Tafsir of Yusuf 12:38

"(وَاتَّبَعْتُ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ)" falls within the context of providing a reason. It is as if he said: "I have attained what I have attained only because I did not follow the creed of a people who disbelieved in the Origin and the Return, and I followed the creed of my noble forefathers who believed in these." He, peace be upon him, said this to encourage his two companions toward faith and monotheism, and to alienate them from the polytheism and error they were upon. He mentioned his abandonment of their religion before his adherence to the creed of his forefathers—peace be upon them—because "emptying" (purification) precedes "filling" (adornment).

Some have permitted that there is no causality here; rather, the first sentence is an initial statement set as a preparation for the invitation, and the second is an expression of his belonging to the house of Prophethood to strengthen their desire for him. In the words of Abu Hayyan, there is that which suggests this is the most apparent view, but it is not significant. Al-Ashhab al-Uqayli and the Kufans read "آبائي" with a vowelless (sukūn) Yā, and it is narrated from Abu Amr.

"(مَا كَانَ)" — meaning: It was neither correct nor established, let alone it actually occurring, "(لَنَا)" — we, the company of Prophets, due to the strength of our souls. It is also said: It means, we, the people of the house, due to the abundance of God’s care for us, "(أَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ)" — i.e., anything at all, whether it be an angel, a jinn, or a human, let alone an idol that neither hears nor sees. The "min" (in 'min shay'in') is redundant for the sake of emphasizing the generality of the object. It is also permissible for the meaning to be "anything of polytheism," whether little or much; thus, "shay'" would refer to the verbal noun, while the order of generality remains. From the generality of this, the generality of the related matters follows.

"(ذَلِكَ)" — i.e., monotheism, which is indicated by the negation of the validity of polytheism, "(مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا)" — meaning: it stems from His supporting us with Prophethood and revelation in its various forms. The intent is that it is a bounty bestowed upon us in essence, "(وَعَلَى النَّاسِ)" — through us, "(وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَشْكُرُونَ)."

Meaning: They do not profess monotheism. Since he expressed it with that title, he expressed the monotheism it mandates as "gratitude" (shukr), because, along with it being one of the effects of the aforementioned support, it is gratitude to God Almighty. The explicit noun was placed in the position of the pronoun referring to "the people" for further clarification and explanation, and to preclude the suspicion that it refers to the entirety of the people, and to avoid the implication—suggested by "us"—that non-believers are excluded from "the people," which would contain corruption.

It is also allowed that the meaning is: "That monotheism stems from the bounty of God Almighty upon us, as He set up evidence for us to contemplate and use to infer the Truth." He also set up such evidence for the rest of people without distinction, but most of them do not contemplate or infer from it, following their own whims, and thus remain disbelieving and ungrateful. According to this, the "bounty" is intellectual, while in the first view, it is scriptural (sam'i).

The Master Abu al-Su'ud allowed it to be said: The meaning is that this monotheism is from the bounty of God Almighty upon us, as He gave us intellects and faculties that we use regarding the evidence of monotheism which He laid out in the souls and the horizons. He gave the rest of humanity similar faculties, but most of them do not show gratitude, meaning they do not direct those powers and faculties to that for which they were created, nor do they employ them in the aforementioned evidence of monotheism—the horizonal, the psychological, the rational, and the scriptural.

You may also say: It is permissible for the reference to be to that which was indicated by "that." It is intended to refer to what is understood from the preceding context: his act of interpreting the dream. The "min" in "min fadli Allah" is partitive (tab'idiyya). He would have reported about it, firstly, that it is from what his Lord taught him, and secondly, that it is some of the bounty of God Almighty upon him and his forefathers in essence, and upon the people through them, because they interpret their dreams for them, revealing what was obscure, and removing what occupied their minds, along with the benefit therein that none denies except one who is asleep or feigning sleep. Whoever reflects upon the private and public benefits resulting from the interpretation of the King’s dream will not doubt that the science of interpretation is from the bounty of God Almighty upon the people. But most of them do not show gratitude for the bounty of God Almighty in absolute terms, or for His bounty upon them by the existence of those to whom they can turn for the interpretation of their dreams. This is analogous to your saying to someone who asked about Zayd: "That is my brother, that is my beloved." However, he varied the expression here and used the demonstrative pronoun first, coupled with addressing them, and did not do so the second time. He brought the "Lord" added to His pronoun first, and the "Majestic Name" second.

It is also possible that the reference in both places is to the report of the unseen in absolute terms. The discussion in the rest of the verse regarding this does not appear problematic to me. In both ways, there is no contradiction between the justification of attaining honor by his abandonment of the creed of the disbelievers—and his following of the creed of his noble forefathers—and the reporting that this is from the bounty of God Almighty upon him and those with him, as is not hidden. Yes, if the reference is carried upon what was mentioned and the verse is directed accordingly, it is not free from remoteness. Some have made the reference to be to Prophethood, and that too has its own issues.

This being said, the Imam deemed that the intended meaning of "(لا يَشْكُرُونَ)" is: They do not thank God Almighty for the blessing of faith. He then said: It is narrated that a person from the Sunnis visited Bishr ibn al-Mu'tamir and said: "Do you thank God Almighty for faith or not? If you say: 'No,' you have opposed the consensus. And if you thank Him, how can you thank Him for what is not His act?" Bishr replied: "We thank Him for giving us the capacity, the intellect, and the instrument. As for thanking Him for faith when it is not His act, that is false." The discussion became difficult for Bishr. Then Thumamah ibn al-Ashras entered and said: "We do not thank God Almighty for faith; rather, God Almighty thanks us for it, as He, the Exalted, said: 'And those, their striving has been appreciated (mashkuran).'" Bishr said: "When the discussion became difficult, it became easy." The author of the commentary commented on this—may mercy be upon him—that what Thumamah committed himself to is false, and it is on the edge of the abyss by the text of this verse. For the Exalted explained within it that the lack of polytheism is from the bounty of God, then He explained that most people do not thank Him for this blessing. The Exalted mentioned this by way of dispraise, which proves that it is mandatory for a believer to thank God Almighty for faith so as not to enter into the dispraise. Thus, the argument is strengthened and the indication is completed.

Perhaps the aspect of the verse is as stated previously, so understand it.