Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:91
They said, "By Allah, certainly has Allah preferred you over us, and indeed, we have been sinners."
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 discourse on the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: قَالُوا تَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ آثَرَكَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا وَإِنْ كُنَّا لَخَاطِئِينَ (They said: By Allah, Allah has truly preferred you above us, and we were indeed sinners) (91)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: The brothers of Yūsuf said to him: By Allah, Allah has preferred you above us and raised you above us through knowledge, forbearance, and excellence. (and we were indeed sinners) — He says: and in our deed which we committed against you — by separating you from your father and your brother and through all the rest that we did against you — we were only sinners; they meant: people who had committed a fault.
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One says: "khaṭiʾa fulānun yakhṭaʾu khaṭaʾan wa-khiṭʾan, wa-akhṭaʾa yukhṭiʾu ikhṭāʾan" — he failed and he erred. To this usage belongs the saying of Umayya ibn al-Askar:
"Indeed, two emigrants who surrounded him — by the life of Allah, they committed a fault and sinned."
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In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
19793 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When Yūsuf had said to them: أَنَا يُوسُفُ وَهَذَا أَخِي (I am Yūsuf and this is my brother), they excused themselves to him and said: (By Allah, Allah has truly preferred you above us, and we were indeed sinners) in what we did against you.
19794 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his saying: (By Allah, Allah has truly preferred you above us) — this was after he had disclosed his identity to them. He says: Allah has made you a man of forbearance and excellence.