وَلَمَّا جَهَّزَهُم بِجَهَازِهِمْ قَالَ ٱئْتُونِى بِأَخٍ لَّكُم مِّنْ أَبِيكُمْ ۚ أَلَا تَرَوْنَ أَنِّىٓ أُوفِى ٱلْكَيْلَ وَأَنَا۠ خَيْرُ ٱلْمُنزِلِينَ 59
Translations
And when he had furnished them with their supplies, he said, "Bring me a brother of yours from your father. Do you not see that I give full measure and that I am the best of accommodators?
Transliteration
Wa lammā jahhaẓahum bi-jihāzihim qāla ītūnī bi-akhīn lakum min abīkum ālā tarawn annī ūfī al-kayl wa-anā khayru al-munzilīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
When Yusuf (Joseph) had equipped his brothers with their supplies, he commanded them to bring their youngest brother (Benjamin) from their father, saying he would only deal fairly with them in weighing grain if they brought him. This demand served multiple purposes: to test their sincerity, to reunite with his beloved brother Benjamin, and to demonstrate his trustworthiness and generosity as a merchant. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this was a diplomatic way for Yusuf to ensure Benjamin's arrival while maintaining the appearance of a commercial transaction, as he was still concealing his true identity from his brothers.
Revelation Context
This verse occurs within the narrative of Yusuf's brothers' second visit to Egypt to purchase grain during the famine. The broader context shows Yusuf's strategic patience and wisdom in orchestrating his family's reunion while testing his brothers' character and their commitment to their father and youngest brother. This is part of the Meccan revelation focusing on the trials and triumphs of the righteous.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly addresses this verse, Surah Yusuf itself is praised in Sahih Muslim as 'Ahsan al-Qasas' (the Best of Stories) by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), highlighting its spiritual and moral significance. The principle of fulfilling trusts is reinforced in numerous hadiths, such as the hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud about the importance of honest dealing in transactions.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah demonstrates how wisdom, patience, and strategic thinking serve divine purposes in reuniting loved ones and establishing trust. For modern readers, it teaches that apparent business or social conditions may conceal deeper spiritual intentions, and that maintaining integrity in dealings—whether commercial or personal—is both a moral imperative and a means of demonstrating one's character to others.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالَ لِلَّذِى ظَنَّ أَنَّهُۥ نَاجٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱذْكُرْنِى عِندَ رَبِّكَ فَأَنسَىٰهُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهِۦ فَلَبِثَ فِى ٱلسِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِينَ
And he said to the one whom he knew would go free, "Mention me before your master." But Satan made him forget the mention [to] his master, and he [i.e., Joseph] remained in prison several years.
وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ ٱلسِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ ۖ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَآ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰنِىٓ أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلْـَٔاخَرُ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰنِىٓ أَحْمِلُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِى خُبْزًا تَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ ۖ نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِۦٓ ۖ إِنَّا نَرَىٰكَ مِنَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, "Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing [grapes for] wine." The other said, "Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good."
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ۗ أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۗ وَلَدَارُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ ۗ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allāh; then will you not reason?
قَالَ مَعَاذَ ٱللَّهِ أَن نَّأْخُذَ إِلَّا مَن وَجَدْنَا مَتَـٰعَنَا عِندَهُۥٓ إِنَّآ إِذًا لَّظَـٰلِمُونَ
He said, "[I seek] the refuge of Allāh [to prevent] that we take except him with whom we found our possession. Indeed, we would then be unjust."