Tafsir of Yusuf 12:21

It is narrated that when he was brought to Egypt, he sold him for twenty dinars, two pairs of sandals, and two white garments. It is also said: He was brought to the market for sale, and they contested his price until it reached his weight in musk, his weight in silver, and his weight in silk. The 'Aziz (the one in charge of the treasuries of Egypt under its king) bought him for that. It is said he was the King’s baker, or the master of his drink and mounts, or the one in charge of the famous prison. The view relied upon is the first, and his name was Qatfir, or Atfir, or Qantura. The first is narrated from Ibn Abbas, and this is what is intended by His saying, the Exalted: "And the one who bought him from Egypt." This purchase is distinct from the previous purchase that was for a cheap price; the claim that they are identical is very weak, otherwise the phrase "from Egypt" would hold little significance.

The king at that time was al-Rayyan ibn al-Walid the Amaliqite. He died during the lifetime of Yusuf, peace be upon him, after believing in him. After him, Qabus ibn Mus'ab reigned, and when [Yusuf] invited him to belief, he refused. It is said: The king in his days was the Pharaoh of Musa, peace be upon him, who lived four hundred years, based on the proof of His saying, the Exalted: "And indeed Musa came to you before with clear signs." It is also said: The Pharaoh of Musa, peace be upon him, was among the descendants of the Pharaoh of Yusuf, peace be upon him, and the verse is of the category of addressing descendants with the circumstances of their ancestors; this is the correct view. The apparent state of the 'Aziz is that he was a disbeliever. In al-Bahr, it is argued that this is evidenced by the idol in his house, as mentioned in some narrations. Mujahid said: He was a believer. Perhaps he means that he believed after that, otherwise for him to be a believer on the day of the purchase is something hardly acceptable. Indeed, he took great care of Yusuf’s affairs, and for this reason, he said to his wife—Ra'il, the daughter of Ra'abil, as narrated from Mujahid—[the words that follow]. Al-Suddi said: Zulaikha, the daughter of Tamlikha. It is said: Her name is Ra'il and her title is Zulaikha, and it is said: The reverse.

The first prepositional phrase, as Abu al-Baqa said, relates to "bought him"—like saying, "I bought it from Baghdad," meaning therein or by means of it—or it relates to an implied state of the person or the pronoun in "bought," meaning "being a resident of Egypt." The second prepositional phrase relates to "said," as we indicated, not to "bought him." The object of the speech is: "Make his residence honorable," meaning make the place of his dwelling and stay honorable, i.e., good and pleasing. This is a metonymy for honoring Yusuf, peace be upon him, himself in the most eloquent and complete way, because whoever honors a place by cleaning it, furnishing it, and the like, has honored his guest with all that a guest is honored with. It is said that "residence" (mathwa) is redundant; it is said: "High council" and "exalted station." The meaning is: Treat him kindly and look after what the honor of a guest requires. "Perhaps he will benefit us"—in fulfilling our interests once he is trained in matters and learns their courses—"or we may take him as a son," meaning we adopt him and place him in the position of a son. It is narrated that he was sterile, and perhaps the separation [of the two possibilities] is to prevent the [possibility of] emptiness. Some claimed it is to prevent the [possibility of] combination, in the sense of "perhaps we will sell him and benefit from his price," but this is nothing.

This statement by the 'Aziz was due to his discerning in him the signs of maturity and nobility. Because of this, Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, as narrated by Sa'id ibn Mansur, al-Hakim (who authenticated it), and others: "The most discerning of people are three: The 'Aziz when he discerned [the worth] in Yusuf and said to his wife: 'Make his residence honorable; perhaps he will benefit us,' etc.; the woman who came to Musa and said to her father: 'O my father, hire him'; and Abu Bakr when he appointed Umar as his successor."

"And thus We established Yusuf in the land"—meaning We gave him a place therein. It is said: "Established him in it" means We fixed him in it; "established for him in it" means We made a place for him in it. Due to their closeness and association, each is used in the place of the other. The Exalted said: "And how many a generation We destroyed before them... whom We had established in the land that which We have not established for you." The intent by "place" (makan) here is status and rank, not mere distance, nor the inner surface of the container touching the outer surface of the contained, or other things pursued by those among the philosophers who did so, whether true or false. The reference is to what is understood from the preceding speech and the sense of distance it contains for the purpose of aggrandizement. The kaf (in kadhalika) is in the accusative as a masdar (source/adverbial), meaning: Just as We gave him an honorable residence in the house of the 'Aziz, or an exalted place in his heart—to the extent that he commanded his wife, unlike his other attendants, to honor his residence—so We gave him a lofty status in the land of Egypt.

The aforementioned "making" is interpreted as making him prominent among the people of Egypt and beloved in their hearts, on the basis that this leads to the ultimate goal mentioned in His saying, the Exalted: "And that We might teach him the interpretation of [some] events"—meaning some of the dream interpretations, the core of which are the vision of the King and the two companions of the prison. This meaning is narrated from Mujahid, and it is the apparent [meaning], as his saying, peace be upon him, points to: "That is from what my Lord has taught me." Whether it is made a conjunction to an implied goal towards which the speech moves and which the system requires—as if it were said: "And like that marvelous establishment, We established Yusuf in the land, and We made the hearts of its people entirely the places of his love, so that what happened between him and the wife of the 'Aziz would result, and so that We might teach him some of the interpretation of events, and thus he would arrive at the high rank and supreme leadership"—perhaps the omission of the conjoined element is to indicate that it is not the [only] intended one, or it is linked to an implied meaning: "And for this mature wisdom, We did that establishment, not for anything else that lacks a praiseworthy outcome."

Some researchers chose the view that this [the kaf] is a reference to the masdar of the verb mentioned after it, and the kaf is redundant to indicate the confirmation of the greatness of the affair of the referred-to, as they mentioned regarding "And thus We have made you a just community." The intent is the establishment in the heart of the 'Aziz or in his house, and that this is an establishment in the land through the connection that he is a dignitary therein, since what these affairs revolve around is the establishment in the side of the 'Aziz. As for establishment in the side of all people, its referral to it is only in consideration of its inclusion of that establishment. It is not hidden that interpreting the establishment in the land as the establishment in the heart of the 'Aziz or in his house is contrary to the apparent meaning, as is interpreting it in the way mentioned before. Perhaps the apparent [meaning] is to interpret it as making him a ruler who acts in the land of Egypt with command and prohibition, except that in making the mentioned teaching a goal for it, there is obscurity, because that "making" is one of its effects and results branching from it, not the reverse. It is not known of him, peace be upon him, in the interweaving of his affairs, that he acted upon the requirements of the dream that alerted to events before their occurrence with an authentication that makes it a goal for that. What occurred regarding the rotation in the affair of the years is only an action upon the requirement of the previous, known dream, and an intention that "Our teaching him might be revealed," as you see.

It seems that those who went to that view—because it is the apparent [one]—intended by "teaching the interpretation of events" the understanding of the deep mysteries of the divine books and the subtleties of the traditions of the Prophets, peace be upon them. The meaning would then be: "We established him in the land of Egypt so that he might act in it with justice, and that We might teach him the meanings of the books of Allah, the Exalted, and their rulings, and the subtleties of the traditions of the Prophets, peace be upon them, so that he might judge among its people by them." Although the summary teaching of those events is not delayed from his establishment in that sense, the teaching of every individual meaning that occurs within the events and the guidance to the truth in every occurrence is delayed from that and is fitting to be a goal for it. Some included the "salvation" under this reference, and there is a discussion regarding this; so contemplate.

"And Allah is predominant over His affair"—He is not prevented from what He wills, nor is He contested in what He desires; rather, His command for a thing, when He intends it, is only that He says to it, "Be," and it is. Included in the generality of the attached masdar are His, the Exalted's, affairs relating to Yusuf, peace be upon him, in a primary or derivative way. He is predominant over the affair of Yusuf, so He manages it and does not entrust it to another. Ibn Jubayr inclined towards the return of the pronoun "His" to Allah, the Exalted, while al-Qutrubi inclined towards its return to Yusuf, peace be upon him. In any case, the speech—according to what is in al-Kashf—is a tadhil (supplementary clause). As for the first [view], because it follows the path of His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to perish," because since He is predominant over all His affairs, no one disputes Him, and no intended goal is impossible for Him; thus His will was the establishment of Yusuf—so-and-so and so-and-so—and the occurrence was radi'ay laban (as two sucklings). As for the second, it is because its meaning is that He is the Predominant over his affair, managing it with His subtle craft and generous favor. And when the river of Allah, the Exalted, comes, the river of Ma'qil becomes void; so where does the plot of the brothers and others, like the wife of the 'Aziz, land? Its position is like His saying: "And upon what shall I ride if I do not descend?"—from its predecessor, meaning "they invited, so I descended, and I was the first to descend." The verse, according to the first [view], is explicit in the doctrine of the People of the Sunnah.

"But most of the people do not know"—that the affair is such in what they bring forth and what they leave, out of their claim that they have some share in the affair, and how can they have that, when the whole affair belongs to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic? Or do they not know the subtleties of His craft and the hidden aspects of His favor? It is said: The intent by "most people" is the disbelievers, and this is reported from Ibn 'Atiyyah. It is said: The people of Egypt; it is said: The people of Mecca; it is said: "The most" means "all," and the intent is that all people do not perceive His, the Exalted's, Unseen. It is better to leave it to its apparent [meaning] and not limit its interpretation to what the previous statements contained, but rather it is intended for whoever is denied knowledge of what has preceded, whoever they may be. It is not far-fetched that the Mu'tazilah be included in its generality.