Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:8
When they said, "Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error.
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: إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ (8)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: "There were in Yūsuf and his brothers signs for whoever inquired about their affair, when the brothers of Yūsuf said: لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ — his brother on the mother's side — أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ " — that is to say: while we are a group of considerable number, eleven men.
"Al-ʿuṣba" (the group) among people consists of ten or more; some say up to fifteen. It has no singular of the same root, just like "al-nafar" and "al-raḥṭ".
إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ — that is to say: our father Yaʿqūb is in a manifest error in his conduct, by preferring Yūsuf and his brother on the mother's side above us in love. By "al-mubīn" (the manifest) he means: an error that is self-evidently an error to whoever considers it and looks upon it.
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) also said.
Mention of who said that:
18795 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad al-ʿAnqazī related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا — he said: they meant Binyāmīn. He said: there were ten of them.
18796 — he said: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ — he said: in an error with respect to us.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the words وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ : "al-ʿuṣba" is the group (al-jamāʿa).
Notes: In the printed edition it reads "the brothers of Yūsuf said", which is poor and merely constitutes a misreading of the manuscript. — See the explanation of "al-mubīn" earlier in the linguistic registers (b-y-n).
