Tafsir of Yusuf 12:76

Surah Yusuf (12): Verse 76

{فبدأ بأوعيتهم قبل...}

Know that when Joseph's brothers admitted that whoever is found with stolen goods shall be enslaved (as their penalty), the caller (the attendant) told them that their belongings must be searched. So, he took them to Joseph.

{فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ} (He began with their containers before the container of his brother).

This was done to remove suspicion. Aw'iyah (أَوْعِيَة) is the plural of wi'ā' (وِعَاء), which means anything that encloses what is placed inside it.

Joseph took out the containers from their belongings, starting with theirs before his brother's.

Al-Hasan read: {وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ} (the container of his brother) with a ḍammah on the wāw (و), which is a known linguistic variation. Sa'īd ibn Jubayr read: {مِنْ أَخِيهِ} (from his brother), changing the wāw to a hamzah.

Regarding the grammar:

If it is asked: Why is the pronoun for the measuring cup (ṣiwāʿ) mentioned sometimes with a feminine pronoun and sometimes with a masculine one?

We reply: They said the feminine pronoun refers back to the siqāyah (the drinking vessel/cup), and the masculine pronoun refers back to the ṣiwāʿ (the measuring cup). Alternatively, it is said that the ṣiwāʿ can be treated as both feminine and masculine, making either usage permissible. Another possibility is that Joseph might have been calling it a siqāyah in relation to himself, but calling it a ṣiwāʿ in relation to his servants, which explains the shift in terminology within the context.

It is narrated from Qatādah that whenever he looked into a container, he would seek forgiveness from God, repenting for having accused them (of theft). Even when only his brother remained, he said, "I do not think this one has taken anything." They insisted, "We will not leave until you search his belongings too." When they searched his baggage, they extracted the measuring cup from his container. Since the people had already ruled that the thief should be enslaved, they seized him by the neck and dragged him to Joseph's house.

There are two points of discussion here:

1. The Meaning: "And thus did We devise a plan for Joseph." This refers to the ruling that the thief should be enslaved—meaning, a ruling similar to the one Joseph's brothers proposed is what We ordained for Joseph.
2. The Term 'Kaid' (Plan/Plot): The word kaid (كيد) implies trickery or deception, which is impossible in relation to God Almighty. However, we have established a recognized principle in this matter: such terms should be interpreted based on the ultimate goal rather than the initial action. We established this principle when interpreting the verse: {إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي} (The Cow: 26). Kaid means striving through stratagem, the end result of which is causing a person to fall into an unwelcome situation without realizing it, from which he has no means of escape. Thus, kaid in relation to God is understood in this sense.

They differed regarding the intended meaning of kaid here:

• Some said it refers to the brothers' efforts to invalidate Joseph's position, while God supported, strengthened, and elevated Joseph's affair.
• Others said this kaid refers to God casting into the hearts of the brothers the judgment that the penalty for theft is enslavement. Consequently, when the cup was found in his baggage, they ruled for his enslavement, which became the means for Joseph to detain his brother with him.

This means that the king's law regarding a thief was to flog him and make him pay double the value of what was stolen. Joseph was not able to keep his brother with him based on the king's law. However, God devised a plan for him—what came out of the brothers' own mouths that the penalty for theft is enslavement. We have already explained that this statement served as the means to take and detain his brother, which is the meaning of {إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ} (except as God wills).

There are two issues concerning this phrase:

Issue 1: Ḥamzah, ‘Āṣim, and Al-Kisā’ī read {دَرَجَاتٍ} (ranks) with tanwīn (indefinite), without being in an iḍāfah (construct state). The rest of the reciters read it as an iḍāfah (construct state).

Issue 2: The meaning of {نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ} is that God shows him the correct ways to achieve his objective, and He singles him out with various types of knowledge and degrees of virtue. Here, it means that God raised Joseph's ranks above those of his brothers in everything.

Know that this verse indicates that knowledge is the noblest of stations and the highest of ranks. This is because when God guided Joseph to this stratagem and thought, He praised him by saying: {نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ}. Similarly, He described Abraham (peace be upon him) with this phrase (Al-An'ām: 83) when mentioning his proofs for monotheism and his disavowal of the divinity of the sun, moon, and stars. Here, Joseph is also described with {نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ} because God guided him to this stratagem, though there is a vast difference between the two instances.

This means that Joseph's brothers were learned and virtuous scholars, but Joseph surpassed them in knowledge.

Know that the Mu'tazilah used this verse as proof that God is knowing by His essence, not by knowledge ('ilm). They argued: If God were knowing by knowledge, He would possess knowledge. If He possessed knowledge, then there must be someone above Him who is ‘Alīm (All-Knowing), relying on the generality of this verse. They deemed this conclusion false.

Our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah) argue that other verses establish the attribute of knowledge for God, such as: {إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ} (Luqmān: 34), {أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ} (The Women: 166), {وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ} (The Cow: 255), and {مَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِ} (Fāṭir: 11).

When a conflict arises, we interpret the verse the opponent relies upon (this one) as specific to the case of Joseph and his brothers. The most that can be concluded is that it necessitates restricting the generality of the statement. However, we must adhere to this restriction because ‘ālim (knower) is derived from ‘ilm (knowledge). A derived term is composite, while the term from which it is derived is simple. The existence of the composite without the existence of the simple is rationally impossible. Therefore, the stronger argument is on our side.

Translation and Summary:

The brothers said: {إِن يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ} ("If he steals, then a brother of his has stolen before").

Joseph kept this statement {فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَلَمْ يُبْدِهَا لَهُمْ} (kept it hidden within himself and did not reveal it to them). He understood that they were referring to himself (Joseph) when they spoke of the brother who stole previously.

Then Joseph replied: {أَنتُمْ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا} ("You are worse in position"). This means your situation (in terms of deceit and wickedness) is worse than the situation of the one you are accusing, even if the accusation were true.

He concluded with: {وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ} ("And Allah knows best what you describe"). This implies that God knows the truth of their description (that a brother stole) and also knows the truth of their intent and their actual state, which is far worse than what they are describing.