Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:20
And they sold him for a reduced price - a few dirhams - and they were, concerning him, of those content with little.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَشَرَوْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ (And they sold him for a low price — a few counted dirhams — and they were of those who held him in low regard.) (verse 20)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted means by His word (they sold him): the brothers of Yūsuf sold Yūsuf.
But when one means that he bought him, one says: "I bought him." Of this is the verse of Ibn Mufarrigh al-Ḥimyarī:
"And I sold a cloak — would that I had been a skull before that cloak!"
He says: "I sold a cloak" — it was a slave (ʿabd) who belonged to him.
So too said the exegetes.
Mention of those who said this:
18899. Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Ibrāhīm — that he held it objectionable for a Bedouin to buy or sell anything. He said: the Arabs say: "Shir lī kadhā wa-kadhā" — that is: sell me such-and-such. And he recited this verse: (And they sold him for a low price — a few counted dirhams) — that is: they sold him, and his sale was forbidden.
18900. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: the brothers of Yūsuf — eleven men — sold him when the water-drawer brought him up.
18901. Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like.
18902. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid.
18903. Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like.
18904. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like.
18905. He said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — (and they sold him) — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: he was sold among them.
18906. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: they sold him.
18907. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk — the like.
18908. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: his father related to him, saying: his uncle related to me, saying: his father related to him, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: his brothers sold him for a low price.
Others said: by His word (and they sold him for a low price) are meant the travelers — they are the ones who sold Yūsuf for a low price.
Mention of those who said this:
18909. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (and they sold him for a low price) — they are the travelers who sold him.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view is that of those who said the explanation is as follows: the brothers of Yūsuf sold Yūsuf for a low price. This is because Allah the Almighty has informed us about those who bought him that they concealed his purchase from their fellow company, for fear that they would claim a share — by alleging that he was merchandise. They said that only because they wished to keep him for themselves alone and reckoned his purchase price as low, since they bought him for — as Allah says — (a low price). And had the buyers from his brothers truly held him in low regard, there would have been no reason to say to their companions: "He is merchandise" — nor would there be any reason to buy him while holding him in low regard, unless they were not in their right minds; for it is inconceivable that a sane person buys something he holds in low regard without any compulsion, and then deceives the people about it by saying: "It is merchandise that I did not buy" — while he holds it in low regard. Rather, this is the statement of someone who treasures his merchandise because of its special value to him, and because of the high price and profit he expects from it.
Concerning His word: (low price) — it means: deficient.
It is a verbal noun from the expression "I shortchanged so-and-so in his due" — when you wrong someone and give him less than what is due to him: "I diminish (abkhasu — bakhsan)." Of this too is the word: وَلا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ [Sūrat Hūd: 85]. What is actually meant is: for a deficient and inadequate price — where the verbal noun "al-bakhs" takes the place of the participle (mafʿūl), as was said: بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ while what is meant is: "with blood about which there was lying."
The exegetes differed over its meaning.
Some said: (for a low price) was said because it was forbidden for them.
Mention of those who said this:
18910. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: the "low" is the forbidden.
18911. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: forbidden.
18912. It was related to me from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: his price was low and forbidden — it was not permitted for them to eat from it.
18913. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: they sold him for a low price; he said: his sale was forbidden and his purchase was forbidden.
18914. Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (for a low price) — he said: forbidden.
18915. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: his father related to him, saying: his uncle related to me, saying: his father related to him, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (for a low price) — he says: it was not permitted for them to eat his purchase price.
Others said: the meaning of "low" here is: injustice.
Mention of those who said this:
18916. Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: the "low" is injustice. And the sale of Yūsuf and his purchase price were forbidden for them.
18917. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar — Qatāda said: (And they sold him for a low price) — he said: injustice.
Others said: the "low" in this verse means: the paltry.
Mention of those who said this:
18918. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿIkrima — he said: the "low" is the paltry.
18919. Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Qays related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿIkrima — the like.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view has already been set forth.
Concerning His word: (a few counted dirhams) — Allah the Almighty means that they sold him for dirhams that were not weighed but only counted, deficient and not adequate — because of their holding him in low regard.
It has been said that "counted" was stated to make known thereby that it was less than forty — because in that time nothing was weighed that weighed less than forty dirhams, for the smallest and least measure was the ūqiya, and the weight of the ūqiya was forty dirhams. They said: the word (counted) indicates the small number of dirhams for which they sold him.
Some said: they were twenty dirhams.
Mention of those who said this:
18920. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Zuhayr, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The price for which Yūsuf was bought was twenty dirhams.
18921. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥammānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: (And they sold him for a low price — a few counted dirhams) — he said: twenty dirhams.
18922. Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf al-Bakālī, concerning His word: (And they sold him for a low price — a few counted dirhams) — he said: twenty dirhams.
18923. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us — on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf al-Shāmī: (low price — dirhams) — he said: they were twenty dirhams.
18924. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥammānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf — the like.
18925. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His word: (for a low price — a few counted dirhams) — he said: twenty dirhams.
18926. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: (a few counted dirhams) — he said: they were twenty dirhams.
18927. Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: it was mentioned to us that he was sold for twenty dirhams — (and they were of those who held him in low regard).
18928. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda — the like.
18929. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Abū Idrīs, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, who said: The dirhams were twenty in number; they divided them, two per person.
Others said: they were twenty-two, with each brother of Yūsuf — and they were eleven men — receiving two.
Mention of those who said this:
18930. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (a few counted dirhams) — he said: twenty-two dirhams.
18931. Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: (a few counted dirhams) — he said: twenty-two dirhams for the brothers of Yūsuf — and his brothers were eleven men.
18932. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: (a few counted dirhams).
18933. He said: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — to the like effect.
18934. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — to the like effect.
Others said: they were forty dirhams.
Mention of those who said this:
18935. Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Qays related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿIkrima: (a few counted dirhams) — he said: forty dirhams.
18936. Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: They sold him for less than a ūqiya — for people in that time did business with ūqiyas, and what was less than a ūqiya was counted. Allah says: (And they sold him for a low price — a few counted dirhams) — that is: it did not reach the ūqiya.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view is to say: Allah the Exalted informed us that they sold him for counted dirhams that were not weighed — and He did not specify the amount in weight or number, and there is no indication of it in the Book nor in a ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ. It may have been twenty, or twenty-two, or forty, or less or more than that. However it may be — they were counted dirhams, not weighed. In knowing the exact amount there lies no religious benefit, and in being ignorant of it there lies no harm. Believing in the letter of the revelation is obligatory (farḍ), and as for what falls outside of it, we are exempted from the obligation of knowing it.
Concerning His word: (and they were of those who held him in low regard) — Allah the Exalted says: the brothers of Yūsuf held Yūsuf in low regard — they did not know his special standing with Allah and did not appreciate his rank with Him. Despite this, they desired to separate him from his father, so that his attention would go entirely to them and the favors that belonged to Yūsuf and not to them would henceforth flow to them.
So too said the exegetes.
Mention of those who said this:
18937. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Abū Marzūq, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (and they were of those who held him in low regard) — he said: they did not know of his prophethood and his rank with Allah.
18938. It was related to me from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: وَجَاءَتْ سَيَّارَةٌ — they came upon the well; فَأَرْسَلُوا وَارِدَهُمْ — he drew water and brought Yūsuf out; they rejoiced that they had found a boy — not knowing of his position and his rank with his Lord. Thus they held him in low regard and sold him. And his sale was forbidden, and they sold him for a few counted dirhams.
18939. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (and they were of those who held him in low regard) — he said: his brothers held him in low regard — they did not know of his rank with Allah, his prophethood, and his position.
18940. Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: his brothers held him in low regard — they did not know of his rank with Allah.
