What Happened to Yusuf After He Was Pulled Out of the Well?
ماذا حصل ليوسف بعد أن أُخرج من البئر؟
The one who pulled Yusuf out of the well saw him, was happy, and informed his people about him. Perhaps Yusuf did not tell them about himself, and so they decided to sell him as a slave, “And they took him secretly ˹to be sold˺ as merchandise.” The reason Yusuf did not tell them who he really was is that if they believed him, he would return to his father, and his brothers’ hatred for him would increase. And in the event that his brothers decided not to plot once more against Yusuf, the tension between them and their father would be worse than that of their betrayal of Yusuf. The convoy sold Yusuf for a small price, “just a few silver coins.” The great lesson learned here is that a person’s value is not measured by how much money they are worth, but by their closeness to Allah or their distance from Him.
لما أُخرج يوسف من البئر ورآه من أخرجه استبشر، وبشّر قومه أنه وجد غلاما ملقى في البئر. لعل يوسف عليه السلام لم يخبرهم بشأنه، فعزموا على بيعه على أنه غلام: وأسروه بضاعة. وعدم إخبار يوسف عن أمره وخبره لأنهم إن صدقوه فسيرجع إلى أبيه وسيزداد كيد الإخوة له، وإن تركوا الكيد له فسيكون بينهم وبين أبيهم من الشحناء ما هو أكبر من الكيد ليوسف. باعت القافلة يوسف عليه السلام بثمن قليل: بثمن بخس دراهم معدودة (سورة يوسف: 20). الدرس الجليل المستفاد هنا أن قيمة الإنسان ليست بالمال، إنما قيمته بقربه من الله وبعده عنه.
1. A Suggested Explanation for Yusuf’s Silence | تفسير مقترح لصمت يوسف
According to the answer’s suggested explanation, Yusuf’s decision not to identify himself was a reasoned judgment, weighing two outcomes and concluding that revealing his identity would only worsen the underlying family conflict. This maturity in a young boy facing an extreme situation foreshadows the wisdom he would show throughout the rest of the surah.
وفق التفسير المقترح في الإجابة، كان قرار يوسف بعدم الكشف عن هويته حكما مدروسا، إذ وازن بين احتمالين وخلص إلى أن الإفصاح عن هويته لن يزيد الصراع العائلي القائم إلا سوءا. ويُنبئ هذا النضج لدى صبي صغير يواجه موقفا بالغ القسوة بالحكمة التي سيظهرها طوال بقية السورة.
2. Protecting a Family He Had Every Reason to Resent | حماية عائلة كان له كل الحق في الاستياء منها
Remarkably, in the answer’s suggested explanation, Yusuf’s silence was partly motivated by concern for his brothers’ relationship with their father, the very brothers who had just betrayed him. In this suggested explanation, choosing to protect his family’s stability over his own immediate rescue, even from the people who wronged him, foreshadows the greater forgiveness he would show them years later when he finally had the power to punish them.
واللافت أن صمت يوسف، وفق التفسير المقترح في الإجابة، كان مدفوعا جزئيا بحرصه على علاقة إخوته بأبيهم، وهم أنفسهم الإخوة الذين خانوه للتو. واختياره، وفق هذا التفسير المقترح، حماية استقرار أسرته على حساب نجاته الفورية، حتى من الذين ظلموه، يُنبئ بالعفو الأعظم الذي سيمنحه لهم بعد سنوات حين تصبح بيده سلطة معاقبتهم.
3. A Price That Measured the Sellers, Not Yusuf | ثمن قاس البائعين لا يوسف
“A few silver coins, only wanting to get rid of him” describes people eager to be done with selling him, without appreciating his true worth. The lesson drawn here, that worth is measured by closeness to Allah rather than market price, gains force precisely because the person sold this cheaply would go on to hold one of the highest positions of power in Egypt.
“دراهم معدودة، وكانوا فيه من الزاهدين” وصف لأناس أرادوا فقط التخلص من بيعه دون تقدير قيمته الحقيقية. ويكتسب الدرس المستفاد هنا، أن القيمة تُقاس بالقرب من الله لا بسعر السوق، قوته تحديدا لأن من بيع بهذا الثمن الزهيد سيتولى لاحقا أحد أعلى مناصب السلطة في مصر.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why didn’t Yusuf tell the caravan who he really was?
The Quran does not say why. One suggested explanation is that he reasoned that revealing his identity would only worsen tensions between his brothers and their father.
What did the caravan do with Yusuf after finding him?
They sold him as a slave for a small price, just a few silver coins.
What lesson does the story draw from the low price?
That a person’s true value comes from their closeness to Allah, not from money or market price.