Tafsir of Yusuf 12:89

[He said]—responding to what they had presented and included in their speech—"Do you know what you did to Yusuf and his brother?" Although the apparent meaning might be limited to what was done to the brother, he—peace be upon him—also mentioned what was done to himself, as both of them shared in the occurrence of the act against them. The intent behind this is their isolating him from his father and humiliating him through that, to the point where he could not speak to them except in helplessness and disgrace.

The interrogation is not regarding the knowledge of the act itself, for a volitional act is inevitably preceded by awareness; rather, it is about the ugliness contained within it, evidenced by his saying: "when you were ignorant." That is, did you know the ugliness of what you did during the time you were ignorant of its ugliness, and has that ignorance since vanished, or not? In this, there is an incitement to their excuse and a prompting for them to find one, similar to the Almighty’s saying: "What has deceived you concerning your generous Lord?"

The apparent reason for this is that it was not for the sake of retribution, but rather an exhortation to desist and an act of sincere advice to them, as he saw their helplessness and humility. He combined this with a subtle reproach regarding their ignorance, and that such ignorance is worthy of being absent in those like them. So, praise be to Allah for this noble character—how he left his own share of retribution in favor of the right of Allah, in a manner that also encompasses the right of the two brothers, while being gentle in his address, alongside drawing attention to the fact that this distress is more deserving of being relieved.

It is said: It is permissible that this speech of his—peace be upon him—was a departure from their words, meant to alert them to their duty and obligation to turn away from all demands and devote themselves solely to seeking Benjamin. It is even possible that he—peace be upon him—became aware, by way of revelation or inspiration, of his father’s testament and his sending them to inquire about him and his brother. So, when he saw that they had become distracted from that, he said what he said. The apparent meaning is that when he saw what he saw from them—and he was among the most tender-hearted of Allah’s creation—and the appointed time of the decree had reached its term, he began to reveal his affair and said what he said.

It is narrated from Ibn Ishaq that when they sought his compassion, his heart softened toward them and he pitied them, until his tears flowed and he could not control himself, so he began to make himself known to them. By what they did to him, he meant everything that transpired, and by what they did to his brother, he meant their harming him, their harshness toward him, their ill-treatment of him, and their isolating him as you have heard. He did not mention to them what they had done to their father, according to one view, in order to exalt his status and magnify his standing—that he should mention it alongside himself and his brother, even though that was a branch of what he mentioned.

It is said that they delivered to him a letter from their father. Its content, as in al-Kashshaf, is: "From Ya'qub, Israel of Allah, son of Ishaq, the Sacrifice of Allah, son of Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah, to the Aziz of Egypt. To proceed: We are a household upon whom trials are appointed. As for my grandfather, his hands and feet were bound and he was thrown into the fire to be burned, but Allah saved him and made the fire cool and safe for him. As for my father, the knife was placed upon his neck to be slaughtered, but Allah ransomed him. As for me, I had a son who was the most beloved of my children, and his brothers took him to the wilderness, then came to me with his shirt stained with blood, saying, 'A wolf ate him,' and my eyes went blind from weeping for him. Then I had a son who was his brother by the same mother, and I used to find solace in him, but they took him away and returned saying, 'He stole,' and you imprisoned him for that. We are a household that does not steal, nor do we beget a thief. So, if you return him to me, otherwise I will invoke a curse upon you that will reach the seventh of your descendants. Peace."

Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Abu Rawq something similar. When Yusuf—peace be upon him—read the letter, he could not restrain himself and his patience failed, so he said to them what he said. It is narrated that when he read the letter, he wept and wrote a reply: "Be patient as they were patient, and you shall succeed as they succeeded."

This, and what we have indicated—that the intent is to establish their ignorance in reality—is what is apparent. It is said that he did not intend to negate knowledge from them, for they were knowledgeable, but since they did not act according to what knowledge necessitates, and abandoning the requirement of knowledge is the act of the ignorant, he called them ignorant. It is said that the intent is "ignorant of what the outcome of the matter would be." From Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan: "ignorant," meaning children before you attained puberty or wisdom and composure. This is critiqued as being an invalid view because it does not correspond to the reality and contradicts [their own statement]: "while we are a band." Thus, it is apparent that the attribution [to Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan] is not authentic.

It was claimed in at-Tahrir that the view of the majority is that the interrogation is for confirmation and reproach, and that his intent—peace be upon him—was to magnify the event—i.e., "How great is what you committed regarding Yusuf and his brother!"—just as one says: "Do you know whom you have disobeyed?" It is said that "hal" (interrogative particle) is in the sense of "qad" (already), as in "Has there not passed over man a period of time?" and the purpose is also reproach. Both of these views are not to be relied upon, and the correct view is what has preceded.

Among the strange reports that are not authentic at all is what al-Tha'labi recounted: that when they said to him what they said, he became angry with them and ordered their execution, so they wept and wailed, and he took pity on them and said, "Do you know..." and so on.