Yūsuf: (88) "So when they entered upon him..."

(So when they entered upon him)—that is, upon Yūsuf, peace be upon him, after they returned to Egypt in accordance with the command of their father. That they returned is not explicitly mentioned, to signal their haste in fulfilling what they were commanded, and to imply that the matter was a certainty that did not require mention or clarification.

The Jews denied their return to their father after taking Binyamin (Benjamin), and their subsequent return to Egypt. They claimed that when they first came for provisions, he accused them of being spies. They offered excuses, stating they were the sons of the Prophet of Allah, Ya'qūb (Jacob), that they were twelve sons, one of whom had perished, while his brother remained behind with their father to find solace in him for the lost one, as he loved him dearly. He [Yūsuf] said, "Bring him to me so that I may verify your truthfulness," and he detained Shim'ūn (Simeon) until they should return. When they brought him, and the incident of the theft occurred, they displayed humility and brokenness. He could no longer restrain himself and made himself known to them. Then he ordered them to return to their father to convey the news to him and to bring him along. This is what is contained in their Torah today, and what is beyond the truth is only error.

(They said, "O Aziz")—they addressed him with this as a mark of veneration, following their previous manner of addressing him, as is apparent. Whether they knew his name or not, I have not seen anyone address that. If they knew it, the extent of their ignorance becomes even more strange. The meaning, according to the Imam and others, is "O Mighty and Sovereign King."

(Hardship has afflicted us and our family)—emaciation due to extreme hunger. By "family" is meant that which includes the wife and others.

(And we have brought meager merchandise)—pushed aside, rejected by every merchant due to aversion and contempt. It comes from the verb azjaitu, meaning to push and drive away. The wind tuzjī (drives) the clouds. Ḥātim was quoted: "Let the guest of the driven-away Milḥān weep, and the widow who is driven away with the night, a widow." They used this to signify that it was little or inferior because, due to a lack of regard for it, it is thrown aside. It is said: their merchandise consisted of Bedouin goods, such as wool and ghee. It is also said: pine nuts and green berries (and this is narrated from Abū Ṣāliḥ and Zayd ibn Aslam). It is also said: sawīq (barley flour) of the fruit of the dōm palm and aqiṭ (dried yogurt). It is said: dried meat and waḥsh (game). It is said: ropes, saddlebags, and traveling provisions. It is said: they were counterfeit dirhams that would only be accepted at a discount, which is narrated from Ibn 'Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both. What is narrated from al-Ḥasan is that it means "few," and nothing else. Regardless, muzjāh is a true description of the merchandise. Al-Zajjāj said: It is from their saying, "So-and-so yuzjī his livelihood," meaning he pushes away time with little. The meaning is that we have brought merchandise with which the time is pushed away, and it is not something of value. The estimation, according to this, is "with merchandise pushed away with it the days," meaning it is pushed away and endured until they are spent, as it is said, "The days slip by, and houses of sorrow are not entered." What was mentioned first is more appropriate. From al-Kalbī, it is said that muzjāh is from the language of non-Arabs, and it is said from the Coptic language. Ibn al-Anbārī countered this by saying that a word with known derivation and morphology should not be attributed to a language other than Arabic.

Ḥamzah and al-Kisā'ī read it as (muzjiyah) with imālah (inclination), because its root is yā'. It is apparent that they put forward this speech to be a pretext for securing their desire by arousing pity, stirring compassion and mercy, and moving the chain of kinship.

Then they said: (So fulfill for us the measure)—meaning, complete it for us and do not reduce it because of the meagerness or inferiority of our goods. This has been used as evidence that the burden of measuring lies upon the seller, though there is no proof in it.

(And be charitable to us)—its apparent meaning is by fulfilling the measure in full, or by indulgence and accepting the meager goods, or by adding more than its value. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Ibn Jurayj said that they meant by "be charitable to us," the return of our brother Binyamin to his father. It is said that this is the most fitting for their situation in relation to their father's command. It is as if they meant "Bestow this upon us as a favor," for returning a brother is not charity in the literal sense. Charity (ṣadaqah) has come to mean "favor," as it is said, "From it, Allah Almighty bestowed upon so-and-so such-and-such." As for al-Ḥasan saying to someone he heard saying, "O Allah, be charitable to me,"—since Allah Almighty does not "give charity" (in the sense of seeking reward), but rather one who seeks reward gives charity—it is said: "Say, 'O Allah, give me, or favor me, or have mercy on me.'" This was rebutted by the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying: "A charity that Allah Almighty has given to you, so accept His charity." It was answered as being metaphorical and by way of mushākolah (correspondence in form). Al-Ḥasan only rebuked the speaker because he was not eloquent, as in the story of the deceased. Some claimed that it is necessary to interpret it as metaphorical when the intent is to request an increase over what is given for the price, based on the view that the prohibition of receiving charity is not specific to our Prophet (peace be upon him), as Sufyān ibn 'Uyaynah held, but is general to him and to the prophets before him and their families, as some have held. The petitioners were from one of the two groups, inevitably. This was countered by saying: even if we grant the generality, we do not grant that what is forbidden is the receiving of charity absolutely; rather, what is forbidden is the receiving of obligatory charity (Zakat), and what is here is not of that type. The apparent meaning, as al-Zamakhsharī said, is that they humbled themselves before him by their saying, "Hardship has afflicted us," and requested that he show charity to them by their saying, "Be charitable to us." If it were not taken at its literal meaning, it would not correspond to that preamble nor this foundation, I mean:

(Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable)—by mentioning Allah Almighty and His reward, there is an assurance of that, and the doer of it is with Allah Almighty in a high position.

Al-Naqqāsh said: By turning away from "Indeed, Allah rewards you for your charity" to what is in the Noble Order, there is an escape from lying; it is from the ma'ārīḍ (words that have double meanings), for they believed him to be an unbelieving king. Something similar is narrated from al-Ḍaḥḥāk. The reason they did not begin with what they were commanded, according to the view that contradicts the apparent meaning regarding what "charity" pertains to, is that in what they pursued was the acquisition of pity and mercy; it is as if they wanted to fill the basins of his heart with its fresh water, so that they might water the trees of his affection to yield the objective of their father for them. Some justified it with the likes of this, then said: Provided that their saying "And be charitable," etc., is a statement with two meanings, it is possible it bears both interpretations. Perhaps he, peace be upon him, interpreted it as a request for the return, and for that reason...