Surah Yusuf · سُوْرَةُ يُوسُفَ · Juz 12
Q 12:18
وَجَآءُو عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِۦ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ ۚ قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ
Translations
And they brought upon his shirt false blood. [Jacob] said, "Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe."Ils apportèrent sa tunique tachée d'un faux sang. Il dit: «Vos âmes, plutôt, vous ont suggéré quelque chose... [Il ne me reste plus donc] qu'une belle patience! C'est Allah qu'il faut appeler au secours contre ce que vous racontez!»Tafsir
They confirmed their story with a trick. They brought the shirt of Joseph stained with the blood of something else, giving the impression that it was a sign of the wolf’s having eaten him. Jacob realised that they were lying, because the shirt was not torn, and he said to them: The matter is not as you have said. Instead, your souls have made an evil action that you committed seem good to you. I will exercise beautiful patience without any complaint. Allah is the One from Whom aid is requested against what you mention about the matter of Joseph.
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And they came to their father in the early part of the night weeping (16)They said: "O our father! We went racing with one another, and left Yusuf by our belongings and a wolf devoured him; but you will never believe us even when we speak the truth. (17)And they brought his shirt stained with false blood. He said: "Nay, but your own selves have made up a tale. So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that (lie) which you describe. (18)
Yusuf's Brothers try to deceive Their Father
Allah narrates to us the deceit that Yusuf's brothers resorted to, after they threw him to the bottom of the well. They went back to their father, during the darkness of the night, crying and showing sorrow and grief for losing Yusuf. They started giving excuses to their father for what happened to Yusuf, falsely claiming that,
إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقُ
(We went racing with one another), or had a shooting competition,
وَتَرَكْنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَاعِنَا
(and left Yusuf by our belongings), guarding our clothes and luggage,
فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ
(and a wolf devoured him), which is exactly what their father told them he feared for Yusuf and warned against. They said next,
وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَادِقِينَ
(but you will never believe us even when we speak the truth.) They tried to lessen the impact of the grave news they were delivering. They said, 'We know that you will not believe this news, even if you consider us truthful. So what about when you suspect that we are not truthful, especially since you feared that the wolf might devour Yusuf and that is what happened?' Therefore, they said, 'You have reason not to believe us because of the strange coincidence and the amazing occurrence that happened to us.'
وَجَاءُوا عَلَىٰ قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ
(And they brought his shirt stained with false blood.) on it, to help prove plot that they all agreed on. They slaughtered a sheep, according to Mujahid, As-Suddi and several other scholars, and stained Yusuf's shirt with its blood. They claimed that this was the shirt Yusuf was wearing when the wolf devoured him, being stained with his blood. But, they forgot to tear the shirt, and this is why Allah's Prophet Ya'qub did not believe them. Rather, he told them what he felt about what they said to him, thus refusing their false claim,
بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ
(Nay, but your ownselves have made up a tale. So (for me) patience is most fitting.) Ya'qub said, 'I will firmly observe patience for this plot on which you agreed, until Allah relieves the distress with His aid and compassion,
وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ
(And it is Allah (alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you describe.), against the lies and unbelievable incident that you said had occurred.'
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net