12:98

قَالَ سَوۡفَ أَسۡتَغۡفِرُ لَكُمۡ رَبِّيٓۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Qala sawfa astaghfiru lakum rabbee innahu huwa alghafooru alrraheemu

He said, "I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

Word by word
  1. قَالَHe said
  2. سَوۡفَSoon
  3. أَسۡتَغۡفِرُI will ask forgiveness
  4. لَكُمۡfor you
  5. رَبِّيٓۖ(from) my Lord
  6. إِنَّهُۥIndeed,He
  7. هُوَHe
  8. ٱلۡغَفُورُ(is) the Oft-Forgiving
  9. ٱلرَّحِيمُthe Most Merciful
Yusuf · 12:98Makkah

I will ask my Lord to forgive you.

A father's promise, saved for the right hour


Ya'qub's answer
I will asksoon, not now
to
my Lordthe Forgiving, the Merciful
Why he waited
holding a grudgenot yet forgiven
the best timethe last part of the night

Ya'qub said: I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Ibn Mas'ud and several others said he delayed it until the last part of the night, to make the prayer at its best time. He forgives those who repent.

Your child apologizes. You say: I will pray for you. Then you actually do, at 4 a.m., when the house is quiet. Praying for someone at the best hour is a gift they never see.

Saying I will pray for you is just a polite phrase.

Promising to pray for someone is a commitment, best kept at the best time.

Try this

Make a dua tonight before Fajr for someone who has asked you to pray for them.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 12:96)

Then, when the bearer of the good news arrived, he cast it (the shirt) over his face, and his vision returned. He said: "Did I not say to you, 'I know from Allah that which you know not?' (96)They said: "O our father! Ask forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been sinners. (97)He said: "I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you, verily, He! Only He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. (98)

Yahudha brings Yusuf's Shirt and Good News

Ibn 'Abbas and Ad-Dahhak said;

الْبَشِيرُ 

(good news) means information. Mujahid and As-Suddi said that the bearer of good news was Yahudha, son of Ya'qub. As-Suddi added, "He brought it (Yusuf's shirt) because it was he who brought Yusuf's shirt stained with the false blood. So he liked to erase that error with this good act, by bringing Yusuf's shirt and placing it on his father's face. His father's sight was restored to him." Ya'qub said to his children,

أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

(Did I not say to you, 'I know from Allah that which you know not'), that I know that Allah will return Yusuf to me and that,

إِنِّي لَأَجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ ۖ لَوْلَا أَن تُفَنِّدُونِ

(I do indeed feel the smell of Yusuf, if only you think me not senile.)

Yusuf's Brothers feel Sorry and Regretful

This is when Yusuf's brothers said to their father, with humbleness,

يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ - قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّي ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

("O our father! Ask forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been sinners." He said: "I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you, verily, He! Only He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.")

and He forgives those who repent to Him. 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Ibrahim At-Taymi, 'Amr bin Qays, Ibn Jurayj and several others said that Prophet Ya'qub delayed fulfilling their request until the latter part of the night.