Surah 12 Yusuf — Ayah 77
۞ قَالُوٓا۟ إِن يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌۭ لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِى نَفْسِهِۦ وَلَمْ يُبْدِهَا لَهُمْ ۚ قَالَ أَنتُمْ شَرٌّۭ مَّكَانًۭا ۖ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تَصِفُونَ
Zijne broeders zeiden: Indien Benjamin schuldig aan diefstal zij, is zijn broeder Jozef vroeger ook schuldig aan diefstal geweest. Maar Jozef verborg deze dingen in zijn hart en ontdekte zich niet aan hen, en hij zeide bij zich zelven: Gij zijt in een meer beklagenswaardigen toestand dan wij beiden. God weet beter waarover gij spreekt.
qālū in yasriq faqad saraqa akhun lahu min qablu fa-asarrahā yūsufu fī nafsihi walam yub'dihā lahum qāla antum sharrun makānan wal-lahu aʿlamu bimā taṣifūna
Word by word
- ۞ قَالُوٓا۟ qālū They said
- إِن in If
- يَسْرِقْ yasriq he steals
- فَقَدْ faqad then verily
- سَرَقَ saraqa stole
- أَخٌۭ akhun a brother
- لَّهُۥ lahu of his
- مِن min before
- قَبْلُ ۚ qablu before
- فَأَسَرَّهَا fa-asarrahā But Yusuf kept it secret
- يُوسُفُ yūsufu But Yusuf kept it secret
- فِى fī within
- نَفْسِهِۦ nafsihi himself
- وَلَمْ walam and (did) not
- يُبْدِهَا yub'dihā reveal it
- لَهُمْ ۚ lahum to them
- قَالَ qāla He said
- أَنتُمْ antum You
- شَرٌّۭ sharrun (are the) worse
- مَّكَانًۭا ۖ makānan (in) position
- وَٱللَّهُ wal-lahu and Allah
- أَعْلَمُ aʿlamu knows best
- بِمَا bimā of what
- تَصِفُونَ taṣifūna you describe
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
Yusuf's Brothers accuse Him of Theft!
After Yusuf's brothers saw that the king's bowl was taken out of Binyamin's bag, they said,
(If he steals, there was a brother of his who did steal before.) They tried to show themselves as innocent from being like Binyamin, saying that he did just like a brother of his did beforehand, meaning Yusuf, peace be upon him! Allah said,
(But these things did Yusuf keep in himself), meaning the statement that he said afterwards,
(You are in an evil situation, and Allah is the Best Knower of that which you describe!) Yusuf said this to himself and did not utter it aloud, thus intending to hide what he wanted to say to himself even before he said it. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah's statement,
(But these things did Yusuf keep in himself), "He kept in himself his statement next,
(You are in an evil situation, and Allah is the Best Knower of that which you describe!)."