Note 57 — Notes on Chapter V.

The love of Jacob for his son Joseph, and his grief at his supposed death, are proverbial amongst Muslims, and very frequently alluded to by Persian poets. In the 12th sura of the Kur’ān it is stated that Jacob became blind through constant weeping for his lost son, and that his sight was restored by means of Joseph’s inner garment, which the Governor of Egypt sent to his father by his brethren. In the Makamat of El-Hariri, the celebrated Arabian poet, are such allusions as “passed a night of sorrow like Jacob’s,” “wept more than Jacob when he lost his son.”