Tafsir of Yusuf 12:91

They said, "By Allah, Allah has surely preferred you over us," meaning: He chose you and favored you over us with piety and patience. It is said: with kingship. It is also said: with patience and knowledge, which is narrated from Ibn Abbas. It is also said: with forbearance and forgiveness, as mentioned by Sulayman al-Dimashqi. The author of al-Ghunyan said: with good character and appearance, knowledge, forbearance, benevolence, kingship, authority, and patience regarding the harm we caused you; and the former is more appropriate.

"And [while] we were indeed sinners," meaning: the situation is such that we were intentional in our sin when we did what we did, and that is why He honored you and humbled us. The waw (and) is for the circumstantial state (hal), and inna is the attenuated (lightened) form, its subject being the pronoun of the state (damiir al-sha’n), and the lam in the predicate of kana is the muzahlaqah (transposed/emphatic particle).

"Sinners" (khati’in) is derived from khati’a when one commits a sin intentionally, whereas akhta’a means one intended the right path but was not granted success in it. In their statement, there is—as is clear—an act of seeking his mercy—peace be upon him—due to his benevolence, an admission of what transpired from them regarding his right, and an intimation of repentance; and for this reason...