وَتَوَلّىٰ عَنهُم وَقالَ يا أَسَفىٰ عَلىٰ يوسُفَ وَابيَضَّت عَيناهُ مِنَ الحُزنِ فَهُوَ كَظيمٌ

And he turned away from them and said: ‘Alas for Joseph!’ His eyes turned white with grief, and he choked with suppressed agony.

EXEGESIS

Yā asafā (alas): according to Rāghib, asaf refers to both grief and anger combined, though each may be referred to separately as asaf. Its essential reality is the boiling of the heart’s blood in desire for vengeance. When directed toward someone below oneself, it expands and becomes anger. When directed toward someone above oneself, it contracts and becomes sadness.^[1] However, here it implies deep grief only.^[2] The yā in the phrase is the ḥarf al-nidā՚ used to call out to someone. If we wished to translate yā, then yā asafā could be rendered into English as ‘O woe!’ or something to that effect.

Kaẓīm (choked with suppressed agony) is the emphatic active participle of kaẓm. Kaẓīm is the one who keeps their anger hidden in their heart and does not reveal it to others in a way that is impermissible,[3] like in the verse, and those who suppress (kāẓimīn) their anger (3:134). This is why Imam Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar (a) was given the epithet al-Kāẓim, because he patiently endured all the difficulties he faced during his life.[4]

EXPOSITION

It is not clear if what Prophet Jacob (a) said here is a continuation of their earlier conversation or something that was said later. The following verses, especially verse 88, suggests that some time had passed before the brothers undertook another journey to Egypt. In this case, tawallā ʿanhum (he turned away from them) can be understood as ‘he withdrew from them’, meaning Prophet Jacob (a) distanced himself from his sons in his sorrow. This view would also allow us to understand that His eyes turned white with grief was something that occurred gradually and not in a short instant.

And he turned away from them and said: ‘Alas for Joseph!’: the losses of Benjamin and Reuben reminded Prophet Jacob (a) of how he had lost Prophet Joseph (a), and he could not help but let out a wail of grief. As we discussed, all these events were planned to be reminders to the brothers about what they had done to Prophet Joseph (a) in his childhood. A sign of the plan working was now in the deeply buried wound it had exposed in Prophet Jacob’s (a) heart, who was still upset at what his sons had done. Seeing their father moved so deeply should have shaken them to their core, but as the next verse reveals, some of them still remained indignant.

His eyes turned white with grief: ibyaḍḍat ʿaynāhu literally means ‘his eyes turned white’, and intends that his eyes went blind,[5] a blindness which resulted in the discolouration of his eyes. It is not clear if this was an impairment of his vision or total blindness. What is obvious is that it does not intend simply a change in colour of his iris or pupil as is obvious from the later verse, and he regained his sight (verse 96). We of course do not know what specific problem he developed and speculating about it is perhaps unwise, but for the sake of sating the curiosity of some we may for example point out how stress has been linked in several studies as a trigger for glaucoma symptoms (which in addition to vision loss also results in whitening of the eyes).[6]

And he choked with suppressed agony: there was much that Prophet Jacob (a) perhaps wished to say about how his sons had disappointed and wounded him deeply with their actions, but he kept his thoughts and words to himself. The prophets of God are not emotionless beings but are humans like the rest of us. However, they do not let these emotions take control of them and lead them to sinful acts.

The question that is asked here is: how was it possible that a prophet of God should be so overcome with grief that he should go blind? As we said, the prophets of God have emotions like other human beings. One cannot stop oneself from feeling emotions – and sometimes it may even be better and healthier to express them. What one can control is avoiding sinful and prohibited expressions of emotion. Prophet Muhammad (s) cried for his son Ibrāhīm, and when he was asked why, he famously replied: ‘The heart is filled with sorrow, and the eyes with tears, yet we do not say that which angers the Lord, and we indeed grieve for you, O Ibrāhīm.’[7]

By this time Prophet Jacob (a) was an old man and it is not uncommon for those of advanced age to lose their eyesight. It is also known that stress and strong emotions can often trigger physiological symptoms. As such, it is not incredulous at all that Prophet Jacob (a) should have lost his eyesight as a result of grieving intensely for Prophet Joseph (a). Importantly, the verse attributes his loss of eyesight to the emotion of grief, and not to the physical act of crying, as argued by some exegetes.

In conclusion, the verse is clear Quranic evidence that expressions of sorrow and grief are allowed and are not in contradiction with graceful patience. Nevertheless, a believer should always seek to control himself and avoid allowing sorrow, grief, anger or other emotions from dragging him to prohibited acts.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Usāmah ibn Zayd, that one day the son of one of Prophet Muhammad’s (s) daughters was brought to him who was terminally ill and breathing his last breaths. The Prophet placed the child on his lap while his breaths were rattling as [if his chest was] a small waterskin. Tears flowed from the Prophet’s eyes. Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah asked: ‘O Messenger of God, what is this?’ He replied: ‘This is mercy that God has placed in whomever He wills of His servants. And God only shows mercy to His merciful servants.’[8]

Note: Empathy and care are not weaknesses or flaws, but virtuous qualities that should be cultivated.

2. From ʿĪsā ibn Abī Manṣūr, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘The sigh of the one distressed for our sake and the one grieved due to the oppression against us is [like] glorification [of God], and his sorrow for our state of affairs is [like] worship.’[9]

Note: Grief is not only permissible, sometimes it may be necessary. Grief for injustices is something that every Muslim should feel. Indifference towards the oppression of the believers, especially the holy household of the Prophet, is a sign of disbelief and hypocrisy.

3. From ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Sinān, from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that Prophet Jesus (a) used to say: ‘One whose worries increase, his body will fall ill.’[10]

Note: The link between stress and health has been known for a long time.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Zamakhsharī asks: why did Prophet Jacob (a) loudly express his grief over Prophet Joseph (a) and not his other two sons? Should the more recent losses not have been more painful as their wounds were fresh? He answers this by saying that the losses of his other two sons were in fact the result of losing Prophet Joseph (a).[11] Rāzī adds that often new sorrow will remind one of old sorrows and bring them back to the surface.[12] Additionally, there is no problem in saying that Prophet Joseph (a) had a special place in his heart.

Rāzī raises the question: how can a person be so deeply in love with their son when the heart is meant to be wholly devoted to God? If one’s heart is filled with love for another, can it truly be filled with love for the divine? In response, he explains that such profound emotional trials – like the love for a child – are inevitable, and they ultimately compel the believer to turn to God in earnest supplication. Thus, rather than diverting the heart from God, these experiences purify and direct one’s love entirely toward Him.[13] Moreover, expressing grief over separation from a beloved family member does not contradict complete devotion to God. The examples of Prophet Muhammad (s), as well as the prophets Noah (a) and Abraham (a) in the Quran, demonstrate that the most devoted believers cherished their children deeply. Their love for their offspring did not diminish their absolute prioritisation of God or their unwavering dedication to Him.

[1] Raghib, p. 75.
[2] Tibyan, 6/182.
[3] Tibyan, 6/182.
[4] Tabrisi, 5/394.
[5] Tibyan, 6/182.
[6] See for example Reena Mukama, “Surprising Links Between Stress and the Eyes”, in American Academy of Ophthalmology, accessed at: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/anxiety-stress-dry-eye-glaucoma-iop; Tanuj Dada et al. “Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Intraocular Pressure, Lowers Stress Biomarkers and Modulates Gene Expression in Glaucoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial” in Journal of Glaucoma 27(12) (December 2018),pp. 1061-1067, DOI: 10.1097/IJG.000000000000108, accessed at: https://journals.lww.com/glaucomajournal/abstract/2018/12000/mindfulness_meditation_reduces_intraocular.5.aspx; B G Shily, “Psychophysiological Stress, Elevated Intraocular Pressure, and Acute Closed-Angle Glaucoma” in Optometry and Vision Science, 64(11), (November, 1987), pp. 866-870, accessed at: https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/abstract/1987/11000/Psychophysiological_Stress,_Elevated_Intraocular.11.aspx; K Gillmann, K Hoskens & K Mansouri, “Acute emotional stress as a trigger for intraocular pressure elevation in Glaucoma” in BMC Ophthalmol 19, 69 (2019), pp, 1-6, accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-019-1075-4.
[7] Zamakhshari, 2/497-498. See also Ahkam, 3/1104; Qurtubi, 9/248-249. For the report see also Kafi, 3/262-263; Wasail, 3/280, h. 3651; Nur, 2/453; Ahmad, 3/194; Bukhari, 2/84; Muslim, 7/76; Ibn Majah, 1/506, h. 1589; Abu Dawud, 2/64, h. 3126.
[8] Bukhari, 2/80; Bihar, 79/91; Nasai.K, 1/613, h. 1995; Alusi, 7/39.
[9] Kafi, 2/226; Wasail, 16/249-250, h. 21485; Amali.M, p. 338; Amali.T, p. 115.
[10] Amali.S, p. 636.
[11] Zamakhshari, 2/497.
[12] Razi, 18/496-497.
[13] Razi, 18/502.