قالَ سَوفَ أَستَغفِرُ لَكُم رَبّي ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفورُ الرَّحيمُ
He said: ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you; indeed He is the all-forgiving, the all-merciful.’
EXPOSITION
He said: ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you’: Prophet Jacob (a) said this to his sons, the purport of which is that he has forgiven them himself. However, why does he indicate that he shall seek forgiveness for them in the future instead of immediately doing that, by saying for example ‘may God forgive you’? Whereas Prophet Joseph (a) immediately remarks, Allah will forgive you (verse 92)? One may say that Prophet Jacob (a) wished to delay his seeking of forgiveness for them until they had fulfilled Prophet Joseph’s (a) vision and prostrated before him and truly humbled themselves before God.
Indeed He is the all-forgiving, the all-merciful: Prophet Jacob (a) assures his sons that God will forgive the sins of the one who sincerely repents, no matter how serious and grave the sin.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It is reported from the Prophet,[1] Imam al-Bāqir (a),[2] Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), and Ibn Abbas,[3] that Prophet Jacob (a) deliberately postponed seeking forgiveness for his sons until the sacred time of Friday, either at its eve (Thursday night) or at dawn. Parallel reports from early exegetes further specify that he delayed his supplication until the pre-dawn hours (saḥar) or during his nighttime prayers.[4] These narrations collectively underscore the spiritual significance of divinely favoured moments – particularly Thursday evenings, Friday dawns, and the depths of the night – as times when supplications are most potent and divine mercy is most accessible. By specifying certain times and places to be especially blessed, God further enables His servants to be motivated to seek His proximity.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Jubbāʾī claimed that the sons had asked their father to constantly seek forgiveness for them and Prophet Jacob (a) agreed by saying I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you.[5]
Tabatabai says Prophet Jacob (a) delays the seeking of forgiveness for them because he wished to first see Prophet Joseph (a) and only after that, when the weight had fully been lifted from his heart, would he seek forgiveness for them.[6]
Makārim Shīrāzī says that when Prophet Joseph (a) said Allah will forgive you (verse 92), it is because he was speaking of the possibility of this sin being forgiven, whereas when Prophet Jacob (a) says I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you, he is speaking about what needs to be done in order for the sin to be forgiven.[7]
[1] Thalabi, 5/257
[2] Tibyan, 6/195.
[3] Ṭabrisī says it is reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) and Ibn Abbas that he delayed it until the dawn of Friday (Tabrisi 5/403).
[4] Tabari, 13/42.
[5] Tibyan, 6/195.
[6] Mizan, 11/245.
[7] Nemuneh, 10/75.