فَلَمَّآ أَن جَآءَ ٱلْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَىٰهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ فَٱرْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا ۖ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ 96
Translations
And when the bearer of good tidings arrived, he cast it over his face, and he returned [once again] seeing. He said, "Did I not tell you that I know from Allāh that which you do not know?"
Transliteration
Falamma an jaa'a al-bashiru alqahu ala wajhihi fartadda basiran. Qala alam aqul lakum inni a'lamu min-Allahi ma la ta'lamun
Tafsir (Explanation)
When the bearer of good news (messenger) came to Prophet Yaqub with the shirt of Yusuf, he cast it upon Yaqub's face and his sight was restored—he regained his vision after decades of blindness caused by grief. Yaqub then said to his sons, 'Did I not tell you that I know from Allah what you do not know?'—referring to his unwavering faith that Allah would reunite him with his beloved son Yusuf. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize this as a miraculous restoration of sight as a divine mercy and vindication of Yaqub's prophetic knowledge and patient trust in Allah's wisdom.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs in the climactic resolution of Surah Yusuf, after Yusuf has risen to power in Egypt and orchestrated the reunion with his family. It depicts the moment when Yaqub's blindness—symbolic of his grief and separation from Yusuf—is miraculously healed, fulfilling the earlier prophetic intuition mentioned in 12:84-86. The ayah illustrates divine reward for patience and unwavering faith in Allah's promise.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly narrates this event, Surah Yusuf itself is mentioned in Sahih Muslim as 'the best of stories' (ahsan al-qasas), and the theme of divine restoration resonates with hadiths on Allah's reward for those who bear patience, such as in Jami' at-Tirmidhi regarding the patient receiving reward without measure (Surah Az-Zumar 39:10).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that steadfast faith and patience in Allah's plan, even during prolonged hardship, are never in vain—Allah rewards the faithful with both spiritual and material restoration in ways that surpass human expectation. It also reminds us that true knowledge belongs to Allah alone, and those chosen by Him possess insights into His divine wisdom that ordinary understanding cannot fathom.
Related Ayahs
وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ طَرَفَىِ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَـٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّٰكِرِينَ
And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.
وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ ٱلْقُرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ يَبْعَثَ فِىٓ أُمِّهَا رَسُولًا يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا ۚ وَمَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِى ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ إِلَّا وَأَهْلُهَا ظَـٰلِمُونَ
And never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother [i.e., principal city] a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.
إِنَّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs,
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ ٱلتَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَأْخُذُ ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتِ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Do they not know that it is Allāh who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allāh who is the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful?