Surah Yusuf Verse 81

فَلَمَّا اسْتَيْأَسُواْ مِنْهُ خَلَصُواْ نَجِيًّا قَالَ كَبِيرُهُمْ أَلَمْ تَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ أَبَاكُمْ قَدْ أَخَذَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَّوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ مَا فَرَّطتُمْ فِى يُوسُفَ فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الاٌّرْضَ حَتَّى يَأْذَنَ لِى أَبِى أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِى وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَـكِمِينَ - ارْجِعُواْ إِلَى أَبِيكُمْ فَقُولُواْ يأَبَانَا إِنَّ ابْنَكَ سَرَقَ وَمَا شَهِدْنَآ إِلاَّ بِمَا عَلِمْنَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَـفِظِينَ - وَاسْئَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ الَّتِى كُنَّا فِيهَا وَالّعِيْرَ الَّتِى أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَا وَإِنَّا لَصَـدِقُونَ

(80. So, when they despaired of him, they consulted in private. The eldest among them said: "Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name, and before this you did fail in your duty with Yusuf Therefore I will not leave this land until my father permits me, or Allah decides my case and He is the Best of the judges.)

(81. "Return to your father and say,

O our father! Verily, your son has stolen, and we testify not except according to what we know, and we could not know the Unseen!)

(82. "And ask (the people of) the town where we have been, and the caravan in which we returned; and indeed we are telling the truth.'')

Yusuf's Brothers consult Each Other in Confidence; the Advice Their Eldest Brother gave Them

Allah narrates to us that Yusuf's brothers were desperate because they could not secure the release of their brother Binyamin, even though they had given a promise and sworn to their father to bring him back. They were unable to fulfill their promise to their father, so,

(in private), away from people's eyes,

(they consulted), among themselves,

قَالَ كَبِيرُهُمْ

(The eldest among them said), and his name, as we mentioned, was Rubil, or Yahudha. He was the one among them who recommended throwing Yusuf into a well, rather than killing him. So Rubil said to them,

أَلَمْ تَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ أَبَاكُمْ قَدْ أَخَذَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَّوْثِقًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ

a`(Know you not that your father did take an oath from you in Allah's Name,) that you will return Binyamin to him However, you were not able to fulfill this promise and, before you caused Yusuf to be lost from his father,

فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الاٌّرْضَ

(Therefore I will not leave this land), I will not leave Egypt,

حَتَّى يَأْذَنَ لِى أَبِى

(until my father permits me, ) allows me to go back to him while he is pleased with me,

أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِى

(or Allah decides my case) by using the sword, or, they says; by allowing me to secure the release of my brother,

وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَـكِمِينَ

(and He is the Best of the judges.), He next ordered them to narrate to their father what happened so that they could present their excuse about that happened to Binyamin and as claim their innocence before him. Rubil said to them (to say to their father),

وَمَا كُنَّا لِلْغَيْبِ حَـفِظِينَ

(and we could not know the Unseen!) or, `we did not know that your son had committed theft,' according to Qatadah and `Ikrimah. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that it means, `we did not know that Binyamin stole something that belonged to the king, we only stated the punishment of the thief,'

وَاسْئَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ الَّتِى كُنَّا فِيهَا

(And ask (the people of) the town where we have been,), in reference to Egypt, according to Qatadah, or another town.

وَالّعِيْرَ الَّتِى أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَا

(and the caravan in which we returned), `about our truthfulness, honesty, protection and sincere guardianship,

وِإِنَّا لَصَـدِقُونَ

(and indeed we are telling the truth.) in what we have told you, that Binyamin stole and was taken as a captive as compensation for his theft.'