فَلَمَّا استَيأَسوا مِنهُ خَلَصوا نَجِيًّا ۖ قالَ كَبيرُهُم أَلَم تَعلَموا أَنَّ أَباكُم قَد أَخَذَ عَلَيكُم مَوثِقًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمِن قَبلُ ما فَرَّطتُم في يوسُفَ ۖ فَلَن أَبرَحَ الأَرضَ حَتّىٰ يَأذَنَ لي أَبي أَو يَحكُمَ اللَّهُ لي ۖ وَهُوَ خَيرُ الحاكِمينَ
When they had despaired of [moving] him, they withdrew to confer privately. The eldest of them said: ‘Don’t you know that your father has taken a [solemn] pledge from you by Allah, and earlier you have neglected your duty in regard to Joseph? So I will never leave this land until my father permits me, or Allah passes a judgement for me, and He is the best of judges.
EXEGESIS
Istayʾasū (they had despaired) derives from the root yaʾisa meaning to lose hope, to despair.[1] Form ten (istafʿala) carries a nuanced meaning of final, deliberate despair after exhausting all hope. Unlike the general hopelessness conveyed by form one (yaʾisa), istayʾasa implies a culmination of effort, marking the moment Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers resign themselves to utter hopelessness, after having tried every means to retrieve Benjamin.
Khalaṣū (withdrew) derives from the root khalaṣa, which denotes purifying something by stripping away all extraneous elements. In this context, it signifies their act of secluding themselves by withdrawing from all others to confer privately among themselves, as brothers.[2]
Najiyyan (confer privately) derives from najwā meaning secret talk or counsel. Its root is from najwah, which originally means an elevated piece of terrain. Since elevated terrain is set apart from its surroundings, a secret meeting is called a najwā, as it is done apart from others.[3] The term functions here as a circumstantial accusative (ḥāl), describing the manner in which Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers withdrew in seclusion, conferring privately among themselves.
Mawthiq (pledge) was discussed under verse 66 and means an agreement that is solemnised by an oath.
Farraṭtum[4] (neglected your duty) is derived from the root faraṭa and carries the core meaning of negligence or failing in one’s duties. The form two farraṭa intensifies this to imply deliberate or repeated disregard.
Lan abraḥa (I will never leave): the Arabic expression lā abraḥu (I will not leave) and its emphatic form lan abraḥa (I will never leave) are classical constructions combining the negation not (lā/lan) with the form four verb abraḥu (I cease), from the root baraḥa denoting cessation. It carries the emphatic meaning of ‘I will not stop/desist’, typically implying persistent determination toward a goal, often followed by ḥattā (until) to specify the objective.
It is said that the verb is derived from barāḥ, meaning an open terrain with no buildings or trees. The expression bariḥa al-khifāʾ hence means that something hidden has been brought out into the open.[5] So the meaning would be: I will not appear out of my position until … This is the sense that it is used in the verse, We will keep on (lan nabraḥa) clinging to it until Moses returns to us (20:91), and in the verse, I will go on (lā abraḥu) until I have reached the confluence of the two seas (18:60).
EXPOSITION
The plan of Prophet Joseph (a) was taking effect. His brothers began to relive the guilt of what they had done to Prophet Joseph (a). How could they once again confront their father having lost once more the beloved son entrusted to them?
When they had despaired of [moving] him: the phrasing suggests that there was some further pleading and beseeching – omitted by the Quran – before Prophet Joseph’s (a) brothers realised that the governor had made up his mind and they despaired of changing his opinion.
This is the first mention of yaʾs or despair in the surah, which is referenced again in verse 87 when Prophet Jacob (a) advises his sons to never ever lose hope in the mercy of God. The subtheme is raised once again in the penultimate verse of the surah, where God reminds that no difficulties should result in despair for the believers, who should always rely on the help of God.
They withdrew to confer privately: the brothers left the chambers where they stood in audience and judgement before Prophet Joseph (a), to somewhere where they could talk without anyone overhearing them.
The eldest of them said: it has been suggested that this is the same brother who voiced his objections when a plan was being drawn to kill Prophet Joseph (a) all those years ago (see verse 10 and the Review of Tafsīr Literature section for this verse). The statements he now makes may suggest that he was against that plan. In any case, even the one who voiced his objection to killing Prophet Joseph (a) participated in abandoning him in the well, so none of the ten brothers could claim to have clean hands in the matter of what they did to Prophet Joseph (a).
Don’t you know that your father has taken a [solemn] pledge from you by Allah: this was when Prophet Jacob (a) made them swear that that you will surely bring him back to me, unless you are made to perish (verse 66).
And earlier you have neglected your duty in regard to Joseph: this was when they had neglected the bounds of morality and decided to leave Prophet Joseph (a) in the well and then lied to their father that a wolf had eaten him.
So I will never leave this land until my father permits me: he declared that he would not leave Egypt unless Prophet Jacob (a) explicitly gave him permission to do so, as they had promised Prophet Jacob (a), you will surely bring him back to me (verse 66). The subsequent verses indicate that the eldest did indeed remain in Egypt as promised, while his brothers returned to Canaan. We can only speculate about his motives for staying. Perhaps it was to support Benjamin by visiting him in prison, appealing to the governor for his release, or honouring his pledge by refusing to face his father without Benjamin.
Or Allah passes a judgement for me: God judges that I am allowed to leave,[6] apparently intending that such a permission is revealed to Prophet Jacob (a) from God. Some have suggested that by judgement he intended death, meaning he would remain there until he died.[7]
And He is the best of judges: while the brothers had acted inexcusably towards Prophet Jacob (a), they were not faithless or beyond hope. Prophet Joseph (a) was aware of this and precisely because of this laid out a plan to get them to repent.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Most exegetes have identified The eldest of them as Reuben, as per the Bible. Others have said kabīruhum here does not mean eldest, but rather means wisest, and they name him as being Simeon.[8] Judah and Levi are also suggested as candidates for being ‘the wisest of them’.[9] In a report attributed to Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), he is identified as Judah.[10] Reuben and Levi were suggested to be the speaker in verse 10 as well,[11] as was Judah,[12] and Simeon.[13]
Ṭabarī points out that in Arabic kabīruhum is not understood to mean anything except either the eldest or the leader, unless it is somehow qualified, such as saying kabīruhum ʿaqlan (the greatest of them in intellect).[14]
Another suggestion is that judgement intends the permission to fight. In other words, until God gives me permission to fight the Egyptians to try and free my brother.[15]
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Make every man go out from me.’ So no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.[16]
Note: This is probably the most major divergence in the Biblical narrative, according to which Joseph (a) reveals his identity to the brothers already at this stage.
[1] Muhit, 8/419.
[2] Tibyan, 6/178.
[3] Nemuneh, 10/47.
[4] The reciter of this word should note that this word is a case of idghām nāqiṣ, where the unvocalised ṭ is not completely combined with the t that follows it (it is not read farrattum), nor is it subject to the semi-vocalisation of qalqalah. Therefore, the ṭ is read completely unvocalised and followed by the vocalised t. This rule is found in three other words, namely: farraṭtu in 39:56, aḥaṭtu in 27:22, and basaṭta in 5:28).
[5] Raghib, p. 116, b-r-ḥ.
[6] Tabrisi, 5/391.
[7] Related in Tabrisi, 5/391.
[8] Related in Tibyan, 6/178; Tabari, 13/23. Kabīr literally means ‘biggest’ or ‘greatest’.
[9] Related in Tabrisi, 5/390; Thalabi, 5/245.
[10] Ayyashi, 2/186.
[11] Related in Tibyan, 6/103.
[12] Related in Tabrisi, 5/325.
[13] Related in Tabari, 13/21.
[14] Tabari, 13/23.
[15] Thalabi, 5/245; related in Tabrisi, 5/391; Tabari, 13/24.
[16] Genesis 45:1-3.