11835 - Abu ‘Aqil narrated to us, Yahya ibn Habib ibn Isma‘il, a descendant of Habib ibn Abi Thabit, narrated to us, Ja‘far ibn ‘Awn narrated to us, Hisham ibn Sa‘d informed us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, regarding the brothers of Yusuf taunting him: "If he steals, a brother of his has stolen before," he said: Yusuf was with his mother at an uncle of his. He said: He was a young boy, playing with the other boys, and they entered a temple of theirs, and he found a small idol of theirs made of gold, so he took it. That is the meaning of his brothers' saying: "If he steals, a brother of his has stolen before."

The Second Aspect:

11836 - al-Mundhir ibn Shadhan narrated to us, Zakariyya—meaning, ibn ‘Adi—narrated to us, Ibn Idris narrated to us, from his father, from ‘Atiyyah, regarding the saying of Allah: "If he steals, a brother of his has stolen before," he said: It was on the dining table, and he pulled a piece of meat, or he said: He hid it.

The Third Aspect:

11837 - ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, Muhammad ibn ‘Isa narrated to us, Salamah narrated to us, from Ibn Ishaq, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, who said: The first of the trials that befell Yusuf, according to what reached me, was that his paternal aunt, the daughter of Ishaq, who was the eldest of Ishaq’s children, had the girdle of Ishaq in her possession. They used to inherit it by seniority, and whoever possessed it was considered a peace-offering for the one he had authority over; he would not be contested regarding it, and he could do with him whatever he wished. When Yusuf was born to Ya‘qub, his paternal aunt had taken him into her care, so he was with her and under her authority. No one loved anything as much as she loved him. When he grew up and reached a few years of age, and the heart of Ya‘qub longed for him, he came to her and said: "O little sister, hand Yusuf over to me, for by Allah, I cannot bear for him to be absent from me for a single hour." She said: "And by Allah, I cannot bear for him to be absent from me for a single hour either." He said: "Then by Allah, I will not leave him behind." She said: "Leave him with me for a few days until I see him and find comfort in him, perhaps that will console me for his absence," or as she said. When Ya‘qub left her, she went to the girdle of Ishaq and fastened it around Yusuf beneath his clothes, then said: "I have lost the girdle of Ishaq, so look to see who took it and who has it." It was searched for, then she said: "Search the household," so they searched them and found it with Yusuf. She said: "By Allah, he is the submissive one (al-muslim). What shall I do? I shall do with him as I wish." He said: Ya‘qub came to her, and she told him the story. He said: "That is up to you. If he has done that, then he is yours, I cannot do anything else." So she kept him, and Ya‘qub could not regain him until she died. This is what the brothers of Yusuf meant when he did to his brother what he did.