What Happened to Yusuf After He Was Pulled Out of the Well?
ماذا جرى ليوسف عليه السلام 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. وإنما لم يخبر 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 | تعليلٌ مقترح لسكوت يوسف عليه السلام
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.
على التعليل الذي يقترحه الجواب، كان سكوت يوسف عليه السلام عن التعريف بنفسه رأيًا مدروسًا، إذ وازن بين احتمالين، فرأى أن الإفصاح عن أمره لن يزيد الخلاف في أسرته إلا شدة. وفي هذا النضج من غلام صغير في موقف بالغ القسوة إرهاصٌ بالحكمة التي يظهرها في بقية السورة.
2. Protecting a Family He Had Every Reason to Resent | حرصٌ على أسرة كان له أن يعتب عليها
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 سكوته، على هذا التعليل، كان من دوافعه حرصه على ما بين إخوته وأبيهم، وهم الإخوة الذين غدروا به للتو. فإيثاره، على هذا التعليل، سلامة أسرته على نجاته العاجلة، حتى مع مَن ظلموه، إرهاصٌ بالعفو الأعظم الذي منحهم إياه بعد سنين، حين صار قادرًا على معاقبتهم.
3. A Price That Measured the Sellers, Not Yusuf | ثمنٌ كشف حال البائعين لا قدر 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.
وفي قوله تعالى: (دَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ) (يوسف 12: 20) وصفٌ لقوم لم يريدوا إلا التخلص منه ببيعه، دون أن يقدّروا قدره. ويقوى الدرس المستفاد هنا، أن القيمة تُقاس بالقرب من الله لا بسعر السوق، لأن مَن بيع بهذا الثمن الزهيد تولّى بعد ذلك واحدًا من أعلى المناصب 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.