Tafsir of Yusuf 12:10

"A speaker among them said" — this was Judah, whose opinion regarding him was the least evil compared to the opinions of others. He is the one who said: "I will never leave the land," etc., as al-Suddi stated. Qatadah and Ibn Ishaq said: It was Reuben. According to Mujahid, it was Simeon; and it is said: Dan. Some say that one of these two is the one who said: "Kill Joseph," etc., while the one who said "Do not kill Joseph" was someone else. Perhaps the most correct view is that it was Judah. It is said that none of them were mentioned by name to conceal the wrongdoing, as none of them were free from sin, though their ranks varied. The argument that, based on this, no one should specify any of them by name out of following the Book is baseless, for that is a place of exegesis where such specification is sought.

The sentence is an explanatory initiation, as if a questioner asked: "Did they agree upon what was presented to them of the two paths of action, or did one of them disagree?" Thus, it was said: "A speaker among them said: 'Do not kill Joseph,'" etc. Mentioning Joseph by name instead of using a pronoun is to invoke their compassion for him and to magnify the gravity of killing him, as he is who he is. It is narrated that he said to them: "Killing is a grave matter," and he did not explicitly forbid the other option, but instead redirected them to the superiority of his own proposal by saying: "And cast him into the depths of the well."

"Depths of the well" (ghayabat al-jubb) means into its bottom and lowest point. It is named so because it is hidden (ghayabah) from the eye of the beholder; hence, the grave is sometimes called a ghayabah. Al-Mukhall al-Sa'di said: "If one day my ghayabah (grave) hides me, then follow my path among the clan and the kin." Al-Harawi said: The ghayabah in the well is like a cave or an arch within the well above the water, where whatever is inside is hidden from view. The jubb (well) is a pit that has not been lined with stones; if it is lined, it is called a bi’r. Al-A'sha said: "Even if you were in a well of eighty cubits, and ascended the causes of heaven with a ladder." Its plurals are jiyab, jibab, and ajbab. It is called jubb because it was jubb (cut/excavated) from the earth. The discussion regarding its gender (feminine/masculine) will follow shortly, God willing.

Nafi’ read it as ghayabat (in the plural) in both places, as if that well had multiple depths, indicating its vastness, or he intended the jubb to be a generic category, meaning: "in some of the depths of a well." Ibn Hurmuz read it as ghayyabat with a shaddah on the ya, which is an intensive form; according to the author of al-Lawami', its weight could be fa'alat (like hammamat) or fi'alat (like shaytanat as the plural of shaytanah). Al-Hasan read it as ghaybah with fathas (all vowels as 'a'), as it is originally a verbal noun like ghalabah. It is also possible that it is the plural of gha'ib (absent), like sani' and san'ah. In the codex of Ubayy (may God be pleased with him), it is written as ghaybah with a sukun on the ya, as a verbal noun intended to refer to the absent one.

"Let the travelers pick him up" — meaning take him, as a way of safeguarding him from loss and ruin, for "picking up" (iltiqat) is the taking of something on the verge of being lost. So it is said. In Majma’ al-Bayan, it is to find something and take it without claiming it. From this is the saying: "A watering place I approached by chance (iltiqatan)."

"Some of the travelers" — meaning some group traveling on the earth. The al (definite article) in "the travelers" is as it is in "the well" and what is in them. The indefiniteness in "some" serves to confirm his intention of promoting his words by aligning them with their objective, which was to remove Joseph (peace be upon him) from them so that his tracks would not be known and his news would not be told. Al-Hasan read taltaqithu (feminine) considering the meaning, as in the saying: "When some of the years (ta'arrafatna - feminine)..." And it is said quta'at ba'd asabi'ihi (some of her fingers were cut). They consider this a case of the annexed noun acquiring the gender of the noun to which it is annexed, as in the poet's saying: "Just as the chest (sadr - masculine) of the lance (al-qanat - feminine) was stained with blood."

"If you are to do [it]" — meaning: if you are determined and insistent upon doing to him that which separates him from his father, or if you are to follow my advice and opinion, then cast him, etc. He did not finalize the command for them, but rather presented it to them to soften their hearts, guide them toward his view, and protect himself from their ill suspicion. Since this invites the question of what they did afterward—whether they accepted his opinion or not—it is answered by way of initiation, incorporating their acceptance of it, as will come, God willing, in His (Subhanahu) saying: "And they agreed to put him in the depths of the well."