قالوا يا أَبانا ما لَكَ لا تَأمَنّا عَلىٰ يوسُفَ وَإِنّا لَهُ لَناصِحونَ

They said: ‘Father! Why is it that you do not trust us with Joseph? We are indeed his well-wishers.

EXEGESIS

Taʾmannā (trust us) is originally taʾmanunā, however the first nūn has been assimilated into the second (idghām). The reciter of the verse should however indicate the presence of the omitted nūn through an act called ishmām, whereby he mouths the second nūn without actually making any audible sound.^[1]

Nāṣiḥūn (well-wishers) comes from the word nuṣḥ meaning to ‘exhort in word or deed to that which would benefit one’s friend’, as we have elsewhere: My exhorting (nuṣḥī) will not benefit you, much as I may seek to exhort (anṣaḥa) you (11:34).^[2] The literal meaning of the word is to be sincere or pure (khulūṣ).^[3] Here it means ‘we only want what is good for him’.^[4]

EXPOSITION

After the brothers had planned their plot against Prophet Joseph (a), they set out to try and convince their father to let them take their brother with them away from his watchful eyes. They began by trying to sweet-talk their father and softening his heart.^[5] They said: ‘Father! Why is it that you do not trust us with Joseph?’ It is evident from this statement that since Prophet Joseph’s (a) dream – or possibly even before that – Prophet Jacob (a) had been protective of Prophet Joseph (a) and would not let him out of his sight.^[6] He would not let Prophet Joseph (a) be alone with his brothers, and when they would go somewhere all together, Prophet Joseph (a) would remain with his father.

As a part of their plot, the brothers confronted Prophet Jacob (a) on this matter. They attempted to guilt their father, as if to say that by not letting him ever go alone with them, his father is somehow calling his other sons into question, either questioning their competence or their integrity.^[7]

We are indeed his well-wishers: this was a lie masking their true intentions, for they indeed wished him harm.

[1] Tibyan, 6/103.
[2] Raghib, p. 808.
[3] Lisan, 2/616, like the ‘pure honey (ʿasal naṣūḥ)’, which has been purified from wax (see also Alusi, 14/352).
[4] Mizan, 11/98.
[5] See Mizan, 11/97.
[6] See also Razi, 18/425.
[7] See Nemuneh, 9/330.