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
فَلَمَّآ أَن جَآءَ ٱلْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَىٰهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ فَٱرْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا ۖ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And when the bearer of good tidings arrived, he cast it over his face, and he returned [once again] seeing. He said, "Did I not tell you that I know from Allāh that which you do not know?"
وَلَمَّا دَخَلُوا۟ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَهُمْ أَبُوهُم مَّا كَانَ يُغْنِى عَنْهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا حَاجَةً فِى نَفْسِ يَعْقُوبَ قَضَىٰهَا ۚ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَذُو عِلْمٍ لِّمَا عَلَّمْنَـٰهُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
And when they entered from where their father had ordered them, it did not avail them against Allāh at all except [it was] a need [i.e., concern] within the soul of Jacob, which he satisfied. And indeed, he was a possessor of knowledge because of what We had taught him, but most of the people do not know.
وَقَالَ ٱلْمَلِكُ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ سَبْعَ بَقَرَٰتٍ سِمَانٍ يَأْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَسَبْعَ سُنۢبُلَـٰتٍ خُضْرٍ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَـٰتٍ ۖ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِى فِى رُءْيَـٰىَ إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّءْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ
And [subsequently] the king said, "Indeed, I have seen [in a dream] seven fat cows being eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry. O eminent ones, explain to me my vision, if you should interpret visions."
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِى نَجَا مِنْهُمَا وَٱدَّكَرَ بَعْدَ أُمَّةٍ أَنَا۠ أُنَبِّئُكُم بِتَأْوِيلِهِۦ فَأَرْسِلُونِ
But the one who was freed and remembered after a time said, "I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me forth."