قالوا إِن يَسرِق فَقَد سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَهُ مِن قَبلُ ۚ فَأَسَرَّها يوسُفُ في نَفسِهِ وَلَم يُبدِها لَهُم ۚ قالَ أَنتُم شَرٌّ مَكانًا ۖ وَاللَّهُ أَعلَمُ بِما تَصِفونَ

They said: ‘If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before.’ Thereupon Joseph kept the matter to himself and he did not disclose it to them. He said: ‘You are in a worse state! And Allah knows best what you allege.’

EXEGESIS

Asarrahā (kept it secret): the verb asarra (from the infinitive isrār) denotes concealing a secret (sirr) in one’s heart, withholding something privately, or engaging in confidential speech. The feminine pronoun hā (it), rendered here as the matter, refers to an unspoken response from Prophet Joseph (a), implying he withheld the reply he intended to give to himself.

EXPOSITION

If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before: by that the brothers meant Prophet Joseph (a).[1] The expression a brother of his is filled with disdain for Prophet Joseph (a). Even though Prophet Joseph (a) was a brother to all of them, they name him as Benjamin’s brother, disassociating themselves from him, as if to say that because Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin had a different mother to the rest of them, they were both somehow of spoiled stock. There is also a contradiction here in their speech, for earlier they had said that we are not thieves (verse 73), including Benjamin in this assertion. However, now they claim that it is no surprise that Benjamin stole, for it is his nature to be a thief, like his brother.[2]

In any case, it is obvious that many of them still harboured ill feelings towards Prophet Joseph (a) and were prepared to slander him with such lies, even after all these years.[3] This is why it was necessary for Prophet Joseph (a) to carry out his plan, to ready the hearts of his brothers for repentance, as we discussed in verse 58.

Thereupon Joseph kept the matter to himself and he did not disclose it to them: Prophet Joseph (a) could have easily confronted them at this moment and demanded to know what exactly Benjamin’s brother was alleged to have stolen to warrant such accusations. Undoubtedly, part of him yearned to refute their baseless claims. Yet, conscious of preserving his concealed identity, he restrained himself. While he held his tongue from speaking the full truth, he could not completely suppress his indignation toward them.

He said: ‘You[4] are in a worse state! And Allah knows best what you allege’: they were in a worse state because they were willing to so quickly turn on their brother instead of defending him. In other words, Prophet Joseph (a) was saying: all I see is grown men turning against a younger brother whom they are supposed to be protecting and caring for. Not only that, but you also use the opportunity to turn on another brother who is not even here. Is this how brothers should behave towards one another? These are actions of people possessed of lowly character. God knows if the brother you mentioned was even actually a thief or not.

Keep in mind that the conversations related in the Quran are summaries and only giving the key points of what was said.

That said, the exegetes have disagreed regarding the meaning of Prophet Joseph (a) saying You are in a worse state. Many argue that he implicitly alluded to their wrongdoing, having wronged Prophet Joseph (a) by separating him from his father.[5] Naturally, he could not state this openly, as doing so would have revealed his identity, which he still wished to conceal at that time.

Zamakhsharī asserts that Prophet Joseph (a) said You are in a worse state! And Allah knows best what you allege to himself and not out loud. In this sense he considers Thereupon Joseph kept the matter to himself to mean Prophet Joseph (a) kept himself from giving any reply and did not say anything out loud at all.[6]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Washshāʾ, that Imam al-Riḍā (a) said: ‘The law among the Children of Israel was that if someone stole something, they would be enslaved for it. Joseph was cared for by his aunt when he was a child, and she loved him. Isaac had a belt that was worn by Jacob, and it was kept with his sister. Jacob requested to get Joseph back from his aunt, and this upset her. She said to him: “Let him stay with me until I send him to you.” She sent him, but she took the belt and tied it around his waist under his clothes. When Joseph came to his father, she came and said: “You have stolen the belt!” She searched him and found it tied around his waist. That is why Joseph’s brothers said [what they said] when he put the drinking-cup in his brother’s sack and then Joseph said to them: “What is the punishment for the one in whose saddlebag we find it?” They said that his punishment should be the punishment which was an established custom amongst them. Then he began with their sacks, before [opening] his brother’s sack. Then he took it out from his brother’s sack [verse 76]. That is why Joseph’s brothers said, If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before, referring to the belt. Thereupon Joseph kept the matter to himself and he did not disclose it to them.’[7]

Note: Similar stories are also reported from some exegetes among the Followers (tābiʿīn).[8] Prophet Joseph’s (a) reply, You are in a worse state, would hence mean that he was blameless in the matter of the belt, whereas the brothers were guilty with regards to what they had done to Prophet Joseph (a).[9] For this story to make any sense, we should assume that Prophet Joseph (a) was too young to defend himself and articulate his innocence to Prophet Jacob (a). However, given that, it is quite implausible that a child of such age would be subject to any sort of punishment for stealing, especially such a punishment, in such a manner, and for such an object. All in all, the story is rather difficult to digest and it is more likely that it is simply the opinion of one of the early exegetes (similar to the many other ones we shall mention in the next section), which was then attributed to the Imam.[10] Note also that Ṭūsī does not even mention this report and Ṭabrisī lists it as one of many different opinions on the matter, stating that this one has also been reported from the Imams.[11] We could assume that Prophet Jacob (a) saw through his sister’s ploy and felt that since she was willing to go to such lengths to keep Prophet Joseph (a), the matter must have meant a lot to her, so he acquiesced to let her keep him. However, considering the beginning of the surah and how it describes Prophet Jacob’s (a) great love for Prophet Joseph (a) and his unwillingness to let him out of his sight, it is difficult to accept such a scenario.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The exegetes have suggested different theories as to what the brothers meant when they said If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before.

1. From Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Qatādah, and others, that when he was a child, he stole an idol belonging to his maternal grandfather and broke it and threw it away.[12]
2. From Mujāhid ibn Jabr and Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, that he stole a chicken from Prophet Jacob’s (a) home to give to a beggar.[13]
3. From Wahab ibn Munabbih, that he used to steal food from the dinner table to give to the poor.[14]

Balkhī has argued that their accusation that Prophet Joseph (a) had stolen was a lie.[15] This is the most preferable position to adopt, and it is better to assume that the brothers were lying – just as they had lied before – rather than to attribute such things to Prophet Joseph (a). The aforementioned seem to be the result of exegetes accepting that the brothers were speaking the truth, and then attempting to hypothesise what the brothers were referring to.[16]

Of course, none of these would actually warrant accusing Prophet Joseph (a) of being a thief, so in any event the brothers were baselessly disparaging Prophet Joseph (a).

If someone were to claim that the brothers were from the household of prophethood and how could they lie, we should direct them to the beginning of the surah and how they lied about Prophet Joseph (a) being eaten by a wolf.[17] In this vein, some exegetes have discussed under this verse about the brothers of Prophet Joseph (a) and their actions vis-à-vis prophetic infallibility. The truth is that they were not prophets. For this see the discussion in verse 5.

[1] Tibyan, 6/175.
[2] See Mizan, 11/226.
[3] Razi, 18/490; Tantawi, 7/400.
[4] Note that this is the plural ‘you’ (antum), as is the next one.
[5] Tabrisi, 5/389; Thalabi, 5/243.
[6] Zamakhshari, 2/493. Also Baghawi, 2/506; Ibn Kathir, 4/345; Alusi, 7/31; Munyah, 14/200; Sharawi, p. 7032.
[7] Ayyashi, 2/186. See also Uyun, 2/83; Maani, 1/50-51; Tabrisi, 5/389; Nur, 2/445-446.
[8] See for example Tabari, 13/20; Thalabi, 5/243; Suyuti, 4/28.
[9] Tabrisi, 5/390.
[10] This is the apparent purport of what Makārim Shīrāzī concludes as well, who lists this story as simply ‘what has been related in history’ (Nemuneh, 10/43-44).
[11] Like Ṭūsī, Subḥānī does not mention this story at all, although he briefly lists some of the other stories (Munyah, 14/200).
[12] Tibyan, 6/175; Thalabi, 5/242-243.
[13] Tabrisi, 5/389; Thalabi, 5/243.
[14] Thalabi, 5/243; Tibyan, 6/175.
[15] Tibyan, 6/176.
[16] See Munyah, 14/200.
[17] See Alusi, 7/31.