهُ حَيٌّ فَأُفْرِحُهُ كَمَا أَحْزَنْتُهُ (٢) . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: حَمَلَهُ يَهُوذَا وَخَرَجَ حَافِيًا حَاسِرًا يَعْدُو وَمَعَهُ سَبْعَةُ أَرْغِفَةٍ لَمْ يَسْتَوْفِ أَكْلَهَا حَتَّى أَتَى أَبَاهُ، وَكَانَتِ الْمَسَافَةُ ثَمَانِينَ فَرْسَخًا. وَقِيلَ: الْبَشِيرُ مَالِكُ بْنُ ذُعْرٍ. ﴿أَلْقَاهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ﴾ يَعْنِي: أَلْقَى الْبَشِيرُ قَمِيصَ يُوسُفَ عَلَى وَجْهِ يَعْقُوبَ، ﴿فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا﴾ فَعَادَ بَصِيرًا بَعْدَمَا كَانَ عَمِيَ وَعَادَتْ إِلَيْهِ قُوَّتُهُ بَعْدَ الضَّعْفِ، وَشَبَابُهُ بَعْدَ الْهَرَمِ وَسُرُورُهُ بَعْدَ الْحُزْنِ. ﴿قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ مِنْ حَيَاةِ يُوسُفَ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا. وَرُوِيَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِلْبَشِيرِ: كَيْفَ تَرَكْتَ يُوسُفَ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ مَلِكُ مِصْرَ، فَقَالَ يَعْقُوبُ: مَا أَصْنَعُ بِالْمُلْكِ عَلَى أَيِّ دِينٍ تَرَكْتَهُ؟ قَالَ: عَلَى دِينِ الْإِسْلَامِ، قَالَ: الْآنَ تَمَّتِ النِّعْمَةُ (٣) . ﴿قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ﴾ مُذْنِبِينَ. ﴿قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّي﴾ قَالَ أَكْثَرُ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ: أَخَّرَ الدُّعَاءَ إِلَى السَّحَرِ، وَهُوَ الْوَقْتُ الَّذِي

(١) ساقط من "أ". (٢) انظر: تفسير الطبري: ١٦ / ٢٥٩. (٣) قال ابن الجوزي في زاد المسير: (٤ / ٢٨٦) : رواه يحيى بن يمان عن سفيان. وعزاه السيوطي في الدر المنثور (٤ / ٥٨٣) لابن أبي حاتم عن الحسن موقوفا عليه.