أَرسِلهُ مَعَنا غَدًا يَرتَع وَيَلعَب وَإِنّا لَهُ لَحافِظونَ
Let him go with us tomorrow so that he may eat lots of fruits and play, and we will indeed take [good] care of him.’
EXEGESIS
Yartaʿ (eat lots of fruits) is from ratʿ which means abundant grazing in the case of animals, and lavishing in hiking, eating fruits, and the like, in the case of humans. It is also suggested that it means to go back and forth, meaning here to run around and play freely, or that it is to look after the herd and in this way learn responsibilities and how to grow as a man.
Ghadan (tomorrow): while the word can indicate tomorrow or any future time, it is here apparently referring to tomorrow.
EXPOSITION
The brothers continued plying their father with their honeyed words, and said, Let him go with us tomorrow. Although they went out to pasture their flocks every day, it seems they had probably a trip planned somewhere and that this was known and agreed beforehand. Now they wished for Joseph (a) to be included in that trip. It was probably somewhere they had frequented many times before and that is why they decided on the specific well which was there.
So that he may eat lots of fruits and play: they insisted that always staying at home was bad for him, and he needed to roam and play. It is not healthy for a young maturing boy to always be at home and by his parent’s side.
And we will indeed take [good] care of him: in the previous verse they emphasised that they would do him no harm (We are indeed his well-wishers) and in this verse that they will indeed take [good] care of him. In other words, ‘we will not let any harm come to him from us or from any external source’.
This verse and the previous are further proof that Prophet Joseph (a) was still very young at this point in time, because (in addition to him playing) the brothers promise to take care of him, which is an appropriate expression only for a young boy.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Zamakhsharī asks: how is it possible that Prophet Jacob (a) allowed his sons to take Prophet Joseph (a) to play, as this is a waste of time (lahw)? He then answers that they were play fighting and in doing so they were training to defend themselves, which would not count as lahw. This is not a very good understanding of what is meant by lahw and there is no problem for believers to relax and play as long as it is done both in moderation and in keeping with Islamic etiquettes. Moreover, the verse is about children’s play (laʿib) which is a necessary element of their personality formation, not lahw of grownups which is distraction from the reality of life.
Shaʿrāwī points to this distinction saying that lahw is that which distracts one from obligatory matters, whilst laʿib is that which does not.
In reality, relaxation and having a good time unwinding is something that all people require and need. A human being cannot function properly without such breaks from work. In this regard, a hadith is also reported from Imam Ali (a): ‘For the believer, there are three moments: a moment in which they whisper with their Lord, a moment in which they earn their livelihood, and a moment in which they may be by themselves doing that which they enjoy, in such things that are permissible and pleasing.’ In another hadith from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘A child plays for seven years, and learns the book for seven years, and learns ḥalāl and ḥarām for seven years.’
[1] Mizan, 11/97.
[2] Tabrisi, 5/328. See also Munyah, 14/152.
[3] Thalabi, 5/201.
[4] Muhit, 6/245.
[5] See Nemuneh, 9/330.
[6] Mizan, 11/98.
[7] See Tibyan, 6/105.
[8] Zamakhshari, 2/448.
[9] Sharawi, p. 6867. He says for example if a group of people are engaged in a game and then the time for prayers sets in and their game distracts them from praying the prayer in its time, then that game is a lahw that has withheld them from their duty. However, if they perform their prayer, then that game is simply a way that they have spent their time.
[10] Nahj, saying 390; Amali.T, p. 147; Nemuneh, 9/334.
[11] Kafi, 6/47; Tahdhib, 8/111; Wasail, 17/331, h. 22688.