Tafsir of Yusuf 12:19

(And there came)—This begins the account of what befell Yusuf, peace be upon him, in the well, following the conclusion of the mention of what occurred between his brothers and his father. That is, there came to the well (a caravan)—a traveling party journeying from the direction of Midian to Egypt. This was after three days had passed since he was cast into it. It is also said: it occurred on the second day. The apparent meaning is that the well was on their usual route.

It is also said: it was in a wilderness far from civilization, and they had lost their way, thus encountering it. (So they sent)—to it (their water-drawer)—the one who goes to the water and draws it for them; this was Malik ibn Dh’ar al-Khuza‘i. Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "The term 'drawer' (warid) here can apply to one person or a group." The apparent meaning is the former. The use of the feminine in "came" (ja’at) and the masculine in "sent" (arsalu) and "drawer" (wariduhum) is in consideration of both the grammatical form and the meaning. The expression of "coming" hints at the honor of Yusuf, peace be upon him, in the sight of his Lord, Exalted is He. The object of the coming is omitted, as is the object of the sending, due to their obviousness. For this reason, the object is omitted in His saying, Exalted is He: (So he let down his bucket)—meaning he sent it down into the well to draw water.

It is said: "He let down (dalla) the bucket" when he brought it out full. The word "bucket" (dalw) is feminine by usage; it is diminished as dulayyah and pluralized as adwul, dila’, and duli. Ibn al-Shihnah said: "The bucket used for drawing water is feminine, though it may be masculine. As for dalw as a verbal noun from dalawtu (to let down) combined with the concept of traveling, it is masculine." The well (jubb), according to al-Farra’ (as transmitted by Muhammad ibn al-Jahm), follows the same rule of masculine and feminine, while others say it is masculine only. As for the well (bi’r), it is feminine only, according to the popular view; its diminutive is buwayrah, and its plurals are a’bar, ab’ar, ab’ur, and bi’ar. There is an omission in the speech: "So he let down his bucket, and Yusuf hung onto it, and he brought him out."

(He said)—an inauguration prompted by the circumstances—(O good news! This is a boy). He called out to "good news" as a greeting to himself, his people, or his companions, as if he had personified it and called out to it; thus, it is a metaphorical and imaginative invocation. It means: "O good news, come forth! For this is the time of your presence." It is said: the person addressed is omitted, as in "O wish!"—meaning, "O my people, look and listen to my good news." It is also said: this word is used to express good tidings without intending a literal invocation. Some claim that "Bushra" was the name of a companion he called upon to assist him in bringing him out; this is narrated from al-Suddi, but it is not highly regarded.

Most non-Kufic readers recited it as ya bushraya (O my good news), with the possessive ya. Hamzah and al-Kisa'i gave the fathah of the ra an imalah (inclination), while Warsh read it between the two sounds. It is narrated from Nafi‘ that he read ya bushraya with the ya of the possessive being silent (sukun), which requires the meeting of two silent letters contrary to standard rules. He excused this by saying he treated the conjunction as if it were a pause, and such examples are frequent in the Quran and elsewhere. It is also said: it is permitted because the alif, due to its elongation, performs the role of a vowel. Abu al-Tufayl, al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and al-Jahdari read it as ya bushra (turning the alif into a ya and merging it into the possessive ya), which is a dialect of Hudhayl and others.

(A boy)—the term "boy" (ghulam) is often applied to anyone from the age of two up to puberty, and sometimes to a full-grown man, as in the words of Layla al-Akhyaliyyah regarding al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi: "A boy who, when he shakes his spear, he waters it." The apparent meaning of the tanwin in this context is for magnification, and he was deserving of that, for he possessed the finest beauty of all boys. Al-Baghawi mentions from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: "Yusuf was given half of all beauty." Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: "Yusuf and his mother were given two-thirds of beauty." Al-Tha‘labi relates from Ka‘b al-Ahbar that he said: "Yusuf was beautiful of face, curly-haired, large-eyed, of perfect stature, white-skinned, with thick forearms and calves, a hollow belly, and a small navel. When he smiled, one could see light in his teeth, and if he spoke, one could see rays of light from his incisors. No one could describe him; his beauty was like the light of day at night. He resembled Adam, peace be upon him, the day he was created before he committed the error." It is recounted that the sides of the well wept for him when he left it; this perhaps falls under the category of "the house wept for the loss of so-and-so." The apparent meaning is that the drawer's exclamation—"O good news! This is a boy"—occurred upon seeing him. It is also said: it was when he reached his companions that he shouted it.

(And they concealed him)—meaning the drawer and his companions hid him from the rest of the caravan so they would not see him and covet him. It is also said: they hid his matter—that he was found in the well—and told the rest of the caravan, "The people of the water entrusted him to us to sell for them in Egypt." It is also said: the pronoun refers to the brothers of Yusuf. This is because some of them returned to verify his state and saw him with the caravan, then informed their brothers. They came to them and said, "This is a boy who ran away from us," so they bought him. Yusuf remained silent, fearing they would kill him. In one narration, they said to him in Hebrew, "Do not deny your servitude, or we will kill you," so he admitted to it, and they bought him from the caravan. It is said that Judah used to bring him food, but on the day he was removed, he did not find him in the well and found him with the caravan; he informed his brothers, and they came to them and said what they said. Narrating that the pronoun refers to the brothers is attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. It is said that this is more consistent with the singular verb "said" (qala) and the plural pronoun "concealed" (asraruhu), as well as the warning that follows shortly, if Allah wills. There is no disruption in the structure here. It is not hidden that the apparent meaning is what was pointed to first. His saying, Exalted is He, (as merchandise) is in the accusative as a state, meaning: they concealed him while he was goods for trade. In al-Fara'id, it is stated that "concealed" (asraruhu) implies the meaning of "they made him," i.e., they made him merchandise while concealing him; thus, it is a direct object. Ibn al-Hajib said: "It is possible that it is a 'reason for the action' (maf‘ul lahu), meaning: for the sake of trade." Its condition is not lost because its agent and the agent of the verb for which it is the reason are the same, as the meaning is "they hid him for the sake of obtaining wealth through him." It cannot be a discernment (tamyiz). It is derived from al-bid’ (cutting), as if merchandise were called that because it is cut from wealth and set aside for trade.

(And Allah is Knowing of what they do)—Nothing of their secrets is hidden from Him, Exalted is He. Many have stated that this is a warning to the brothers of Yusuf, peace be upon him, for what they did to their father and brother, and for reducing him to being an object of degradation through buying and selling.