His saying, exalted is He:

﴿They said, 'O our father, why do you not trust us with Yusuf while indeed we are to him sincere advisors?'﴿Send him with us tomorrow that he may graze and play, and indeed we will keep him safe.'﴿He said, 'Indeed, it saddens me that you take him away, and I fear that a wolf would eat him while you are unaware of him.'﴿They said, 'If a wolf should eat him while we are a group, then indeed, we would be losers.'﴿So when they took him away and agreed to put him in the bottom of the well, and We inspired to him, 'You will surely inform them of this affair of theirs while they do not perceive.'﴾

The first verse implies that their father had learned of their wicked intention regarding Yusuf, and this indicates that they knew of his knowledge of that.

And Al-Zuhri and Abu Ja'far read 'do not trust us' with idgham without any shaddah, and it was narrated by Al-Hulwani from Qalon. The seven reciters read it with shaddah for the dhammah, and Talhah ibn Musarif read 'do not trust us' without the shaddah, and Ibn Wathab and Al-Amash read 'do not trust us' with the kasrah of the letter.

And 'tomorrow' is a time indicator, its origin is 'ghadw', so it encompasses the whole day. 'Ghadw' and 'ghadwah' are two names for the beginning of the day. An-Nadr ibn Shumail said: 'What is between dawn and daylight is called ghadwah and bukrah.'

And Abu Amr and Abu Amir read 'we will graze and play' with the noon in both and the sakin of the ‘ain and the ba. 'We will graze' - on this - is from the root of 'rat' which means to stay in the fertile area and pasture for eating and drinking. From it is the saying of Al-Ghadban ibn Al-Qabathari: 'The chain and the grazing and the lack of stumbling.' From it is the saying of the poet:

....................

'And after your gift of a hundred, grazing?'

And their playing is included in permissible play like playing with horses and archery and the like, so there is no blame on them in that, and it is not the play that is against the truth and is associated with distraction. It was said to Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala: 'How do they say: 'We play' while they are prophets?' He said: 'They were not prophets at that time.' And Ibn Kathir read 'we will graze and play' with the noon in both and with the kasrah of the ‘ain and the jasm of the ba, and it has been narrated from him, 'and he will play' with the ya, and this is the reading of Ja'far ibn Muhammad. 'We will graze' - on this - is from the care of camels, and Mujahid said: 'It is from the mutual care, meaning: we take care of one another and protect him.' And Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read ﴿he may graze and play﴾ attributing all of that to Yusuf, and Nafi' read: 'he may graze and play' with the ya in both and the kasrah of the ‘ain and the jasm of the ba, so 'he may graze' - on this - is from the herding of camels. Ibn Zayd said: 'The meaning is: he is training in herding and safeguarding the wealth, and from the meaning of grazing is the saying of Al-A'sha:

'They graze the plain and the hill, so it is a feast for the quail.'

Abu Ali said: And the reading of Ibn Kathir: "Nart'i" with the noon, and "Yal'ab" with the ya, is a good choice for ascribing consideration to wealth and care for them, and playing to Yusuf due to his childhood. And Alaa ibn Sayyabah read: "Yart'i and Yal'ab" with the ba raised on the cutting. And Mujahid and Qatadah read: "Nurt'i" with the noon being pronounced and the ta being broken, and "Nal'ab" with the noon and the jasm. And Ibn Kathir read - in some narrations from him -: "Nart'i" with the ya being affirmed, which is weak and is not permissible except in poetry, as the poet said:

Did news not come to you that the she-camel of Banu Ziyad faced?

And Abu Raja read: "Yurt'a" with the ya being pronounced and the ain being jasm, and "Yal'ab" with the ya and the jasm.

And they explained his request and his departure with what could attract Yusuf to his childhood from grazing, playing, and activity.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, it saddens me". The reading of Asim, Ibn Kathir, Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, Isa, Abu Amr, and Ibn Muhaysin: "Layahzununi" with the ya being opened and the zay being pronounced. Abu Hatim said: And Nafi read with the ya being pronounced and the zay being broken and the idgham, and the narration of Warsh from Nafi clarifies the two noon with the ya being pronounced and the zay being broken in all of the Qur'an, and the first "an" is a subject, and the second is an object with "Akhaaf".

And Al-Kisai alone read "Al-Dhiib" without the hamzah, and the others read with the hamzah, which is the original, and from it is their plural being "Dhu'ban", and from it: The winds and the wolves howl if they come from here and there. And Warsh narrated from Nafi: "Al-Dhiib" without the hamzah, and Nasr said: He heard Abu Amr not pronouncing the hamzah, he said: And the people of Hijaz pronounce it.

And Jacob feared the wolf alone and specified it because it was the common animal spread in the region, and it was narrated that Jacob saw in his dream a wolf attacking Yusuf.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this is weak in my view because if Jacob had seen that, it would have been revelation. So either it would come out in its form and that did not happen, or Jacob would recognize it by his knowledge of the expression of what he saw, so he would complain about it with his own eyes. Except that his saying: "And I fear that the wolf will eat him" means: I fear that he will encounter something like what I saw of the matter of the wolf, and this is far-fetched. Likewise, Al-Rabi' ibn Dabbah said:

And the wolf I fear...

He specified it because it was the common animal of his region, and it is possible that Jacob, peace be upon him, specified it due to Yusuf's smallness: meaning: I fear for this insignificant one and what is above him. Likewise, Al-Rabi' specified it due to its insignificance and weakness among animals, and the rest of the verse is clear.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So when they went away with him﴾. Al-Tabari attributed to Al-Suddi who said: They went with Yusuf, and there was a dignity for him among them. When they emerged in the wilderness, they showed him enmity. His brother began to strike him, and he would cry out to the other, and he would strike him. He saw no mercy from them. They struck him until they nearly killed him. He began to scream and say: O my father, O Jacob, if you knew what the sons of the maidservants have done to your son! Then Judah said to them: Did you not give me a pledge that you would not kill him? So they went with him to the well, and they began to lower him down, and he would cling to the edge. They tied his hands and removed his shirt. He said: O my brothers, return my shirt to me so that I may cover myself in the well. They said: Call upon the sun, the moon, and the stars to comfort you. They lowered him until when he reached halfway down the well, they threw him in intending for him to die. There was water in the well, so he fell into it, then he stood on a rock weeping. They called out to him, and he thought that they had mercy on him, so he responded to them. They intended to crush him with a rock, but Judah prevented them, and he would bring him food.

The response to "when" is omitted, its meaning being: So when they went away with him and they all agreed. This is the view of Al-Khalil and Sibawayh, and it is a text for both of them. From that is the saying of Imru' al-Qais: (p-52)

When we passed the courtyard of the tribe and turned aside...

And similar to this is the saying of Allah, exalted is He: ﴿So when they both submitted and he laid him down upon his forehead﴾ [As-Saffat: 103]. Some grammarians said regarding this: The waw is extra, and his saying is rejected because there is nothing extra in the Qur'an without meaning.

"And they all agreed" means: they resolved and their opinion was united upon it. From this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the traveler: "What he did not agree upon to stay." It is understood that the consensus of one may be unique in the meaning of resolution and initiation, and this can be imagined in the consensus of the brothers of Yusuf and in other groups. The consensus of the group may come in matters where there is no resolution or initiation, and this cannot be imagined in the consensus of one.

The pronoun in "to him" refers back to Yusuf. It is said: it refers to Jacob. The first is more correct and more common. It is possible that the revelation at that time was to Yusuf by a messenger, and it is possible that it was by inspiration or in a dream. All of this has been said, and Al-Hasan said: Allah granted him prophethood while he was in the well.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is far-fetched. (p-53) The majority read: "You will surely inform them" with the ت, and in some copies of the Basrah with the ي, and Salam read with the ن. All of this is in the sign that follows the لام.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they do not perceive﴾. Ibn Jurayj said: "At the time of the revelation that you are Yusuf." And Qatadah said: "They do not perceive our revelation to him."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: So His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they do not perceive﴾ - according to the first interpretation - is what was revealed to him, and according to the second interpretation - it is news for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.