Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 99

(Ayah99){فَلَمَّا دَخَلُوْا عَلٰى يُوْسُفَ …:} That is, Jacob (peace be upon him) set out from Canaan with all his household and reached Egypt. The words of the verse, "Enter Egypt," indicate that Joseph (peace be upon him) went out of the city, met with the dignitaries of the government and the public, and welcomed his father and family members with great honor and glory. He especially kept his father in a separate tent from the other tents that were set up for the reception, and said, "Now you all enter Egypt." God willing, you will live here in great peace. Do not worry about famine, poverty, enemies, or anything else. Some have written that Joseph (peace be upon him) said these words after entering Egypt. By {’’ اَبَوَيْهِ ‘‘} is meant the parents. Many commentators have written that the mother of Joseph (peace be upon him) passed away at the birth of his younger brother; this mother was actually Joseph's maternal aunt, whom Jacob (peace be upon him) later married. The only evidence for this is the Israelite traditions, whose authenticity is not certain. However, some have written that his mother was alive and she herself reached Egypt with Jacob (peace be upon him). (Ma‘alim) Ibn Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this second opinion, and Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) supported it, and above all, the apparent meaning of the words of the Noble Qur’an is the same. Here, one feels regret for those commentators who, after the explicit statement of the Noble Qur’an, insist on calling Azar an uncle instead of a father and Joseph’s mother his maternal aunt. Only by reading those books whose statements the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade us from believing to be true, even though he also forbade us from calling them false, but what is the need to distort the words of the Qur’an with such unbelievable things?