| Joseph: (110) Until, when the messengers despaired...

Know that 'Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read {كَذَّبُوا} (kadhabū) with the lightened shaddah (i.e., kadhabū), with a fatḥah on the dhāl. The rest read it with the heavy shaddah (i.e., kadhdhabū).

The meaning of the lightened reading (kadhabū) has two aspects:

1. That the assumption/suspicion fell upon the people (the disbelievers). Meaning: Until the messengers despaired of the people's faith, the people then assumed that the messengers had lied regarding the promised victory and triumph.
   • If it is asked: The addressees (the people) were not explicitly mentioned before, so how is it appropriate for this pronoun to refer back to them?
   • We reply: The mention of the messengers implies the addressees. Alternatively, you could say that their mention occurred in the preceding verse: {Have they not traveled through the earth and observed how the end of those before them was?} (Joseph: 109). In this case, the pronoun refers back to those who came before—the rejecters of the messengers. Here, dhann (ظن) means mere conjecture or supposition.

2. The second aspect is that the meaning is that the messengers themselves suspected that they (the messengers) had lied regarding what they were promised. This interpretation is narrated from Ibn Abi Malikah, from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). They said: This was due to the weakness inherent in human nature. However, this view is remote, because it is not permissible for a believer to suspect Allah of lying; doing so would remove him from faith. How much more so is this impermissible for the messengers?

As for the reading with the heavy shaddah (kadhdhabū), there are two aspects:

1. The first is that dhann (ظن) here means certainty (yaqīn). Meaning: Until the messengers were certain that the nations had rejected them with a rejection from which faith would no longer emerge. At that point, they supplicated against them, and then Allah, the Exalted, sent down the punishment of annihilation upon them. The use of dhann to mean knowledge is frequent in the Qur'an, such as in {Those who assume [i.e., are certain] that they will meet their Lord} (Al-Baqarah: 46), meaning they are certain of that.

2. The second is that dhann means supposition and estimation: "Until the messengers despaired of the faith of their people, the messengers suspected that those who believed in them had lied to them." This interpretation is narrated from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and it is the best of the interpretations mentioned for the verse. It is narrated that Ibn Abi Malikah narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The messengers suspected that they (the believers) had lied because they were human. Do you not see the saying: {Until the messenger said, and those who believed with him, 'When will the help of Allah come?'} (Al-Baqarah: 214)?" He said: "I mentioned this to 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she rejected it, saying: 'Allah did not promise Muhammad (peace be upon him) anything except that He knew He would fulfill it. However, the tribulation remained with the Prophets until they feared that those who had believed in them would lie to them.'" This rebuttal and interpretation from 'A'ishah is extremely excellent.

As for His saying: {جَاءَهُمْ نَصْرُنَا} (Our help came to them), meaning when the situation reached the aforementioned limit, {فَنُجِّيَ مَن نَّشَاءُ} (and We saved whom We willed).

'Asim and Ibn 'Amir read {فَنُجِّيَ مَن نَّشَاءُ} with one nūn and a shaddah on the jīm and a fatḥah on the yā’ (i.e., fanujjīya), in the passive voice, which Abu 'Ubaydah preferred because it is written in the Muṣḥaf with one nūn. It is narrated from Al-Kisai that he merged one nūn into the other, reading with one nūn, a shaddah on the jīm, and a sukūn on the yā’ (i.e., fanujjī). Some said this is an error because the nūn is vocalized (mutaḥarrikah) and should not be merged into a silent letter (sākin), nor is it permissible to merge the nūn into the jīm. The rest read with two nūns, a light jīm, and a sukūn on the yā’ (i.e., fanunjī), meaning: "And We do that to them."

Know that this is a narration of a state/situation. Do you not see that the story is in the past? The description of the state is narrated as if it were happening now, just as His saying: {مِن شِيعَتِهِ وَهَٰذَا مِن عَدُوِّهِ} (He is of his party, and this one is of his enemy) (Al-Qasas: 15) refers to the present while the story is past.

< { Indeed, in their stories was a lesson for those of understanding. It was not a tale fabricated, but a confirmation of what came before it and a detailed explanation of everything and a guidance and mercy for a people who believe. } >