سُورَةُ يُوسُفَ
Reading Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Ayahs 61–70 of 111
قَالُوا۟ سَنُرَٰوِدُ عَنْهُ أَبَاهُ وَإِنَّا لَفَٰعِلُونَ
They said, "We will attempt to dissuade his father from [keeping] him, and indeed, we will do [it]."
They said, ‘We will try to tempt his father away from him, that is, we will try our hardest to seek him from him. That we will surely do’.
وَقَالَ لِفِتْيَٰنِهِ ٱجْعَلُوا۟ بِضَٰعَتَهُمْ فِى رِحَالِهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْرِفُونَهَآ إِذَا ٱنقَلَبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
And [Joseph] said to his servants, "Put their merchandise into their saddlebags so they might recognize it when they have gone back to their people that perhaps they will [again] return."
And he said to his young men (li-fityatihi: a variant reading has li-fityānihi, ‘his servants’): ‘Place their merchandise, that [money] with which they bought the supplies, and these were a few dirhams, in their saddlebags, their [supply] sacks, so that they may recognise it when they return to their folk, and empty their sacks, and so come back’, to us, deeming it unlawful to retain these [monies].
فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَبِيهِمْ قَالُوا۟ يَٰٓأَبَانَا مُنِعَ مِنَّا ٱلْكَيْلُ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَآ أَخَانَا نَكْتَلْ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَٰفِظُونَ
So when they returned to their father, they said, "O our father, [further] measure has been denied to us, so send with us our brother [that] we will be given measure. And indeed, we will be his guardians."
So when they went back to their father, they said, ‘O father, the measure will be denied us, unless you send forth our brother to him [to the Court officer]; so send forth our brother with us, that we may obtain the measure (read naktal or yaktal, ‘that he may obtain the measure [for us’]). Surely we will guard him well’.
قَالَ هَلْ ءَامَنُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَمَآ أَمِنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَخِيهِ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ فَٱللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَٰفِظًۭا ۖ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
He said, "Should I entrust you with him except [under coercion] as I entrusted you with his brother before? But Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of the merciful."
He said, ‘Should I — [I will] only — trust you with him like I trusted you with his brother, Joseph, before? despite [the fact] that you have done to him what you have done? Yet God is best at guarding (hifzan: a variant reading has hāfizan, ‘a guardian’, as a specification, similar to when they say li’Llāhi darruhu fārisan, ‘By God, how excellent a horseman he is!’); and He is the Most Merciful of merciful ones’, and so I hope that He will show favour [to me] by guarding him.
وَلَمَّا فَتَحُوا۟ مَتَٰعَهُمْ وَجَدُوا۟ بِضَٰعَتَهُمْ رُدَّتْ إِلَيْهِمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَٰٓأَبَانَا مَا نَبْغِى ۖ هَٰذِهِۦ بِضَٰعَتُنَا رُدَّتْ إِلَيْنَا ۖ وَنَمِيرُ أَهْلَنَا وَنَحْفَظُ أَخَانَا وَنَزْدَادُ كَيْلَ بَعِيرٍۢ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ كَيْلٌۭ يَسِيرٌۭ
And when they opened their baggage, they found their merchandise returned to them. They said, "O our father, what [more] could we desire? This is our merchandise returned to us. And we will obtain supplies for our family and protect our brother and obtain an increase of a camel's load; that is an easy measurement."
And when they opened their belongings, they found that their merchandise had been restored to them. They said, ‘O father, what [more] should we desire? (mā nabghī: mā is interrogative, that is to say: what greater thing than this can we ask for from the king’s generosity?’; a variant reading has mā tabghī, ‘what [more] do you desire?’, as an address to Jacob — for they had mentioned to him his [the king’s] generosity towards them). Here is our merchandise restored to us. And we shall get provisions for our family, we shall obtain supplies for them, namely, food, and guard our brother, and we shall receive an extra camel’s load, because of our brother; that will be an easy measure’, for the king [to grant us], given his munificence.
قَالَ لَنْ أُرْسِلَهُۥ مَعَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تُؤْتُونِ مَوْثِقًۭا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ لَتَأْتُنَّنِى بِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن يُحَاطَ بِكُمْ ۖ فَلَمَّآ ءَاتَوْهُ مَوْثِقَهُمْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيلٌۭ
[Jacob] said, "Never will I send him with you until you give me a promise by Allah that you will bring him [back] to me, unless you should be surrounded by enemies." And when they had given their promise, he said, "Allah, over what we say, is Witness."
He said, ‘I will not send him with you until you give me a [solemn] pledge, a covenant, in the name of God, by your swearing an oath, that assuredly you will bring him back to me, unless you are besieged’, such that you die, or are overwhelmed and thus unable to bring him back. They agreed to this. And when they gave him their [solemn] pledge, to this effect, he said, ‘God shall be Guardian, Witness, over what we say’, we and you. Thus he sent him with them.
وَقَالَ يَٰبَنِىَّ لَا تَدْخُلُوا۟ مِنۢ بَابٍۢ وَٰحِدٍۢ وَٱدْخُلُوا۟ مِنْ أَبْوَٰبٍۢ مُّتَفَرِّقَةٍۢ ۖ وَمَآ أُغْنِى عَنكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۖ إِنِ ٱلْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ ۖ وَعَلَيْهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ
And he said, "O my sons, do not enter from one gate but enter from different gates; and I cannot avail you against [the decree of] Allah at all. The decision is only for Allah; upon Him I have relied, and upon Him let those who would rely [indeed] rely."
And he said, ‘O my sons, do not enter, Egypt, by one gate, but enter by separate gates, lest the evil eye smite you. Yet I cannot avail, protect, you, by this that I have said, against God (min Allāhi: min is extra) anything, which He might have decreed against you; this [that I have said] is only out of affection [for you]. Judgement belongs to God, alone. On Him I rely, in Him I trust, and on Him let all the trusting rely’.
وَلَمَّا دَخَلُوا۟ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَهُمْ أَبُوهُم مَّا كَانَ يُغْنِى عَنْهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا حَاجَةًۭ فِى نَفْسِ يَعْقُوبَ قَضَىٰهَا ۚ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَذُو عِلْمٍۢ لِّمَا عَلَّمْنَٰهُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
And when they entered from where their father had ordered them, it did not avail them against Allah at all except [it was] a need within the soul of Jacob, which he satisfied. And indeed, he was a possessor of knowledge because of what We had taught him, but most of the people do not know.
God, exalted be He, says: And when they entered in the manner which their father had bidden them, that is, separately, it did not avail them anything (min shay’in: min is extra) against God, that is, [against] His decree; it was but a need in Jacob’s soul which he [thus] satisfied, and this [need] was his desire to fend off the evil eye [from them], out of affection [for them]. And verily he was possessed of knowledge, because We had taught him; but most of mankind — and they are the disbelievers — do not know, [about] God’s inspiring His elect.
وَلَمَّا دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ ءَاوَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِ أَخَاهُ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ أَخُوكَ فَلَا تَبْتَئِسْ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
And when they entered upon Joseph, he took his brother to himself; he said, "Indeed, I am your brother, so do not despair over what they used to do [to me]."
And when they entered to Joseph, he took his brother into his arms, saying [to him]: ‘Truly it is me, your brother, therefore do not despair, do not be grieved, at what they did’, in the way of envying us. He commanded him not to tell them anything, and he [Joseph] agreed with him that he would devise a trick to keep him [Benjamin] with him.
فَلَمَّا جَهَّزَهُم بِجَهَازِهِمْ جَعَلَ ٱلسِّقَايَةَ فِى رَحْلِ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ أَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْعِيرُ إِنَّكُمْ لَسَٰرِقُونَ
So when he had furnished them with their supplies, he put the [gold measuring] bowl into the bag of his brother. Then an announcer called out, "O caravan, indeed you are thieves."
And when he had equipped them with their provision, he put the drinking-cup, a golden cup studded with jewels, into the saddlebag of his brother, Benjamin. Then a crier shouted, a herald cried, after they were dismissed from Joseph’s court: ‘O cameleers, caravan, you are surely thieves!’
Commentary: Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
