Ya'qub (Jacob)

Ya'qub (Jacob) is the son of Ishaq and the grandson of Ibrahim. A prophet, he is the father of twelve sons — including Yusuf — at the origin of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Quran presents him as a model of patience and trust in God in hardship.

Ya'qub inherited the faith of his forebears Ibrahim and Ishaq, and transmitted it to his sons, recommending to them with his last breath to remain submitted to God.

His great trial was the loss of his beloved son Yusuf, whom his brothers, jealous, removed from him. For years, Ya'qub wept for his son to the point of losing his sight, yet never despairing of God: he entrusted himself to 'beautiful patience.'

When, much later, the shirt of living Yusuf was brought to him and passed over his face, he recovered his sight. The family was reunited in Egypt, and Yusuf's childhood dream was fulfilled.

Ya'qub teaches 'beautiful patience': that which suffers without rebelling against God, keeps hope intact in the heart of grief, and eventually recovers, in God's time, what pain seemed to have taken away.

فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ

Ses fils lui présentèrent alors la tunique de Joseph, tachée d’un sang qu’ils attribuèrent faussement à leur frère. Jacob répliqua : « Voilà plutôt un forfait que vous vous êtes plu à tramer. Il ne me reste plus qu’à m’armer de patience avec la plus grande dignité. Qu’Allah me donne la force de supporter vos mensonges ! »

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