Surah Yusuf ayat 81 Tafsir Quran 12:81

﴿ارْجِعُوا إِلَىٰ أَبِيكُمْ فَقُولُوا يَا أَبَانَا إِنَّ ابْنَكَ سَرَقَ وَمَا شَهِدْنَا إِلَّا بِمَا عَلِمْنَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَافِظِينَ﴾
[ يوسف: 81]

12:81 Return to your father and say, "O our father, indeed your son has stolen, and we did not testify except to what we knew. And we were not witnesses of the unseen,

Go back to your father and say “O our father your son has indeed stolen and we testified against him only regarding what we knew from the certainty of having seen the king’s cup in his saddlebag; we could not have guarded against the Unseen that which was hidden from us when we gave our pledge had we known that he would steal we would not have taken him with us to Egypt.

Go back to your father, he added, and say to him: your son -Benjamin- has committed a theft and we were associated with the event and we only relate what we saw with our own eyes; and when we bound ourselves by the vow, we did not indulge in prophecy to foretell future events or realize the unseen

So, when they despaired of him, they consulted in private.
The eldest among them said: "Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name, and before this you did fail in your duty with Yusuf? Therefore I will not leave this land until my father permits me, or Allah decides my case and He is the Best of the judges ( 80 )"Return to your father and say, 'O our father! Verily, your son has stolen, and we testify not except according to what we know, and we could not know the Unseen ( 81 )"And ask ( the people of ) the town where we have been, and the caravan in which we returned; and indeed we are telling the truth.
( 82 ) Yusuf's Brothers consult Each Other in Confidence; the Advice Their Eldest Brother gave Them Allah narrates to us that Yusuf's brothers were desperate because they could not secure the release of their brother Binyamin, even though they had given a promise and sworn to their father to bring him back.
They were unable to fulfill their promise to their father, so, خَلَصُوا ( in private ), away from people's eyes, نَجِيًّا ( they consulted ), among themselves, قَالَ كَبِيرُهُمْ ( The eldest among them said ), and his name, as we mentioned, was Rubil, or Yahudha.
He was the one among them who recommended throwing Yusuf into a well, rather than killing him.
So Rubil said to them, أَلَمْ تَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ أَبَاكُمْ قَدْ أَخَذَ عَلَيْكُم مَّوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ ( Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name, ) that you will return Binyamin to him? However, you were not able to fulfill this promise and, before you caused Yusuf to be lost from his father, فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الْأَرْضَ ( Therefore I will not leave this land ), I will not leave Egypt, حَتَّىٰ يَأْذَنَ لِي أَبِي ( until my father permits me, ) allows me to go back to him while he is pleased with me, أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِي ( or Allah decides my case ) by using the sword, or, they says; by allowing me to secure the release of my brother, وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ ( and He is the Best of the judges. ), He next ordered them to narrate to their father what happened so that they could present their excuse about that happened to Binyamin and as claim their innocence before him.
Rubil said to them ( to say to their father ), وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَافِظِينَ ( and we could not know the Unseen! ) or, 'we did not know that your son had committed theft,' according to Qatadah and 'Ikrimah.
'Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that it means, 'we did not know that Binyamin stole something that belonged to the king, we only stated the punishment of the thief,' وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ الَّتِي كُنَّا فِيهَا ( And ask (the people of ) the town where we have been,), in reference to Egypt, according to Qatadah, or another town. وَالْعِيرَ الَّتِي أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَا ( and the caravan in which we returned ), 'about our truthfulness, honesty, protection and sincere guardianship, وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ ( and indeed we are telling the truth. ) in what we have told you, that Binyamin stole and was taken as a captive as compensation for his theft.'

So, when they despaired of him, they consulted in private.
The eldest among them said: "Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name, and before this you did fail in your duty with Yusuf? Therefore I will not leave this land until my father permits me, or Allah decides my case and He is the Best of the judges ( 80 )"Return to your father and say, 'O our father! Verily, your son has stolen, and we testify not except according to what we know, and we could not know the Unseen ( 81 )"And ask ( the people of ) the town where we have been, and the caravan in which we returned; and indeed we are telling the truth.
( 82 ) Yusuf's Brothers consult Each Other in Confidence; the Advice Their Eldest Brother gave Them Allah narrates to us that Yusuf's brothers were desperate because they could not secure the release of their brother Binyamin, even though they had given a promise and sworn to their father to bring him back.
They were unable to fulfill their promise to their father, so, خَلَصُوا ( in private ), away from people's eyes, نَجِيًّا ( they consulted ), among themselves, قَالَ كَبِيرُهُمْ ( The eldest among them said ), and his name, as we mentioned, was Rubil, or Yahudha.
He was the one among them who recommended throwing Yusuf into a well, rather than killing him.
So Rubil said to them, أَلَمْ تَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ أَبَاكُمْ قَدْ أَخَذَ عَلَيْكُم مَّوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ ( Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name, ) that you will return Binyamin to him? However, you were not able to fulfill this promise and, before you caused Yusuf to be lost from his father, فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الْأَرْضَ ( Therefore I will not leave this land ), I will not leave Egypt, حَتَّىٰ يَأْذَنَ لِي أَبِي ( until my father permits me, ) allows me to go back to him while he is pleased with me, أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِي ( or Allah decides my case ) by using the sword, or, they says; by allowing me to secure the release of my brother, وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ ( and He is the Best of the judges. ), He next ordered them to narrate to their father what happened so that they could present their excuse about that happened to Binyamin and as claim their innocence before him.
Rubil said to them ( to say to their father ), وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَافِظِينَ ( and we could not know the Unseen! ) or, 'we did not know that your son had committed theft,' according to Qatadah and 'Ikrimah.
'Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that it means, 'we did not know that Binyamin stole something that belonged to the king, we only stated the punishment of the thief,' وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ الَّتِي كُنَّا فِيهَا ( And ask (the people of ) the town where we have been,), in reference to Egypt, according to Qatadah, or another town. وَالْعِيرَ الَّتِي أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَا ( and the caravan in which we returned ), 'about our truthfulness, honesty, protection and sincere guardianship, وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ ( and indeed we are telling the truth. ) in what we have told you, that Binyamin stole and was taken as a captive as compensation for his theft.'

Judah then said: ( Return ) O my brothers ( unto your father and say: O our father! Lo! thy son hath stolen ) the king’s golden cup; it is also said that this means: your son was taken for stealing. ( We testify only to that which we know ) we saw the stolen cup found in his bag; ( we are not guardians of the Unseen ) he said: if we knew the unseen, we would not have taken him; it is also said that this means: we could not look after him at night.

"Return to your father and say, 'O our father! Verily, your son (Benjamin) has stolen, and we testify not except according to what we know, and we could not know the unseen!

Page 245 English transliteration