قالَ يا بُنَيَّ لا تَقصُص رُؤياكَ عَلىٰ إِخوَتِكَ فَيَكيدوا لَكَ كَيدًا ۖ إِنَّ الشَّيطانَ لِلإِنسانِ عَدُوٌّ مُبينٌ
He said: ‘My son, do not recount your dream to your brothers, lest they should devise schemes against you. Satan is indeed man’s manifest enemy.
EXEGESIS
Ruʾyā (dream) was briefly discussed in the previous verse and is similar to ruʾyah, both of which refer to a vision (literally something that has been seen), except that ruʾyā is specific to that which is seen while asleep.
Yakīdū/kayd (devise/schemes), refer to a scheme or plan set out for achieving something. Kayd may be used in either a negative or positive sense, though it usually carries with it a negative connotation.
Yā bunayya (my son): like in the previous verse, yā is the article used when calling out to someone. Bunayy is the diminutive form (taṣghīr) of ibn, meaning ‘little son’, and has the possessive suffix y attached to it to indicate ‘my’. It is used here as an expression of love and affection, as opposed to ibnī, which does not carry the same emotional feeling.
Some have argued bunayy is used because Prophet Joseph (a) was a very young boy at that time, but this is not a conclusive proposal, as Prophet Abraham (a) similarly addresses his son Prophet Ishmael (a) as yā bunayya (37:102), even though Prophet Ishmael (a) was apparently an adult man by that time, as well as Prophet Noah (a) who also called his adult son in the same way when beckoning him to board the ark. Therefore, it is better to understand it as a term of endearment. However, this criticism should be considered more of a linguistic observation, as there is no doubt that Prophet Joseph (a) was a very young boy at the time.
EXPOSITION
When Prophet Joseph (a) informed his father of his dream, his father’s immediate reaction was not one of congratulation, but to warn his son to exercise discretion with regards to this matter.
My son: this is a term of endearment, like Father in the previous verse.
Do not recount your dream to your brothers: linguistically, a brother can refer to a full brother or a half-brother (whether maternal or paternal), and we know that Prophet Jacob’s (a) sons were not all from the same mother. Apparently, Benjamin – who had the same mother as Prophet Joseph (a) – was also intended and included in Prophet Jacob’s (a) prohibition, not because there was fear that he would devise a scheme, but simply out of precaution. Perhaps Prophet Jacob (a) worried that the young Benjamin would accidentally let slip something about it to his brothers.
It is an unfortunate reality that out of the twelve sons of Prophet Jacob (a), ten of them were willing to commit either murder or the sin of abandoning their brother on purpose, and to participate in that, and to lie to their father about it; all of this while they grew up in the house of a prophet of God the likes of Jacob (a). The truth is that while upbringing and teaching piety and righteousness to one’s children is important and necessary, it cannot fully determine their future choices. O you who have faith! Indeed among your spouses and children you have enemies; so beware of them (64:14). Children are a test, and can sometimes be enemies to the believers, and God tests no one as much as He tests His prophets.
There is a lesson also here about keeping secrets. Sometimes it is necessary to keep some matters even from one’s immediate family members.
Lest they should devise schemes against you: this is because the brothers would understand the taʾwīl (interpretation) of Prophet Joseph’s (a) dream and would become jealous of his superiority, because the taʾwīl of his dream was easy to surmise. Just like Prophet Joseph (a) was familiar with revelation and prophethood and his father’s visions, so too were his brothers. They would have immediately understood that Prophet Joseph (a) was chosen for a station of greatness and would be preferred above them by God and – as they feared – would hence enjoy special attention from their father.
Prophet Jacob (a) did not say ‘I fear they will scheme against you’, but rather declared with certainty that they would do so, and the expression yakīdū … kaydan lays a double emphasis on this. This shows that Prophet Jacob (a) was quite aware of the true nature of his sons, he knew of their jealous rivalry and their willingness to commit grave sins if motivated by that.
The verse also teaches us that in some situations it may be necessary that one not reveal some blessings that God has given them for fear of inciting jealousy in others.
Satan is indeed man’s manifest enemy: even though Prophet Jacob (a) first says that his sons will devise schemes, he then attributes this to Satan. Later when confronting his sons, he remarks, Rather, your souls have made a matter seem decorous to you (verse 18), meaning it was their own vain desires which bade them act in such a manner. There is no contradiction between any of these statements. As we discussed in the Introduction, it is ignorance which causes man to futilely attempt to thwart God’s plan and resist His will. If Prophet Jacob’s (a) other sons knew God has chosen Prophet Joseph (a), how could they hope to prevent that? How could they desire to thwart God’s plan? Surely, only one who does not understand God and His plans could desire something like that. This is the very central theme of the surah.
That is where Satan comes in and that is the trick of Satan to which Prophet Jacob (a) refers. Satan identifies the desires of a person, in this case the jealousy of Prophet Jacob’s (a) sons and their desire for the preferential love of their father – so that your father’s love may be exclusively yours (verse 9) – and he then gets to work on exploiting that weakness. He lies to man, deceiving him that he can have that which he wants if he simply disobeys God’s command. In this way, man’s rebellion is often a combination of these two factors – his own desires and the whisperings of Satan.
Finally, it is interesting to note that Prophet Jacob’s (a) immediate reaction to hearing about Prophet Joseph’s (a) dream is to express his worry. Only in the next verse does he express his joy and thankfulness about this dream and how God has chosen Prophet Joseph (a) and fulfilled the divine covenant to Prophet Abraham (a) and continued the line of prophets. This highlights his love for his son. It seems that this was Prophet Jacob’s (a) nature, in that he was given to worry and care for his children. This is mentioned later regarding his youngest son Benjamin, and similarly about his other sons, when he for example advises them, My sons, do not enter by one gate, but enter by separate gates (verse 67), which God describes as fulfilling a wish in Jacob’s heart (verse 68).
Perhaps there is also a lesson here about not letting the joy of good news make us forget pressing matters and about the importance of prioritising things. The fulfilment of the dream was still far way, but the danger from the brothers was immediate.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some have claimed that the sons of Prophet Jacob (a) were prophets based on the verse, Say: ‘We have faith in Allah, and that which has been sent down to us, and that which was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes (asbāṭ), and that which Moses and Jesus were given’ (2:136). They say that Tribes refers to the sons of Prophet Jacob (a) as individuals. However, this is incorrect, because asbāṭ, which literally means grandchildren, refers to the prophets who were chosen from among the tribes which were the descendants of Prophet Jacob’s (a) sons, as per the verse, We split them up into twelve tribal communities (asbāṭan umaman) (7:160). As such, there is no reason to consider their sins to be somehow incompatible with prophetic infallibility, and in any case the very fact that they committed such sins is itself evidence that they were not prophets, since prophets are free from sins even before receiving any revelation. The next verse is further proof that from the immediate sons of Prophet Jacob (a) it was only Prophet Joseph (a) who was a prophet.
[1] Baydawi, 3/155.
[2] Raghib, p. 728, k-y-d.
[3] Alusi, 6/373; Mizan, 11/78; Nemuneh, 9/309.
[4] As argued in Tibyan, 6/97; Tantawi, 7/318.
[5] Tibyan, 6/97.
[6] Alusi, 6/375. Ālūsī makes mention of the idiom that whenever a secret is shared with more than one person, it will no longer remain secret.
[7] Nemuneh, 9/318-319.
[8] Tabrisi, 5/320; Thalabi, 5/198; Baghawi, 2/475.
[9] Qurtubi, 9/122; Mizan, 11/78.
[10] Called mafʿūl muṭlaq in Arabic, the expression does not translate well to other languages.
[11] Mizan, 11/78-79.
[12] Nemuneh, 9/309.
[13] See Tantawi, 7/319.
[14] Mizan, 11/78.
[15] The opinion is attributed for example to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd (Thalabi, 5/198). See also Zamakhshari, 2/445.
[16] See Alusi, 6/376. See also Tibyan, 6/101; Tantawi, 7/319; Mizan, 11/94.