“When he had supplied them with their provisions, he placed the drinking cup in his brother’s baggage. Then a herald called out, ‘O caravan! You are surely thieves!’ Turning toward them, they asked, ‘What are you missing?’ They replied, ‘We are missing the king’s goblet. Whoever brings it shall receive a camel-load, and I guarantee it.’ They said, ‘By Allah, you know well that we did not come to spread corruption in the land, nor are we thieves.’ They asked, ‘Then what shall its penalty be if you are lying?’ They replied, ‘Its penalty is that the one in whose baggage it is found shall himself be the penalty. Thus do we recompense the wrongdoers.’ So he began with their bags before his brother’s bag, then brought it out of his brother’s bag. Thus did We devise this plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his brother under the king’s law unless Allah had willed. We raise in rank whomever We will, and above everyone endowed with knowledge is one still more knowing. They said, ‘If he steals, a brother of his stole before.’ But Joseph kept it to himself and did not reveal it to them. He said to himself, ‘You are in a far worse position, and Allah knows best what you allege.’ They said, ‘O mighty minister, he has a very elderly father, so take one of us in his place. We truly regard you as one of those who do good.’”

“When he had supplied them with their provisions”—that is, he measured out provisions for each of his brothers, including this brother of his. “He placed the drinking cup”—the vessel from which one drank and with which grain was measured—“in his brother’s baggage. Then” they packed their goods, and once they had set out on their way, “a herald called out, ‘O caravan! You are surely thieves!’” It may be that this herald was unaware of the true situation.

“Turning toward them,” Joseph’s brothers asked, seeking to dispel the accusation. A thief’s sole concern is to distance himself and flee from the person he has robbed so that his stolen goods remain safely in his possession. These men, however, came toward them, concerned only to ⦗403⦘ clear themselves of the accusation leveled against them. In that state they asked, “What are you missing?” They did not say, “What is it that we stole?” because they were certain that they were innocent of theft.

“They replied, ‘We are missing the king’s goblet. Whoever brings it shall receive a camel-load’”—as a reward for finding it—“and I guarantee it.” This was said by the herald who was conducting the search.

“They said, ‘By Allah, you know well that we did not come to spread corruption in the land’” by committing any kind of sin, “nor are we thieves,” for theft is among the gravest forms of corruption in the land. They swore by their accusers’ own knowledge that they were neither corrupters nor thieves because they knew that their accusers had observed enough of their conduct to recognize their integrity and scrupulous piety, and that, to the knowledge of those accusing them, such an act would not be committed by them. This denied the accusation more forcefully than if they had merely said, “By Allah, we did not spread corruption in the land, nor did we steal.”

“They asked, ‘Then what shall its penalty be’”—that is, the penalty for this act—“if you are lying,” and it proves to be with you?

“They replied, ‘Its penalty is that the one in whose baggage it is found shall himself be its penalty’”—that is, the person in whose baggage it was found would become the property of the owner of the stolen goods. According to their law, once a thief’s guilt was established, he became the property of the person whose goods had been stolen. Hence they said, “Thus do we recompense the wrongdoers.”

The inspector “began with their bags before his brother’s bag.” This was so that any suspicion that the cup had been placed there deliberately would be dispelled. When he found nothing in their bags, “he brought it out of his brother’s bag.” The verse does not say, “He found it,” or, “His brother stole it,” in keeping with what had actually happened.

At that point, Joseph accomplished his aim of keeping his brother with him in a way that his other brothers did not perceive. Allah Most High said, “Thus did We devise this plan for Joseph”—that is, We facilitated for him this stratagem, by which he attained an objective that was not blameworthy. “He could not have taken his brother under the king’s law,” because it was not part of that law for a thief to become the property of another; rather, a different penalty applied. Had the judgment been referred to the king’s law, Joseph would not have been able to keep his brother with him. He therefore had them determine the ruling, so that he could accomplish what he intended.

Allah Most High said, “We raise in rank whomever We will” through beneficial knowledge and knowledge of the means leading to the desired ends, just as We raised Joseph in rank. “Above everyone endowed with knowledge is one still more knowing.” Thus, above every learned person is one more learned than he, until knowledge reaches the Knower of the unseen and the seen.

When Joseph’s brothers witnessed what had happened, “they said, ‘If this brother steals,’ that is hardly surprising of him, for ‘a brother of his stole before,’” meaning Joseph, peace be upon him. Their aim was to exonerate themselves by suggesting that acts such as theft could be committed by this brother and Joseph, and that the two were not their full brothers.

This was no small disparagement of them both. Joseph therefore kept it within himself “and did not reveal it to them.” That is, he did not answer their words with a response they would dislike; instead, he restrained his anger and concealed the matter within himself. “He said” to himself, “You are in a far worse position,” for you have condemned us for something of which you yourselves are even more guilty. “Allah knows best what you allege” about us by accusing us of theft; Allah knows that we are innocent of it. They then adopted an ingratiating manner with him, hoping that he would release their brother to them.

“They said, ‘O mighty minister, he has a very elderly father’”—that is, his father cannot bear to be without him, and separation from him will cause him great hardship—“so take one of us in his place. We truly regard you as one of those who do good.” So show kindness to us and to our father by doing so.