Transliteration:( Wa jaaa'a ikhwatu Yoosufa fadakhaloo 'alaihi fa'arafahum wa hum lahoo munkiroon )
"And the brothers of [Joseph] came and appeared before him. He recognized them, but they did not recognize him [126]."
During the seven years of prosperity, Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) accumulated abundant grain. When the famine struck, people from other regions came to buy grain from him. In the first year, they consumed the grain they had saved. In the second year, they paid with money, and by the third year, they exchanged their jewels and livestock. In the fourth year, people gave away their slaves and servants, and in the fifth year, they sold their immovable property. By the sixth year, people had to sell their children, and in the seventh year, they sold themselves and became slaves to Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace).
In the end, Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace), out of mercy, freed everyone and returned all their possessions to them. This shows that Allah Almighty allowed this famine to occur in order to purify His beloved Prophet, Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace), cleanse the stigma of slavery, and reunite the brothers with their father. Through such trials, Allah Almighty elevates the honor and dignity of His Prophets.
During this period, Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace)'s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain, but Benjamin was not with them on their first trip.
58. And Yusuf’s brethren came and they entered unto him, and he recognized them, but they recognized him not. 59. And when he furnished them with their provisions, he said: “Bring me a brother of yours from your father. See you not that I give full measure, and that I am the best of the hosts” 60. “But if you bring him not to me, there shall be no measure (of corn) for you with me, nor shall you come near me.” 61. They said: “We shall try to get permission (for him) from his father, and verily, we shall do it.” 62. And ﴿Yusuf﴾ told his servants to put their money into their bags, so that they might know it when they go back to their people; in order that they might come again.
As-Suddi, Muhammad bin Ishaq and several others said that the reason why Yusuf’s brothers went to Egypt, is that after Yusuf became minister of Egypt and the seven years of abundance passed, then came the seven years of drought that struck all areas of Egypt. The drought also reached the area of Kana`an (Canaan), where Prophet Ya`qub, peace be upon him, and his children resided. Prophet Yusuf efficiently guarded the people’s harvest and collected it, and what he collected became a great fortune for the people. This also permitted Yusuf to give gifts to the people who sought his aid from various areas who came to buy food and provisions for their families. Yusuf would not give a family man more than whatever a camel could carry, as annual provisions for them. Yusuf himself did not fill his stomach from this food, nor did the king and his aids eat except one meal a day. By doing so, the people could sustain themselves with what they had for the remainder of the seven years. Indeed, Yusuf was a mercy from Allah sent to the people of Egypt. Yusuf’s brothers were among those who came to Egypt to buy food supplies, by the order of their father. They knew that the `Aziz of Egypt was selling food to people who need it for a low price, so they took some merchandise from their land with them to exchange it for food. They were ten, because Ya`qub peace be upon him kept his son and Yusuf’s brother Binyamin with him. Binyamin was the dearest of his sons to him after Yusuf. When Prophet Yusuf’s brothers entered on him in his court and the center of his authority, he knew them the minute he saw them. However, they did not recognize him because they got rid of him when he was still young, and sold him to a caravan of travelers while unaware of their destination. They could not have imagined that Yusuf would end up being a minister, and this is why they did not recognize him, while he did recognize them. As-Suddi said that Yusuf started talking to his brothers and asked them, “What brought you to my land” They said, “O, `Aziz, we came to buy provisions.” He asked them, “You might be spies.” They said, “Allah forbids.” He asked them, “Where are you from” They said, “From the area of Kana`an, and our father is Allah’s Prophet Ya`qub.” He asked them, “Does he have other children besides you” They said, “Yes, we were twelve brothers. Our youngest died in the desert, and he used to be the dearest to his father. His full brother is alive and his father kept him, so that his closeness compensates him for losing our youngest brother ﴿who died﴾.” Yusuf ordered that his brothers be honored and allowed to remain,
(And when he furnished them with their provisions,) according to their needs and gave them what they wanted to buy, he said to them, “Bring me your brother from your father’s side whom you mentioned, so that I know that you have told me the truth.” He continued,
(See you not that I give full measure, and that I am the best of the hosts) encouraging them to return to him. He then threatened them,
(But if you bring him not to me, there shall be no measure (of corn) for you with me. ) He threatened them that if the next time they come without Binyamin with them, they will not be allowed to buy the food that they need,
(“…nor shall you come near me.” They said: “We shall try to get permission (for him) from his father, and verily, we shall do it.”) They said, `We will try our best to bring him with us, so that we spare no effort to prove to you that we are truthful in what we told you about ourselves.’ Allah said,
(And ﴿Yusuf﴾ told his servants), or his slaves,
(to put their money), or the merchandise they brought with them to exchange for food,
(into their bags,), while they were unaware,
(in order that they might come again.) It was said that Yusuf did this because he feared that his brothers might not have any more merchandise they could bring with them to exchange for food.
(12:58) And Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt and presented themselves before him.[50] He recognized them, but they did not know him.[51]
50. The events of several years after his coming into power have been left out for the sake of brevity, and the story has been resumed from the time when the brothers of Prophet Joseph came to Egypt, and paved the way for the eventual settlement of the Israelites in Egypt. It will, however, be worthwhile to have a glimpse of those events. During the first seven years of his reign, there was abundance of food as he had predicted while interpreting the dream of the king. Accordingly he adopted all the measures he had put before the king concerning the years of plenty. Then the seven years of scarcity began and famine reigned not only over Egypt but all over the adjoining countries. Accordingly, Syria, Palestine, Trans Jordan and the Northern part of Arabia began to suffer from the scarcity of food, but there was plenty of it in Egypt in spite of famine because of the wise steps Prophet Joseph had taken as a safeguard. That was why his brothers, like other neighboring people, were forced by circumstances to go to Egypt and present themselves before him. It appears that Prophet Joseph had so arranged things that no foreigner was allowed to buy food without a special permit from him. Therefore when the brothers reached Egypt, they might have had to present themselves before him for obtaining the special permit for buying the fixed quantity allowed under the famine regulations.
51. It is no wonder that his brothers could not recognize Prophet Joseph, for, when they cast him into the well, he was merely a lad of seventeen and at the time of their meeting, he was a grown up man of thirty eight years or so. Naturally, he must have changed in form during this long period. Besides, they could never have imagined that the brother whom they had cast into the well had become the ruler of Egypt.
[602]- Due to the change in his appearance over the years.
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