Transliteration:( Qaaloo iny yasriq faqad saraqa akhul lahoo min qabl; fa asarrahaa Yoosufu fee nafsihee wa lam yubdihaa lahum; qaala antum sharrum makaananw wallaahu a'lamu bimaa tasifoon )
164. This means that firstly Benyamin had not stolen, the cup was erroneously placed in his goods, and if he had actually stolen, then we had not advised him to do so. We are from a different mother and he is from another mother. His blood brother Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) too had once stolen.
165. This is a reference to Hazrat Yusuf's (on whom be peace) childhood in which he once stole his uncle's idol broke it and threw it in the filth. This was done for the sake of dissuading his uncle from idolatory and not for mere stealing. However, here his brothers spoke of it to taunt Hazrat Yusuf (on whom he peace).Â
166. By this is meant Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) did not want to disclose to them that the noble work which he did, is referred to by his brothers as theft and whatever they had done to him they are not ashamed or sorry about it. It should be remembered that whoever steals or breaks an idol, or steal any musical instrument or breaks it, his hands will not be cut off for it, because such a person can say that I did this to eradicate idolatry and sinful activity, stealing was not my motive.
167. This means Allah Almighty knows that the actual happening is not what you are claming it to be, neither Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) had stolen nor Benyamin. In the case of Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) it was for breaking the idol, while in the case of Benyamin it was a plan to hold him back
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77. They ï´¿Yusuf’s brothersï´¾ said: “If he steals, there was a brother of his ï´¿ Yusuf ï´¾who did steal before (him). †But these things did Yusuf keep in himself, revealing not the secrets to them. He said : (within himself) “You are in an evil situation, and Allah is the Best Knower of that which you describe!â€
After Yusuf’s brothers saw that the king’s bowl was taken out of Binyamin’s bag, they said,
(If he steals, there was a brother of his who did steal before.) They tried to show themselves as innocent from being like Binyamin, saying that he did just like a brother of his did beforehand, meaning Yusuf, peace be upon him! Allah said,
(But these things did Yusuf keep in himself), meaning the statement that he said afterwards,
(You are in an evil situation, and Allah is the Best Knower of that which you describe!) Yusuf said this to himself and did not utter it aloud, thus intending to hide what he wanted to say to himself even before he said it. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah’s statement,
(But these things did Yusuf keep in himself), “He kept in himself ﴿his statement next﴾,
(You are in an evil situation, and Allah is the Best Knower of that which you describe!).â€
61. As regards to the question why it was not worthy of Prophet Joseph to apply the king’s law to his personal case, its best answer is again found in the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him). During the interim period, when the laws of ignorance had not yet been replaced by Islamic laws, other Muslims went on drinking wine and taking interest as before, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) never practiced any of these things. Likewise some un- Islamic laws of marriage, such as taking in marriage of real sisters at one and the same time, were practiced, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) never practiced any such thing. Thus it is clear, that there was a difference between leaving in vogue some un-Islamic laws during the period of the evolution of the Islamic law and practicing the same. Had Prophet Joseph applied the king’s law to his own case, it would have meant that he had lent his seeming sanction to that law. But it is obvious that a Prophet, who is sent to eliminate the ways of ignorance cannot follow these even under the temporary leave that is given to others.
Their position and dissociated themselves from Benjamin, declaring that he was a thief like his brother Joseph. It is obvious that this was a false accusation the clever brothers had invented on the spot. But it is an instance of the malice these brothers bore to their two step brothers, and is also the answer to the question why Prophet Joseph desired to keep his brother with him.
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