'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, exalted is He, said: "Did you not know what you did to Joseph and his brother when you were ignorant?" They said, "Are you indeed Joseph?" He said, "I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Allah has indeed favored us. Truly, he who fears and is patient, Allah does not waste the reward of the doers of good." They said, "By Allah, certainly Allah has preferred you over us, and we were indeed wrongdoers." He said, "No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful." It has been narrated that when Joseph, peace be upon him, heard his brothers say, "We have been touched with harm, we and our families" [Joseph: 88] and they pleaded with him, he felt compassion and mercy for them. Ibn Ishaq said: His tears flowed, and he began to reveal his affair to them. It is narrated that he uncovered his face and said to them: "Did you not know..." the verse. And his saying: "What you did to Joseph and his brother" means: by separating them in their youth, and by mistreating them, and by humiliating (Yamin) after Joseph's absence. They used to humiliate him and insult him, and he did not mention the story of (Yamin) at the end because they did not do anything in it. He attributed them either to ignorance of sin, or to the ignorance of youth and lack of wisdom. When he addressed them with this address - and it seems that he accompanied it with his appearance, his brightness, and his smile which indicated to them - they realized and had a strong suspicion that he was Joseph. So they addressed him, asking for confirmation. A group read: "Are you indeed Joseph?" with the two hamzahs pronounced. Another group read by inserting an alif between the two hamzahs and pronouncing them: "Are you indeed Joseph?" Another group read by facilitating the second hamzah: "Are you Joseph?" Ibn Muhaisn, Qatadah, and Ibn Kathir read: "Indeed you are" as a statement and affirmation. Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: "Are you Joseph or are you?" Abu al-Fath said: This should be understood as omitting the news of (indeed), as if he said: Are you indeed not Joseph or are you Joseph? Abu Amr al-Dani reported that in the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "or are you Joseph?" A group who read: "Indeed you are" interpreted it as a question by dropping the interrogative particle. So Joseph answered them, revealing his affair, saying: "I am Joseph, and this is my brother." Mujahid said: He meant: whoever fears in leaving sin and is patient in prison. Ibrahim al-Nakha'i said: Whoever fears adultery and is patient in being single. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The intent of the wording is indeed general regarding the major sins. He mentioned these two because they were among his calamities, and if we assumed the descent of others with him, he would have feared and been patient. The majority read: "fears" without a ya. Ibn Kathir alone read: "fears" with the ya. There was a disagreement regarding this - it was said: He considered the ya to be moving and made the jasm in omitting the movement, as the poet said: Did the news not come to you, and the news spread about what befell the she-camel of Banu Ziyad?

Abu Ali said: This is something we do not take upon ourselves, because it comes in poetry and not in speech. It is said: 'Who' means 'the one who', and 'he fears' is a raised verb, and 'he is patient' is connected to the meaning. For 'who', even though it is in the meaning of 'the one who', it has the meaning of condition. An example of this is His saying, the Most High: ﴿So let him give charity and be﴾ [Al-Munafiqun: 10]. It is said that he intended 'he is patient' in the raised form, but he made the ر (ra) silent for ease, just as Abu Amr read: 'And He commands you' with the ر (ra) being silent.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿They said, 'By Allah, indeed Allah has preferred you over us'﴾, this is from them a request to bring down Yusuf, and an acknowledgment of sin which includes seeking forgiveness from him. And 'preferred you' is a term that encompasses all types of preference and gifts. The original form has two hamzahs, and the second was made lighter, and it is not permissible to establish it. The source is إيثار (preference).

And 'خاطئين' (mistaken) is from خَطِئَ يَخْطَأُ (to err), and it is the one who intentionally makes a mistake. And the مخطئ (mistaken one) is from أخطأ (to miss), and it is the one who intended correctness but was not successful in it. From this is the saying of the poet - and he is Umayyah ibn al-Askar:

And indeed, the two emigrants surrounded him ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ on the morning of tomorrow, they have erred and failed.

And His saying: ﴿There is no blame upon you﴾ is a beautiful pardon. And it was said by Ikrimah: 'Allah revealed to Yusuf: By your pardon of your brothers, I have raised your mention.' And in the hadith, 'Indeed, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah, when they came as emigrants to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, he turned away from them due to their vile actions with him before. This was difficult for them, so they came to Abu Bakr and requested his intercession, but he refused. They went to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and likewise. So Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith went to his cousin Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and Abdullah went to his sister Umm Salamah. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The opinion is that you meet the Messenger of Allah in the gathering and cry out to him: 'By Allah, indeed Allah has preferred you over us, even though we are mistaken.' For he would not be pleased to be below any of the prophets, so it must be that he says: 'There is no blame upon you.' So they did that, and the Messenger of Allah said to them: ﴿There is no blame upon you﴾.

And التَثْرِيبُ (blame) is reproach and punishment, and what accompanies them from bad belief and the like. Some people have expressed التَثْرِيبُ as تعيير (taunting), and from this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'If one of you has a female servant who commits adultery, let him flog her and not blame her,' meaning: do not taunt her. This was narrated by the two Shaykhs in the punishments.

And some of the reciters paused at: 'Upon you', and began: ﴿Today Allah will forgive you﴾. Most of them paused at: 'Today', and began: ﴿Allah will forgive you﴾ in the manner of supplication. This is the interpretation of Ibn Ishaq and al-Tabari, and it is the correct one. And 'today' is a time indicator, and based on this, the agent in it is what relates to 'upon you', its estimation is: There is no blame established or settled upon you today. This pause is more preferable in meaning, for the other has a ruling on the forgiveness of Allah, unless that is by revelation.