Prophet Yūsuf: Part 2 — The Storehouses and the King’s Cup
Section 18 of 29 · Lives of the Prophets
Send Our Brother With Us
فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَبِيهِمْ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰٓأَبَانَا مُنِعَ مِنَّا ٱلْكَيْلُ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَآ أَخَانَا نَكْتَلْ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ
“So, when they returned to their father, they said, “Father, the (required) measure (of grain) has been withheld from us, therefore, send our brother with us, so that we may receive our full measure. And, of course, we are his guards.”” (12:63)
When they went back to their father, they said: O our father, no more measure of grain will be given to us unless we take our brother. So send our brother with us, and we shall get our measure; and truly we will guard him. Who was this brother? Binyāmīn, the brother of Yūsuf from the same mother. Yaʿqūb (peace be upon him) was as protective of Binyāmīn as he had been of Yūsuf, and he would not trust his brothers to take care of him.
So the brothers were trying to convince their father. They said: listen, if you do not send him with us, we cannot get anything. Yaʿqūb knew what they had done with Yūsuf — that they had plotted against him many times — and he did not want this to happen to Binyāmīn again.
قَالَ هَلْ ءَامَنُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَمَآ أَمِنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَخِيهِ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ فَٱللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَـٰفِظًا ۖ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
“He said, “Shall I trust you about him as I trusted you earlier about his brother? Well, Allah is the best guardian, and He is the Most-Merciful of all the merciful.”” (12:64)
He said: can I entrust him to you except as I entrusted his brother Yūsuf to you before? But Allah is the best to guard, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.
وَلَمَّا فَتَحُوا۟ مَتَـٰعَهُمْ وَجَدُوا۟ بِضَـٰعَتَهُمْ رُدَّتْ إِلَيْهِمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰٓأَبَانَا مَا نَبْغِى ۖ هَـٰذِهِۦ بِضَـٰعَتُنَا رُدَّتْ إِلَيْنَا ۖ وَنَمِيرُ أَهْلَنَا وَنَحْفَظُ أَخَانَا وَنَزْدَادُ كَيْلَ بَعِيرٍ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ كَيْلٌ يَسِيرٌ
“When they opened their baggage, they found their goods given back to them. They said, “Our father, what else should we want? Here is our goods given back to us, and we shall bring food to our family, protect our brother and add the measure of one camel more. That is an easy measure.”” (12:65)
And when they opened their bags, they found their money had been returned to them. They said: O our father, what more can we desire? This is our money; it has been returned to us. So we shall get more food for our family, and we shall guard our brother, and add one more measure of a camel's load. This quantity is easy for the king to give.
قَالَ لَنْ أُرْسِلَهُۥ مَعَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تُؤْتُونِ مَوْثِقًا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ لَتَأْتُنَّنِى بِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن يُحَاطَ بِكُمْ ۖ فَلَمَّآ ءَاتَوْهُ مَوْثِقَهُمْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيلٌ
“He said, “I shall never send him with you until you give me a pledge in the name of Allah that you will definitely bring him back to me, unless you are overpowered (by circumstances).” So, when they gave him their pledge, he said, “Allah is watchful over what we say.”” (12:66)
Now Yaʿqūb was almost convinced, but he said: I am not going to send him with you unless you promise me that you will not abandon him — unless you are surrounded and there is no way for you to survive. Do not come back to me alive without Binyāmīn. I want you to give me your promise. He said: I will not send him with you until you swear an oath to me in the name of Allah that you will bring him back to me, unless you yourselves are surrounded. So they gave him the promise, and when they had sworn their solemn oath, he said: Allah is the witness over what we have said.