Tafsir for verse: 12:56
وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ يَتَبَوَّأُ مِنۡهَا حَيۡثُ يَشَآءُۚ نُصِيبُ بِرَحۡمَتِنَا مَن نَّشَآءُۖ وَلَا نُضِيعُ أَجۡرَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ ٥٦ ﴿56
56And thus We gave Yūsuf power in the land. He could settle in it wherever he wished. We extend Our mercy to whomsoever We will, and We do not let the reward of the righteous people to go to waste.
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Commentary

And similarly, this evident empowerment, We established for Yusuf in the land of Egypt. It is narrated that it was forty parasangs in forty, from which he could settle wherever he wished. It was read with the letter 'n' and 'y', meaning: every place he wanted to take as a residence and dwelling for himself, he was not prevented from it due to his control over all of it and his entry under his dominion and authority. It is narrated that the king crowned him, sealed him with his seal, and adorned him with his sword. He placed for him a throne of gold adorned with pearls and rubies. It is narrated that he said to him: As for the throne, it strengthens your kingship. As for the seal, manage your affairs with it, and as for the crown, it is not from my attire nor from the attire of my forefathers. He said: I have placed it out of respect for you and acknowledgment of your virtue. So he sat on the throne, and the kings submitted to him, and the king entrusted him with his affairs and removed Qatfir, then he died after him. The king married him to his wife Zuleikha, and when he entered upon her, he said: Is this not better than what you sought? He found her a virgin, and she bore him two sons: Ephraim and Misha. He established justice in Egypt, and both men and women loved him. Many people embraced Islam through him, and he sold food to the people of Egypt during the years of famine for dinars and dirhams in the first year until nothing remained with them. Then he sold them jewelry and gems, then livestock, then properties and lands, and then their necks until he enslaved them all. They said: By Allah, we have not seen a king as great or grand as today. He said to the king: How did you see Allah's action towards me in what He has granted me, what do you think? He said: The opinion is yours. He said: I bear witness to Allah and bear witness to you that I have freed the people of Egypt entirely. I returned their properties to them, and he would not sell to any of the merchants more than the load of a camel, distributing among the people. He acquired the land of Canaan and the lands of the Levant similar to what he acquired in the land of Egypt. So Jacob sent his sons to buy provisions, and he retained Benjamin by Our mercy, by Our granting in this world of kingship and wealth and other blessings, whom We will, as wisdom necessitated that We will for him that, and We do not waste the reward of the doers of good, that We reward them in this world.

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Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
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