Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:85
They said, "By Allah, you will not cease remembering Joseph until you become fatally ill or become of those who perish."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: قَالُوا تَاللَّهِ تَفْتَأُ تَذْكُرُ يُوسُفَ حَتَّى تَكُونَ حَرَضًا أَوْ تَكُونَ مِنَ الْهَالِكِينَ (They said: By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf until you are wasted away or are among those who perish) (85)
Abu Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted means: The sons of Yaʿqub, who had returned to him from Egypt, said to him — when he uttered the saying O my grief for Yusuf —: By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
19675 - Muhammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abu ʿAsim related to us, saying: ʿIsa related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid: (tafta'u) — you will not abate in your love for him.
19676 - Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad related to us, saying: Shababa related to us, saying: Warqa related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid, concerning his saying: (tafta'u) — you will not abate in your love for him.
Abu Jaʿfar said: Thus did al-Hasan say in his narration — and this is an error; rather it is: you will not abate in your love for him, you will not cease to remember Yusuf.
19677 - Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Warqa, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid: (They said: By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf) — he said: you will not abate in your love for him.
19678 - Al-Muthanna related to me, saying: Abu Hudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid: (tafta'u) — you will not abate in your love for him.
19679 - [isnād incomplete in the source] — he said: Ishaq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allah related to us, on the authority of Warqa, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid, concerning his saying: (By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf) — he said: you will not cease to remember Yusuf.
19680 - Abu Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakiʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Isra'il, on the authority of Simak, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbas: (They said: By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf) — he said: you will not cease to remember Yusuf; you will not abate in your love for him.
19681 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazid related to us, saying: Saʿid related to us, on the authority of Qatada, concerning his saying: (you will not cease to remember Yusuf) — he said: you will not cease to remember Yusuf.
19682 - Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatada: (you will not cease to remember Yusuf) — he said: you will not cease to remember Yusuf.
The negation la (not) has been omitted from his saying (tafta'u), but it is intended in the sentence; for when an oath is followed by an affirmative statement, no negation accompanies it, as when one says: By Allah, I shall surely come to visit you. And when, after the oath, it concerns a negated statement, it is introduced with ma or with la. Because the position of la was known, it was omitted from the text since the listener already knew the meaning of the sentence. To this usage belongs the saying of Imru'u al-Qays: I said: By Allah, I shall remain seated, even if they cut off my head beside you and my limbs.
His saying: (until you are wasted away (haradan)) — he says: until you are weakened in body and damaged in mind. The root meaning of al-harad is the decay of body and mind through grief or love.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
19683 - Muhammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbas: (until you are wasted away) — total exhaustion through sickness, the worn-out one.
19684 - Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Warqa, on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of Mujahid: (until you are wasted away) — he said: at the point of death.
19685 - Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Fudayl related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujahid: (until you are wasted away) — he said: al-harad is the state just before death.
19686 to 19690 - [similar narrations through various chains on the authority of Mujahid] — similar.
19691 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazid related to us, saying: Saʿid related to us, on the authority of Qatada: (until you are wasted away) — until you are worn out or grown old.
19692 - Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatada: (until you are wasted away) — until you are aged.
19693 - Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Abu Bakr al-Hudhali, on the authority of al-Hasan: (until you are wasted away) — he said: aged.
19694 to 19696 - [various narrations through al-Dahhak] — al-harad is the worn-out case.
19697 - It was related to me from al-Husayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abu Muʿadh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulayman related to us, on the authority of al-Dahhak: it is the worn-out, decayed case.
19698 - Ibn Wakiʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbat, on the authority of al-Suddi: (until you are wasted away) — worn out.
19699 - Ibn Humayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Ishaq: When Yaʿqub remembered Yusuf, they said — his sons who were with him, out of ignorance and injustice —: (By Allah, you will not cease to remember Yusuf until you are wasted away) — that is, until you have no more reason — (or are among those who perish).
19700 - Yunus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his saying: al-harad is the one who has been reduced to the most contemptible old age so that he has no reason left, or he dies before that time.
His saying: (or are among those who perish) — he says: or among those who have died by death.
19701 to 19708 - [various narrations through Mujahid, al-Dahhak, al-Hasan, Qatada and al-Suddi] — (or are among those who perish) means: the deceased; or you die.