قالَ إِنَّما أَشكو بَثّي وَحُزني إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَعلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ ما لا تَعلَمونَ

He said: ‘I complain of my anguish and grief only to Allah. I know from Allah what you do not know.’

EXEGESIS

Bathth (anguish) is derived from the root verb baththa which denotes scattering, dispersion, or spilling out (such as seeds, tears, or emotions), like in the verse, [He] created you from a single soul, and created its mate from it, and, from the two of them, scattered (baththa) numerous men and women (4:1). In emotional contexts, it implies irrepressible anguish and a grief so overwhelming that it ‘spills over’ uncontrollably.[1]

EXPOSITION

I complain of my anguish and grief only to Allah: Prophet Jacob’s (a) complaints were not directed to his sons or meant to criticise them – even though their guilt made them interpret it in that way – but Prophet Jacob (a) was only expressing his grief over losing his beloved Joseph (a), to his true beloved, God.

Significantly, there is a difference between complaining to Allah (ilā allāh) as opposed to complaining about God (ʿan allāh). When one complains about God, it is a displeasure with divine decree and attributing things such as injustice, evil, cruelty, and so on to Him – exalted is He above such things. However, complaining to God is in reality supplication (duʿāʾ). It is to tell Him about the difficulty one is facing in hopes that He will bestow patience on His servant and decree a release from that difficulty. The former act is a form of disbelief, as Prophet Jacob (a) points out in the next verse, whilst the latter is laudable and a quality of the faithful.

I know from Allah what you do not know: different meanings have been suggested for this, including:

1. That the dream of Prophet Joseph (a) was a divine portent which would come true.[2]
2. The true extent of God’s immense mercy, which cannot allow me to doubt His kindness.[3]
3. That Prophet Joseph (a) was still alive.[4] In this sense also many reports are mentioned that Prophet Jacob (a) had received some divine revelation in this regard. See the next section.

None of these are wrong or mutually exclusive and we can consider them all to be aspects of what Prophet Jacob (a) knew.

This statement brings up the question that if Prophet Jacob (a) knew that Prophet Joseph (a) was not dead, why was he so sad? It is said this is because he missed him and was saddened by their separation,[5] or because he was worried of the difficulties that Prophet Joseph (a) might be going through.[6]

We may recognise that even though Prophet Joseph (a) was alive, both these causes were present in Prophet Jacob’s (a) separation from Prophet Joseph (a); he both missed Prophet Joseph (a) and longed to see him and was worried that he was not there to support him in times of difficulty. As we discussed in verse 84, it is completely permissible and understandable that a believer be saddened when losing loved ones, whether to death, or as in this case, separation.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Ḥibbān ibn Abī Jabalah, that the Prophet was asked about [the graceful patience in] Yet [my course is] graceful patience (verse 83), and he said: ‘Patience that is without any complaint.’[7]

Note: ‘Without complaint’ here refers to complaint about God, as we explained.

[1] Baghawi, 2/509; Muhit, 6/315.
[2] Tibyan, 6/184; Tabrisi, 5/395. This opinion is attributed to Ibn Abbas.
[3] Tibyan, 6/184; Zamakhshari, 2/499. This opinion is attributed to Qatādah.
[4] Qurtubi, 9/251.
[5] Related in Alusi, 6/392.
[6] Alusi, 6/392.
[7] Tabari, 12/99. See also Razi, 18/431.