AND WHEN [the sons of Jacob] presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his brother [Benjamin] unto himself, saying [to him in secret]: "Behold, I am thy brother! So grieve thou not over their past doings!" 69 And [later,] when he had provided them with their provisions, he placed the [King's] drinking-cup in his brother's camel-pack. And [as they were leaving the city,] a herald called out: "O you people of the caravan! Verily, you are thieves! 70 Turning towards the herald and his companions, the brothers asked: "What is it that you miss?" 71 "We miss the royal measuring bowl," he replied. "He who brings it shall have a camel-load of corn. I pledge my word for it." 72 They said: By Allah! you know for certain that we have not come to make mischief in the land, and we are not thieves. 73 They said, 'And what shall be its recompense if you are liars?' 74 [The brothers] replied: "Its requital? He in whose camel-pack [the cup] is found - he shall be [enslaved as] a requital thereof! Thus do we [ourselves] requite the doers of [such] wrong. 75 So he [Yusuf (Joseph)] 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 Yusuf (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 all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing (Allah). 76 ۞ Said the brothers: "If he has stolen (no wonder), his brother had stolen before." But Joseph kept this secret and did not disclose it to them, and said (to himself): "You are worse in the degree of evil, for God knows better of what you allege." 77 They said: 'Mighty prince, his father is old, advanced in years, take one of us instead of him. We can see you are amongst the gooddoers' 78 He said, "[I seek] the refuge of Allah [to prevent] that we take except him with whom we found our possession. Indeed, we would then be unjust." 79