Lesson 3 of 6 · It is not weak faith
A prophet grieved until his sight went
Ya'qub, peace be upon him, lost Yusuf and grieved. Not for an afternoon. For years, to the point where his eyes turned white from sorrow.
His own family told him he would destroy himself with it. Read what he answered. He said he complained of his anguish and his grief to Allah.
Not about Allah. To Allah. That distinction is the classical reading and it is exactly the distinction a depressed Muslim needs, because it means the grief itself was never the problem. It was carried in the right direction rather than being denied.
And the Qur'an does not present any of it as a failure of faith. It reports it.
And in the same passage, a few verses earlier, he says the words of patience out loud. Patience and grief are not alternatives in that surah. They are in the same man at the same time.
Qur’an and Sunnah
It is best to be patient (Quran 12:83). He says the words of patience out loud, and the grief in the verses that follow is the same man in the same passage. They are not alternatives.
قَالَ بَلۡ سَوَّلَتۡ لَكُمۡ أَنفُسُكُمۡ أَمۡرࣰ اۖ فَصَبۡرࣱ جَمِيلٌۖ عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَأۡتِيَنِي بِهِمۡ جَمِيعًاۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ
Their father said, ‘No! Your souls have prompted you to do wrong! But it is best to be patient: may God bring all of them back to me- He alone is the All Knowing, the All Wise,’
Qur’an 12:83
Years of it, and the passage reports the grief rather than presenting it as a failure of faith.
وَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنۡهُمۡ وَقَالَ يَٰٓأَسَفَىٰ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَٱبۡيَضَّتۡ عَيۡنَاهُ مِنَ ٱلۡحُزۡنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيمࣱ
and he turned away from them, saying, ‘Alas for Joseph!’ His eyes went white with grief and he was filled with sorrow
Qur’an 12:84
This is his own family telling him the grief will destroy him, and it is worth reading before you read what he answers.
قَالُواْ تَٱللَّهِ تَفۡتَؤُاْ تَذۡكُرُ يُوسُفَ حَتَّىٰ تَكُونَ حَرَضًا أَوۡ تَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡهَٰلِكِينَ
They said, ‘By God! You will ruin your health if you do not stop thinking of Joseph, or even die.’
Qur’an 12:85
Not about God, to God. That is the distinction, and it is the one a depressed reader most needs, because it means the grief was carried in the right direction rather than denied.
قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَشۡكُواْ بَثِّي وَحُزۡنِيٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَأَعۡلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ
He said, ‘I plead my grief and sorrow before God. I have knowledge from God that you do not have
Qur’an 12:86
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.