Surah 12. Yusuf, Ayah 20
| وَشَرَوْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَرَاهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ وَكَانُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الزَّاهِدِينَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- sharaw -hu bi- thaman bakhs daraahim macdodah wa- kaano fe -hi min az- zaahiden |
| Pickthall | : | And they sold him for a low price, a number of silver coins; and they attached no value to him. |
| Asad | : | And they sold him for a paltry price - a mere few silver coins: thus low did they value him. |
| Malik | : | They (brought him to Egypt and) sold him for a petty price, a few dirhams (silver coins), they had such a low estimation of him. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | The (Brethren) sold him for a miserable price for a few dirhams counted out: in such low estimation did they hold him! 1657 1658 |
Note - 1657Dirham: from Greek, drachma, a small silver coin, which
varied in weight and value at different times and in
different States.
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Note - 1658There was mutual deceit on both sides. The Brethren had
evidently been watching to see what happened to Joseph.
When they saw the merchants take him up and hide him,
they came to claim his price as a run away slave, but
dared not haggle over the price, lest their object, to
get rid of him, should be defeated. The merchants were
shrewd enough to doubt the claim in their own minds; but
they dared not haggle lest they should lose a very
valuable acquisition. And so the most precious of human
lives in that age was sold into slavery for a few silver
pieces!
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Dirham: from Greek, drachma, a small silver coin, which varied in weight and value at different times and in different States. |
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There was mutual deceit on both sides. The Brethren had evidently been watching to see what happened to Joseph. When they saw the merchants take him up and hide him, they came to claim his price as a run away slave, but dared not haggle over the price, lest their object, to get rid of him, should be defeated. The merchants were shrewd enough to doubt the claim in their own minds; but they dared not haggle lest they should lose a very valuable acquisition. And so the most precious of human lives in that age was sold into slavery for a few silver pieces! |
