Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:76
So he began [the search] with their bags before the bag of his brother; then he extracted it from the bag of his brother. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his brother within the religion of the king except that Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We will, but over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing.
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: فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ (76)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: Yūsuf searched through the sacks and the saddle-packs, looking for the king's drinking-cup; he began his search with the sacks of his half-brothers — searching them one by one before the sack of his brother on his father's and mother's side — for he left that one until last; then he searched last the sack of his brother and brought out the drinking-cup from the sack of his brother.
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation also said.
Mention of who said that:
19559 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ : it is mentioned that with every sack he looked through he asked Allah for forgiveness, in repentance over the accusation he had laid upon them, until only the sack of his brother remained — he was the youngest of the company; Yūsuf said: "I do not think this one has taken anything!" They said: "Yes, search him!" — while they knew full well where they had placed the drinking-cup. ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ .
19560 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَاسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ — he said: every time he opened a sack he asked Allah for forgiveness in repentance over what he had done, until he arrived at the sack of the boy; he said: "I do not think this boy has taken anything!" They said: "Yes, search him!"
19561 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ — when only the saddle-pack of the boy remained, he said: "This boy could not possibly have taken it!" They said: "By Allah, his saddle-pack will not be passed over until you have searched it — then we shall depart with an easy mind." He put in his hand and brought out the drinking-cup.
19562 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: When the herald said to them: وَلِمَنْ جَاءَ بِهِ حِمْلُ بَعِيرٍ وَأَنَا بِهِ زَعِيمٌ , they said: "We do not know it to be with us or with any one of us." He said: "You shall not depart until I have searched your baggage and have exerted myself fully in my search for it among you!" He began to search sack after sack and to examine what was in them, until he came to the sack of his brother and searched it and brought out the drinking-cup from it; he took him by his neck and brought him back to Yūsuf. Allah says: كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ .
19563 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: It is related to us that every time he searched the baggage of a man he asked his Lord for forgiveness, in repentance — for he indeed knew where the object he was seeking lay! Until only his brother remained and he knew that the object he sought was with him; he said: "I do not think this boy has taken it, and I do not care to leave his baggage unsearched!" His brothers said: "It is better for your mind and for ours that you search his baggage too." When he opened his baggage he brought out the object he sought; Allah said: كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ .
The linguists differed concerning the feminine referent (the hāʾ and alif) in ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ .
Some of the grammarians of Baṣra said: it refers to the "ṣuwāʿ" — and this was made feminine although earlier it had been said وَلِمَنْ جَاءَ بِهِ حِمْلُ بَعِيرٍ — because by "al-ṣuwāʿ" was meant "al-siqāya" (the drinking-vessel), which is feminine. "Al-ṣuwāʿ" is masculine, but some made it feminine; here "al-siqāya" is meant, which is feminine. These two are names for the same thing, like "al-thawb" (the garment) and "al-milḥafa" (the wrap) — the one masculine, the other feminine, but for the same thing.
Some of the grammarians of Kūfa said, concerning ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ : he intended the feminine of "al-sariqa" (the theft). He said: if "al-ṣuwāʿ" has the meaning of "al-ṣāʿ" (the measure), then this feminine may be a consequence of that. He said: one may also make it feminine on account of "al-siqāya." "Al-ṣuwāʿ" is masculine; "al-ṣāʿ" can be feminine or masculine — whoever makes it feminine says: "thalāthu aṣuʿin" (three measures), on the pattern of "thalāthu adur"; whoever makes it masculine says "aṣwāʿ," on the pattern of "abwāb."
Another of them said: "al-ṣuwāʿ" is made feminine when by it "al-siqāya" is meant, and masculine when by it "al-ṣuwāʿ" is meant. This is like "al-khiwān" and "al-māʾida" (the table), and "sinān al-rumḥ" (the spearhead) and "ʿāliyatuhu" (its upper part), and everything else in which two names come together, one masculine and the other feminine.
His words كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — that is to say: thus did We contrive for Yūsuf, so that he might free his brother on his father's and mother's side from his half-brothers, by their own acknowledgement that he had the right to take him to himself and keep him, and to bring about a separation between him and them. That is because they, when it was said to them مَا جَزَاؤُهُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ كَاذِبِينَ , said: the recompense of whoever has stolen the drinking-cup is that the one with whom it is found be held as a slave (yustaraqqū); this was their judgement (ḥukm) in their religion. So Allah ordained for Yūsuf as described, until he took his brother from them and he remained with him on the basis of their own judgement and the ordainment of Allah for him.
His words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ — that is to say: Yūsuf could not have taken his brother on the basis of the judgement (ḥukm) of the king of Egypt and his authority and their obedience to him, for it was not the judgement and the ruling of that king that anyone could be held as a slave for theft; Yūsuf therefore could not have taken his brother on the basis of the judgement of the king of his land, unless Allah had ordained this for him by His contrivance, until his brothers and travel-companions delivered up the one in whose sack the drinking-cup was found, on the basis of their own judgement concerning him, and they had willingly acquiesced in that.
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation also said.
Mention of who said that:
19564 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Shabāba related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ : except by a contrivance that Allah had devised for him, which Yūsuf used as a pretext.
19565 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like of it.
19566 — Al-Muthanā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — Allah had devised this for him, and it served Yūsuf as a pretext.
19567 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ — except by a contrivance that Allah had devised, which Yūsuf used as a pretext. Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning the words كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ : he said: We arranged it.
19568 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ — that is to say: We arranged it for Yūsuf.
19569 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning the words كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ : that is to say: We arranged it for Yūsuf.
The people of interpretation differed concerning the interpretation of مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ .
Some said: he could not have taken his brother under the authority of the king.
Mention of who said that:
19570 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ : that is to say: under the authority of the king.
19571 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ : that is to say: under the authority of the king.
Others said: the meaning is: in his judgement and ruling.
Mention of who said that:
19572 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ : that is to say: it was not the judgement of the king that anyone should be held as a slave for theft.
19573 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ — he said: it was not in the religion of the king — he said: his judgement.
19574 — Al-Muthanā related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad ibn Layth al-Marwazī related to us, on the authority of a man whom he named, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, on the authority of Abū Mawdūd al-Madanī, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurẓī say: قَالُوا جَزَاؤُهُ مَنْ وُجِدَ فِي رَحْلِهِ فَهُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ — كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ — the judgement of the king does not at all determine that whoever steals be taken, but Allah ordained it for his brother so that they pronounced what they pronounced, whereupon he took them by their own words — and this did not follow from the judgement of the king.
19575 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said: it reached him concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ : the judgement of the king was that whoever steals, double the value is imposed upon him as a penalty.
19576 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ — that is to say: in the judgement of the king.
19577 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ — that is to say: not through injustice, but Allah ordained it for Yūsuf to bring his brother together with himself.
19578 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning the words مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ : the judgement of the king does not determine that the thief be taken for his theft. He said: the judgement among the prophets Yaʿqūb and his sons was that the thief be taken as a slave for his theft.
Abū Jaʿfar said: All these statements, even though the wordings of those who expound them concerning the meaning of "dīn al-malik" differ, are close to one another in their meaning — for whoever takes him under the authority of the king deals with him at his command; he then takes him with his consent and not otherwise, and that, on his part, is a judgement over him, and his judgement over him is his ruling.
The original meaning of "al-dīn" is obedience. This I have set forth elsewhere with proofs in a manner that makes its repetition here unnecessary.
His words إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ — as:
19579 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ — but We arranged it for him through their saying: فَهُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ .
19580 — Al-Muthanā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: إِلا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ — except by a contrivance that Allah had devised, which Yūsuf used as a pretext.
His words نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ — the Qurʾān-reciters differed over the reading of this.
Some read it as: "narfaʿu darajāti man nashāʾu" — with "al-darajāt" joined to "man" in the genitive — with the meaning: We raise the ranks of whomever We will that his ranks and stations in the world be raised by knowledge above others, just as We raised the rank of Yūsuf therein and his station in the world above the ranks and stations of his brothers.
Others read it as: نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ — with tanwīn on "al-darajāt" — with the meaning: We raise whomever We will by ranks and degrees in knowledge above others, just as We raised Yūsuf. In this reading "man" is in the fourth case (accusative); in the first reading it is in the second case (genitive). This has been set forth earlier in Sūrat al-Anʿām.
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation also said.
Mention of who said that:
19581 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, he said: Ibn Jurayj said concerning the words نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ : Yūsuf and his brothers were given knowledge; We raised Yūsuf above them in knowledge.
His words وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — Allah the Exalted says: above every knowing one there is someone who knows more than he, until this comes up to Allah. He meant thereby: Yūsuf is richer in knowledge than his brothers; above Yūsuf there is someone who is richer in knowledge than Yūsuf, until this comes up to Allah.
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation also said.
Mention of who said that:
19582 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀmir al-ʿAqadī related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Thaʿlabī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he related a tradition and a man with him said: وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ . Ibn ʿAbbās said: "What an evil remark you have made! Allah is the All-Knowing and He is above every knowing one."
19583 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: Ibn ʿAbbās related a tradition and a man with him said: "Praise be to Allah! وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ !" Ibn ʿAbbās said: "The Knowing One is Allah and He is above every knowing one."
19584 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: we were with Ibn ʿAbbās; he related a tradition; a man was astonished and said: "Praise be to Allah! فَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ !" Ibn ʿAbbās said: "What an evil remark you have made: Allah is the All-Knowing and He is above every knowing one."
19585 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us; they said: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — he said: this one knows more than that one, and that one knows more than the previous one; and Allah is above every knowing one.
19586 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr related to us, he said: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — he said: Allah the All-Aware is above every knowing one.
19587 — Al-Muthanā related to me, he said: ʿUbaydullāh related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ — he said: Allah is above every knowing one.
