ولما فصلت العير قال أبوهم إني لأجد ريح يوسف لولا أن تفندون (12:94) بالانجليزي

(12:94) When this caravan departed (from Egypt), their father said (in Cana'an), "I am surely perceiving the smell *66 of Joseph, though you might think me to be in the dotage."

Tafseer Abu-al-A'la Maududi

Page 246 English Traditional

*66) This is an instance of the extraordinary powers the Prophets possess. Prophet Jacob perceive in Cana'an the smell of Prophet Joseph's shirt from such a distant place as Egypt as soon as the caravan started on the journey. At the same time it also. shows, by contrast, that these powers of the Prophets are not inherent or personal characteristics but arc bestowed on them by Allah as and when He wills. That is why Prophet Jacob could not perceive the smell of the clothes of Prophct Joseph as long as Allah did not will it, when he had been living in Egypt.
In this connection, it should also be noted that in contrast to the Qur'an which represents Prophct Jacob as a great Prophet who was able to perceive the smell of Prophet Joseph from such a long distance, the Bible represents him as an ordinary uncultured father. According tc Genesis 45: 26-27, when they told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive and he is governor over all the land of Egypt-Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not .... and only when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. "