And he turned away from them no longer addressing them and said ‘Alas my grief for Joseph!’ yā asafā the final alif of asafā has taken the place of the possessive yā’ of genitive annexation sc. yā asafī in other words it means yā huznī ‘O my sorrow’. And his eyes turned white their dark colour was effaced and became white on account of his tears with grief for him such that he was filled with suppressed agony anguished and grief-stricken but not manifesting his grief.
