Joseph (Yusuf)
Verses 21-22 GROUP_452 12.21-22
21
وَقَالَ الَّذِي اشْتَرَاهُ مِن مِّصْرَ لاِمْرَأَتِهِ أَكْرِمِي مَثْوَاهُ عَسَى أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَكَذَلِكَ مَكَّنِّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الأَحَادِيثِ وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
The Egyptian who bought him said to his wife, ‘Lodge him honourably, he may prove of benefit to us, or we may even adopt him as our son.’ Thus We established Joseph in the land, so that We might teach him the true meaning of events. God has power over all things. However, most people do not know this.
22
وَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ
And when he reached maturity, We bestowed on him right judgement and knowledge. Thus We reward those who do good.
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Commentary
(a) It is said that an officer of the Egyptian government, Potiphar, bought Joseph. He recognized Joseph’s great personality hidden behind an ordinary exterior. He could make out that Joseph was not really a slave but a member of a noble family who, for whatever the reason, had fallen into the hands of the caravan and been sold into slavery. So he asked his wife not to keep Joseph as a slave, but as a family member. He further said that the youth appeared to be a promising young man, capable of managing the affairs of his household and property. Moreover, Potiphar was childless and wanted to adopt somebody as his son. So he intended to adopt Joseph as his son if he lived up to his expectations. When Joseph was about forty years old, God blessed him with prophethood on the one hand and with power and authority on the other. He received this reward owing to his righteous deeds. The door of God’s blessings is always open for righteous people! The only difference is that during the age of prophethood, a deserving person could have been given prophethood as a result of his righteous deeds but, in later periods, (after the Prophet Muhammad, the last messenger of God) he may receive all bounties except that of prophethood.