Volume 10 Surah 12 - 15 - Enjoy Islam

Yūsuf (Joseph) | A FAVOURITE CHILD IS LOST
When the water-drawer sees Joseph, he lets out a cry: “What good luck. Here is a
boy!” Once again, all that follows is deleted: what was said, what action was taken,
and how pleased Joseph was when he was pulled out of the well. Instead, the sūrah
speaks immediately of his situation with the caravan: “They concealed him with a view
to selling him.” (Verse 19) This means that they considered him secret merchandise
and thereby something they could sell.
They realized that he was not a slave, which accounts for why they hid him. Then,
they sold him on the cheap: “And they sold him for a paltry price, a few silver coins.”
(Verse 20) That was their currency at the time. People only counted coins however
when the price was low, and weighed them when the price was high. Here the sūrah
speaks of counting the coins to indicate how cheaply they sold him.
“Thus low did they value him.” (Verse 20) They wanted rid of him quickly so that
they did not have to account for enslaving and selling a free child.
Thus the first trial in the life of this noble prophet is over.
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