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qālū ʾin yasriq fa-qad saraqa ʾakhun lahū min qablu fa-ʾasarrahā yūsufu fī nafsihī wa-lam yubdihā lahum qāla ʾantum sharrun makānan wa-llāhu ʾaʿlamu bi-mā taṣifūna
They said, ‘If he has stolen [there is no wonder]; a brother of his had stolen before.’ Thereupon Joseph kept the matter to himself and he did not disclose it to them. He said, ‘You are in a worse state! And Allah knows best what you allege.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Yusuf – Verse 77
77. “They said: ‘If he steals, a brother of his had stolen before.’ But Yusuf kept it secret within his heart and did not reveal it to them. He said: ‘You are in a worse situation, and Allah knows best (the truth) of what you state’.”
The brothers eventually came to the conclusion that their brother Benjamin was a thief and his reputation would ruin their supposedly good relations with the ‘Aziz. Thus, in order to distance themselves from him, they attributed it to a family trait in so far that his brother Yusuf, like him, who was of the same mother, had also been a thief. They both, on the other hand, should be treated differently because they themselves were from another mother.
The verse says:
“They said: ‘If he steals, a brother of his had stolen before.’...”
On hearing such words, Yusuf became very saddened but he kept it to himself and did not reveal his feelings or his opinion. Even though they had committed the great sin of false attribution and slander he did not answer them. He just went on to tell them in very subtle terms that they had sunk far lower than the brother they had so unjustly accused. The verse says:
“…But Yusuf kept it secret within his heart and did not reveal it to them. He said: ‘You are in a worse situation, and Allah knows best (the truth) of what you state’.”