Yusuf (Joseph): (81-82) Return to your father...

When they reflected on the best course of action, it became clear to them that returning was the most appropriate path. They should recount the incident to their father exactly as it happened, without any deviation. It seems this suggestion came from the eldest brother, who had previously said, "I will not leave this land until my father permits me." It is said this brother was Reuben, and he remained in Egypt while the rest of his brothers were sent back to their father.

If one asks: How did they judge him guilty of theft without clear evidence, especially since he offered a convincing defense, saying, "The one who placed the cup in my baggage is the one who placed the merchandise in your baggage"?

There are several ways to answer this:

The First Way: They witnessed that the cup was placed in a location that only they could access. When they saw the cup taken out of his baggage, their strong presumption was that he was the one who took it. As for his statement, "The one who placed the cup in my baggage is the one who placed the merchandise in your baggage," the difference is clear. In the case of the merchandise, when they returned it to them, they admitted that they were the ones who placed it in their baggage. However, regarding this cup, no one confessed to placing it in his baggage. Thus, the difference became apparent, and for this reason, their strong presumption was that he stole it. They testified based on this presumption, and then they qualified their statement, not asserting absolute certainty, by saying, "And we testify only to what we know, and we were not guardians of the unseen."

The Second Way: The intended meaning of the statement is, "Your son has been accused of theft," as stated by the King and his associates. Similar constructions are frequent in the Qur'an. For example, Allah says: "You are indeed the forbearing, the right-minded" (Hud: 87), meaning in your own estimation. And: "Taste! Indeed, you are the mighty, the noble!" (Ad-Dukhan: 49), meaning in your own estimation, but not necessarily in ours. The same applies here.

The Third Way: What appeared concerning their son resembled theft. Such a resemblance can be referred to by the name of the thing it resembles, which is permissible in the Qur'an. Allah says: "And the recompense of a bad deed is a bad deed like it" (Ash-Shura: 40).

The Fourth Way: At that time, they were not prophets. Therefore, it is not unlikely that they uttered this statement rashly, especially since they witnessed something that suggested it.

The Fifth Way: Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) recited the verse as "Inna bunaka shurriqa" (with a shadda on the ra), meaning "Your son was attributed with theft." This recitation requires no interpretation, as the people attributed theft to him. However, we have mentioned in this book that such variant recitations do not resolve the issue unless we assert that the first recitation is false and this one is the correct one. If we accept the validity of the first recitation, the problem remains, regardless of whether the second recitation is sound or not. Thus, it is established that we must revert to one of the aforementioned ways.

As for the statement "And we testify only to what we know," its meaning is clear, as it indicates that testimony is distinct from knowledge. This is evidenced by the phrase itself, which implies that testimony is different from knowledge. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If you know something as clearly as the sun, then testify." This also supports our point. Testimony is not merely saying "I testify," because reporting on the act of testifying is different from the testimony itself.

If this is established, we say: Testimony is equivalent to the mental judgment, which is what scholars call kalam al-nafs (inner speech).

As for "And we were not guardians of the unseen," there are several interpretations:

1. We saw them take the cup out of his baggage, but the true reality of the situation is unknown to us, as only Allah knows the unseen.
2. 'Ikrimah said: Perhaps the cup was secretly placed in his belongings at night, as "the unseen" (al-ghayb) is sometimes used to refer to the night in certain dialects.
3. Mujahid, Al-Hasan, and Qatadah said: We did not know that your son was a thief. If we had known that, we would not have taken him to the King, nor would we have given you a solemn pledge concerning his return.
4. It is narrated that Jacob (peace be upon him) asked them: Even if he stole, how did the King know that the law of the Children of Israel mandates enslavement for theft? Did you not mention this law to him for your own purpose? In response to this, they said: We mentioned this ruling to him before this incident occurred, and we did not know that this specific incident would happen. Thus, "And we were not guardians of the unseen" refers to this meaning.

If one asks: Is it permissible for Jacob (peace be upon him) to conceal Allah's ruling in this manner?

We reply: Perhaps that ruling was specific to cases where the stolen item belonged to a Muslim. This is why he objected to mentioning this ruling to the King, whom he presumed to be a disbeliever.

Then, Allah recounts that they said: "And ask the town where we were, and the caravan with which we came."

Know that since they were suspected regarding the incident of Joseph (peace be upon him), they exerted themselves to remove the suspicion from themselves, saying: "And ask the town where we were." The majority agree that this town refers to Egypt. Some said it refers to a town near the gates of Egypt where the incident of theft and searching took place. Regarding this, there are two opinions:

1. The meaning is: "Ask the people of the town," but the noun being modified (ahl) was omitted for brevity and conciseness. This type of metaphor is well-known in the Arabic language. Abu Ali al-Farsi stated that denying its permissibility is like denying necessities and perceptible realities.
2. Abu Bakr al-Anbari said the meaning is: Ask the town, the caravan, the walls, and the structures, for they will answer you and confirm the truth of what we have stated. Since you are one of the greatest Prophets of Allah, it is not unlikely that Allah would make these inanimate objects speak as a miracle for you, so they may inform you of the truth of what we mentioned. There is a third view: When something is revealed with complete and perfect clarity, one might say, "Ask the heavens and the earth and everything about it," meaning it has reached such a level of clarity that no room for doubt remains.

As for "and the caravan with which we came," the commentators said that some Canaanites accompanied them, and they suggested: "Ask them about this incident."

Then, when they emphasized and confirmed their truthfulness, they said: "And indeed, we are truthful." This means: whether you attribute suspicion to us or not, we are truthful. Their intention was not to prove their own truthfulness by themselves, as this would be like proving a thing by itself. Rather, when a person presents conclusive evidence for the truth of a matter, he might follow it up by saying, "And I am truthful in that," meaning: Reflect upon the evidence and proofs I have presented so that the doubt is removed from you.