His saying, exalted is He: "They said, 'If he steals, a brother of his has already stolen before.' So Yusuf kept it concealed in himself and did not disclose it to them. He said, 'You are in a worse position, and Allah knows best what you describe.'"

The pronoun in "They said" refers to the brothers of Yusuf. The brother they referred to is Yusuf. They mentioned him in an indefinite manner to belittle the matter, as it was something the present ones had no knowledge of. Then they attributed it to Benjamin since he was his full brother. Their saying: "If he steals, a brother of his has already stolen before" can be interpreted in two ways:

One of them is that they confirmed the theft concerning Benjamin and Yusuf, peace be upon them, according to the apparent ruling. It is as if they said: 'If he has stolen, it is not surprising from the sons of Rachel, for his brother Yusuf had stolen.' This is a reproach from the brothers towards the sons of Rachel: Yusuf and Benjamin.

The other interpretation that their words can imply is that the theft concerning Yusuf and Benjamin is suspected. It is as if they said: 'If this accusation against Benjamin is true in itself, then the accusation against Yusuf before is also true.' It seems that the story of Yusuf and the suspicion against him is stronger in their view than what appeared regarding Benjamin.

Some of the commentators said: "The implication is: 'It has been said about Yusuf that he stole.'" This is similar to a statement that does not align with the meaning of the verse.

These statements from them, peace be upon them, were based on the apparent and the requirements of the ruling in the case. They did not mean in the absence of Yusuf, but rather intended to inform about a matter that occurred to remove some of the blame from them and to specify it to these two brothers.

As for what has been narrated about the theft of Yusuf, there are three views: the majority hold that his aunt was his guardian. When he grew up, Jacob wanted to take him from her, but she became attached to him and feared parting from him. So she took the belt of Isaac - which was inherited among them - and concealed it on him under his clothes. Then she cried out and said: 'I have lost the belt, and Yusuf has gone out with it.' So they searched and found it with him, thus she claimed him - according to what was in their law - and he remained with her until she died, and it became with his father. Ibn Idris said from his father: 'The sons of Jacob ate food, and Yusuf took a piece and hid it, so they accused him of theft for that.' And Sa'id ibn Jubair and Qatadah said: 'His mother commanded him to steal an idol for his father, so he stole it and broke it. This was - from her and from him - a change of the abominable. In the book of Al-Zajjaj, it is mentioned that it was a golden idol.

The pronoun in his saying: "So he kept it concealed" refers to the distress that occurred in Yusuf's heart from their words, and the speech includes it. This is similar to the speech that includes the pronoun in the words of Hatim:

'By your life, wealth does not benefit a man if he is choked one day and his chest is tight.'

This is like His saying, exalted is He: "Then indeed, your Lord for those who emigrated after they were tempted, then struggled and were patient, indeed, your Lord after that is Forgiving and Merciful" [An-Nahl: 110]. It refers to the state resulting from these mentioned actions in the verse.

And a group said: He concealed the recompense, and another group said: He concealed the proof. What we have presented is more appropriate. And Ibn Abi Abla read: "So Yusuf concealed it" with a masculine pronoun.

And His saying: "You are worse in position". The apparent meaning of this is that he said it explicitly. It is as if he concealed from them his dislike of their statement, then reproached them by saying: "You are worse in position," meaning for your evil deeds. And Allah knows if what you described is true. And in the wording, there is an indication of their denial. What strengthens this for me is that they abandoned intercession by themselves and turned to intercession through the Prophet, peace be upon him. And a group said - and this is the apparent meaning of the words of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him - that Yusuf did not say this except to himself. Rather, it is an interpretation of what he concealed in himself, meaning: this statement is what he concealed. It is as if the intended meaning is: he said to himself: "You are."

And Al-Tabari mentioned here a story, the summary of which is that when the cup was taken out from the saddle of Benjamin, his brothers said: O sons of Rachel, will the calamity not continue to befall us from your side?! Benjamin said: Rather, the sons of Rachel will be afflicted by calamity from you: you took my brother and destroyed him, and this cup was placed in my saddle, which you placed the dirhams in your saddles. They said: Do not mention the dirhams, otherwise we will be taken for it. Then they entered upon Yusuf, and he took the cup and struck it, and it sounded. He said: Indeed, it informs that you took a brother for you and sold him. Then Benjamin prostrated and said: O noble one, ask this cup; it will inform you of the truth.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And similar to this is the story that we preferred to summarize. It has been narrated that Reuben became angry and his hair stood on end until it came out from his clothes. Yusuf ordered his son to touch him, and his anger subsided. Reuben said: Indeed, one of the children of Jacob has touched me. Then they consulted about fighting Yusuf - and they were a people of strength that could not be matched in that - when Yusuf sensed that, he went to Reuben, seized him, and threw him down. They saw from his strength what they found astonishing at that time, and they said: O noble one.