Yusuf · Makki · ayah 75 of 111

Yusuf 12:75

قَالُوا۟ جَزَٰٓؤُهُۥ مَن وُجِدَ فِى رَحْلِهِۦ فَهُوَ جَزَٰٓؤُهُۥ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

“[The brothers] said, "Its recompense is that he in whose bag it is found - he [himself] will be its recompense.[608] Thus do we recompense the wrongdoers."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Sure of their innocence, the brothers name their own family's law: whoever has the cup found in his bag is himself the payment.

A reflection

Not tricked into it: they named their own law, carefully

The common way of telling this moment is that Yusuf tricked his brothers into handing over Binyamin. They walked into a trap.

There is a plan, certainly. But listen to whose words decide it.

The searchers asked. The brothers answered, from their own tradition. One modern commentary puts it in their mouths: this is our religion and our practice for thieves. Several older commentaries confirm that in the house of Yaqub, the thief was handed over to the owner as his servant.

Nobody forced the answer. It is the law they were raised with, stated freely.

And one classical commentary notices how carefully they phrased it. They did not say: its penalty is the thief. They said: the one in whose saddlebag it is found. Not even: the one with whom it is found. In whose saddlebag.

The commentary reads this as a sign of how far they felt from theft. As if their tongues would not let them say thief about any one of them, even hypothetically.

Then they repeat it for emphasis: he himself is its penalty. The same commentary says the repetition is not mere echo. It settles that this is the right ruling, beyond dispute.

And finally: thus do we repay wrongdoers. Said, the same commentary notes, out of complete confidence in their innocence, unaware of what had been done to them.

So the brothers are not dupes here. They are honest men stating an honest law, with care and conviction.

That is what makes the next moment so painful. Their honesty is exactly what closes the door.

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.