Story Of Prophet Yusuf ✔

PART 36:MERCY OF ALLAH IS NEAR [Surah Yusuf 12: 85-87]

85. They said “By Allah, you will not stop remembering Yusuf until you become fatally ill (haradan), or you become of those destroyed”.

86. He said “I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah what you do not know”.

87. “O my sons, go and search diligently for Yusuf and his brother, and do not give up on the Mercy of Allah. Surely no one gives up on the Mercy of Allah except the disbelieving people.”

Although verse 85 seems to take place soon after what had happened in the previous verse, but most likely it takes place quite sometime after the events in the previous verse. It must have been weeks if not months that had passed since the brothers returned with the terrible news. In this time period, the grief of Ya'qoob (AS) only continued to grow and grow. His family could see his situation deteriorating. They could see him becoming weaker and weaker. They can see that the main source of his grief is Yusuf (AS) and this grief is killing him. It is the kind of weakness that leaves one especially vulnerable to disease and illness. The diseases and illnesses that can be fatal.  Not only was he struck with grief at the loss of Yusuf (AS) but this grief consumed him so much that it even made him physically ill as well. That is why they say to him that he will become extremely weak and emancipated or he will be destroyed. In other words, he will be dead.

Ya'qoob (AS) said to them “I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah”. It means that he did not complain to anyone else, even a little bit, of all of his pain and sorrow. Rather he complained and cried only and exclusively to Allah. He tells them that he is not complaining of his pain and sorrow to them. He is not hurting them with his grief. Rather he is only complaining to his Lord. So why then could they not let him be? They could not understand his pain. They could not understand his loss. But most of all they could not understand the special relationship that he had with Allah (swt).

Finally, he says that he knew from Allah something that the others did not know. What was it that he knew? He knew that Yusuf (AS) was still alive. How did he know? It was from the dream that Yusuf had told him about. Through this dream, he (AS) knew that his son was still alive. If Ya'qoob (AS) knew for certain that Yusuf (AS) had passed away, like the others in his family believed, then he would not have been so sad because then he would know that his son is with Allah. But rather he knew that Yusuf (AS) was still alive, but he did not know where he was. He wondered if he would ever see Yusuf again. That was what made him sad. It was this longing. It was this not knowing where Yusuf was and not knowing when and if they would be reunited. So the family of Ya'qoob (AS) was telling him to let Yusuf (AS) go. To forget the past and move on. But Ya'qoob (AS) knew what they did not know. In his sadness and in his grief, he still had hope.

Ya'qoob (AS) then tells his children to go and search diligently for Yusuf (AS) and his brother. So it was not a trivial search that he was asking of them. Rather he was telling them to exhaust all of their efforts in their search. They should search everywhere. They should inquire of everyone. They should leave no stone unturned. They should do everything in their power to find Yusuf (AS) and Binyamin, and to bring them back. This was the kind of search that Ya'qoob (AS) was requesting of the brothers. Now Ya'qoob (AS) knew that Binyamin was in Egypt, so he suggests to his children to start the search there. Not only that but we can also see from here that he knew that Yusuf (AS) was in Egypt as well. He knew that Yusuf (AS) and Binyamin were close together. This is why he tells them to search diligently for Yusuf and his brother in Egypt.

When these brothers heard their father telling them to look for Yusuf (AS), what do you think came to their minds. They probably thought that their father was senile. How could Yusuf (AS) still be alive after all of these years they asked themselves? They knew what they did to Yusuf (AS). They knew that there was only a small chance that the boy survived the ordeal at the well. Even if he had somehow survived the well, they knew that then he must have been taken as a slave. They knew that his chances of surviving slavery were even slimmer when one considers how slaves were treated in those days. So these brothers thought that there was no way possible for Yusuf (AS) to still be alive. Ya'qoob (AS) knew that they would think in this way. He knew them better than they knew themselves. That is why he tells them here not to give up on the Mercy of Allah (swt). They have to believe that somehow through the Mercy of Allah (swt) that their brother is still alive.

The word for “Mercy” that Allah uses here gives the meaning of something constricted being relieved. It gives the meaning of a pain that is being lifted. So it is not just any kind of mercy, but it is a mercy that relieves a pain. How great was the pain that Ya'qoob (AS) was feeling because of the loss of his son? For how long did he had to bear this pain? Yet despite the severity of this pain and despite the length of time for which he had to endure it, Ya'qoob (AS) did not give up on the Mercy of his Lord. He still had a hope that the Mercy of his Lord would come and relieve him of this pain.

Then Allah reminds us that only the people who reject Allah give up on His (swt)’s Mercy. Only those who are heedless of Allah give up on His Mercy. But as for the people who know their Lord, the ones who submit to Him,  how can they ever give up on His Mercy? If you know that there is this Being, Who is Mercy by His very Essence, how then can you ever give up on that Mercy coming to you? As long as you call upon Him, as long as you turn to Him, then you are enveloped in His Mercy.

LESSONS

1. We must divert our complaints of sorrows and our difficulties to Allah. In the moments of sadness and sorrow, we should not forget about Him. Rather we should strive to remember Him even more during such times of pain and hardship. We have to remind ourselves that He Knows us more than we know ourselves. He (swt) Knows our pain and our suffering more than we ourselves know it. So if you feel some pain right now; you should know that your Lord Knows more about this pain than even you do. Allah is the only One Who can remove your pain from you. So turn to Him. Cry out to Him. Complain to your Lord for your sorrows and pain. Remember that Allah loves to hear you call out to Him in times of desperation and need. When you call out to Him, you know that He is listening. When you call out to Him, then you can always keep a hope that His Mercy is near.

2. When we seek something, then we must seek it to the best of our ability. We cannot be lazy or slothful. On the contrary, we must exert all of our efforts to find what we are seeking. This was how Ya'qoob (AS) commanded his children to search for their brothers. They had to carry out the search to the best of their ability. We too search for many things in the life of this world. We search for what is the best way to solve the problems that we have in life. We search for what is the most pleasing of actions to Allah at this moment of our lives. In all of these searches, we have to search to the best of our ability. If we keep the Pleasure of Allah as the intention behind our search, then we can have a great hope that our Lord will help us find what we are looking for.

3. We must never give up on the Mercy of Allah. In fact, the scholars say that it is among the greatest of sins to ever give up on the Mercy of Allah. No matter how many sins you may have done, to give up on the Mercy of Allah, to think that Allah will never forgive you is, in fact, a greater sin than any sin you may have done. Similarly, we must also hope for His Mercy to relieve us of any difficulty that we may be suffering from. As I mentioned this word gives the meaning of a constriction that is eased or a wound that is healed. So no matter what pain we may be feeling, no matter what difficulty we may be going through, we must keep a hope that the Mercy of Allah will come and relieve us. All that we have to do is keep asking Him (swt) without ever giving up.