In this text, Fahreddin er-Râzî addresses the matter of Joseph being sold by his brothers for a small price. He states that the price was paid with a small number of dirhams (twenty or twenty-two dirhams), and the reason for this was the custom of counting small amounts and weighing large amounts. He also reports that the brothers were eleven in number and divided the dirhams among themselves, but that Judah received nothing.

وعن ابن عباس كانت عشرين درهما ، وعن السدي اثنين وعشرين درهما . قالوا والإخوة كانوا أحد عشر فكل واحد منهم أخذ درهمين إلا يهوذا لم يأخذ شيئا

According to Kurtubî, the actual purpose of those who sold Joseph (his brothers or the travelers who found him) was not to gain material profit from him, but to remove him from his father's presence; therefore, the payment they received was far below his real value, a low and insignificant price. Furthermore, various narrations and views are transmitted regarding whether the word 'bahs' means unlawful/oppression, the amount of the selling price (such as twenty, twenty-two, or forty dirhams), and that dirhams in that era were handled by counting rather than weighing. From this verse, a legal ruling is also derived regarding the permissibility of selling an important commodity for a small price and the binding nature of such a sale.

أي نقص وهو هنا مصدر وضع موضع الاسم أي باعوه بثمن مبخوس أي منقوص ولم يكن قصد إخوته ما يستفيدونه من ثمنه وإنما كان قصدهم ما يستفيدونه من خلو وجه أبيهم عنه

Ibn Kesîr states that the people who sold Joseph were his brothers, and that the buyers were the caravan of travelers; he emphasizes that the pronoun of the verb 'sharaw' (they sold) belongs to the brothers, because when the caravan found Joseph, they rejoiced and concealed him as merchandise; if they regarded him as worthless, they would not have sold him. He says that the word 'bahs' (low value) can mean unlawful or oppression, but what is intended here is not this, because this would be a well-known matter to everyone; the actual intention is that the brothers sold him for a very low price, with deficient or counterfeit money.

فترجح من هذا أن الضمير في ( شروه ) إنما هو لأخوته وقيل المراد بقوله ( بخس ) الحرام وقيل الظلم وهذا وإن كان كذلك لكن ليس هو المراد هنا لأن هذا معلوم يعرفه كل أحد

According to Beydâvî, the pronoun of the subject buying or selling Joseph is open to two possibilities: it could be his brothers or people in the caravan. The selling price called 'bahis' refers to dirhams that are deficient in quality or incomplete; their number is narrated as twenty or twenty-two dirhams. The expression 'Zâhidîn' (those who showed no interest) can apply to both the brothers and the caravan people who found and sold him; the brothers were already weary of him, while the caravan people did not value him because they made light of what they found and hastened to get rid of it, or because they thought he was an illegal slave.

بثمن بخس مبخوس لزيفه أو نقصانه. دراهم بدل من الثمن. معدودة قليلة فإنهم يزنون ما بلغ الأوقية ويعدون ما دونها. قيل كان عشرين درهما وقيل كان اثنين وعشرين درهما.

According to Taberî, when Joseph's brothers sold him, they sold him for 'bahs' (a low/deficient price); this sale and transaction itself is considered unlawful. Furthermore, the word 'bahs' is explained by some exegetes as oppression and by others as fewness/worthlessness. Taberî also reports that the brothers did not value Joseph and did not know his station before Allah and his prophethood.

البخس: هو الظلم، وكان بيع يوسف وثمنه حراما عليهم

According to Zemahşerî, the price for which Joseph was sold is below value, with incomplete measure or low quality; the payment is in the currency of dirhams, not dinars. The expression 'Ma'dûde' (counted) indicates that this amount was small, because the Arabs would weigh forty dirhams (an uqiyyah), but would count amounts below that. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that this amount was twenty dirhams, and from al-Suddi that it was twenty-two dirhams.

لأنهم كانوا لا يزنون إلا ما بلغ الأوقية وهي الأربعون ، ويعدون ما دونها