Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:54
And the king said, "Bring him to me; I will appoint him exclusively for myself." And when he spoke to him, he said, "Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted."
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 أَسْتَخْلِصْهُ لِنَفْسِي فَلَمَّا كَلَّمَهُ قَالَ إِنَّكَ الْيَوْمَ لَدَيْنَا مَكِينٌ أَمِينٌ (And the king said: "Bring him to me, I will take him for myself alone." But when he had spoken with him, he said: "Truly, you hold today with us a high position and are trusted." — 12:54)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah, the Exalted, says: "And the king said" — that is to say: the great king of Egypt; and that was, as Ibn Isḥāq mentioned: al-Walīd ibn al-Rayyān.
19446 — That Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of him.
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— after the exculpation of Yūsuf had become clear and he had come to know his trustworthiness and his knowledge, he said to his companions: (iʾtūnī bi-hi astakhliṣhu li-nafsī): I make him one of my chosen ones to the exclusion of others.
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His word (fa-lammā kallamahu): when the king spoke with Yūsuf and came to know his innocence and the extent of his trustworthiness, he said to him: "You are, O Yūsuf, 'today with us highly placed and trusted'": that is to say: you hold a firm and high position for everything you wish and whatever concerns you of needs with us, on account of the lofty rank and status you possess with us; entrusted with everything with which you will be charged.
19447 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: After the king found an excuse for him, he said: (iʾtūnī bi-hi astakhliṣhu li-nafsī).
19448 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word: (astakhliṣhu li-nafsī): he says: I take him for myself.
19449 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Hudhayl: The king said: (iʾtūnī bi-hi astakhliṣhu li-nafsī). The king said to him: I want to take you for myself alone, but I feel reluctance that you should eat with me. Yūsuf said: I have a greater right to reluctance: I am the son of Isḥāq — or: I am the son of Ismāʿīl — Abū Jaʿfar was uncertain; and in my writing it stands: the son of Isḥāq, the sacrifice of Allah, the son of Ibrāhīm, the friend of Allah.
19450 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Hudhayl — something similar; but he said: I am the son of Ibrāhīm, the friend of Allah, the son of Ismāʿīl, the sacrifice of Allah.
19451 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī al-Hudhayl, who said: The ʿAzīz said to Yūsuf: "There is nothing but that I want you to share it with me, except that I would like that you not share with me in my household, and that my slave not eat with me!" Yūsuf said: "Do you feel reluctance that I should eat with you? Then I have a greater right to feel reluctance than you: I am the son of Ibrāhīm, the friend of Allah, the son of Isḥāq, the sacrifice, the son of Yaʿqūb whose two eyes had turned white from grief."
19452 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Sufyān ibn ʿUqba related to us, on the authority of Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū Maysara, who said: When the ʿAzīz saw the quickness, intelligence, and refinement of Yūsuf, he summoned him to himself and ate his midday meal and his evening meal with him without his servants. But after there had occurred between him and the woman what had occurred, she said to him: "You keep him so close! Order him to eat with the servants." He said to him: "Go eat with the servants." Yūsuf said to him to his face: "Are you ashamed to eat with me — or do you feel reluctance — ? By Allah, I am Yūsuf, the son of Yaʿqūb, the Prophet of Allah, the son of Isḥāq, the sacrifice of Allah, the son of Ibrāhīm, the friend of Allah."
