Surah Yusuf 12:17

Yusuf's Brothers try to deceive Their Father

Allah narrates to us the deceit that Yusuf's brothers resorted to, after they threw him to the bottom of the well. They went back to their father, during the darkness of the night, crying and showing sorrow and grief for losing Yusuf. They started giving excuses to their father for what happened to Yusuf, falsely claiming that,

(We went racing with one another), or had a shooting competition,

(and left Yusuf by our belongings), guarding our clothes and luggage,

(and a wolf devoured him), which is exactly what their father told them he feared for Yusuf and warned against. They said next,

(but you will never believe us even when we speak the truth.) They tried to lessen the impact of the grave news they were delivering. They said, `We know that you will not believe this news, even if you consider us truthful. So what about when you suspect that we are not truthful, especially since you feared that the wolf might devour Yusuf and that is what happened' Therefore, they said, `You have reason not to believe us because of the strange coincidence and the amazing occurrence that happened to us. '

(And they brought his shirt stained with false blood.) on it, to help prove plot that they all agreed on. They slaughtered a sheep, according to Mujahid, As-Suddi and several other scholars, and stained Yusuf's shirt with its blood. They claimed that this was the shirt Yusuf was wearing when the wolf devoured him, being stained with his blood. But, they forgot to tear the shirt, and this is why Allah's Prophet Ya`qub did not believe them. Rather, he told them what he felt about what they said to him, thus refusing their false claim,

(Nay, but your ownselves have made up a tale. So (for me) patience is most fitting.) Ya`qub said, `I will firmly observe patience for this plot on which you agreed, until Allah relieves the distress with His aid and compassion,

(And it is Allah (alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you describe.), against the lies and unbelievable incident that you said had occurred.'

Pada kedua ayat ini dikisahkan bahwa saudara-saudara Yusuf kembali menemui Yakub pada malam hari dengan muka yang pucat dan dengan air mata yang bercucuran seraya berkata, "Wahai ayah kami, apa yang ayah khawatirkan selama ini benar-benar telah terjadi tanpa kemauan kami. Kami pergi bermain-main, dan kami tinggalkan Yusuf untuk menjaga pakaian dan barang-barang kami. Rupanya tanpa kami sadari karena asyiknya kami bermain, kami sudah jauh terpisah dari dia. Setelah kami kembali, kami dapati Yusuf sudah diterkam dan dimakan oleh serigala. Kami tidak mendengar pekik dan teriaknya karena kami telah jauh meninggalkan tempatnya. Kami menyadari bahwa ayah tidak akan percaya kepada cerita kami ini, meskipun kami menceritakan apa yang sebenarnya telah terjadi karena ayah selalu menaruh curiga terhadap kami. Tetapi malang yang tak dapat ditolak inilah yang terjadi dan kamipun tidak berdaya untuk menolongnya."