وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِى ٱشْتَرَىٰهُ مِن مِّصْرَ لِٱمْرَأَتِهِۦٓ أَكْرِمِى مَثْوَىٰهُ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَنفَعَنَآ أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُۥ وَلَدًا وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُۥ مِن تَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحَادِيثِ
"The man in Egypt who bought him said to his wife: 'Treat him well; perhaps he will be of use to us, or we may take him as a son.' Thus did We establish Joseph in that land — and that We might teach him the interpretation of events. God prevails in His affair; but most people do not know."
The construction (taʾwīlu'l-aḥādīth) occurs here for the second time, and I tabulated it in the section on the structure of the sūra. Its place here is worth recording, and I give this as my own reading:
The promise was given in the sixth verse — but Joseph was then in his father's house. Now the way of the promise's fulfilment is told, and that way is this: the well, the sale, and another man's house. That is, the text ties the fulfilment of the promise not to a good turn of events but to the very opposite.
وَلِنُعَلِّمَهُۥ — the وَ and the لِ at its head must be recorded. The lām al-taʿlīl, the lām of purpose: "that We might teach". And there is a ḥadhf (an ellipsis) in the grammar of the sentence: "thus We established him [and We did it for this:] that We might teach him. The lexicographers explain this structure as a listing of causes of which some are left unsaid.
The root م-ك-ن: to have a place, to become firm. The root was analysed at al-Muʾminūn 23/13 (fī qarārin makīn), and the use in this very sūra was cited there: innaka'l-yawma ladaynā makīnun amīn (12/54). The same link was made at al-Mursalāt 77/20-23 as well. I rely on that treatment.
And it must be recorded that the verb occurs twice in the sūra, both times in exactly the same words:
| Verse | Expression | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Wa-kadhālika makkannā li-Yūsufa fi'l-arḍ | The day he was sold as a slave |
| 56 | Wa-kadhālika makkannā li-Yūsufa fi'l-arḍ | The day he was put in charge of the treasuries |
This is a countable repetition within the sūra: the same sentence, at the two extremes. And I add as my own reading: the word for "establishing" is used both for the lowest position and for the highest. The text counts the two as two moments of the same verb.
| Reading | Sense |
|---|---|
| 1 | The pronoun belongs to God: "God prevails in His own affair" — what He wills comes to pass |
| 2 | The pronoun belongs to Joseph: "God prevails over his affair" — the decree concerning him takes effect |
أَكْرِمِى مَثْوَىٰهُ — "make his lodging honourable". The root ث-و-ي: to halt in a place, to reside. And the word will come back in verse 23 in Joseph's mouth: innahu rabbī aḥsana mathwāya — "my master treated me well". The same root, two verses apart, about the same person.