Who Bought Yusuf in Egypt?
مَن اشترى يوسف عليه السلام في مصر؟
Al-Aziz of Egypt, the chief minister, bought him, and he told his wife to honour him, hoping he might benefit them as a servant benefits the one he serves, or that he might enjoy him as a father enjoys a son, because he could not have children. “The man from Egypt who bought him said to his wife, ‘Take good care of him, perhaps he may be useful to us or we may adopt him as a son.’ This is how We established Yusuf in the land, so that We might teach him the interpretation of dreams. Allah’s Will always prevails, but most people do not know” (Surah Yusuf 12:21).
اشتراه عزيز مصر وأمر زوجته بإكرامه، لعله ينفعهم كنفع الخادم للمخدوم، أو يستمتع به استمتاع الوالد بالولد، لأنه كان لا يولد له. قال الله تعالى: وَقَالَ الَّذِي اشْتَرَاهُ مِن مِّصْرَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ أَكْرِمِي مَثْوَاهُ عَسَىٰ أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٢١﴾ (سورة يوسف: 21).
1. Who “Al-Aziz” Actually Was | مَن العزيز؟
“Al-Aziz” was a title, not a personal name, referring to Egypt’s chief minister or treasurer, a position of major political and economic authority under the ruling king. This detail matters for the rest of the story, since it explains how a household of enormous social standing could later place Yusuf in a position to eventually rise to comparable power himself.
«العزيز» لقب لا اسم علم، ويُراد به كبير الوزراء أو القائم على خزائن مصر، وهو منصب ذو سلطان سياسي واقتصادي كبير تحت المَلِك. ولهذا التفصيل أهمية في بقية القصة، إذ يبيّن كيف أتاح بيتٌ بهذه المكانة الرفيعة ليوسف عليه السلام أن يبلغ بعد ذلك منزلة مماثلة.
2. A Household That Wanted a Child | بيتٌ يرجو الولد
Al-Aziz’s instruction to his wife, and his hope to take Yusuf as a son, reflect the couple’s circumstance, childlessness according to tafsir reports, which shaped how Yusuf was initially received into their home, with genuine warmth rather than as ordinary property. This context becomes important later in the surah, when the same household dynamic sets the stage for the trial Yusuf would face involving Al-Aziz’s wife.
تكشف وصية العزيز لامرأته، ورجاؤه أن يتخذه ابنًا، أنهما لم يُرزقا ولدًا، كما تذكر روايات التفسير، وهذا ما جعل استقبال يوسف عليه السلام في بيتهما أول الأمر استقبالًا فيه مودة صادقة، لا معاملة مملوك فحسب. ولهذا أثره بعد ذلك في السورة، إذ مهّدت أحوال هذا البيت نفسه للابتلاء الذي لقيه يوسف مع امرأة العزيز.
3. A Purchase That Was Really a Placement | شراءٌ كان في حقيقته تمكينًا
The same verse that names this sale also states plainly that Allah established Yusuf in the land through it, in order to teach him dream interpretation, the gift explored more fully in What Did Allah Teach Yusuf That No One Else Knew? What looked like an ordinary transaction from the outside was, in the Quran’s own framing, the beginning of Yusuf’s rise rather than merely another stage of his hardship.
وقد أخبر الله تعالى في الآية التي ذكر فيها هذا الشراء أنه مكّن به ليوسف في الأرض، (وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُ مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ) (يوسف 12: 21)، وهي الهبة التي بيّناها في جواب: ماذا علّم الله يوسف عليه السلام من تأويل الرؤى؟ فما بدا في الظاهر صفقة عادية كان، في بيان القرآن نفسه، بداية تمكين يوسف عليه السلام، لا مرحلة أخرى من محنته فحسب.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Who bought Yusuf in Egypt?
Al-Aziz, Egypt’s chief minister.
What did Al-Aziz instruct his wife to do?
To treat Yusuf with honor, with some tafsir reports describing them as childless.
Was this purchase purely coincidental?
No, the Quran states it was how Allah established Yusuf in the land to later teach him dream interpretation.