Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:22
And when Joseph reached maturity, We gave him judgment and knowledge. And thus We reward the doers of good.
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: وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ (And when he reached his full strength, We bestowed upon him wisdom and knowledge. And thus do We reward the doers of good.) (verse 22)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: When Yūsuf reached his "ashudd" — that is to say: the peak of his strength and firmness in his youth and his prime; that is somewhere between eighteen and sixty years, and others say up to forty years.
It is said: "the ashudd of the man are past" — that is to say: his strength. It is a plural, like al-aḍurr and al-ashurr, of which no singular in that form has been transmitted. By analogy the singular ought to be "shadd," just as the singular of al-aḍurr is "ḍurr" and the singular of al-ashurr is "shurr," as the poet said:
"Nothing more than that the restless ones increased, and the war of the kings laid waste the great fortunes."
And Ḥumayd said:
"Already four full years have passed after the ashudd — would that the rebukers might now relent."
The exegetes differed over what Allah meant here by the "reaching of the ashudd."
Some said: by this is meant thirty-three years.
Mention of those who said this:
18957. Ibn Wakīʿ and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, they said: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (When he reached his full strength) — he said: thirty-three years.
18958. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like of it.
18959. Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like of it.
18960. It was related to me from ʿAlī ibn al-Haytham, on the authority of Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUthmān ibn Khaythim, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: I heard Ibn ʿAbbās say regarding His word: (When he reached his full strength) — he said: thirty-odd years.
Others said: by this is meant twenty years.
Mention of those who said this:
18961. It was related to me from ʿAlī ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, regarding His word: (When he reached his full strength) — he said: twenty years.
From Ibn ʿAbbās it is also reported — via an unreliable route — that he said: it is what lies between eighteen and thirty years. The meaning of "ashudd" has already been expounded.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view is that one says: Allah reported that He bestowed wisdom and knowledge upon Yūsuf at his reaching of his ashudd. The "ashudd" is the peak of his strength and youth. It is possible that Allah bestowed that upon him when he was eighteen years old, or twenty years old, or thirty-three years old. There is no indication of that in the Book of Allah, nor in any narration from the Prophet ﷺ, nor in the consensus of the community, as to which of these was the case. If no such indication exists from the source required for it, then the correct statement is what Allah the Almighty has said — until proof is furnished for the correctness of what has been said about it via a source that is binding, whereupon one submits to it.
Regarding His word: (We bestowed upon him wisdom and knowledge) — Allah the Exalted says: We gave him at that moment understanding and knowledge. As:
18962. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (wisdom and knowledge) — he said: understanding and knowledge, before the prophethood.
Regarding His word: (And thus do We reward the doers of good) — Allah the Exalted says: Just as I rewarded Yūsuf by giving him, for his obedience to Me, wisdom and knowledge, and established him in the land, and saved him from the hands of his brothers who wished to kill him — thus do I reward the one who acts well in his deeds, obeys Me in My commands, and abstains from what I have forbidden him of My prohibitions.
And this, although outwardly it appears to apply to all the doers of good, is in its actual intent directed to Muḥammad, the prophet of Allah ﷺ. Allah the Almighty says to him: Just as I did this with Yūsuf after he underwent from his brothers what he underwent, and endured the suffering that he endured — and then I established him in the land and made the regions accessible to him — thus too shall I deal with you: I shall save you from the polytheists among your people who treat you with hostility, I shall establish you in the land and give you wisdom and knowledge. For that is My reward for those who act well in My commands and prohibitions.
18963. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (And thus do We reward the doers of good) — he says: the rightly guided.
