Allah, the Exalted, said: "He said, 'Will I entrust you with him except as I entrusted you with his brother before? Allah is the best protector, and He is the most merciful of the merciful.'" "And when they opened their goods, they found their merchandise returned to them. They said, 'O our father, what more can we desire? This is our merchandise returned to us, and we can provide for our family, and we will protect our brother, and we will obtain an additional measure of a camel. That is an easy measure.'"

His saying: "Will I" is a pause and a confirmation, and it reflects the pain of Jacob, peace be upon him, from the separation from Benjamin. He did not explicitly prevent them from carrying him due to what he saw in that as being beneficial. However, he informed them of his lack of reassurance towards them, and that he fears for him from their scheming. But the apparent state of them is that they had repented to Allah, and their condition had changed, so he did not fear as he feared for Yusuf before. However, he informed that there was something in his soul, then he submitted to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, unlike his statement in the story of Yusuf.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amer, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - read: "the best protector," and Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Hafsa - from Asim - read: "the best protector." The accusative of that - in both readings - is for distinction. Al-Zajjaj said: It is permissible for "protector" to be in the accusative as an adjective. Abu Ali Al-Farisi weakened that because it is a state that must be present in the speech and meaning, which is contrary to the condition of the state. The meaning is that the protector of Allah is better than your protector. And whoever reads: "protection" is with their saying: "and we will protect our brother," and whoever reads: "protector" is with their saying: "and indeed, we are protectors of him." So Jacob, peace be upon him, submitted to Allah and relied upon Him. Abu Amr Al-Dani said: Ibn Mas'ud read: "So Allah is the best protector, and He is the best of protectors."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And in this there is distance.

And His saying: "When they opened their goods" refers to the tied and bundled items as being goods, and thus it is appropriate to say "opened" in this context. The majority of people read: "returned" with a Dhamma on the letter Ra, according to the prevalent language among the Arabs, followed by the language of those who use a Kasra, and then the language of those who use a Dhamma. Alqamah and Yahya ibn Wathab read: "returned" with a Kasra on the letter Ra, according to the language of those who use a Kasra, which is in Banu Dhabbah. Abu Al-Fath said: As for the defective forms like Qila and Bi'a, the prevalent form in it is the Kasra, then the Ishmam, then the Dhamma. They say: Qul and Bu'a. And Tha'alab recited:

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

And say, 'There is no family for him, nor wealth.'

Al-Zajjaj said: Whoever reads: "returned" with a Kasra on the letter Ra makes it a transferred form from the letter Dal, just as he did in Qila and Bi'a to indicate that the original of the Dal is the Kasra.

And His saying: ﴿What do we seek?﴾ It is possible that "what" is an interrogative, as said by Qatadah, and "we seek" is from [bughya], meaning: what do we request after this honor? This is our wealth returned to us along with our share. Al-Zajjaj said: It is possible that "what" is negating, meaning: we have nothing left to request, and it is also possible that it is negating and "we seek" is from [baghiy], meaning: we did not exceed, so we lied to this king, nor in the description of his generosity and honor; this merchandise is returned. Abu Haywah read: "What do you seek?" with a 'taa' addressing Yaqub, and it means: what do you want? And what do you request? Al-Mahdawi said: Aisha narrated it from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him.

And a group read: "And we bring provisions" with an open 'noon', from: [maara yamiru] if he brings good, and from that is the saying of the poet:

I sent you bringing provisions, so you stayed around ∗∗∗ when will your help come, O you who help?

And Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, read: "And we bring provisions" with a 'noon' that is closed, and it is from the recitation of Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, and on this it is said: [maara] and [amara] have the same meaning.

And their saying: ﴿And we will increase the measure of a camel﴾ they mean the camel of their brother, as Yusuf only brought them ten camels and did not carry the eleventh due to the absence of his companion. Mujahid said: "the measure of a camel" meant: the measure of a donkey, he said: and some of the Arabs call a donkey: a camel. And this is uncommon.

And their saying: ﴿That is an easy measure﴾ is a confirmation without an 'alif', meaning: is that an easy measure in such a year that its matter is neglected? And it was said: its meaning is: it is easy for Yusuf to give it. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: And Yusuf had promised them that he would increase them a load of a camel without a price, and Al-Suddi said: The meaning of that is: an easy measure, meaning quick, we will not be delayed in it nor will we be postponed.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So it is as if they - on this - felt comforted by the near return.