Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:56
And thus We established Joseph in the land to settle therein wherever he willed. We touch with Our mercy whom We will, and We do not allow to be lost the reward of those who do 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: وَكَذَلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الأَرْضِ يَتَبَوَّأُ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ يَشَاءُ نُصِيبُ بِرَحْمَتِنَا مَنْ نَشَاءُ وَلا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (And thus We established Yūsuf in the land: he could dwell therein wherever he willed. We bestow Our mercy upon whom We will, and We do not let the reward of those who do good go to waste. — 12:56)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah, the Exalted, says: And thus We made it easy for Yūsuf in the land — that is to say: the land of Egypt — (yatabawwaʾu minhā ḥaythu yashāʾu): he chooses from the land of Egypt a dwelling place wherever he wills, after the prison and the distress; (nuṣību bi-raḥmatinā man nashāʾu): of Our creatures, just as We struck Yūsuf with it and established him in the land after slavery (ʿubūda) and captivity (asār), and after being cast into the well; (wa-lā nuḍīʿu ajra al-muḥsinīna): We do not destroy the reward for the work of whoever has done good and obeyed his Lord, and acted in accordance with His command, and desisted from what He forbade him — just as We did not destroy the reward for the work of Yūsuf when he did good and obeyed Allah.
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The establishment by Allah for Yūsuf in the land was as follows:
19459 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: After Yūsuf had said to the king: اجْعَلْنِي عَلَى خَزَائِنِ الأَرْضِ إِنِّي حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌ, the king said: 'So be it!' According to what is mentioned, he then appointed him over the office of Iṭfīr, and removed Iṭfīr from his post. Allah says: (wa-kadhālika makkannā li-Yūsufa fī al-arḍi yatabawwaʾu minhā ḥaythu yashāʾu) — the āya. He said: And it has been transmitted to me — Allah knows best — that Iṭfīr died that night, and that the king al-Rayyān ibn al-Walīd gave Yūsuf in marriage to the wife of Iṭfīr, Rāʿīl; and that she, when she entered upon him, said: 'Is this not better than what you desired?' They claim that she said: 'O truthful one, do not reproach me: I was a woman as you see, beautiful and graceful, of luxury and wealth, and my husband did not perform intercourse with women; and you were as Allah made you in beauty and stature, so that my soul tempted me to what you saw.' They claim that he found her a virgin, had intercourse with her, and she bore him two sons: Afrāʾīm ibn Yūsuf and Mīshā ibn Yūsuf.
19460 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: (wa-kadhālika makkannā li-Yūsufa fī al-arḍi yatabawwaʾu minhā ḥaythu yashāʾu) — he said: the king appointed him over Egypt, and he was the one who managed its affairs; he carried out the trade, the commerce, and all its matters; that is His word: (wa-kadhālika makkannā li-Yūsufa fī al-arḍi yatabawwaʾu minhā ḥaythu yashāʾu).
19461 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: (yatabawwaʾu minhā ḥaythu yashāʾu): We gave him authority over what was in that land, wherever he willed in that world; he did therein what he willed; everything was entrusted to him. He said: had he willed, he would have made Pharaoh subordinate to him and placed him above him.
19462 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Kūfī, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: the king who was with Yūsuf converted to Islam.
