12:18 Yusuf (Joseph)

ولكن عدم تصديقك إيانا، لا يمنعنا أن نعتذر بالعذر الحقيقي، وكل هذا، تأكيد لعذرهم. { وَ } مما أكدوا به قولهم، أنهم { جَاءُوا عَلَى قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ } زعموا أنه دم يوسف حين أكله الذئب، فلم يصدقهم أبوهم بذلك، و { قَالَ } { بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنْفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا } أي: زينت لكم أنفسكم أمرا قبيحا في التفريق بيني وبينه، لأنه رأى من القرائن والأحوال [ ومن رؤيا يوسف التي قصَّها عليه ] ما دلّه على ما قال. { فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ } أي: أما أنا فوظيفتي سأحرص على القيام بها، وهي أني أصبر على هذه المحنة صبرا جميلا سالما من السخط والتَّشكِّي إلى الخلق، وأستعين الله على ذلك، لا على حولي وقوتي، فوعد من نفسه هذا الأمر وشكى إلى خالقه في قوله: { إِنَّمَا أَشْكُو بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ } لأن الشكوى إلى الخالق لا تنافي الصبر الجميل، لأن النبي إذا وعد وفى.

أي مكذوب مفتري وهذا من الأفعال التي يؤكدون بها ما تمالئوا عليه من المكيدة وهو أنهم عمدوا إلى سخلة فيما ذكره مجاهد والسدي وغير واحد فذبحوها ولطخوا ثوب يوسف بدمها موهمين أن هذا قميصه الذي أكله فيه الذئب وقد أصابه من دمه ولكنه نسوا أن يخرقوة فلهذا لم يرجع هذا الصنيع على نبي الله يعقوب. بل قال لهم معرضا عن كلامهم إلى ما وقع في نفسه من لبسهم عليه " بل سوّلت لكم أنفسكم أمرا فصبر جميل " أي فسأصبر صبرا جميلا على هذا الأمر الذي اتفقتم عليه حتى يفرجه الله بعونه ولطفه " والله المستعان على ما تصفون " أي على ما تذكرون من الكذب والمحال. وقال الثوري عن سماك عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس " وجاءوا على قميصه بدم كذب " قال لو أكله السبع لخرق القميص وكذا قال الشعبي والحسن وقتادة وغير واحد وقال مجاهد: الصبر الجميل الذي لا جزع فيه. وروى هشيم عن عبد الرحمن بن يحيي عن حبان بن أبي حبلة قال: سئل رسول اله صلي الله عليه وسلم عن قوله " فصبر جميل" فقال " صبر لا شكوى فيه " وهذا مرسل. وقال عبد الرزاق قال الثوري عن بعض أصحابه أنه قال: ثلاث من الصبر: أن لا تحدث بوجعك ولا بمصيبتك ولا تزكي نفسك. وذكر البخاري ههنا حديث عائشة في الإفك حتى ذكر قولها والله لا أجد لي ولكم مثلا إلا كما قال أبو يوسف " فصبر جميل والله المستعان على ما تصفون ".

Yusuf's Brothers try to deceive Their Father

Allah narrates to us the deceit that Yusuf's brothers resorted to, after they threw him to the bottom of the well. They went back to their father, during the darkness of the night, crying and showing sorrow and grief for losing Yusuf. They started giving excuses to their father for what happened to Yusuf, falsely claiming that,

إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقُ

(We went racing with one another), or had a shooting competition,

وَتَرَكْنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَـعِنَا

(and left Yusuf by our belongings), guarding our clothes and luggage,

فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ

(and a wolf devoured him), which is exactly what their father told them he feared for Yusuf and warned against. They said next,

وَمَآ أَنتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَـدِقِينَ

(but you will never believe us even when we speak the truth.) They tried to lessen the impact of the grave news they were delivering. They said, `We know that you will not believe this news, even if you consider us truthful. So what about when you suspect that we are not truthful, especially since you feared that the wolf might devour Yusuf and that is what happened' Therefore, they said, `You have reason not to believe us because of the strange coincidence and the amazing occurrence that happened to us. '

وَجَآءُوا عَلَى قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ

(And they brought his shirt stained with false blood.) on it, to help prove plot that they all agreed on. They slaughtered a sheep, according to Mujahid, As-Suddi and several other scholars, and stained Yusuf's shirt with its blood. They claimed that this was the shirt Yusuf was wearing when the wolf devoured him, being stained with his blood. But, they forgot to tear the shirt, and this is why Allah's Prophet Ya`qub did not believe them. Rather, he told them what he felt about what they said to him, thus refusing their false claim,

بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ

(Nay, but your ownselves have made up a tale. So (for me) patience is most fitting.) Ya`qub said, `I will firmly observe patience for this plot on which you agreed, until Allah relieves the distress with His aid and compassion,

وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ

(And it is Allah (alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you describe.), against the lies and unbelievable incident that you said had occurred.'

And they came with false blood on his shirt ‘alā qamīsihi has the status of an accusative of the verb because it is an adverbial qualifier meaning fawqa qamīsihi they slaughtered a lamb and dabbed it his shirt with its blood — but they forgot to tear it the shirt — and they said that it was his blood. He Jacob said when he saw that it the shirt was undamaged and realised that they were lying ‘Nay but your souls have beguiled you into something and so you did it to him. Yet comely patience! without any anxiety! fa-sabrun jamīlun is the predicate of a missing subject such as amrī ‘my course’. And God is the One Whose succour is sought in that predicament which you describe’ that which you mention of Joseph’s affair.

وَجَاءُوا عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ ; (And they came with fake blood on his shirt) that is, the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) came back with his shirt they had smeared in fake blood so that they could make their father believe that he has been eaten up by a wolf.

But, Allah Ta’ ala had His way of exposing their lie. He made them neglect something else they should have done besides smearing the shirt with fake blood. Had they also torn the shirt, it would proved his being eaten up by a wolf. Here they were coming with an intact shirt smeared with the blood of a kid goat and trying to deceive their father. After seeing this shirt totally unscratched, Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) said: My sons, certainly wise was this wolf who ate Yusuf in a way that his shirt was not torn from anywhere.

Thus, their deceit was exposed before Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) and he said:

بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرً‌ا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ‌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّـهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ

Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something. So, patience is best. And it is Allah whose help is sought against what you describe.

Two Rulings:

1. Sayyidna Ya'qub (علیہ السلام) has used the intact shirt as evidence to establish that the brothers of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) were lying. This tells us that a Qadi or judge should also keep an eye on circumstantial evidence alongwith the claims and arguments of the parties concerned (Qurtubi).

Al-Mawardi has said: The legendary shirt of Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is a wonder of the world in its own way. Three great events of prophetic annals are connected with his shirt: (I) The first event relates to the smearing of the shirt with fake blood, cheating a father and the evidence of the shirt which established the lie. (II) The second event relates to Zulaikha in which it is the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) which appears as the conclusive evidence. (III) The third event relates to the return of Sayyidna Ya` qub's eyesight in which it is the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) which stands out as the cause of that miracle.

2. Some ` Ulama have said that the comment: بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرً‌ا (Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something 18) made at this time before his sons was also made at the time when Benyamin, the real brother of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، was detained in Egypt having been charged with theft. When his brothers reported this incident to Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، he said: بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ (Rather, your inner desires have seduced you to something - 83). Worth pondering here is that Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) had made both these comments as based on his opinion. The first of them turned out to be true; the other was not - because, in this, the brothers were not to be blamed. This tells us that a wrong personal opinion is possible even from prophets initially - though, later on, they are not left to stand by that wrong opinion by means of Divine revelation.

According to Al-Qurtubi, it proves that an error of opinion can be committed by the highest of the high. Therefore, every man or woman of opinion should take his or her opinion as suspect, and should not become so rigid about it as not to be ready to listen or entertain what others have to say.