وَسْـَٔلِ ٱلْقَرْيَةَ ٱلَّتِى كُنَّا فِيهَا وَٱلْعِيرَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَقْبَلْنَا فِيهَا وَإِنَّا لَصَٰدِقُونَ
“Ask the township where we were, and the caravan with which we travelled hither. Lo! we speak the truth.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
This text indicates that the expression 'ask the village' in the story of Yusuf actually means 'ask the people of the village'; it emphasizes that the village or town in question is Egypt, and through figurative language (metonymy) in discourse, the place is mentioned while its inhabitants (people) are intended. Furthermore, according to the view of Ibn Zayd, this expression means that the brothers said to their father: 'If you do not believe us, ask the people of the city (Egypt) we are in.'
وإنما يريد: واسأل أهل القرية، وانتصبت القرية بانتصاب الأهل وقامت مقامه، ثم عطف قوله: ، فاكتفى بذكر القرية من ذكر أهلها، لمعرفة المخاطبين بذلك بمعناه
Zemahşerî12. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Zemahşerî, the 'village' referred to is Egypt; that is, it is requested that the people of the city be sent to and inquired about the true nature of the story and the caravan owners. It has been stated that these caravan owners were from the people of Canaan, a community that were neighbors of Jacob, and according to one view, it is also reported that they were from the people of Sanaa. In this case, the continuation of the story is understood as the brothers returning to their father and relaying what their brothers told them.
هي مصر ، أي أرسل إلى أهلها فسلهم عن كنه القصة وأصحاب العير ، وكانوا قوما من كنعان من جيران يعقوب . وقيل من أهل صنعاء
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, it is reported that in the story, to verify the truthfulness of the events narrated, it was proposed that a Canaanite community who traveled with the Children of Israel be questioned about this event. After they thoroughly solidified verification and confirmation, they spoke their words.
فقال المفسرون كان قد صحبهم قوم من الكنعانيين فقالوا : سلهم عن هذه الواقعة . ثم إنهم لما بالغوا في التأكيد والتقرير قالوا
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî indicates in this text that the word 'karn' (generation/era) expresses a period of time and reports different views that this period is sixty, seventy, eighty, or one hundred years; according to the majority of the scholars of hadith, a generation is one hundred years. Furthermore, he conveys that the expression 'ask the village' actually means asking the inhabitants of the village, according to some it refers to Egypt, and according to others even inanimate things can be made to speak in honor of the prophethood of Yusuf.
فالقرن على هذا مدة من الزمان قيل : ستون عاما وقيل : سبعون وقيل : ثمانون وقيل : مائة وعليه أكثر أصحاب الحديث أن القرن مائة سنة واحتجوا بأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لعبد الله بن بسر : ( تعيش قرنا ( فعاش مائة سنة
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, there is disagreement regarding what is meant by 'Egypt' (مصر) in the text; the view transmitted from Qatada is that it is Egypt, but according to another view, what is meant by this is another place or community with whom they are together with loyalty, trust and guardianship.
قيل المراد مصر قال قتادة وقيل غيرا أي التي رافقناها عن صدقنا وأمانتنا وحفظنا وحراستنا
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Beydâvî, Yusuf's brothers asked their father to say that according to the apparent condition of his son, he had stolen, but they only testified to what they knew (what appeared), and they could not know the inner truth of the matter or its outcome. The expression 'ask the city' refers to Egypt or a village near it, and it indicates that the matter should be verified by asking the people there or the caravan owners.
وما كنا للغيب لباطن الحال. حافظين فلا ندري أنه سرق أو سرق ودس الصواع في رحله، أو وما كنا للعواقب عالمين فلم ندر حين أعطيناك الموثق أنه سيسرق
Comparison
Common ground
Most of the exegetes agree that the expression 'village' is used in real terms not as a place, but as 'asking the people of that place' (metonymy with omission); furthermore, there is a common tendency that what is meant by 'village' could be Egypt, and it is emphasized that the caravan owners or the people of the city should be consulted for the purpose of verifying the story.
Differences
While Taberî and Kurtubî primarily ground the issue through language and rhetoric (ellipsis, metonymy, evidence), Zemahşerî, Râzî and Ibn Kesîr take a narration-focused approach by presenting different reports on whether the 'village' is Egypt or a community from the people of Canaan or Sanaa; Kurtubî also includes a separate linguistic-hadith discussion regarding the duration of the word 'karn' in the text; Beydâvî addresses the matter more from the perspective of the brothers' manner of expression and limitation of knowledge, listing linguistic possibilities.
Historical context
While the early exegete Taberî explains the matter primarily on the basis of language and narration, in later periods exegetes emphasizing rhetoric such as Zemahşerî and Beydâvî have deepened their analyses of metonymy and ellipsis, and exegetes such as Râzî and Ibn Kesîr have compiled and evaluated the differences between narrations; the fundamental interpretation (metonymy with omission meaning asking the people) has remained stable throughout the periods, with only the diversity of narrations and linguistic depth increasing.
Modern connection
This comparative reading points to the importance of resorting to direct witness and investigation when evaluating a report or claim; this approach can be related to cautious engagement with information in contemporary times, verification, and the virtue of patiently investigating truth. At the same time, the approach of not hastily judging in the face of uncertainties arising in family matters, but rather seeking evidence and testimony, can be cited as an example of preserving social trust and solidarity.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar