12:64-65
12:64
He said: “Shall I trust you with him with any result other than when I trusted you with his brother aforetime? But Allah is the best to take care (of him), and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!”
12:65
Then when they opened their baggage, they found their stock-in-trade had been returned to them. They said: “O our father! What (more) can we desire? this our stock-in- trade has been returned to us: so we shall get (more) food for our family; We shall take care of our brother; and add (at the same time) a full camel’s load (of grain to our provisions). This is but a small quantity.
Upon returning home, Joseph’s brothers did not accept their father’s initial refusal to allow Benjamin to accompany them on a future journey to Egypt. When they opened their saddle-bags, they discovered that the payment they had given in exchange for the grain had been secretly returned to them. This unexpected development indicated that they had effectively received the provisions without cost. The brothers interpreted this gesture as evidence of the generosity and goodwill of the Egyptian official who had overseen their transaction.
Recognizing the advantage of returning to Egypt under such favorable circumstances, they reasoned that if they complied with the official’s request and brought their younger brother with them, they would likely receive additional provisions. Their previous experience suggested that the official was willing to grant them substantial supplies, potentially equivalent to a full camel-load of grain. Consequently, they presented this reasoning to their father in an attempt to persuade him to permit Benjamin to accompany them on their next journey.
In making their argument, the brothers emphasized that the grain they had already received was modest compared to what they might obtain in the future if they satisfied the request of the Egyptian authority. They also suggested that Egypt appeared to possess abundant grain reserves, implying that providing another camel-load of provisions would be insignificant for a powerful official overseeing such plentiful resources.
References:
Yusuf Ali, Abdullah. Translation and Commentary
of the Quran. (Surah 12 verse 65).