ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ
So when they entered upon Joseph, they said, "O 'Azeez, adversity has touched us and our family, and we have come with goods poor in quality, but give us full measure and be charitable to us. Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable."
Tafsir
Verse range: 12:88
{الضر} Emaciation resulting from hardship and hunger.
{بضاعة مزجاة} Goods that are pushed away; every merchant rejects them and holds them in contempt. It is derived from the verb azjaytuhu (I pushed him/drove him away). The wind tuzji (drives) the clouds.
It has been said: It was Bedouin merchandise, such as wool and ghee. Others said: Pine nuts and pistachio seeds. Others said: Muql (fruit of the doum palm) flour and dried yogurt (aqt). Others said: Counterfeit dirhams that would only be accepted at a discount.
{فأوف لنا الكيل} Give us our full measure, which is our right.
{وتصدق علينا} Bestow favor upon us by overlooking the poor quality of the goods, or by giving us more than our due. They called this surplus—which was not obligatory for him—a "charity" (sadaqah), because charity is forbidden for prophets. It has been said that it was permissible for prophets other than our Prophet (peace be upon him).
Sufyan ibn Uyaynah was asked about this and replied: "Have you not heard [the verse]: 'And give us charity'? He meant that it was lawful for them."
The apparent meaning is that they humbled themselves before him and requested that he show them charity. Because of this, his heart softened toward them, mercy overcame him, and he could not restrain himself from revealing his identity to them.
His saying: {إن الله يجزي المتصدقين} (Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable) is evidence of this, due to the mention of Allah and His reward. Charity is a gift through which one seeks reward from Allah. From this is the statement of Al-Hasan when he heard someone say, "O Allah, give me charity (tasaddaq 'alayya)." He said: "Allah the Exalted does not give charity; only one who seeks reward gives charity. Say instead: 'O Allah, give me,' or 'Bestow favor upon me,' or 'Have mercy on me.'"
{قال هل علمتم ما فعلتم بيوسف وأخيه إذ أنتم جاهلون} He said, "Do you know what you did with Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?"
