How Did Yusuf’s Brothers React to Feeling Less Loved by Their Father?
كيف كان رد فعل إخوة يوسف لشعورهم بأن أباهم يحبه أكثر منهم؟
They conspired against him to keep him away from his father, by killing him or taking him away to a distant land. The brothers knew that what they were planning was a great sin, but they conspired against him anyway and vowed to repent afterwards, intending repentance before committing the sin: “then after that you may ˹repent and˺ become righteous people.” “˹Remember˺ when they said ˹to one another˺, ‘Surely Joseph and his brother ˹Benjamin˺ are more beloved to our father than we, even though we are a group of so many. Indeed, our father is clearly mistaken. Kill Joseph or cast him out to some ˹distant˺ land so that our father’s attention will be only ours, then after that you may ˹repent and˺ become righteous people!’ One of them said, ‘Do not kill Joseph. But if you must do something, throw him into the bottom of a well so perhaps he may be picked up by some travellers.'” (Surah Yusuf 12:8-10). The lesson for parents is being just when dealing with children. And the lesson for the children is to know that parents do not have control over their hearts and feelings, as in the hadith, “O Allah, this is my division in what I possess, so do not blame me for what You possess and I do not” (Sunan Abi Dawud 2134, Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 1140; graded weak by al-Albani). Note: the original answer quoted the hadith as “so do not hold me to account for what I do not possess”; the wording in the hadith collections is “so do not blame me for what You possess and I do not”, so it has been corrected.
تآمروا عليه ليبعدوه عن أبيه، عن طريق قتله أو تغييبه عن أبيه في أرض بعيدة. وكان الإخوة يعلمون أن ذلك ذنب عظيم، ولذلك تآمروا عليه وتعاهدوا على التوبة بعد ذلك: وَتَكُونُوا مِن بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ ﴿٩﴾. إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٨﴾ اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا مِن بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ ﴿٩﴾ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ لَا تَقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ وَأَلْقُوهُ فِي غَيَابَتِ الْجُبِّ يَلْتَقِطْهُ بَعْضُ السَّيَّارَةِ إِن كُنتُمْ فَاعِلِينَ ﴿١٠﴾ (سورة يوسف: 8-10). الدرس للآباء هو العدالة في التعامل مع الأبناء. والدرس للأبناء أن يعرفوا أن الوالدين لا يملكون قلوبهم، كما في الحديث: “اللهم هذا قسمي فيما أملك، فلا تلمني فيما تملك ولا أملك” (سنن أبي داود 2134، جامع الترمذي 1140، وضعفه الألباني). ملاحظة: ورد الحديث في الجواب الأصلي بلفظ “فلا تؤاخذني فيما لا أملك”، ولفظه في كتب السنة: “فلا تلمني فيما تملك ولا أملك”، فصُحّح.
1. Planning to Repent Before Even Sinning | التخطيط للتوبة قبل ارتكاب الذنب
Their stated intention, “after that you will be righteous folk,” reveals they knew in advance that what they were about to do was wrong, yet they proceeded anyway, planning repentance as a kind of insurance rather than letting that awareness stop them. Ibn Kathir notes that they resolved on repentance before committing the sin; it is a warning against treating future repentance as license for present wrongdoing.
تكشف نيتهم المعلنة، “وتكونوا من بعده قوما صالحين”، أنهم عرفوا مسبقا أن ما كانوا على وشك فعله خطأ، ومع ذلك مضوا فيه، مخططين للتوبة نوعا من التأمين بدلا من أن يمنعهم هذا الوعي. وقال ابن كثير: فأضمروا التوبة قبل الذنب، وفي هذا تحذير من معاملة التوبة المستقبلية رخصة لخطأ حاضر.
2. A Single Voice That Softened the Plan | صوت واحد خفف من حدة الخطة
Among the brothers, one voice objected specifically to murder and proposed the well instead, a detail the Quran preserves even amid collective wrongdoing. Not every brother was equally committed to the worst outcome, and this brother’s intervention is what kept Yusuf alive.
من بين الإخوة، اعترض صوت واحد تحديدا على القتل واقترح البئر بدلا منه، تفصيل يحفظه القرآن حتى وسط خطأ جماعي. فليس كل أخ كان ملتزما بالنتيجة الأسوأ بالتساوي، وتدخل هذا الأخ هو ما أبقى يوسف حيا.
3. A Hadith About Feelings a Parent Cannot Control | حديث عن مشاعر لا يملكها الوالد
The hadith quoted here is recorded by Abu Dawud (2134), At-Tirmidhi (1140), Ibn Majah (1971) and An-Nasa’i (3943); al-Albani graded it weak, and At-Tirmidhi judged the version without Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in its chain (mursal) to be more correct. In it the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said this regarding fairness among his own wives, distinguishing between what a person can control, their outward actions and material fairness, and what they cannot fully control, the natural inclination of the heart. Applied to Yaqoub’s situation, this hadith clarifies that a parent’s duty is just treatment in action, not an impossible equal division of feeling, a distinction the brothers’ own reaction failed to make.
الحديث المذكور هنا رواه أبو داود (2134) والترمذي (1140) وابن ماجه (1971) والنسائي (3943)، وضعفه الألباني، ورجح الترمذي روايته المرسلة، وفيه يُروى أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال هذا بشأن العدل بين زوجاته، مميزا بين ما يستطيع الإنسان التحكم فيه، أفعاله الظاهرة والعدل المادي، وما لا يستطيع التحكم فيه تماما، ميل القلب الطبيعي. وحين يُطبق هذا الحديث على موقف يعقوب، يوضح أن واجب الوالد هو المعاملة العادلة في الفعل، لا تقسيم مستحيل للمشاعر بالتساوي، تمييز فشل رد فعل الإخوة أنفسهم في إدراكه.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did Yusuf’s brothers react to their father’s love for him?
They conspired to remove him from the household entirely, either by killing him or exiling him.
Did they intend to kill Yusuf?
One brother objected to murder and proposed throwing him into a well instead, which is what ultimately happened.
What lesson does this story teach parents?
To be just in how they treat their children, since jealousy over perceived favoritism can lead to grave consequences.