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wa-jāʾū ʿalā qamīṣihī bi-damin kadhibin qāla bal sawwalat lakum ʾanfusukum ʾamran fa-ṣabrun jamīlun wa-llāhu l-mustaʿānu ʿalā mā taṣifūna
And they produced sham blood on his shirt. He said, ‘No, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you. Yet patience is graceful, and Allah is my resort against what you allege.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Yusuf - Verse 18
18. “And they brought his shirt with false blood on it. He said: ‘No, your (guilty) selves have made a matter light for you. (For me) patience is good; and Allah is He Whose help is to be sought against what you describe’.”
Patience for Allah’s determinations is good. But how is it good that one has to keep his patience in a situation where cruelty has been inflicted upon an innocent child, when Jacob says:
“for me patience is good”?
An Answer to the Question
First, Ya‘qub knew that Yusuf was still alive, because he knew this fact through revelation. Secondly, if he behaved differently, he might have made them more suspicious and they might then rush back to the hiding place, the well, and kill the little boy. The third point is that one should not act in such a way as to obstruct another’s way to repentance, even if that person is as cruel as those brothers were. They brought Yusuf’s shirt to him, stained with false blood to prove that he was killed.
However, as liars have poor memories, they had been neglectful to tear the shirt apart in several places at least as would have been the case if he had been really attacked by a wolf. They had simply taken it off and brought it to him. Ya‘qub was quite a perceptive and experienced man; he took one look at the shirt and understood that the whole story had been made up. He bluntly told them that they were lying, that their selfish and egoistic passions had put them up to doing such a satanic and dreadful deed.
The verse says:
“And they brought his shirt with false blood on it. He said: ‘No, your (guilty) selves have made a matter light for you...”
In some narrations we read that he took the shirt and turned it inside out and asked:
“Why is it that I do not see any traces of the wolf’s teeth and claws on it?”
According to another narration, he took the shirt and covered his face with it and while he was weeping, he said:
“What kind of wolf was it that had eaten up my son but did not do any damage to his shirt?”
Then he lost consciousness and fell to the ground like a dry piece of wood. Until late at night when the cold breeze of midnight caused him to recover his senses. Although he felt the burning anguish of the loss of his son at the bottom of his heart, he never uttered a single word of ingratitude towards Allah. Instead he said he would wait patiently, with the kind of patience that was beautiful and rely upon Allah. The verse continues saying:
“…(For me) patience is good;...”
The hearts of the men of Allah are centers of compassion and it is not surprising that when he separated from his son Ya‘qub shed abundant tears for him which is natural. Nevertheless, despite his emotional distress, he did not lose his self control, and did not say anything against the consent of Allah. Then Jacob remarked that he would ask Allah to help him for what they said and he would seek Him to give him more ability so that he could stand firm in front of that terrible storm and not to lose his self-control and not to pollute his tongue with any improper word. The verse in this regard says:
“…and Allah is He Whose help is to be sought against what you describe’.”
Explanations
1- The best type of patience is that in which, despite one’s profound sorrow and ardent yearning, one does not forget Allah and relies upon Divine assistance. 2- Satan, as well as the despotic soul, may present sin as something attractive to man and provide a justification for him to commit that sin. 3- Do not be duped by the deceptive pretensions of people. Ya‘qub did not let himself be fooled by Yusuf’s blood–stained shirt and his brothers’ tears, rather he said:
“No, your (guilty) selves have made a matter light for you.”
4- Imam Sadiq (as) has been quoted as saying that when Yusuf was thrown down the well, Gabriel came to him and said:
“What are you doing here?”
He answered:
“My brothers have thrown me down this well.”
Gabriel asked:
“Do you want to be saved from the well?”
He answered:
“It is Allah Who will take me out if He wishes.”
He said:
“Your Lord has commanded that you recite this prayer, and you get out.”
He asked:
“What prayer?”
He answered:
“Say: O’ Allah: I ask You Whose is all praise, and there is no god but You; You are the bestower of blessings (upon Your servants), the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the Owner of Glory and Benevolence. I ask You to send Your blessings upon Muhammad and his descendents and appoint the wherewithal for me to be saved from the plight I am in.”
However, as soon as a caravan of camels arrived, Yusuf was rescued from the well.