The lam in 'layahzununi' is the lam of beginning, as in His saying, 'Indeed, your Lord will judge between them.' Its inclusion is one of the reasons mentioned by Sibawayh for the causes of the present tense. He apologized to them for two things. The first is that their departure with him and his separation from them saddens him, because he could not bear to be away from him for even an hour. The second is his fear for him from the wolf if they become heedless of him. Mahmoud said: 'He apologized to them for two matters: the first is his sadness at parting, and the second is his fear for him from the wolf if they become heedless of him.' Ahmad said: 'The more concerning of the two matters for his heart was his fear of the wolf for him, because it is a cause of his destruction. As for his sadness at parting while he grazes and plays and returns safely to him shortly, that is an easy matter. It is as if they were only preoccupied with ensuring his safety and security from the more severe of the two matters, and Allah knows best.' He was concerned about their grazing and playing, or their lack of concern for him, and their care was not sincere in preserving him. It is said that he saw in a dream that the wolf had attacked Yusuf, so he warned them. Hence, he mentioned that and informed them of the reason. In their sayings: 'Trial is tied to speech.' And 'the wolf' was read with the hamzah as per the original and with the lightening. It is said that its derivation is from 'tadhābat al-rih' if it comes from every direction.