قَالُوا۟ يَٰٓأَبَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأْمَ۫نَّا عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَنَٰصِحُونَ · أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرْتَعْ وَيَلْعَبْ
Qālū yā abānā mā laka lā taʾmannā ʿalā Yūsufa wa-innā lahu la-nāṣiḥūn · Arsilhu maʿanā ghadan yartaʿ wa-yalʿab wa-innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn · Qāla innī la-yaḥzununī an tadhhabū bihi wa-akhāfu an yaʾkulahu'dh-dhiʾbu wa-antum ʿanhu ghāfilūn · Qālū la-in akalahu'dh-dhiʾbu wa-naḥnu ʿuṣbatun innā idhan la-khāsirūn
"They said: 'Our father! Why do you not trust us with Joseph? We wish him nothing but good. Send him with us tomorrow, that he may roam and play; we will certainly keep him safe.' He said: 'It grieves me that you should take him away; and I fear a wolf may eat him while you are heedless of him.' They said: 'If a wolf were to eat him while we are a band, then we should indeed be losers.'"
The scene runs on speech alone, and in four verses there are four separate moves. I record this as an observation, and its ground is the order of the verses:
| Verse | Move | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Reproach — "why do you not trust us?" | The brothers |
| 12 | Request + guarantee — "send him; we will keep him" | The brothers |
| 13 | Two grounds — I shall grieve, I fear | The father |
| 14 | Refutation of the ground — "while we are a band" | The brothers |
And it is striking: of the two grounds the father gives, only one is answered. The father said "I shall grieve" and "I fear a wolf may eat him"; the brothers answered only the wolf. The grief was left unanswered. I record this as my own reading; its ground is the comparison of verses 13 and 14.
The verb is lā taʾmanunā, and in the orthography of the muṣḥaf the two nūns are written joined. The reciters differ over the pronunciation of this word — two pronunciations, called ishmām and ikhtilās, are transmitted. The difference lies in the utterance and does not change the meaning; for that reason I do not go into its detail.
Root أ-م-ن. And the return of this word within the sūra must be recorded: the same root will come back in verse 64 in the father's mouth: hal āmanukum ʿalayhi illā kamā amintukum ʿalā akhīhi min qabl — "Shall I entrust him to you as I entrusted his brother to you before?"
| Verse | Expression | Who says it |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Mā laka lā taʾmannā | The brothers — "why do you not trust us?" |
| 64 | Hal āmanukum … illā kamā amintukum | The father — an answer with the same root, years later |
The root ر-ت-ع: an animal grazing freely in the pasture; from this, to move about at ease in plenty. ل-ع-ب: to play.
And the content of the request is worth recording: not a task — roaming and play. I give this as an observation: the invitation is made with the most harmless-looking thing.
And there is a detail worth recording: the first to mention the wolf is the father (13). The brothers will use the pretext afterwards (17). That is, the excuse is borrowed from the one who voiced the fear. I record this as my own reading; its ground is the order of verses 13 and 17.