Yusuf · Makki · ayah 97 of 111

Yusuf 12:97

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."”

Saheeh International

Essence

The two words the brothers once used to deceive their father now open their confession: O our father, ask forgiveness for us.

A reflection

Forgiven by Yusuf was not the end

Most readers feel the brothers' story close at no blame on you today. Yusuf forgave them. The reconciliation has happened. So this ayah can read like an afterthought, a polite formality on the way home.

It is not. The brothers had wronged more than one person. They had thrown Yusuf into a well. And separately, for decades, they had let their father grieve over a lie. Yusuf's forgiveness covered what was done to Yusuf. It could not reach what was done to Ya'qub.

A legal commentary makes the point directly. They asked him for forgiveness because they had caused him grief, and that wrong could not be lifted except by his own release. It then cites Sahih al-Bukhari. Whoever has wronged another, in his honour or in anything, let him seek release from him today. Do it before the day when there is no money to pay with, only good deeds taken and bad deeds handed over.

That is uncomfortable for anyone who has tidied up a wrong with one person and moved on. A man confesses to his sister that he lied about their late mother's jewellery, and she forgives him. It does not occur to him that their aunt, whom he blamed at the time, is also owed something. Years later the aunt still believes the story he told.

The brothers do not make that mistake. Fresh from one forgiveness, they go straight to the other person they wronged. They do not assume one release covers both.

A wrong has as many owners as it has victims. This ayah is the brothers going back for the second.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.