قالَ بَل سَوَّلَت لَكُم أَنفُسُكُم أَمرًا ۖ فَصَبرٌ جَميلٌ ۖ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَأتِيَني بِهِم جَميعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ العَليمُ الحَكيمُ
He said: ‘Rather, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you. Yet [my course is] graceful patience! Maybe Allah will bring them all [back] to me. Indeed, He is the all-knowing, the all-wise.’
EXEGESIS
Sawwalat (seem decorous) is a feminine past tense verb from taswīl which fundamentally conveys the idea of ‘making something appear desirable or plausible’ often with a negative connotation of self-deception or misleading persuasion.[1] In this verse, sawwalat implies that the brothers’ own souls distorted their judgement, beautifying the act of abandoning Benjamin (or earlier, betraying Prophet Joseph (a)) as justified. Unlike external deception (for example by Satan), taswīl highlights moral self-corruption, where desires override conscience.
Ṣabrun jamīl (graceful patience) can mean ‘my patience will be a graceful one (ṣabrī jamīlun)’,[2] yet it is better to understand it as ‘graceful patience is something that is required and desired of me now (amrī ṣabrun jamīl[3]/ṣabrun jamīlun awlā bī)’.[4]
EXPOSITION
The Quran once again skilfully weaves the narrative to connect two events separated by time and distance. While the previous verses were relating what the eldest of Prophet Jacob’s (a) sons advised his brothers to say to their father when returning to him, we are now immediately transported to Prophet Jacob’s (a) reply, without the need for any repetition or intermission. We may imagine Prophet Jacob’s (a) surprise when he sees that his sons returned with two of them missing. They then explained to him what had happened as their eldest had instructed.
He said: ‘Rather, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you. Yet [my course is] graceful patience!’: this reply of Prophet Jacob (a) is exactly what he told his sons when they claimed Prophet Joseph (a) had been eaten by a wolf. This yet again serves to highlight how these events were meant to remind Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers of what they had done so many years ago.[5] In any case, Prophet Jacob (a) did not accept their words at face value. Though they may have been truthful in part, he sensed they concealed deeper resentments and misjudgements within their hearts, and that unspoken grievances coloured their words and actions that were made decorous to them by their lower selves.
In other words, Prophet Jacob (a) is declaring that he does not believe his sons are giving him the full story about what happened, nor were they faultless in their actions, and that he knew they were harbouring ill feelings towards Benjamin, just like they had harboured against Joseph (a).[6] He was of course correct on all counts. The brothers surely left out some details from their recounting of events, such as when they told Prophet Joseph (a), If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before (verse 77), a statement which also was evidence of them harbouring jealous feelings towards Benjamin.
Prophet Jacob’s (a) patience is a reminder to all believers who face hardships that even losing one’s children should not make one lose faith in God nor despair of His mercy.[7] Even though he was a prophet, it does not mean that he knew all hidden things. Indeed, prophets are tested even more than the rest of us, and if they knew the outcome of things with certainty then their patience would not be truly tested. Hence, when Prophet Jacob (a) declares that his recourse is graceful patience, he is not just speaking platitudes.
Maybe Allah will bring them all [back] to me: despite his distrust towards his sons’ intentions, Prophet Jacob (a) never wavered in his trust in God. He placed his hope in Him – the one upon whom all hopes depend – praying not only for Benjamin’s return, but for the restoration of all his missing sons. Notably, his use of the plural bihim (them) refers to all three: Prophet Joseph (a), Benjamin, and Reuben (who had remained in Egypt to aid Benjamin). This reveals Prophet Jacob’s (a) unshaken conviction that Joseph (a) was still alive and that divine decree would one day reunite them. Yet his hope ran deeper still by the turn of events. He perceived these trials as signs from God, affirming the fulfilment of Prophet Joseph’s (a) prophetic dream, and the certainty of their reunion. Thus, even in despair, his faith tempered his grief with reliance on God’s plan and transformed it into hope.
Indeed, He is the all-knowing, the all-wise: He knows what really happened and how much I miss my children, and He has a wise plan for everything in His creation.[8]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Tabatabai argues that Prophet Jacob (a) did not repudiate what his sons told him because he would not reject something without investigation into the matter. He asserts that Prophet Jacob (a) stated, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you because the arrest of Prophet Joseph’s (a) brother stemmed from the same course of events as Prophet Joseph’s (a) own ordeal, which itself occurred due to the self-deception and misguidance of his brothers.[9]
[1] Tibyan, 6/112.
[2] Tabari, 12/98.
[3] See Zamakhshari, 2/451.
[4] Qurtubi, 9/151.
[5] See the Topical Article under verse 58. For the discussion on the meaning of these statements see the commentary on verse 18.
[6] See Tabrisi, 5/394; Razi, 18/495; Nemuneh, 10/52; Fadlallah, 12/254; Tantawi, 7/405.
[7] See Qurtubi, 9/247.
[8] See Tibyan, 6/181; Tabari, 13/25-26.
[9] Mizan, 11/231.