Tafsir of Yusuf 12:69

(And when they entered upon Yusuf, he took him to himself [آوى] (meaning: he embraced) his brother [Binyamin]. He said...)

The exegetes have said: When they entered upon him—peace be upon him—they said, "O King, this is our brother whom you commanded us to bring to you, and we have brought him to you." He said to them, "You have done well and acted correctly, and you shall find the result of that with me."

They delivered to him the message of their father; for when they had bid him farewell, he said to them: "Convey my greetings to the King of Egypt and tell him: Our father blesses you, prays for you, and thanks you for your kindness toward us." Abu Mansur al-Mahrani said: He addressed him with that in a letter. When Yusuf—peace be upon him—read it, he wept. Then, he honored them, provided them with good lodging, and showed them hospitality. He seated every two of them at a table, so Binyamin remained alone. He wept and said, "If my brother Yusuf were alive, he would have seated me with him."

Yusuf—peace be upon him—said, "Your brother remains alone." They replied, "He had a brother, but he perished." He said, "Then I shall seat him with me at my table," and he began to eat with him. When night fell, he ordered them to do the same, saying, "Let every two of you sleep on one bed." Binyamin remained alone, so he said, "This one shall sleep with me on my bed." He slept with Yusuf—peace be upon him—on his bed, and Yusuf began to draw him close and smell his scent until morning.

He asked him about his children, and Binyamin said, "I have ten sons whose names I derived from the name of a brother of mine who perished." He said to him, "Would you like me to be your brother in place of your perished brother?" He replied, "Who could find a brother like you, O King? But Ya’qub did not give birth to you, nor did Rachel."

Yusuf—peace be upon him—wept, rose, embraced him, and revealed himself to him at that moment. (He said: "Indeed, I am your brother; so do not be distressed [فلا تبتئس] (meaning: do not grieve) by what they used to do [بما كانوا يعملون] to us in the past, for Allah has been gracious to us, and has united us for the best. And do not inform them of what I have told you.")

The assertion that he—peace be upon him—revealed himself to him and informed him that he was truly his brother is the manifest interpretation. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Ishaq, and others. However, Ibn Ishaq said: After he revealed himself to him, he said, "Do not be concerned by all the unpleasant things you see in my stratagem to take you from them." Ibn Atiyyah said: According to this interpretation, the reference in "by what they used to do" could point to what his servants were doing regarding the water-cup incident and the like. By my life, this is a view that hardly anyone with the slightest knowledge of linguistic styles would hold.

Wahb said: He only informed him that he would stand in the place of his departed brother in affection, and did not reveal the matter to him. The meaning of "do not be distressed," etc., would then be: Do not grieve over the envy and harm you used to receive from them, for you are now safe from them.

It is narrated that he [Binyamin] said to Yusuf—peace be upon him, "I will not depart from you." He replied, "I know the grief of my father, and if I detain you, his grief will increase. There is no way to do this except that I attribute to you something that is not becoming." He said, "I do not care; do whatever you wish." He said, "I shall hide my cup in your saddlebag, then I shall call out that you have stolen it, so that I may be able to keep you back after releasing you with them." He said, "Do so."