How Did Yaqoub Regain His Sight After Going Blind From Grief?
كيف ارتدّ بصر يعقوب عليه السلام بعد أن ذهب من الحزن؟
Yusuf, peace be upon him, gave his shirt to his brothers and told them to put the shirt over their father’s face, and his sight would return. And in fact, when they came in to their father and put the shirt over his face, Yaqoub, peace be upon him, regained his sight.
(“Go with this shirt of mine and cast it over my father’s face, and he will regain his sight. Then come back to me with your whole family.” When the caravan departed ˹from Egypt˺, their father said ˹to those around him˺, “You may think I am senile, but I certainly sense the smell of Yusuf.” They replied, “By Allah! You are definitely still in your old delusion.”) Yusuf 12:93-95
(But when the bearer of the good news arrived, he cast the shirt over Yaqoub’s face, so he regained his sight. Yaqoub then said ˹to his children˺, “Did I not tell you that I truly know from Allah what you do not know?”) Yusuf 12:96
يوسف عليه السلام أعطى قميصه لإخوته وقال لهم أن يضعوا القميص على وجه أبيهم، وسيعود نظره. وهذا ما وقع، فلما دخلوا على أبيهم ووضعوا القميص على وجهه، عاد بصر يعقوب عليه السلام.
قال الله تعالى: (اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَـٰذَا فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِ أَبِي يَأْتِ بَصِيرًا وَأْتُونِي بِأَهْلِكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿٩٣﴾ وَلَمَّا فَصَلَتِ الْعِيرُ قَالَ أَبُوهُمْ إِنِّي لَأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ ۖ لَوْلَا أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ ﴿٩٤﴾ قَالُوا تَاللَّـهِ إِنَّكَ لَفِي ضَلَالِكَ الْقَدِيمِ ﴿٩٥﴾) يوسف 12: 93-95
وقال تعالى: (فَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا ۖ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ) يوسف 12: 96
1. A Father Who Sensed the Scent From Far Away | أبٌ وجد ريح ابنه من بعيد
Before any messenger reached him, Yaqoub told those around him that he could sense Yusuf’s scent, while the caravan carrying the shirt was still on its way from Egypt. Commentators read this as a sign of the deep spiritual insight Allah had granted him, perceiving something true well before ordinary means could confirm it.
قبل أن يبلغه رسول، أخبر يعقوب عليه السلام مَن حوله أنه يجد ريح يوسف، والقافلة التي تحمل القميص ما زالت في طريقها من مصر: (إِنِّي لَأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ ۖ لَوْلَا أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ) (يوسف 12: 94). ويرى المفسرون في ذلك آيةً على ما وهبه الله من بصيرة عميقة، أدرك بها أمرًا حقًّا قبل أن تؤكده الأسباب المعتادة بزمن طويل.
2. Doubt From Those Closest to Him | شك من أقرب الناس إليه
Yaqoub’s own household answered him by saying he was still lost in his old error, doubting him even after decades of witnessing his patience and sincerity. That even a prophet could be doubted by those nearest to him, and still be proven right shortly after, is treated by scholars as a lesson in not measuring truth by how many people currently believe it.
ردّ عليه أهل بيته بأنه ما زال في ضلاله القديم: (قَالُوا تَاللَّهِ إِنَّكَ لَفِي ضَلَالِكَ الْقَدِيمِ) (يوسف 12: 95)، فشكّوا فيه بعد عقود شهدوا فيها صبره وصدقه. وأن يشكّ في النبي أقربُ الناس إليه، ثم يظهر صدقه بعد قليل، درسٌ يذكره العلماء في ألا يُقاس الحق بكثرة مَن يصدّقه في وقت بعينه.
3. A Shirt That Undid Years of Grief | قميصٌ محا سنين من الحزن
Decades earlier, the brothers had brought Yaqoub a different shirt of Yusuf’s stained with false blood to convince him his son was dead. Now it is Yusuf’s own shirt, genuinely his, that restores what that earlier deception helped take from him. Scholars note the symmetry: the same kind of object once used to deceive him becomes, this time, the means of a real and immediate healing.
قبل عقود جاء الإخوة يعقوبَ عليه السلام بقميص ليوسف ملطّخ بدم كذب، ليوهموه أن ابنه قد مات. وها هو قميص يوسف هذه المرة يأتي بخبر صادق، فيردّ إليه ما أعان ذلك الخداع القديم على سلبه منه. ويلاحظ العلماء هذا التقابل: فالقميص، وقد كان مرة أداةً للخداع، صار هذه المرة سببًا لشفاء حقيقي عاجل.
4. Fulfilled Insight, Not Guesswork | بصيرةٌ تحققت لا ظنٌّ وتخمين
The moment his sight returns, Yaqoub reminds his sons of exactly what he had told them earlier, that he knew from Allah what they did not know (see how Yaqoub reacted to his sons’ earlier news). This event turns what had sounded like a grieving father’s wishful hope into a confirmed statement, closing the loop on his own earlier words.
ما إن ارتدّ إليه بصره حتى ذكّر يعقوب عليه السلام أبناءه بما قاله لهم من قبل: (أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ) (يوسف 12: 96)، كما بيّنا في جواب: كيف قابل يعقوب عليه السلام خبر بنيامين وروبين؟ فصار ما بدا أمنيةَ أبٍ محزون خبرًا ثبت صدقه، وتمّ بذلك ما بدأه بكلامه الأول.
5. A Reunion Already Being Planned | لقاءٌ يُعدّ له من قبل
Yusuf’s instructions were not limited to healing his father’s sight; he told his brothers to bring their whole family back with them to Egypt. The healing and the invitation to reunite arrive in the same breath, showing that Yusuf was already preparing for the full family to be brought together, not only for the immediate crisis to be resolved.
لم يكتفِ يوسف عليه السلام بما يردّ إلى أبيه بصره، بل أمر إخوته أن يأتوه بأهلهم أجمعين: (وَأْتُونِي بِأَهْلِكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ) (يوسف 12: 93). فجاء الشفاء والدعوة إلى الاجتماع في كلام واحد، مما يدل على أن يوسف كان يُعدّ لاجتماع الأسرة كلها، لا لكشف الشدة العاجلة وحدها.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did Yaqoub regain his sight?
Yusuf sent his shirt with his brothers and told them to cast it over their father’s face, and his sight returned as soon as it touched him.
Did Yaqoub know Yusuf was alive before the shirt arrived?
Yes, he told those around him he could sense Yusuf’s scent while the caravan carrying the shirt was still on its way.
How did his household react when he said this?
They doubted him, saying he was still lost in his old error.
What did Yaqoub say once his sight returned?
He reminded his sons that he had told them he knew from Allah what they did not know.
Which verses of the Quran describe this event?
Surah Yusuf 12:93-96.