Yusuf · Makki · ayah 19 of 111

Yusuf 12:19

وَجَآءَتْ سَيَّارَةٌ فَأَرْسَلُوا۟ وَارِدَهُمْ فَأَدْلَىٰ دَلْوَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ يَـٰبُشْرَىٰ هَـٰذَا غُلَـٰمٌ ۚ وَأَسَرُّوهُ بِضَـٰعَةً ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ

“And there came a company of travelers; then they sent their water drawer, and he let down his bucket. He said, "Good news! Here is a boy." And they concealed him, [taking him] as merchandise;[589] and Allāh was Knowing of what they did.”

Saheeh International

Essence

A man lowers a bucket for water and draws up a boy; everyone around the well hides something, and Allah knows all of it.

A reflection

Every secret at the well, and the One who knew

Count the secrets around this well. The brothers have hidden a murder plan under an accident. The commentaries offer two readings of 'they hid him'. In one, the water-drawer and his friends hid him from the rest of the caravan. They claimed he was goods entrusted to them, so they would not have to share. In the other, the brothers came back and hid that he was their brother, calling him a runaway slave. And the boy himself, one report says, kept silent about who he was, for fear of his life.

Everyone at the well is managing a secret. Each believes he is the one who knows.

Then the ayah ends: and Allah knows well what they do. One commentary hears a warning in it to the men who traded what was not theirs. Another adds that He knew, and was able to change it and prevent it. But He has a wisdom and a decree already set, so He let it run, to carry out what He had decreed.

That is where human cleverness shrinks to its size. Pride feels safe inside a secret. A shop owner switches off his own till camera to skim the takings, pleased with himself, forgetting the bank's camera across the road.

Is it self-praise for Allah to call Himself Knowing? A boast seeks an audience's admiration. This sentence seeks nothing from anyone. To the men at the rim it is a warning; to the boy in their hands it is the only comfort available. The humble are relieved to be fully known. Only the arrogant need their secrets to hold.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.