“They said: ‘The penalty thereof is that he in whose bag it is found shall himself be (held as bondsman) in
Tafseer
This means he will become a slave, and this was the law Ya‘qub (‘alayhi salaam) and the children of Isra‘il at the time.
This was the Shari‘ah that Allah had given to Ya‘qub, and of course Yusuf knows his own Shari‘ah.
He is the son of Ya‘qub and knows his own Shari‘ah, and he wants his Shari‘ah to be applied in a land where Allah’s Shari‘ah is not applied.
How can he do so?
He allows them the opportunity to tell him how he should be punished.
He knows what they are going to say, and they say the Shari‘ah that is their father’s Shari‘ah.
They say,
“The penalty is that whoever is caught stealing shall become a slave to the one whom he stole from.”
“‘This is how we deal with the transgressors.’”
This was the law of the Shari‘ah of Ya‘qub (‘alayhi salaam).
Reflection
‣ They said “whoever’s load you find the goblet in, he can be a slave.”
‣ Thief in the shari’ah in prophet Ibrahim, if someone steals from someone and is caught,
he becomes the slave of that person Verse 76:
Lesson
When one wishes to do something, he must exert all
means and efforts to make it
successful.