Commentary

Described in the previous verses was an early account of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) as to how the people from the caravan took him out of the well, and how his brothers made him out to be their escaped slave and traded him for a few dirhams. First of all, they did not know the value and station of their great brother. Secondly, their real purpose was not to make money by selling him - they wanted to remove him away from his father. Therefore, they did not stop at simply selling him because they felt the danger that the caravan may somehow leave him behind as a result of which he may somehow reach their father and tell him all about their conspiracy. So, according to a report from Tafsir authority, Mujahid, these people waited for the caravan to leave with him for Egypt. When the caravan actually departed, they went with the caravan upto a certain distance warning them on the way that he is in the habit of running away, therefore, they should not leave him free to move around, better still, they should tie him up. Thus, the caravan, unaware of the precious ` merchandise' they were carrying with them, took him in that condition as far as Egypt. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

The part of the story as taken up onwards in the present verses shows the eloquent brevity of the Qur'an when sections of the story which can be understood independently have not been necessarily de-scribed. For instance, the trip of the caravan through various stages en-route Egypt and the actual selling of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) there. All this has been skipped. Stated from here is:

وَقَالَ الَّذِي اشْتَرَ‌اهُ مِن مِّصْرَ‌ لِامْرَ‌أَتِهِ أَكْرِ‌مِي مَثْوَاهُ

And the one who bought him from Egypt said to his wife, 'Make his stay graceful ...'.

According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, when the caravan reached Egypt and offered him for sale, people vied with each other with increasing bids which rose to gold, to musk and to silk equal to his weight.

But, Allah Tahad destined this human treasure to go to the most powerful authority of the time in Egypt, the Aziz of Misr. He beat all the bids and bought Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) .

As we already know from the statement of the Holy Qur’ an, all these things happening were nothing accidental. Instead, they were parts of the formidable plan put into action by the most exalted Lord Himself. That Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) will be bought in Egypt by the highest of the high in that country was certainly a call of destiny. According to Ibn Kathir, this man who bought Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in Egypt was what we may call the Finance Minister of Egypt. His name has been cited as Qitfir, or ` Itfir. The King of Egypt at that time was Ruiyyan ibn Usayd, an Amalkite (who, later on, embraced Islam at the hands of Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام) and died as a Muslim during the lifetime of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) (Mazhari). The name of the wife of the Aziz of Egypt who had bought him has been given as Ra'eel, or Zulaikha. So, the Aziz of Misr, called Qitfir (Potiphar), instructed his wife to provide good lodging for Yusuf, not to treat him like common slaves and see that good arrangements are made for him.

Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ said: ` Three men turned out to be the best physiognomists of the world: (1) The Aziz of Misr who discovered the inner excellence of Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from his outer appearance and gave those instructions to his wife; (2) the daughter of Sayyidna Shu'ayb (علیہ السلام) who told her father about Sayyidna Musa يَا أَبَتِ اسْتَأْجِرْ‌هُ ۖ إِنَّ خَيْرَ‌ مَنِ اسْتَأْجَرْ‌تَ الْقَوِيُّ الْأَمِي (0 my father, retain him on wages. Surely, the best one for you to employ is the one who is strong and trustworthy - 28:26); (3) The third person is Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ عنہ who chose Sayyidna ` Umar to be the Khalifah after the Holy Prophet ﷺ . (Ibn Kathir)

The next sentence of the verse is: وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (And thus We established Yusuf in the land ...). Given here is the good news of what would happen in the future, that is, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) who has entered the House of the Aziz of Misr at this time as a slave shall soon be the highest ranking man in the country of Egypt when the power of governance comes into his hands.

In the statement which follows immediately after, that is: وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ (so that We should teach him the interpretation of events), if the letter واؤ (waw) appearing at the beginning of the sentence is taken as: عَطَف (` atf : conjunctive), a sentence will be considered as understood which will mean that ` We established Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in the land so that he brings forth peace in the world through equity and justice, works towards the economic and social betterment of the people of the country, and so that We teach him to put things right where they belong. The general sense of the later is something which is inclusive of the comprehension of Di-vine revelation, its implementation in practice, and the acquisition of all supportive areas of knowledge, and the correct interpretation of dreams as well.

Verse 21 ends with the statement: وَاللَّـهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِ‌هِ (And Allah is powerful in (enforcing) His command ... ). In other words, it means that Allah Ta` ala is powerful and fully in control over what He wills and when He does so will, all outward chains of causes in this world start falling in line with His will - as said the Holy Prophet ﷺ in a Hadith: ` When Allah Ta` ala intends to do something, He makes all worldly causes ready to act accordingly.' But, says the last part of the sentence: وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ‌ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ that is, most of the people do not understand this reality. They have their eyes on obvious causes. These they take to be everything and keep going after them all the time. That there is the Causer of all Causes and the Holder of Absolute Power over everything is a thought they would seldom pay heed to.