Part 82

was ( .. 'aleem" ) , That is, possessing full k nowledge of thin gs

and of the best way to dea l with the grain stores, In th is, there

is ev idence of the pcnni ss ibili ty of seekin g a n appo intment for

the o ne who kn ows himse lf to be tru stwort hy and ca pab le,

All ah, Most Hi g h, says, ( Thus did We g ive full aut hority

to Yoosuf in the land, to take possess io n the rein , as, when

and whe re he liked. ) (SoO/'all YODs/if 12:56) T ha t is, after

imprisonment , hardsh ip and confine ment came fre edom to do

as he pleased w ithin the land s o f Egypt, ( 10 take possess io n

there in. as , whe n and w here he li ked. ) T hat is, wha t's oever he

1\ lellfiull of fhe Pmgell)' of Ibl'llileem 363

wished was made lawful for hi m; thus did Allah hono r hi m,

bestow on him an e nviable rcwa rd and exa lt him. ( We bestow

of Our Mercy on whom We pleJse, and We make not to be

lost the rcward of AI-A'fuhsil1oo11 (those who do good deeds)

) (Soomil Yoos.if 12:56) That is, all of thi s is a part of A ll ah's

Recompense and Rewa rd fo r the Bel ieve r, in addi ti on to the

abundance of goodness and handsome reward th at have been

stored for him ill the Hereafter. This is why All ah, Most Hi gh,

says, ( And veril y, the reward of'the Herea fter is better for

those who believe and used to fear A ll ah and keep their duty to

Him (by abslaining from all kinds of sins and evil deeds and by

performing all kinds of righl eo us good deeds» (Soorah )'oosu!

12:57) It was said that 'A lfee r di ed and th e king appo inted

Yoosuf in his place and married his widow, Zul aikha, to him ,

and he was an honest and trustworthy mini ste r.

Allah, Most Hi gh,says, ( A nd Yoosuf's brethren came and they

entered unto him. and he recognized them , but they recogni zed

him not. And when he furni shed th em forth with provisions

(according to their need), he sa id, " Bring me n brother ofyollrs

from your fllth er; (he meant Binyameen). Sec yo u not lh al J

give full measure, a nd that I a m the best o f the hosts? But if

you bring him not to me, th ere shall be no measure for you with

me, nor shall you come nea r me," They said , " We shall try to

gel permiss ion (for him) fro lll his fath er, and ve ril y, we shall

do it." And he (Yoosuf) told hi s servants to put their money

(w ith which th ey h'ld bought the corn) into their bags, so that

they mi ght know it w hen th ey go baek to th eir peopl e, in order

that they might come back. ) (SoO/'oil Yoos.if 12:58-62) A ll ah,

Most High, infomls us about the arriva l of Yoosuf's brothers

in the lands of Egypt, whe re they had COllle to purcha se food

(grai n, etc.) after th e years o f drought had spread throughout

the lands surrounding Egypt. At th at time, Yoosuf ~ was in

364 A/emioll oJlhe Progeny oj"lbra/teellJ ~

charge of both sccular and rcli gious affa irs in Egypt and when

they entered in hi s presence, he recogni zed them, but they did

not recognize him, for they could not have drea med of the rise

to high slatu s and greatness that had come to Yoos uf ~ ; thi s is

why he recognized them, but they did nOI recognize him.

Allah, Most High, says, ( And when he fu rn ished them

forth with provisio ns (accordi ng to their nced) ) . That is,

he had given them the foodstuffs (grain etc.) which were

in acco rdance with his custom, o f giving to every person

a ca mel-load and not more, ( he said " Bring me a brot her

of you rs from your fat her." ) Thi s was after he had as ked

them about their situation and how many they were, and

they had replied, " We we re twe lvc men, but one of us d ied

and his full brot her rema in ed with our father." He then said,

" If yo u come back next year, bring him to me." ( "Sec you not

that 1 give fu ll mcasure, and tha I 1 am Ihe best o f the hosts?"

) That is, I have treated you hospitably and entertained you

wc ll. Thus did he encourage them to return to him with their

half-brother (Binyameen). In case they entertain ed the idea of

not returning to him, he sa id, ( " But if you bring him nol to

me, there shall be no measure fo r you wit h me, nor shall you

come ncar me." ) . That is, I wil l not give you any suppli es and

I wi ll not allow you to comc to me at all. This was in contrast

to the ki ndness thaI he had ex tended to them on their arriva l.

So he strove to ens ure that they wou ld bring Binyameen with

them, in order to satisfy his des ire to SCI! him, by employ ing

a carrot-and-s ti ck-approach. ( Th ey said. " We sha ll try to get

permiss ion (for him) from hi s fat hcr." ) (8oom ft Yoostif12:6 1).

That is, we will try our utmos t to arrange that he accompan ies

us and to bring hi m to you. ( " And ve rily, we shall do il."

) (SoO/'aft Yoostif 12:6 1). That is, and certai nl y, we are able

to accomplish th at. The n he ordered his servants to place the

merchandi se they had brought w ith th em to exchange for food

in their sadd le-bags, withou t them rea li z ing it. ( So when th ey

return ed to th eir fath er, they sa id , "0, our father! No more

measure o f gra in shall we ge l. So send ou r broth er w ith liS,

and we shall get our measure and trul y we w ill guard hi m." He

sa id, " Ca n 1e ntrust him to YOll ex cept as I e ntru sted hi s brother

(Yoosuf) to you af'orctimc? But All a h is the Best to gua rd, and

Il c is the Most Merc iful o r those w ho show mc rcy." A nd when

they opened the ir bags, th ey found the ir merc handi se had been

retu rn ed to them . They said. "0 , our fa the r! W hat (mo re) ca n

we des ire? Thi s, our mcrcha ndise has been returned to us, so

we shall gct food fo r our famil y. and we shall guard Oll r brother

and add one marc mea sure ora ca mel's load . Thi s qu ant ity is

easy." I-Ie (Ya ' qoob) sa id, " I will not send hi m wit h you lIm il

YOll swca r a solemn oat h to mc in A ll ah's Na mc, that you will

bring him back to mc unl css you arc yoursc lves surroun ded

(by cne mi es. etc.)." And when th ey had swo rn the ir solemn

oat h, he sa id , '"A ll ah is the Witn ess ovc r w hat wc havc sa id."

And he sa id, " 0 , my sons! Do not cn tc r by onc gatc, but enter

by differe nt gat es, and I ca nnot ava il yo u agai nst A ll ah at all .

Veril y! The deci sion resls onl y w ith All ah . [n him , I put my

trusl and leI all th ose that trllst, put the ir trust in Him." And

when they ente red accordin g to thei r fa ther 's ad vice, it did not

avail th em in th e least aga inst (thc Wi ll of) All ah , it was but a

need ofYa'qoob 's in ncr-sc lf' wh ich he di sc harged . And verily,

he was endowed w it h kn ow ledge because We had tau ght him,

but mos t men know not. ) (Soomh Yoosllf 12:63-68) Allah ,

Most Hi gh, relates what happened to thcm aftcr they returned

to th eir fat her and how they said to hi m, ( "No 1110re mcasure

of gra in shall we gct." ) Tha t is, after thi s year, unl ess you

send our brother (B inyamcen) w ith us; if you send him w ith

us , we wi ll not be prevented from rece iving gra in. ( And when

366 ,' fellfioll o/file PIVJ:l!IIY 0/ Ibroheem ~

they opened their bags, they found th eir merchandise had been

returned to them. They said. "0. our father! What (more) can

we desire? This, our merchandise has been return ed to li S: ' ) .

That is, what else can you wish for, now that our merchandise

has been returned to us? ( "so we shall get food fo r our famil y."

) . That is, we will be ab le to provide for thl.!m and bring them

that which is beneficial to the m this year and which will

reli ve the drought they are faci ng. ( "And wc shall gua rd our

brothc l' and add." ) . That is, beca use of his presence, ( "one

more measure of a camcl's load." ) . Allah. Most High, says,

( 'This qu antity is easy," ) . That is, in return for his other son

going wi th th em. Ya'qoob ~ was very close indeed to his son,

Binyamcc n, beca use he could smell in him thc sccnt ofYoosuf

~ and he fo und consolat ion in hi m for the loss of Yoosuf

~. This is why he said, ( '" will not send him with you until