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wa-lammā faṣalati l-ʿīru qāla ʾabūhum ʾinnī la-ʾajidu rīḥa yūsufa law-lā ʾan tufannidūni
As the caravan set off, their father said, ‘I sense the scent of Joseph, if you will not consider me a dotard.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
12YūsufيوسفVerse 94 of 111
Joseph12. Yūsufيوسف
Yūsuf
Joseph
MeccanVerse 94 of 111
Surah Yusuf – Verse 94
94. “And when the caravan set out (from Egypt to Kan‘an), their father said: ‘Verily I perceive Yusuf’s scent, unless you think me doting’.”
Finally, Allah’s grace became manifest. Beside them with joy, Ya‘qub’s sons took the shirt and headed for Kan‘an. When the caravan departed from Egypt, their father said that he perceived Yusuf’s scent while people around him would not believe him. The verse says:
“And when the caravan set out (from Egypt to Kan‘an), their father said: ‘Verily I perceive Yusuf’s scent, unless you think me doting’.”
Explanations
The Qur’anic term /fasalat/ means ‘distance’ and /fasalati l‘iru/ here means that the caravan distanced itself from Egypt. The term /tufannidun/ is derived from /fanida/ meaning the lack of ability to think and absence of wisdom. Ya‘qub was worry about the people around him who might attribute him silly, so he said: Perhaps the ‘scent of Yusuf ’ implies some fresh news from Yusuf. This issue is being discussed in scientific circles today as ‘telepathy’ which means the transfer of thought to others in far distant places.
That is, those who are closely related with each other, or who have extrasensory perception, can receive direct messages from someone else from a very long distance away. Someone said to Imam Baqir (as):
“Sometimes, I feel terribly sorry for no reason in such a way that those around me perceive it.”
The Imam responded:
“Muslims are all created out of the same core and nature, and when a serious accident occurs to one, someone else feels sorry in another land and place.”