Transliteration:( Iz qaaloo la Yoosufu wa akhoohu ahabbu ilaaa Abeenaa minnaa wa nahnu 'usbatun; inna abaanaa lafee dalaalim mubeen )
15. It should be remembered that Hazrat Yaqoob on whom he peace) had two wives Rahil (Rachel) and Laya (Leah) and two slave girls Zulfah and Balha.Â
From these four he had welve sons and few daughters. From Laya he had six sons and one daughter. The sons were Rubal, Shamoon, Yahood, As-Sheejar, Zamayoon and Ladi; and from Rachel he had two sons Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) and Benyaamin; from the slave girl Zulfah he had tow sons Jaad and Ashar and from Balha he had two sons Daan and Niftaali. At first Rachel was barren. These children were born to her in old age and she died after giving birth to Benyaamin. At that time Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) was two years old. From his children Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) was the father's most favourite son.
16. By this is meant in Hazrat yaqoob's (on whom be peace) time of need we can render most service because we are a full group, young and healthy. They did not understand that since Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) lost his mother in his infancy the father would naturally be more kind and loving to him because he is without a mother. From this we learn that if you love some of your children more than the others it is not a bad thing. Weak and youngest children normally are well liked. However, being unjust to the children in any way is forbidden.
17. From this we learn disagreement with a Prophet's opinion is not infidelity because the brothers of Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace) brought pain upon Hazrat Yaqoob (on whom be peace) who was a Prophet, and declared his opinion as incorrect. But the Holy QUR'AAN did not declare this as infidelity, nor did Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace), after uniting with them, make them repent and read the Kalimah to make them believers again. Thus, because of his opposition to Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) Amir Muawiya cannot be called a sinner, etc. Here the word DALAAL will not be taken to mean misguidance, because to regard a prophet as misguided is an act of infidelity.
 The word here really means absorbed in the love of Hazrat Yusuf (on whom be peace)
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The tafsir of Surah Yusuf verse 8 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Yusuf ayat 7 which provides the complete commentary from verse 7 through 10.
(12:8) And call to mind when the brothers of Joseph conferred together and said: “Surely Joseph and his brother[8] are dearer to our father than we are, although we are a group of so many. Our father is clearly mistaken.[9]
8. This brother was Benjamin. He was the real younger brother of Prophet Joseph, and was his junior by many years. Their mother had died at the birth of Benjamin. That is why Prophet Jacob paid special attention to these two motherless children. Besides, Joseph was the only son, in whom he had discerned signs of righteousness and capabilities. Accordingly, when Prophet Joseph narrated his dream to him, he was all the more convinced of his future greatness, and was perturbed at the idea lest his brothers conspired against him out of envy, if they came to know of his dream, which was self explanatory. For Prophet Jacob knew that his other ten sons were not of the right type, and this was proved by the subsequent events. Therefore, naturally he was not happy with them. It is, however, strange that the Bible gives a different reason for the envy his brothers bore against Prophet Joseph. They were filled with envy against him because Joseph gave unto his father their evil report.
9. In order to grasp the full significance of the grievance the ten sons had against their father for neglecting them, we should keep in view the conditions of the clannish life. As there was no established state, each clan led its own independent life side by side with other clans. It is obvious that the power of the head of the clan depended entirely on the number of sons and grandsons, and brothers and nephews he had to defend the life, honor and property of the family. Therefore, the one leading the clannish life naturally paid more attention to his own grown up sons, etc., than to children and women of the family. As Prophet Jacob was leading clannish life, these sons of his expected a preferential treatment from him, but the Prophet thought otherwise. So they remarked: Truly our father seems to have lost his balance of mind; otherwise he could not have neglected us, and loved our two younger brothers more than us, for we are strong young men and can stand him in good stead at the time of need while these youngsters are useless as they themselves stand in need of protection.
[585]- Benjamin, who was born of the same mother as Joseph.
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