Commentary on the verse “Thus did We plan for Yoosuf” [Yoosuf 12:76] and what this plan brought of goodness and blessings to him and to his father and his brothers
Question

                The other day, a question poped up.

It said that in Surah Yusuf Verses 70-77 that Nabi Yusuf (SubhanAllah) lied.

That there was deception and tampering with evidence in the process.

And that in Verse 76, Allah said...Thus did we plan for Yusuf (Joseph)...

That Allah planed a way for Yusuf to deceive and lie in order to get what he wanted since the
brothers didnt actually take the cup.

Please I would like to know how to answer this dreadful claim as I have very little knowledge of the Al Quran.
Praise be to Allah.
	Firstly:

	Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the most truthful 
	of speakers. He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“And who is truer in statement 
	than Allah?”

	[an-Nisa’ 4:87]

	“and whose words can be truer 
	than those of Allah?”

	[an-Nisa’ 4:122].

	So it is not permissible to attribute any kind of lie to 
	Allah, may He be exalted, for Allah is majestic, exalted and holy, and He is 
	far above any such thing. The Prophet of Allah Yoosuf (peace be upon him) 
	was a Prophet and a siddeeq (one who is strong and true in faith); the word 
	siddeeq is an intensive form of noun and comes from a root meaning true and 
	sincere. ar-Raazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

	Siddeeq is a word that describes anyone whose habit and 
	custom is to be truthful. End quote.

	Tafseer ar-Raazi 
	(10/133).

	Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

	The siddeeq is the one whose actions confirm his words. End 
	quote.

	Tafseer al-Qurtubi 
	(5/272)

	Secondly:

	Allah, may He be exalted, says in the story of Yoosuf (peace 
	be upon him) and his brothers (interpretation of the meaning):

	“So when he had furnished them 
	forth with their provisions, he put the (golden) bowl into his brother’s 
	bag, then a crier cried: ‘O you (in) the caravan! Surely, you are thieves!’
They, 
	turning towards them, said: ‘What is it that you have missed?’
They said: 
	‘We have missed the (golden) bowl of the king and for him who produces it is 
	(the reward of) a camel load; I will be bound by it.’
They said: 
	‘By Allah! Indeed you know that we came not to make mischief in the land, 
	and we are no thieves!’
They (Yoosuf’s 
	(Joseph) men) said: ‘What then shall be the penalty of him, if you 
	are (proved to be) liars?’
They (Yoosuf’s 
	(Joseph) brothers) said: ‘The penalty should be that he, in whose bag it is 
	found, should be held for the punishment (of the crime). Thus we punish the 
	Zalimoon (wrong-doers, etc.)!’
So he 
	began (the search) in their bags before the bag of his brother. Then he 
	brought it out of his brother’s bag. Thus did We plan for Yoosuf (Joseph). 
	He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as a slave), except 
	that Allah willed it. (So Allah made the brothers to bind themselves with 
	their way of ‘punishment, i.e. enslaving of a thief.’) We raise to degrees 
	whom We please, but over each one who is possessed of knowledge is one more 
	knowing.
They ((Yoosuf’s 
	(Joseph) brothers) said: ‘If he steals, there was a brother of his (Yoosuf 
	(Joseph)) who did steal before (him).’ But these things did Yoosuf (Joseph) 
	keep in himself, revealing not the secrets to them. He said (within 
	himself): ‘You are in worst case, and Allah knows best the truth of what you 
	assert!’”

	[Yoosuf 12:70-77].

	Shaykh as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

	“So when he had furnished them forth with their provisions” 
	that is, when he had weighed out provisions for each of his brothers, 
	including this brother,

	“he put the (golden) bowl” which was a vessel from 
	which he drank, and also used for measuring “into his brother’s bag, 
	then” they loaded up their luggage, but when they set out, “then a crier 
	cried: ‘O you (in) the caravan! Surely, you are thieves!’” Perhaps this 
	caller did not know what was really going on. 

They namely the brothers of Yoosuf “turning towards them” 
	– they had no concern except to dispel the accusation that had been made 
	against them, so they said: “What is it that you have missed?’” And 
	they did not say, “What have we stolen?” because they were certain that they 
	were innocent of theft. 

	“They said: ‘We have missed the (golden) bowl of the king 
	and for him who produces it is (the reward of) a camel load” that is, as 
	a reward for finding it

	“I will be bound by it” that is, I guarantee it – this 
	was said by the caller who was looking for it. 

	“They said: ‘By Allah! Indeed you know that we came not to 
	make mischief in the land” by committing all kinds of sins

	“and we are no thieves”, for stealing is one of the 
	worst kinds of making mischief in the land. They only swore because they 
	were confident that the Egyptians were aware that they were not making 
	mischief and were not thieves, as they knew them very well and were aware 
	that they were people of dignity and piety, who could not have committed 
	this theft; those who accused them knew that they could not have done that. 
	This is a more eloquent way of refuting the accusation than saying “By Allah 
	we did not make mischief in the land and we did not steal anything.” 

	“They (Yoosuf’s (Joseph) men) said: ‘What then shall be 
	the penalty, if you are (proved to be) liars?”

	 “They (Yoosuf’s (Joseph) brothers) said: ‘The penalty 
	should be that he, in whose bag it is found, should be held for the 
	punishment (of the crime)” that is, the one in whose saddle-bag it is 
	found should become the slave of the owner of the stolen item. According to 
	their religion, if the thief was proven to be guilty, he would become the 
	property of the owner of the stolen wealth. Hence they said: “Thus we 
	punish the Zalimoon (wrong-doers, etc.)!’”

	“So he” the inspector “began (the search) in their 
	bags before the bag of his brother”, so that there would be no suspicion 
	that it had been done deliberately. When he did not find anything in their 
	baggage,

	“Then he brought it out of his brother’s bag”. It does 
	not say “he found it” or “his brother stole it”, so as to reflect the 
	reality of the situation.

	Thus Yoosuf accomplished what he wanted to do of keeping his 
	brother with him in such a way that his other brothers would not realise it, 
	Allah says (sa): “Thus did We plan for Yoosuf (Joseph)” that is, We 
	made easy for him this plan which enabled him to achieve something that was 
	not blameworthy

	“He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as 
	a slave)” because there was nothing in that law that allowed enslavement 
	of the thief; rather they had some other penalty in such cases. Therefore if 
	the ruling had been referred to the king’s law, Yoosuf would not have been 
	able to keep his brother with him. But he made the ruling come from them, so 
	that he might achieve his aim.

	“We raise to degrees whom We please” by means of 
	beneficial knowledge and knowledge of ways and means of achieving desired 
	goals, as We raised Yoosuf in status

	“but over each one who is possessed of knowledge is one 
	more knowing.” Above each one who has knowledge is one who is more 
	knowledgeable than him, until knowledge ends with the Knower of the unseen 
	and the seen.

	When the brothers of Yoosuf saw what happened, “They said: 
	‘If he” – namely this brother – “steals”, there is nothing surprising about 
	that, because “there was a brother of his (Yoosuf (Joseph)) who did steal 
	before (him).”  They were referring to Yoosuf (as); what they meant by 
	saying this was to declare their own innocence. In other words: this one and 
	his brother may commit acts of theft, but they are not our full brothers.

	These words implied a great deal of disparagement, but Yoosuf 
	kept his thoughts to himself “revealing not the secrets to them” that 
	is, he did not respond to their words in a way that would be displeasing to 
	them; rather he restrained his anger and kept it to himself.

	“He said (within himself): ‘You are in worst case” 
	because you blamed us when you are worse than us in that regard

	“and Allah knows best the truth of what you assert” 
	against us, that is, He knows better than others, as you are accusing us of 
	theft when Allah knows that we are innocent.
Tafseer 
	as-Sa‘di (p. 402)
This was not 
	any kind of lying or prohibited deceit on the part of Yoosuf (peace be upon 
	him); rather it was good planning that Allah planned for him so as to 
	complete His blessing upon him and reunite him with his parents and family, 
	and so that his brothers might repent, and so that He might highlight to 
	them the wrong that they had done towards their father and their two 
	brothers, and so that Allah might complete His blessing upon their father 
	Ya‘qoob (peace be upon him) and restore to him his son after a lengthy 
	absence and great suffering. So Allah, may He be exalted, ordained this good 
	and blessed plan for His Prophet, so that these blessings might be attained 
	by all concerned. This does not come under the heading of wrongdoing, enmity 
	and prohibited deceit – Allah forbid.
The caller 
	who cried out “‘O you (in) the caravan! Surely, you are thieves!’” 
	thought that they were the ones who had stolen the king’s bowl, so he cried 
	out on the basis of what he knew; so he was not lying.
What Yoosuf 
	(peace be upon him) meant was that they had stolen from his father, and he 
	spoke the truth. This comes under the heading of double entendres by means 
	of which the truth may be found out and proof established. 
Ibn al-Jawzi 
	(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If it is 
	said: How could it have been permissible for Yoosuf to accuse of theft 
	someone who had not stolen anything? There are four answers to this 
	question:

	1.
	That what is meant is: You stole Yoosuf when you cut him off from his father 
	and threw him into the well. This was the view of az-Zajjaaj.

	2.
	That when the caller said this, he did not know that Yoosuf had issued 
	instructions that the bowl be placed in his brother’s bag, so he was not 
	lying when he said it. This was the view of Ibn Jareer.

	3.
	That the caller cried out, accusing them of theft, without any instructions 
	from Yoosuf to do so.

	4.
	That what is meant is: You are thieves as it appears to one who is not aware 
	of the reality of your situation; this is like the verse in which Allah says 
	(interpretation of the meaning): “Taste you (this)! Verily, you were 
	(pretending to be) the mighty, the generous” [ad-Dukhaan 44:49] – i.e., 
	in your own mind you were mighty and generous, but not in Our view. And the 
	Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Ibraaheem told 
	three untruths” i.e., he said words that seemed to be lies, but they were 
	not really lies.   
End quote 
	from Zaad al-Maseer (2/457)
Shaykh 
	al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What Yoosuf 
	(peace be upon him) meant was: You stole Yoosuf from his father, and he was 
	telling the truth when he said that.
What the 
	caller meant was: You stole the bowl; he thought that they had stolen it, 
	and he did not deliberately intend to lie, even though what he said was 
	untrue. End quote.
Majmoo‘ 
	al-Fataawa (16/451). See also: al-Fataawa 
	al-Kubra (6/127)
Ibn al-Qayyim 
	(may Allah have mercy on him) said in Ighaathat al-Lahfaan (2/118):
Allah, may He 
	be exalted, inspired the brothers of Yoosuf (peace be upon him) to say: “The 
	penalty should be that he, in whose bag it is found, should be held for the 
	punishment (of the crime)” – this was a plan from Allah, may He be 
	exalted, in support of Yoosuf (peace be upon him) that He caused to be 
	uttered by his brothers. It was beyond Yoosuf’s control.
They could 
	have avoided that by saying “There is no penalty for him unless it is proven 
	that he is the one who stole it”, because the mere fact that it was found in 
	his bag did not necessarily mean that he was a thief. But Yoosuf (peace be 
	upon him) was just and would not have held them responsible without proof.
They could 
	also have avoided that by saying “His penalty should be the same as whatever 
	you do to thieves according to your law.” The custom according to the law of 
	the king of Egypt – as was narrated – was that the thief would be beaten and 
	fined double the value of the stolen property. If they had said that, he 
	could not have imposed upon them what he did not impose upon others; 
	therefore Allah, may He be glorified, says: “Thus did We plan for Yoosuf 
	(Joseph). He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as a slave), 
	except that Allah willed it.” 
In other 
	words, he could not have taken him according to the law of the king of 
	Egypt, because in his law there was no way for him to take him.
The words “except 
	that Allah willed it” may mean: except that Allah willed that he should 
	take him by some other means. Or it may be that what is meant is: except 
	that Allah brought about some other means for him to take him according to 
	the law of the king, other than theft. End quote.
See also: 
	I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een (3/168)
Ibn Katheer 
	(may Allah have mercy on him):
“Thus did 
	We plan for Yoosuf (Joseph)” – this comes under the heading of planning 
	for good and to achieve that which Allah loves and is pleased with, because 
	of what it involves of wisdom and achieving the desired purpose. End quote.
Tafseer 
	Ibn Katheer (4/401)
The point is 
	that none of that comes under the heading of lying whatsoever; rather it 
	comes under the heading of good double entendres which, among other things, 
	lead to: the truth becoming manifest; the wrongdoers acknowledging their 
	mistake and repenting from it and seeking forgiveness from the one who was 
	wronged; bringing about reunion of the family; fulfilling the promise of 
	Allah to Ya‘qoob and Yoosuf (peace be upon them both); bringing about 
	Allah’s support to the one who had been wronged and fulfilling His plan for 
	him. All of this is part of the immense blessings that they attained through 
	these double entendres that were not lies, even though one who did not 
	understand the reality of the situation might think them to be lies.
And Allah 
	knows best.