Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:50
And the king said, "Bring him to me." But when the messenger came to him, [Joseph] said, "Return to your master and ask him what is the case of the women who cut their hands. Indeed, my Lord is Knowing of their plan."
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: وَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ ائْتُونِي بِهِ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ الرَّسُولُ قَالَ ارْجِعْ إِلَى رَبِّكَ فَاسْأَلْهُ مَا بَالُ النِّسْوَةِ اللاتِي قَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ إِنَّ رَبِّي بِكَيْدِهِنَّ عَلِيمٌ (And the king said: "Bring him to me." But when the messenger came to him, he said: "Return to your master and ask him what is the case of the women who cut their hands; verily, my Lord knows well their guile." — 12:50)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah, the Exalted, says: When the messenger whom she had sent to Yūsuf — the one who had said: أَنَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِتَأْوِيلِهِ فَأَرْسِلُونِ — returned and conveyed to them the interpretation of the king's dream from Yūsuf, and the king understood the correctness of what had been conveyed to him as the interpretation of his dream and its validity, the king said: bring me the one who has interpreted my dream. As:
19392 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Nabū departed from Yūsuf with what he had conveyed to them concerning the interpretation of the king's dream, until he reached the king and told him what Yūsuf had said. When he told him what was in his innermost being, clear as day, and he understood that what he had said would come to pass as he had said, he said: "bring him to me."
19393 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When the messenger came back to the king, he said: "bring him to me."
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His word: (fa-lammā jāʾahu al-rasūlu): when the king's messenger came to him to summon him to the king; (qāla irjiʿ ilā rabbika): Yūsuf said to the messenger: return to your master, (fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna)? And he refused to go with the messenger and to accept the king's invitation, until he knew that his reputation with them concerning the matter of the women was sound; he said to the messenger: ask the king what is the condition of the women who cut their hands, and of the woman on account of whom he was imprisoned. As:
19394 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (fa-lammā jāʾahu al-rasūlu qāla irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna) — and the woman on account of whom he had been imprisoned — concerning what had occurred in that matter.
19395 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When the messenger came back to the king and informed him, he said: (iʾtūnī bi-h), but when the messenger came to him and summoned him to the king, Yūsuf refused to go; he said: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna) — the āya. Al-Suddī said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: had Yūsuf gone out that day before the king knew what had happened with him, the ʿAzīz would still have held something against him in his heart! That is to say: this is the one who tried to seduce his wife.
19396 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Abū al-Zinād, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: May Allah have mercy on Yūsuf; what great patience he had! Had I been the one who was imprisoned and then sent for, I would have departed quickly. He was truly patient, forbearing!
19397 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Bishr related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, he said: Abū Salama related to us, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: The Prophet ﷺ said: Had I remained in prison as long as Yūsuf, and then a summoner came to me, I would have answered him; but he caused the messenger to return and said: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna) — the āya.
19398 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Sulaymān ibn Bilāl informed me, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — to the same effect.
19399 — Zakariyyā ibn Abān al-Miṣrī related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Tulīd related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Bakr ibn Muḍar related to me, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Yūnus ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, he said: Abū Salama ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab informed me, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Had I remained in prison as long as Yūsuf, I would have answered the summoner.
19400 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Yūnus informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of Abū Salama ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — to the same effect.
19401 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAffān ibn Muslim related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said and recited this verse: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna inna rabbī bi-kaydihinna ʿalīm). The Prophet ﷺ said: Had it been me, I would have answered quickly and would not have sought an excuse.
19402 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ; and Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ: that he recited: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna) — the āya; and the Prophet ﷺ said: Had it been sent for me, I would have answered quickly and not sought an excuse.
19403 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I marvel at Yūsuf and his patience and nobility — may Allah forgive him — when he was asked about the lean and fat cows. Had I been in his place, I would not have told them anything until I had stipulated that they set me free. And I marvel at Yūsuf and his patience and nobility — may Allah forgive him — when the messenger came to him; had I been in his place, I would have rushed out to them at the door, but he wanted to have an excuse.
19404 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati): the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, did not wish to depart before he had an excuse.
19405 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning his word: (irjiʿ ilā rabbika fa-saʾalhu mā bālu al-niswati al-lātī qaṭṭaʿna aydiyahunna), he said: Yūsuf wished to have an excuse before he left the prison.
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His word: (inna rabbī bi-kaydihinna ʿalīm): he says: Allah, the Exalted, is knowing of their actions and deeds which they did — with me and which they do with others — all of this is not hidden from Him, and He will requite them for it.
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It has also been said that its meaning is: my master Iṭfīr, the ʿAzīz, the husband of the woman who tried to seduce me, is knowing of my innocence of the evil that she imputed to me.
