Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 9

(Ayah 9) ➊ { اقْتُلُوْا يُوْسُفَ اَوِ اطْرَحُوْهُ اَرْضًا:} See how far envy can take a person, that a man begins to consider a minor sin as major and a major sin as minor. The fact that Yusuf (peace be upon him) was more beloved in the eyes of his father became such a great crime in the eyes of his brothers that, because of it, unjust murder—which is the greatest sin after shirk—became insignificant to them. In the story of the two sons of Adam (peace be upon him), envy also made the murder of an innocent person seem justified and even attractive to the murderer. The second suggestion was also not less dangerous. The meaning of {’’طَرْحٌ‘‘} is to throw far away. {’’ اَرْضًا ‘‘} is indefinite, meaning throw him into some unknown land, so that he may die there. Allah Almighty said about Banu Nadir: «{ وَ لَوْ لَاۤ اَنْ كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْجَلَآءَ لَعَذَّبَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا } » [ الحشر : ۳ ] “And if it had not been that Allah had decreed exile for them (Banu Nadir), He would have certainly punished them in this world.” It is clear that exile, especially to an unknown land, is not a minor punishment.

➋ {يَخْلُ لَكُمْ …:’’ يَخْلُ ‘‘} was originally {’’يَخْلُوْ‘‘}. Due to being in response to {’’ اقْتُلُوْا ‘‘} (imperative) and being in the jussive case, its wāw and the nūn of {’’تَكُوْنُوْنَ‘‘ } dropped, meaning that by killing or making Yusuf disappear, your father's attention will remain only for you. The meaning of { ’’ وَجْهُ ‘‘} is face, and attention is always with the face. As soon as the thorn of the dominant partner in the father's love is removed, he will become yours alone. Envy blinded them so much that they did not even think about what would happen to that old soul; in their enmity towards Yusuf (peace be upon him), they neither cared about the state their father would go through nor felt any mercy for Yusuf.

➌ {وَ تَكُوْنُوْا مِنْۢ بَعْدِهٖ قَوْمًا صٰلِحِيْنَ :} For such a great crime, they tried to silence their reproaching conscience by comforting themselves that after finishing with Yusuf, you will become righteous people. From this, it is clear that despite their extreme hard-heartedness, they were aware of their guilt. This is a great weapon of Satan to involve a servant in sin: commit the sin now, repent later. But it is extremely necessary to guard against this attack of Satan; who knows if there will even be an opportunity to repent afterward, or if death will come first, whose time has not been told to anyone, so that everyone refrains from sin out of fear that death may come at any time. It is said: «{ وَ لَا تَمُوْتُنَّ اِلَّا وَ اَنْتُمْ مُّسْلِمُوْنَ }» [ آل عمران : ۱۰۲ ] “And do not die except while you are Muslims.” Then, who knows, even if there is time, due to Allah’s displeasure, one may not be granted the ability to repent. It is said: «{ وَ اعْلَمُوْۤا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَحُوْلُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَ قَلْبِهٖ }» [ الأنفال : ۲۴ ] “And know that indeed Allah intervenes between a person and his heart.”

Another meaning of {’’ وَ تَكُوْنُوْا مِنْۢ بَعْدِهٖ قَوْمًا صٰلِحِيْنَ ‘‘} is that after Yusuf, you will become people of correct conduct, meaning you will please your father and live together in harmony. Even if this is the meaning, they were still deluded. If those who made their father’s beloved child disappear make outward peace, how can a heart full of grief ever return to its former state?

9. 1. This means to repent, that is, by throwing into the well or by killing, they will repent to Allah for this sin.

9. "(So) either kill Yusuf or cast him away to some distant land, so that your father's attention will be devoted to you alone. And after that, you can become righteous people [8]."

[8]
Two Meanings of the Righteous:

The plan they devised to draw their father's attention towards themselves was that somehow Yusuf should be made to disappear—either by killing him or by sending him to some far-off place so that he could not return from there. Only in this way could they succeed in their objective. Now, since they were also the children of a great prophet, their conscience was reproaching them for committing such an act. The solution they thought of was to first fulfill their own desires, and later repent and become righteous. These were the very satanic schemes about which Yaqub ؑ had already been apprehensive. The second meaning of ﴿وَتَكُوْنُوْا مِنْ بَعْدِهٖ قَوْمًا صٰلِحِيْنَ﴾ could also be that when you people get rid of Yusuf, then after that, you yourselves will become pleasing to your father.