Surah Yusuf ayat 76 Tafsir Quran 12:76

﴿فَبَدَأَ بِأَوْعِيَتِهِمْ قَبْلَ وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِن وِعَاءِ أَخِيهِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ ۖ مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ ۗ وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾
[ يوسف: 76]

12:76 So he began [the search] with their bags before the bag of his brother; then he extracted it from the bag of his brother. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his brother within the religion of the king except that Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We will, but over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing.

And so he began with their sacks and searched them before his brother’s sack lest he be accused of the theft; then he pulled it the drinking-cup out of his brother’s sack. God exalted be He says Thus through such contrivance did We contrive for Joseph thus We taught him how to devise a plot to take his brother; he Joseph could not have taken his brother as a slave on account of theft according to the king’s law according to the laws of the king of Egypt — since his a thief’s requital according to his law would have been a beating and a penalty of twice the value of the stolen item but not enslavement — unless God willed for him to be taken according to the law of his father Jacob; in other words he was only able to take him with God’s will by God’s inspiring him to ask his brothers about the nature of requital and their responding according to what is decreed by their customary practice. We raise by degrees whom We will read with a genitive annexation darajāti man nashā’ or simply with nunation darajātin man nashā’ in terms of knowledge as We did with Joseph; and above every man of knowledge from among creatures is one who knows better better than him and so on until it ends with God exalted be He.

He –Yusuf- began the search with their sacks before searching that of his brother -Benjamin-, then he brought it out of Benjamins saddle bags. Thus did We design a stratagem for Yusuf to outwit his brothers according to the inspired plan. He could not have detained his brother -Benjamin- by exercising judicial authority not conformable to the statutes of the realm, nor could he have applied the Jewish law of full restitution for the theft or the enslavement by the state unless Allah had willed. So it was. We raise whom We will to higher ranks and exalt them in dignity, wisdom and power. Above every one having mastery of knowledge, there is one who is endowed with more substantial knowledge; and above every one whose sum of knowledge with grace divine imbued there is AL-Alim (the All-Knowing, the Omniscient)

تَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمْ مَّا جِئْنَا لِنُفْسِدَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَمَا كُنَّا سَـرِقِينَ ( By Allah! Indeed you know that we came not to make mischief in the land, and we are no thieves! ) `Ever since you knew us, you, due to our good conduct, became certain that, مَّا جِئْنَا لِنُفْسِدَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَمَا كُنَّا سَـرِقِينَ ( we came not to make mischief in the land, and we are no thieves! ) They said, `Theft is not in our character, as you came to know.' Yusuf's men said, فَمَا جَزَآؤُهُ `( What then shall be the penalty of him ), in reference to the thief, if it came out that he is one of you,' إِن كُنتُمْ كَـذِبِينَ ( if you are (proved to be ) liars) They asked them, `What should be the thief's punishment if he is one of you' قَالُواْ جَزؤُهُ مَن وُجِدَ فِى رَحْلِهِ فَهُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى الظَّـلِمِينَ ( They said: "His penalty should be that he, in whose bag it is found, should be held for the punishment.
Thus we punish the wrongdoers!" ) This was the law of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, that the thief be given as a slave to the victim of theft.
This is what Yusuf wanted, and this is why he started with their bags first before his brother's bag, to perfect the plot, ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِن وِعَآءِ أَخِيهِ ( Then he brought it out of his brother's bag. ) Therefore, Yusuf took Binyamin as a slave according to their judgement and the law which they believed in.
So Allah said; كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ ( Thus did We plan for Yusuf. ) and this is a good plot that Allah likes and prefers, because it seeks a certain benefit using wisdom and the benefit of all.
Allah said next, مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِى دِينِ الْمَلِكِ ( He could not take his brother by the law of the king, ) as a captive, for this was not the law of king of Egypt, according to Ad-Dahhak and several other scholars.
Allah only allowed Yusuf to take his brother as a captive after his brothers agreed to this judgement beforehand, and he knew that this was their law.
This is why Allah praised him when He said, نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَـتٍ مَّن نَّشَآءُ ( We raise to degrees whom We will, ) just as He said in another Ayah, يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مِنكُمْ ( Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe. ) 58:11 Allah said next, وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِى عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ ( but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing. ) Al-Hasan commented, "There is no knowledgeable person, but there is another person with more knowledge until it ends at Allah the Exalted and Most Honored.
In addition, `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "We were with Ibn `Abbas when he narrated an amazing Hadith.
A man in the audience said, `All praise is to Allah! There is an all-knowing above every person endowed with knowledge.' Ibn `Abbas responded, `Worse it is that which you said! Allah is the All-Knowing and His knowledge is above the knowledge of every knowledgeable person.' Simak narrated that `Ikrimah said that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah's statement, وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِى عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ ( but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing (Allah ).) "This person has more knowledge than that person, and Allah is above all knowledgeable persons." Similar was narrated from `Ikrimah.
Qatadah said, "Over every person endowed with knowledge is a more knowledgeable person until all knowledge ends with Allah.
Verily, knowledge started from Allah, and from Him the scholars learn, and to Him all knowledge returns." `Abdullah bin Mas`ud read the Ayah this way, ( وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ عَالِمٍ عَلِيمٌ ) "And above every scholar, is the All-Knower ( Allah )."

(12:76) Then Joseph first began to search the packs of his step-brothers before searching the pack of his own brother. At last he took it out from the pack of his brother. Thus We supported Joseph with Our plan: *59 or it did not behove Joseph to seize his brother (by the king's law) except that Allah willed it so. *60 We raise high the ranks of those We will, and there is the One Whose knowledge is far greater than the knowledge of all others.

So he began [the search] with their meaning

*59) Now Iet us consider the question: How did AIlah directly support Prophet Joseph with His plan? It is obvious that the plan of placing the cup in Benjamin's pack was thought out and executed by Joseph himself.
And it is also obvious that the royal servants checked their packs as a matter of routine for such is the procedure that is generally followed on such occasions.
There is nothing in this passage that might be called supernatural support by Allah except that the servants asked the brothers to prescribe the punishment for the thief, and they answered that he should be made a bondsman.
The sentence that follows also confirms this interpretation.

*60) Had AIIah willed it, He would not have removed the flaw in the plan of Prophet Joseph.
It was this: he could seize his brother according to his plan only by the help of the king's law, but it was not worthy of a Prophet of Allah to apply that un-lslamic law to his own personal case.
For he had taken political power in his hands in order to establish gradually the Islamic law and not to enforce and keep the king's law in vogue.
Had Allah willed it, He would have left no other course for His Prophet except to have resort to the un-Islamic law.
But He did not will it so because He did not like to tarnish the fair name of His Prophet.
Therefore he made the servants enquire from the brothers ( an unusual thing ) about the punishment of a thief and they stated the Law of Prophet Abraham.
Thus not only was the flaw removed, but also no room was left for the brothers to raise any objection against this on the plea that they were not Egyptians, and therefore the law of the land could not be applied against them.
As has already been pointed out, this was the support of Allah to which He has referred in the two subsequent verses as a token of His favour and a sign of the perfection of His knowledge.

The favour of Allah was that He saved Prophet Joseph from applying the un-Islamic law of the king of Egypt to his personal case, for he was liable to do so under the stress of human weakness.
And there can be no greater favour for one than this that AIlah Himself should arrange to guard his high moral position.
It should, however, be noted that such a high rank is awarded only to those who prove themselves to be " righteous " in very hard trials.

By removing the flaw in his plan, Allah showed that His knowledge was far superior to the knowledge of those, whom ( like Prophet Joseph ) He had endowed with knowledge.

In this connection, there are some other points worthy of consideration and we will deal with them briefly:
( 1 ) Generally the words BaaaC ail iY DYQia oaCoBcoa are translated like this: " Joseph could not seize his brother by the law of the king ", or " Joseph was not authorized to seize his brother according to the law of the king.
" In other words, it means, " He could not do this, as there was no provision for it in the king's law. " Whereas it means this: " He ought not to have seized him by the king's law, as it did not behove him to do so. " This version is open to two objections.
Firstly, this is against the Qur'anic usage of as aCB Ca which usually means, " It did not behove him ", " It was not right for him " and " He ought not to have done this. " For instance, this is what it means in the following verses
" Indeed, Islam alone is the Right Way in the sight of Allah. " ( III: 18 ).
" Whosoever will adopt any other way than the way of Islam, it shall not be accepted.... " ( III:85 ).

Secondly, such a version is meaningless, for there could have been no reason why he had not the power to seize him for theft according to the law of the king.
Can there be any kingdom without having a law for taking action against a thief?
( 2 ) As the Qur'an uses the word BaaaC ai'I which connotes " the king's way of life " in addition to " the king's law ", it helps to understand the meaning of the sentence under discussion.
For it is obvious that the Prophet was sent to establish the way of Allah and not the un-Islamic way of the king.
Though by that time he had only partially succeeded in this Mission, it was not proper and worthy of a Prophet to adopt " the way of the king " for his own personal case.
Though there was no legal hindrance in his way to seize his brother according to the king's law, nevertheless, it was inappropriate for him, as a Prophet, to adopt the king's way which he had hitherto scrupulously avoided as far as his own person was concerned.
Thus it is clear that its appropriate interpretation will be this: " It did not behove Joseph to seize his brother by the king's law.
"
( 3 ) Besides this, by using the word for the " law of the land ", AIlah has denoted the vast comprehension of the word ( din ) and this cuts at the root of the conception of din of those people who confine the scope of the Message of the Prophets to mere worship of One Allah and believe that it has nothing to do with the cultural, political, social, judicial, legal and other mundane affairs of life.
Or, they opine that, if at all it has any concern with those matters, it is merely to give some instructions of an optional nature in regard to these, and leave it to the believers to adopt these or their own man-made laws, because, they think, there is no harm even in adopting the latter course.
This erroneous conception of din, which has been in vogue among the Muslims for a long time, has been responsible for rendering them neglectful of making exertions for the establishment of the Islamic Way of life.
As a result of this misconception of din, they became reconciled to un-Islamic ways of unbelief and ignorance.
Nay, they considered this misconception of theirs to be the pattern set by Prophet Joseph and became willing helpers and servants of these un-Islamic systems.
Whereas this verse categorically refutes this misconception by declaring that the " law of the land " is as much a part of the din of Allah as Salat, Haj, Fast, and Zakat are.
Therefore, the demand of the acceptance of aiIaC ( ad-Din ) made in v.
19 and v.
85 of Al-i'Imran, that is, " Indeed, Islam alone is aiIaC the Right Way, in the sight of Allah " and " Whosoever will adopt any other way ( aiI ), than the' Way of Islam, it shall not be accepted ", includes laws as well as Salat and other obligatory duties prescribed by Allah.
Therefore the exclusion of this part of din from any system would incur the displeasure of Allah.

( 4 ) The above interpretation, however, is open to one objection.
It does, at least, imply that an un-Islamic way was in vogue in Egypt at the time, when Prophet Joseph was, even according to the present commentator, the supreme head of the country.
It is, therefore, a proof that that Prophet himself was enforcing the un-Islamic law of the king.
What difference, then, could it have made, if Prophet Joseph had followed, in his personal case too, the system of law of the king which he himself was enforcing instead of the system of law of Prophet Abraham? Most certainly this would have made a vast difference because it would have compromised his position as a Prophet, because he was trying to establish the Islamic Way of life, which naturally could have been accomplished gradually in course of time, during which the king's law would have inevitably remained in vogue.
The same thing happened in Arabia during the Mission of the Holy Prophet in Madinah, which took nine years to establish the Islamic System in its entirety.
During that period, several unIslamic laws remained in vogue.
For instance, drinking, interest, the unIslamic laws of inheritance and marriage and some wrong ways of trade, etc., had to continue for some time.
Likewise the civil and penal codes of Islam took some time for their complete introduction.
So there is nothing strange in this that the king's law continued to be in vogue during the first nine years or so of Prophet Joseph's reign.
But the continuance of the unIslamic law of the king during the period of transition is no argument to prove that Allah's Prophet was sent to follow the way of the king and not to establish the Way of Allah.

 

تَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمْ مَّا جِئْنَا لِنُفْسِدَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَمَا كُنَّا سَـرِقِينَ ( By Allah! Indeed you know that we came not to make mischief in the land, and we are no thieves! ) `Ever since you knew us, you, due to our good conduct, became certain that, مَّا جِئْنَا لِنُفْسِدَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَمَا كُنَّا سَـرِقِينَ ( we came not to make mischief in the land, and we are no thieves! ) They said, `Theft is not in our character, as you came to know.' Yusuf's men said, فَمَا جَزَآؤُهُ `( What then shall be the penalty of him ), in reference to the thief, if it came out that he is one of you,' إِن كُنتُمْ كَـذِبِينَ ( if you are (proved to be ) liars) They asked them, `What should be the thief's punishment if he is one of you' قَالُواْ جَزؤُهُ مَن وُجِدَ فِى رَحْلِهِ فَهُوَ جَزَاؤُهُ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى الظَّـلِمِينَ ( They said: "His penalty should be that he, in whose bag it is found, should be held for the punishment.
Thus we punish the wrongdoers!" ) This was the law of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, that the thief be given as a slave to the victim of theft.
This is what Yusuf wanted, and this is why he started with their bags first before his brother's bag, to perfect the plot, ثُمَّ اسْتَخْرَجَهَا مِن وِعَآءِ أَخِيهِ ( Then he brought it out of his brother's bag. ) Therefore, Yusuf took Binyamin as a slave according to their judgement and the law which they believed in.
So Allah said; كَذَلِكَ كِدْنَا لِيُوسُفَ ( Thus did We plan for Yusuf. ) and this is a good plot that Allah likes and prefers, because it seeks a certain benefit using wisdom and the benefit of all.
Allah said next, مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِى دِينِ الْمَلِكِ ( He could not take his brother by the law of the king, ) as a captive, for this was not the law of king of Egypt, according to Ad-Dahhak and several other scholars.
Allah only allowed Yusuf to take his brother as a captive after his brothers agreed to this judgement beforehand, and he knew that this was their law.
This is why Allah praised him when He said, نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَـتٍ مَّن نَّشَآءُ ( We raise to degrees whom We will, ) just as He said in another Ayah, يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مِنكُمْ ( Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe. ) 58:11 Allah said next, وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِى عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ ( but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing. ) Al-Hasan commented, "There is no knowledgeable person, but there is another person with more knowledge until it ends at Allah the Exalted and Most Honored.
In addition, `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "We were with Ibn `Abbas when he narrated an amazing Hadith.
A man in the audience said, `All praise is to Allah! There is an all-knowing above every person endowed with knowledge.' Ibn `Abbas responded, `Worse it is that which you said! Allah is the All-Knowing and His knowledge is above the knowledge of every knowledgeable person.' Simak narrated that `Ikrimah said that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah's statement, وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِى عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ ( but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing (Allah ).) "This person has more knowledge than that person, and Allah is above all knowledgeable persons." Similar was narrated from `Ikrimah.
Qatadah said, "Over every person endowed with knowledge is a more knowledgeable person until all knowledge ends with Allah.
Verily, knowledge started from Allah, and from Him the scholars learn, and to Him all knowledge returns." `Abdullah bin Mas`ud read the Ayah this way, ( وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ عَالِمٍ عَلِيمٌ ) "And above every scholar, is the All-Knower ( Allah )."

( Then he ) Joseph’s servant ( began the search with their bags before ) searching ( his brother’s bag ) where he obviously did not find it, ( then he produced it from his brother’s bag ) from his brother Benjamin’s bag. The servant said to him: May Allah lift your trouble as you have lifted mine. ( Thus did We contrive ) We did ( for Joseph ) We honoured him with knowledge, wisdom, prophethood and sovereignty. ( He could not have taken his brother according to the king’s law unless Allah willed ) and Allah willed that he does take his brother according to the king’s law because, according to the latter, the penalty for theft was beating and payment of a fine; it was also said that according to the king’s law, the penalty for theft was the amputation of limbs and payment of a fine; it is also said that ( unless Allah willed ) means: except those laws of the king which Joseph knew to be pleasing to Allah, for he applied those. ( We raise by grades (of mercy )) We raise the virtues of ( whom We will ) as We do in the life of this world, ( and over every lord of knowledge there is one more knowing ) above every one who knows there someone who knows more, and so on and so forth until one stops at Allah, for there is no one who has more knowledge than Him.

So he [Yusuf (Joseph)] began (the search) in their bags before the bag of his brother. Then he brought it out of his brother's bag. Thus did We plan for Yusuf (Joseph). He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as a slave), except that Allah willed it. (So Allah made the brothers to bind themselves with their way of "punishment, i.e. enslaving of a thief.") We raise to degrees whom We please, but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing (Allah).

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