Tafsir of Yusuf 12:92

(He said, "No reproach" (meaning: no censure and no blame) "upon you"). Its root is from al-tharb, which is the thin fat in the abdomen and over the tripe. The taf'il form denotes negation—that is, the removal of the tharb—similar to al-tajlid (flaying) and al-qar'a (stripping), meaning the removal of the skin and the scalp. It is metaphorically applied to blame that tears apart honors and strips away the splendor of the face, for just as the removal of fat reveals emaciation and undesirable features, blame reveals faults. The commonality between them is the occurrence of deficiency after completeness, and the removal of that which constitutes perfection and beauty.

"No" (la) is the negative particle, and "upon you" (alaykum) relates to an implied predicate which serves as the comment. As for His saying, the Exalted: ("Today"), it relates to that implied predicate, or to the prepositional phrase; meaning, "No reproach is established upon you today." Restricting it to "today" is not to imply that reproach will occur at another time, for if he—peace be upon him—did not reproach them at the first encounter, when the fire of his anger would have been at its most intense, then he would certainly not do so afterward, by way of stronger priority.

Al-Murtada said: "Today" is placed in the position of all time, like the saying: Today, he who used to envy us shows us mercy, And today, we follow those who were once our followers. It is as if "after today" was intended. Al-Zamakhshari permitted its relation to "reproach," but Abu Hayyan countered this, saying: This is not permissible because "reproach" is a verbal noun (masdar), and it has been separated from its object by "upon you," which is either a predicate or an adjective. Separating them is not allowed because the object of a verbal noun is part of its completion. Furthermore, if it were related to it, it would not be permissible to make it indeclinable, because then it would be of the category of "resembling the genitive" (shabih bil-mudaf), which is termed the "extended" (al-mutawwal); thus, it must be declinable and carry the tanwin.

If it were said that the predicate is omitted and "upon you" relates to an omitted element indicated by "reproach"—and that omitted element is the agent governing "today"—the construction would be: "No reproach is upon you today," just as they postulated in the verse: "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah," meaning, "There is no protector to protect [you] today." This would be a strong position, for when the predicate of "no" (la) is known, its omission is frequent among the Hijazi people, whereas the Banu Tamim do not pronounce it. Abu al-Baqa' similarly prohibited this, citing the necessity of declension and tanwin.

This was objected to on the grounds that it is explicitly stated in textbooks of grammar that the "resembling the genitive" has been heard without tanwin, such as "No one climbing a mountain" (la tali'an jabalan), and it occurred in the Hadith: "There is no preventer for what You give, and no giver for what You prevent," by the agreement of the narrators. The dispute only concerns whether it is indeclinable or declinable but with the tanwin omitted. In al-Tasrih, quoting al-Mughni, it is stated that the accusative case of the "resembling the genitive" and its tanwin is the doctrine of the Basrans. The Baghdadis permitted "No one climbing a mountain" without tanwin, treating it in this instance like the genitive construct (mudaf) as they treated it in declension. Upon this, the aforementioned Hadith ("No preventer...") is explained. Thus, it is possible that the basis of what Abu Hayyan and others said is the Basran doctrine, and the mentioned Hadith is not definitive, as al-Danushari said, taking from the discussion in the fifth chapter of al-Mughni regarding the second aspect, that it may be interpreted as described, for it is permissible that the name of "no" (la) therein is a single noun, and the "for" (lam) relates to the predicate, with the meaning: "There is no preventer [ordained] for what You have given," and likewise for what follows.

Al-Radi stated that a prepositional phrase following a negation does not relate to the negated item, but rather to an omitted one which is the predicate, and that "today" in the verse is governed by "upon you," though the reverse is also permissible. The Hadith regarding the separation of the verbal noun and its object was also objected to for reasons containing what they contain. It was said: "Upon you" is an explanation for your state, so it relates to an omitted [verb], and "today" is the predicate.

It was also permitted that the predicate is [the previously mentioned phrase] and "today" relates to His saying: ("May Allah forgive you"). It is reported from al-Murtada in al-Durar that some weakened this on the grounds that an invocation (du'a) does not govern what precedes it, though this is not widely accepted. Ibn al-Munir said: If it were related to it, they would have been certain of forgiveness through the report of the truthful one (Yusuf), yet such was not the case, due to their saying: "O our father, ask forgiveness for our sins." This was countered by saying there is no substance to it, for forgiveness—which is the veiling of sins on the Day of Resurrection so that they are not taken to task for them nor censured—only occurs at that time. As for before it, what is attained is the announcement of it, and knowledge of the certainty of its occurrence through the report of the truthful one does not prevent the request, for that which is impossible is to request what is already obtained, not to request what is known to be obtaining. Moreover, it is permissible that this was an act of humility, and one may look to the seeking of forgiveness by the Prophets—peace be upon them—and there is no difference between invocation and report here.

It may also be said: What they requested of their father was forgiveness for what relates to him and what reverts to his right, and they did not have knowledge of the certainty of that. Furthermore, it is permissible to say that they did not believe at that time in his prophethood and thought him to be like themselves, not a prophet; for no time had passed after knowing he was Yusuf that would allow for knowing he was also a prophet, and the negotiation that took place does not indicate otherwise. So understand this.

Many have tended toward interpreting the speech as an invocation, while a group have tended toward it being a report. The judgment of it being so, despite it being [a matter of] the unseen, is said to be because he—peace be upon him—excused their crime at that time, and they had also confessed to it; thus, it is inevitable that He, the Glorified, will forgive them for what relates to Him, the Almighty, and what relates to him—peace be upon him—by virtue of His promise, the Exalted, to accept the repentance of the servants. It is also said: It is because he—peace be upon him—was inspired with that.

You know that most reciters stop at "today," and it is apparent that it does not relate to "forgive," which is the choice of al-Tabari, Ibn Ishaq, and others. They chose the view that the sentence following is an invocation, which is what refined taste inclines toward. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

("And He is the most merciful of the merciful") For everyone who shows mercy other than Him, the Glorified and Exalted, shows mercy only through His mercy—the Exalted's—while that is based on bringing benefit or repelling harm, or at the very least, repelling the spiritual pain he finds within himself from what he perceives in the one receiving mercy. It is said: Because He, the Exalted, forgives the minor and major sins which no one else forgives, and bestows grace upon the repentant by acceptance. The sentence is either an explanation for the confidence in the answering of the prayer, or a confirmation of the attainment of forgiveness, for since he excused them, Allah, the Exalted, is more worthy of forgiveness and mercy toward them.

Furthermore, among the generosity of Yusuf—peace be upon him—is the report that his brothers sent to him: "You invite us to your food morning and evening, and we are embarrassed before you because of what we perpetrated against you." He—peace be upon him—said: "The people of Egypt, even though I have authority over them, used to look at me with the original eye and say: 'Glory to Him who raised a servant sold for twenty dirhams to what he has reached.' And I have been honored by you now, and I have become great in the eyes [of others], as people now know that you are my brothers and that I am of the descendants of Abraham—peace be upon him." It is apparent that through this, the people attained knowledge that they had not attained before, for he—peace be upon him—based on what some previous verses and reports indicate, had informed them of whose son he was and from whom he descended.

Likewise is what was extracted by Sa'id ibn Mansur, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh from Ibn Abbas, who said: The King said one day to Yusuf—peace be upon him—: "I love for you to associate with me in everything except for my family, and I am reluctant for you to eat with me." Yusuf—peace be upon him—became angry and said: "I am more entitled to be reluctant. I am the son of Abraham, the Friend of Allah; I am the son of Isaac, the Sacrificed of Allah; and I am the son of Jacob, the Prophet of Allah." However, this was not widely known or did not provide the people with knowledge. In the Torah which is in the hands of the Jews today, it states that when he—peace be upon him—saw the increased shame of his brothers, he brought them near to him and said: "Do not let it be hard upon you that you sold me and brought me to this place, for Allah, the Exalted, knew what would occur of drought and famine and what would befall you of it. So He acted in that which brought me to this place and this status, to remove from you what befalls you, and for this to be a cause for your remaining in the land and the spreading of your offspring therein. Two years of famine have passed, and five remain. And I today have been made by Allah, the Exalted, a reference for Pharaoh, a master over his people, and a ruler over all the people of Egypt. So let your matter not be hard upon you."