وَجاءَت سَيّارَةٌ فَأَرسَلوا وارِدَهُم فَأَدلىٰ دَلوَهُ ۖ قالَ يا بُشرىٰ هٰذا غُلامٌ ۚ وَأَسَرّوهُ بِضاعَةً ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَليمٌ بِما يَعمَلونَ
And there came a caravan, and they sent their water-drawer, who let down his bucket. ‘Good news!’ he said. ‘This is a young boy!’ So they hid him as [a piece of] merchandise, and Allah knew best what they were doing.
EXEGESIS
Wārid (water-drawer) is the active participle of the verb warada. The original meaning of wurūd is to seek water.[1] Thus wārid means the one who is sent to gather water.[2]
Biḍāʿah (merchandise); the verb baḍaʿa means to cut off. Biḍāʿah is a portion of wealth that is set aside for business, as if it is cut off from the rest of one’s wealth.[3]
EXPOSITION
From the discussion amongst Prophet Jacob (a) and his sons we are transported back to the well, where the story continues with what happened next to the young protagonist.
And there came a caravan: as the brothers had planned, a caravan passed by the well, which was likely located along a trade route that such caravans frequented.
And they sent their water-drawer: when a caravan would arrive at a location with a well, they would not all go searching for the well, but would send their experienced guide (wārid) to find the right place.
Who let down his bucket: when the water-drawer sent down his bucket, Prophet Joseph (a) grabbed on to the rope and was pulled out.[4]
‘Good news!’ he said: the water-drawer gasped in an expression of glee, like saying ‘O joy!’ or ‘how delightful!’ or ‘excellent!’ This is similar to the later verse where Prophet Jacob (a) conversely exclaims Alas for Joseph! (verse 84).
This is a young boy: now saved from the well, we may imagine that Prophet Joseph (a) explained to his rescuer what had happened to him and how he ended up in the well.[5] Yet instead of helping him, greed overcame him – like jealousy overcame the brothers of Prophet Joseph (a) – and they decided to keep him for themselves in order to sell him as a slave: So they hid him as [a piece of] merchandise. He was hidden so that no one else in the caravan might ask for a share of the profit of his eventual sale.[6] There is a change in pronoun here, and the water-drawer apparently told a few of his close friends in the caravan about what had happened, and as per the surah’s recurring theme, they decided to conspire together, drawing up a plan on how to keep Prophet Joseph (a) for themselves, without letting the others in the caravan share in the profits.
And Allah knew best what they were doing: there is a tone of condemnation in this statement; even though one may successfully hide their actions from others, they may never be hidden from God. After Prophet Joseph (a) told them of what had happened to him, if the people of the caravan were righteous, they would have seen Prophet Joseph (a) returned safely to his father, yet his would-be rescuers turned into his captors.
At the same time, this is also a reminder that even if difficulties beset God’s beloved ones, it is not because He has forgotten about them.[7]
[1] Raghib, p. 865, w-r-d; Mizan, 11/106.
[2] Tibyan, 6/113.
[3] Tibyan, 6/114.
[4] Tabrisi, 5/336; Tabari, 12/99.
[5] Tantawi, 7/333.
[6] Tibyan, 6/114; Tabrisi, 5/33; Tabari, 12/100-101; Zamakhshari, 2/452.
[7] Tabari, 12/101.