Yusuf · Makki · ayah 98 of 111

Yusuf 12:98

قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّىٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“He said, "I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Ya'qub promises to seek forgiveness for his sons later, and the later he chose was the hour when Allah asks who is seeking it.

A reflection

He alone is the Forgiving

The man most wronged by these sons is now asked to forgive them. And he does something that quietly takes the matter out of his own hands. I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

The Arabic puts a pronoun of emphasis into that last clause. Innahu huwa: indeed He, He alone. A narration-based commentary explains the two names. He is the One who covers the sins of those who turn back to Him. He is merciful to them, so as not to punish them after their repentance.

Ya'qub has every human right to make his sons wait on his mood. He could have dispensed forgiveness in instalments, as so many wronged people do. Instead he says, in effect: forgiveness is not mine to ration. It belongs to the One who alone is the Forgiving.

That is a correction for the ego. We often hold forgiveness like a possession. A manager tells an employee: I will forgive you this once, but I will not forget. A brother says: we are fine, but he knows where he stands. The power to release becomes a kind of leverage, held over someone indefinitely.

Nothing in Allah's names is for His benefit. He is not flattered by being called Forgiving. The names are signposts for us. They tell a guilty person where to go.

Ya'qub points his sons straight at the sign. He does not stand in front of it. He steps aside, takes his sons by the hand, and says: He is the One.

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.