إِذ قالوا لَيوسُفُ وَأَخوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلىٰ أَبينا مِنّا وَنَحنُ عُصبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبانا لَفي ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ

When they said: ‘Surely Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than [the rest of] us, though we are a hardy group. Our father is indeed in manifest error.’

EXEGESIS

ʿUṣbah (band) is from ʿaṣab which originally means the ligaments and tendons that hold a muscle together. This is why nerves are also called aʿṣāb.^[1] Here it means a group which are closely tied to each other and act as a single body.

EXPOSITION

The first act of the story of Prophet Joseph (a) begins with ten of his older brothers gathering to discuss their feelings of jealousy towards their two younger brothers.

When they said: ‘Surely Joseph and his brother’: his brother is referring to Benjamin and is an indirect indication that Benjamin and Prophet Joseph (a) had a different mother to the rest of the brothers,^[2] since it is their brothers who are speaking, but they still refer to Benjamin as Joseph’s (a) brother. From this statement it is also understood that Benjamin was not part of the plot against Prophet Joseph (a).^[3]

The sons of Prophet Jacob (a) felt that he loved Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin more than the rest of them. The question arises as to why they felt this way. Certainly, it is not appropriate to claim that Prophet Jacob (a) displayed more love or affection towards the two, as that would be bad parenting and injustice, and not something we should expect from any decent parent, let alone a prophet of God.

Most likely this was because Prophet Jacob (a) showed Prophet Joseph (a) special attention – and perhaps Benjamin to a lesser degree – because of his piety, knowing that he would receive revelation one day, and wishing to teach his other sons to respect Prophet Joseph (a) and his station and prepare both Prophet Joseph (a) and them for the future.^[4] This special attention may have been in the form of spending time with him alone to teach him things, to speak of God and other matters, to spend time together in worship, and so on. This is similar to how Prophet Muhammad (s) would spend private time with Imam Ali (a), teaching him and preparing him for his future.

Some have suggested that this special behaviour began after Prophet Joseph (a) told his father about his dream.^[5] However, the reaction of Prophet Jacob (a) to the dream, saying that Prophet Joseph (a) should not inform his brothers of the dream, shows that the jealous attitude of Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers was already a known problem and the dream likely only confirmed what Prophet Jacob (a) already surmised about the future of Prophet Joseph (a).

Nevertheless, other theories are given about why the brothers felt jealous of Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin. One such theory is that this was because Prophet Joseph’s (a) mother, Rachel, had died and thus Prophet Jacob (a) was more attentive to the needs of Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin in order to make up for the loss of motherly love and care.^[6] Or because they were the youngest, and it is natural for a parent to look after the younger ones more and show them more affection.^[7] These theories can be somewhat discarded though, as the brothers plotted only against Prophet Joseph (a) and not Benjamin, and if these were true they should have wished to get rid of Benjamin as well.^[8] Yet, these theories are partially true, not in the sense that Prophet Jacob (a) actually loved Prophet Joseph (a) more because of his young age or his mother, but rather in the sense that this is what his brothers mistakenly assumed was the case. However, they failed to understand that this behaviour was a result of the spiritual degree and station of Prophet Joseph (a) and had nothing to do with his mother. This mistaken thinking was why the brothers were also jealous of Benjamin to some degree as well.

Though we are a hardy group: we look after one another and are more beneficial for our father, taking care of his flocks and his wealth and property,^[9] whereas Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin were young and did not confer any material benefits or aid to their father.^[10] Those who prioritise the worldly life fail to understand the motivations of those who have grasped the importance of the hereafter; those who understand the true value of this life as simply a preparation for the next and who, through that, succeed in rising to great spiritual stations. This difference in outlooks and mentalities was the true cause of the rift between the sons of Prophet Jacob (a). The materialistic way that these brothers looked at things is what prompted them to declare carelessly: Our father is indeed in manifest error; he does not understand which group of his sons is truly beneficial to him and does not recognise our value, instead valuing Joseph and Benjamin.

Others have said Our father is indeed in manifest error means ‘our father has strayed from the right path of being just towards his children in terms of showing them affection equally’.^[11] In any case, the expression is a very rude one and shows the belligerent attitude of these brothers.

This jealousy did not leave the hearts of these brothers even after they got rid of Prophet Joseph (a), and later in the surah we read how Prophet Jacob (a) declares: ‘I sense the scent of Joseph, if you will not consider me a dotard.’ They said: ‘By God, you persist in your inveterate error’ (verses 94-95), That is, ‘you persist in your excessive love and attention to Joseph’.

We can also note how the brother’s jealous mentality was fuelled by their own behaviour as well. For example, they declare we are a hardy group, implicitly leaving Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin out of their own clique. They complain that the two are apart from the rest of them, but in reality they themselves have ostracised the two from their group.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some have claimed that there is an omission between this verse and the previous one, and that the brothers of Prophet Joseph (a) sooner or later found out about his dream.^[12] This may have been borrowed from the Biblical account, in which Joseph (a) told his brothers of his dream (actually even before he told his father),^[13] but it does not fit very well with the Quranic account. The Quran ends the story of Prophet Joseph (a) with his family prostrating to him, to which Prophet Joseph (a) reacts by saying Father! This is the fulfilment of my dream of long ago, which my Lord has made come true (verse 100). This seems a clear indication that Prophet Joseph (a) had not told anyone other than his father about his dream, as he is the only one being addressed by Prophet Joseph (a). If his brothers knew of the dream, they too should have been addressed. There is also no reason to assume that Prophet Joseph (a) would have acted against his father’s command and told his brothers about the dream, nor that Prophet Jacob (a) acted contrary to his own advice and informed them. Therefore, any such reports that claim Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers knew about the dream should be discarded.

Furthermore, if the brothers were aware of the dream, we should expect them to mention it here as a reason for their jealousy.^[14]

Rāzī considers the question of Prophet Jacob’s (a) sons feeling that their father loved Prophet Joseph (a) and Benjamin more, and argues that Prophet Jacob (a) did not treat any of his children preferentially, but rather simply loved the two more than others and love is something that one cannot control, and so he is excused for that.^[15] It may be true that one cannot control whom they love more in their heart (but one should control their actions and behaviour), but if it was only a matter of love as a feeling in Prophet Jacob’s (a) heart, then the sons would have no way of knowing that feeling.

[1] Nemuneh, 14/394.
[2] Andulusi, 3/221; Zamakhshari, 2/446; Mizan, 11/89.
[3] This is almost unanimously agreed upon by the exegetes; although the apparent meaning of Ṭabarī’s commentary on the verse is that he possibly considered Benjamin to have been a part of the plot as he comments that the hardy group consisted of eleven brothers (Tabari, 12/92). He also relates several reports from Mujāhid that explicitly state that all eleven brothers were involved in selling Prophet Joseph (a) into slavery (Tabari, 12/101).
[4] Mudarrisi, 5/163; Munyah,14/151. See also Mizan, 11/93.
[5] Related in Muhit, 6/242-243.
[6] Mudarrisi, 5/163; Nemuneh, 9/321. See also Andulusi, 3/221.
[7] Andulusi, 3/221; Nemuneh, 9/321; Qutb, 4/1973; related in Tabrisi, 5/324. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah relates in this regard that Hasan al-Baṣrī was asked which of his children was more beloved to him and he replied: ‘The young one, until they grow up; the missing one, until they are found; the sick one, until they recover.’ Ṭanṭāwī relays the same quote but simply as a saying (Tantawi, 7/323). Verse 13 also confirms that Prophet Jacob (a) did indeed show more care and attention to Prophet Joseph (a) because of his age, It really upsets me that you should take him away
[8] See also Alusi, 6/382; Mizan, 11/91. It has also been pointed out that it is quite farfetched to imagine that a group of adult men should be jealous of the natural affection that a father shows to a young boy, since that is something that they too experienced when they were young (see for example Furqan, 15/33).
[9] Tabrisi, 5/324; Zamakhshari, 2/446; Tantawi, 7/322-323; Mudarrisi, 5/165.
[10] Alusi, 6/381; Mizan, 11/89.
[11] Tibyan, 6/101.
[12] Tibyan, 6/101; Thalabi, 5/198; related in Baghawi, 2/476.
[13] In the Biblical narrative, Prophet Joseph (a) tells his brothers and his father about the dream and there is no command from his father not to tell his brothers, rather his father also reacts with jealousy.
[14] Qutb, 4/1973.
[15] Razi, 18/423.