So it is as if it was said: What did he respond to them? It was said: ﴿He said: I seek refuge with Allah﴾ meaning we seek refuge with the One who has no equal, the Most Great, ﴿that we take﴾ meaning for the sake of this matter ﴿except one﴾ meaning the person who ﴿we found our goods with him﴾ and he did not say: He stole our goods, because - just as he did not act like a thief regarding the cup - nothing had occurred from him before that which would justify applying the description to him; he explained that by saying: ﴿Indeed, if we take﴾ meaning if we take someone in his place ﴿we would certainly be wrongdoers﴾ meaning deeply entrenched in wrongdoing in your religion. So why do you seek what is wrongdoing in your view?

He mentioned after what has passed from this story from the Torah.

He said: And there was famine - and in one version: hunger - and panic upon all the faces of the earth. So Yusuf opened the storehouses and began to sell to the Egyptians, and the hunger intensified in the land of Egypt, and all the people of the earth came to Yusuf for selection.

Then Jacob, blessings and peace be upon him, was informed that there was food in Egypt. He said to his sons: 'Do not fear, for it has reached me that there is food in Egypt. So go down there and procure for us, so that we may live and not die.' So the sons of Jacob, blessings and peace be upon him, descended [the ten of them] to procure food from Egypt. However, Benjamin, the brother of Yusuf, was not sent by Jacob with his brothers, for he said: 'Perhaps some misfortune will befall him.' The sons of Israel came to procure food with those who were going, for the famine had intensified in the land of Canaan. And Yusuf was the one in charge of the land, and he was distinguishing all the people of the land. The brothers of Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him, came and fell down before him, prostrating on the ground. Yusuf saw his brothers and recognized them, but he concealed his identity from them and spoke to them harshly. He said to them: 'Where are you from?' They said: 'We have come from the land of Canaan to procure food.' Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned the dream he had told them about and said to them: 'Indeed, you are spies. You have come only to scout the land.' They said: 'No, by our lord! Your servants have come only to procure food. We are all brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and the youngest is with our father today, and one of us we have lost.' Yusuf said to them: 'Indeed, I said to you that you are spies. For this reason, you are being tested. By the right of Pharaoh! I will not let you leave from here until your younger brother comes to me.' Then we will verify your statements, if you have spoken the truth and justly; otherwise, by the right of Pharaoh! You are spies.' So he imprisoned them for three days. And on the third day, Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him, called them and said: 'Do as I command you, and you will live, for I fear Allah concerning you. If you are innocent, let one of you stay in your place of confinement, and you go with the food for the hunger that is in your homes. And bring to me your younger brother, so that I may confirm your words, and do not die.' They did as he commanded them. Then each man said to his companion: 'Indeed, we have deserved imprisonment for our brother when we saw the distress of his soul, and we did not show him mercy or compassion. For this reason, this calamity and evil has befallen us.' And Ru'bayl said to them: 'Did I not tell you: Do not sin against the boy? But you did not accept. And now we are being demanded for his blood.' And they did not know that Yusuf understood their speech, for he had appointed an interpreter between him and them. He stepped aside from them and wept, then returned to them and spoke to them, and he took from them Shimon and bound him before them.

And Yusuf ordered that their containers be filled with provisions. He also ordered that the silver of each one of them be returned in his container, and that they be supplied with provisions for the journey. So he did that with them as Yusuf, peace be upon him, had commanded. They loaded their provisions onto their donkeys and set off. Then one of them opened his container to throw some fodder for his donkey in their lodging. He saw his silver placed at the edge of his load. He said to his brothers: 'My silver has been returned to me, and here it is at the edge of my load.' Their hearts trembled and their souls were frightened, and each one of them was astonished. They said: 'Oh, how I wish I knew what this is that Allah has done with us!' So they came to Jacob, their father, in the land of Canaan, and informed him of all that had befallen them. They said: 'Indeed, the man is the lord of the land; he spoke to us harshly and with severity. We thought we were spies, so we said: 'We are innocent and just, and we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, the sons of one father; one of us is lost, and the other is with our father today in the land of Canaan.' The man, the lord of the land, said to us: 'By this, I know that you are righteous and just. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take provisions for the hunger that is in your homes. Then return to me with your younger brother, and I will know then that you are not spies, but that you are righteous and just. I will command that your brother be given back to you, and you will trade in the land.' While they were emptying their containers, they found the pouch of each one of them at the edge of his container. They saw their silver bundled up, and they and their father were frightened. Their father said to them: 'You have caused me to grieve over my son, and you have lost both of them, for Yusuf is lost.' And Shimon is imprisoned. And you are also taking Benjamin, and all calamities have befallen me. Then Reuben said to his father: 'I will bring him to you, or I will lose all my sons!' He said: 'My son will not go down with you, for his brother Yusuf has died, and he is the only one remaining for his mother. If a misfortune befalls him on the way that you are taking, you will bring my gray hair down to the grave in sorrow and distress.'

Then hunger became severe upon the land. When they ate what they had brought from Egypt and consumed it, Jacob, their father, peace be upon him, said to them: 'Go down and procure for us something of wheat.' Judah said to him: 'Indeed, the man warned us and said:

Then their father Israel said: If the matter is as such, do what I command you: carry in your containers from the fruits of this land something of pine nuts, honey, and perhaps some pistachios, carob, and the seeds of the cedar, and almonds. And take from the silver double what is in your containers, perhaps that will be a means of deception from them. And go with your brother to the man, and return to me all of you. And the Lord of the promises will grant you mercy and compassion from the man, and he will send your other brother with you and Benjamin as well. So the people took this gift and double the silver, and they set out with Benjamin and came to Yusuf and stood before him. Yusuf saw Benjamin with them and said to his steward: Bring the people into the house, and slaughter a sacrificial animal, and prepare lunch, for the people will have lunch with me at noon. So the servant did as Yusuf ordered him, and the people were brought into Yusuf's house. They said: They are only bringing us in because of the silver that we found in our bags before, so they want to overpower us and plot against us, and make us slaves and our animals their property. So they approached the man, the steward - and in one version: the treasurer - Yusuf, peace be upon him. They spoke to him at the door of the house, and said to him: Indeed, we ask you, O our lord, that we descended first to this place to buy grain. And when we arrived and entered the house, we found each one's silver in his bag. So we returned our silver by weight with us and brought with it other silver to buy grain, but we do not know who placed our silver in our bags. He said to them: Peace be upon you, do not fear and do not worry. Your God and the God of your father has provided for you this provision in your containers, for your silver has indeed come into my possession. And he brought out to them Shimon. So the servant brought the people into Yusuf's house, and he brought them water and they washed their hands and feet, and he provided fodder for their animals. The people prepared their gift before entering Yusuf's house at the time of the midday meal, for he had informed them that their lunch would be there. Then Yusuf entered his house, and they presented their gift and placed it before him in his house, and they fell down to him in prostration on the ground. He asked them about their well-being and said: Is your father well? The one you told me about, is he still alive? They said: Indeed, our father is well. Then they bowed down and prostrated, and he raised his eyes and saw Benjamin, his brother, the son of his mother. He said to them: Is this your brother that you told me about? They said: Yes. He said: May Allah have mercy on you, O my sons. Yusuf, peace be upon him, hastened because he felt compassion for him and wanted to cry, so he went into his private chamber and cried there. Then he washed his face and came out and controlled himself, and he ordered that they be brought lunch. They placed it before him alone, and they approached him alone, for the people of Egypt cannot eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination among the Egyptians. So he ordered, and the eldest reclined according to his age, and the youngest according to his age. The people were astonished and remained confused and amazed. He gave each one of them from what was before him a portion, and he gave Benjamin more than them: five portions. So they drank.

So he commanded his steward and said to him: 'Fill the containers of the people with whatever they can carry of grain, and place the silver of each one of them at the mouth of his container. And take the silver cup and place it in the smaller container along with the silver of his provisions.' The servant did as Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded. When the next day came, the people were sent off to depart, and they left the village. Before they exited it, Yusuf said to his steward: 'Get up and go after the people and say to them: Why have you repaid evil with good? You have taken the cup from which my master drinks and in which he divines. You have certainly done wrong.' So he caught up with them and said these words to them. They said to him: 'Do not say this, O our lord! Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! We returned the goods we found in our containers from the land of Canaan. So how could we steal from the house of your master gold or silver? Whoever is found with it among your servants, let him die, and we will be your servants!' He said to them: 'It is as you say. Whoever is found with it will be my servant, and you will be the pure ones.' So each one of them hurried to his container, and they began searching from the oldest to the youngest. They found the cup in Benjamin's container. They tore their garments and threw them away. Each one of them loaded his container onto his donkey, and they returned to the village. Judah and his brothers entered upon Yusuf, and he was still in his house. They fell down before him on the ground. Yusuf said to them: 'What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me divines by means of a cup? Why do you transgress against him and take him?' Judah said: 'How shall we speak to our lord? How shall we justify ourselves? How shall we plead? This sin has befallen your servants from Allah. Here we are, we are your servants, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.' He said: 'Far be it from me to do this! Rather, the man who was found with the cup will be my servant, and you may go in peace to your father.'

So Judah drew near to him and said: I ask you, my lord, to permit your servant to speak before you, O my lord! And do not let your anger be ignited against your servants, for you are like Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants and said to them: Do you have a father or a brother? So we said to our lord: Indeed, we have an aged father and a young son born to him in his old age. And indeed, his brother has died, and he is the only one remaining to his mother. And his father loves him. And I commanded your servants and said: Go down with him to me until I recognize him and see him. So we said to our lord: The boy cannot bear to part from his father, for if he were to part from him, his father would die. So I said to your servants: Your younger brother has not come down with you, so do not allow yourselves to see my face. When we ascended to your servant our father, we informed him of our lord's words, and your servant our father said to us: Return and obtain something [of grain]. So we said to our father: We cannot go down unless our younger brother is with us, for we cannot bear to see the man's face if our brother is not with us. And your servant our father said to us: You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and you said: Indeed, he was killed. And I have not seen him to this day. So you will also carry this from me, and he may encounter a wild animal, and you will return to me with grief and the evil of the grave. And now, if we go to your servant our father and the boy is not with us, his soul is dear to him. If he knows that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servant will bring down our father's gray hair with grief and sorrow. For your servant has guaranteed the boy to our father. And I said: If I do not bring him to you, I will be in error for all the remaining days. And now let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers, for I am thinking about how I will go up to my father without the boy with me, lest I witness the evil that befalls my father.