Surah Yusuf · Ayah 17·Makkī

17

إِنَّا يُوسُفَ وَمَآ أَنتَ لَّنَا وَلَوْ ﴿١٧﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

They said, "O our father, indeed we went racing each other and left Joseph with our possessions, and a wolf ate him. But you would not believe us, even if we were truthful."

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 12 roots in 12 of 18 words

Rarest here: ذ-أ-ب 3× in the Qurʾān

Recitation · 22 points across 6 rule families

  • Madd ṭabīʿī14
  • Ghunnah2
  • Qalqalah1
  • Heavy rāʾ1
  • Ikhfāʾ3
  • Lām shamsiyyah1

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

18 words · 77 letters · 1 proper noun · āyah 17 of 111

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • إِذْ قَالُوا۟ لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِى ضَلَٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ

    When they said, "Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error.

  • قَالُوا۟ يَٰٓأَبَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأْمَ۫نَّا عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَنَٰصِحُونَ

    They said, "O our father, why do you not entrust us with Joseph while indeed, we are to him sincere counselors?

  • يُوسُفُ أَيُّهَا ٱلصِّدِّيقُ أَفْتِنَا فِى سَبْعِ بَقَرَٰتٍ سِمَانٍ يَأْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَسَبْعِ سُنۢبُلَٰتٍ خُضْرٍ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَٰتٍ لَّعَلِّىٓ أَرْجِعُ إِلَى ٱلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

    [He said], "Joseph, O man of truth, explain to us about seven fat cows eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry - that I may…

  • قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحْزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذْهَبُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَأْكُلَهُ ٱلذِّئْبُ وَأَنتُمْ عَنْهُ غَٰفِلُونَ

    [Jacob] said, "Indeed, it saddens me that you should take him, and I fear that a wolf would eat him while you are of him unaware."

  • قَالُوٓا۟ إِن يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِى نَفْسِهِۦ وَلَمْ يُبْدِهَا لَهُمْ قَالَ أَنتُمْ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تَصِفُونَ

    They said, "If he steals - a brother of his has stolen before." But Joseph kept it within himself and did not reveal it to them. He said, "You are worse in position, and Allah is…

  • قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ يُوسُفَ وَأَلْقُوهُ فِى غَيَٰبَتِ ٱلْجُبِّ يَلْتَقِطْهُ بَعْضُ ٱلسَّيَّارَةِ إِن كُنتُمْ فَٰعِلِينَ

    Said a speaker among them, "Do not kill Joseph but throw him into the bottom of the well; some travelers will pick him up - if you would do [something]."

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Yusuf 12:134 shared roots

    قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحْزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذْهَبُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَأْكُلَهُ ٱلذِّئْبُ وَأَنتُمْ عَنْهُ غَٰفِلُونَ

    ذ-أ-بذ-ه-بأ-ك-لق-و-ل

  • Yusuf 12:134 shared roots

    قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحْزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذْهَبُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَأْكُلَهُ ٱلذِّئْبُ وَأَنتُمْ عَنْهُ غَٰفِلُونَ

    ذ-أ-بذ-ه-بأ-ك-لق-و-ل

  • Yusuf 12:143 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ لَئِنْ أَكَلَهُ ٱلذِّئْبُ وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّآ إِذًا لَّخَٰسِرُونَ

    ذ-أ-بأ-ك-لق-و-ل

  • Yusuf 12:143 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ لَئِنْ أَكَلَهُ ٱلذِّئْبُ وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّآ إِذًا لَّخَٰسِرُونَ

    ذ-أ-بأ-ك-لق-و-ل

  • Ash-Shu'araa 26:1462 shared roots

    أَتُتْرَكُونَ فِى مَا هَٰهُنَآ ءَامِنِينَ

    ت-ر-كأ-م-ن

  • Ad-Dukhaan 44:363 shared roots

    فَأْتُوا۟ بِـَٔابَآئِنَآ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

    أ-ب-وص-د-قك-و-ن

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 12:17?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 12:17 include Quran 12:8 (Surah Yusuf), Quran 12:11 (Surah Yusuf), Quran 12:46 (Surah Yusuf), and Quran 12:13 (Surah Yusuf). For example, 12:8 reads: “When they said, "Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error.” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 12:17 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 12:17 (Surah Yusuf, Joseph) reads: “They said, "O our father, indeed we went racing each other and left Joseph with our possessions, and a wolf ate him. But you would not believe us, even if we were truthful."”

Which surah is verse 12:17 in?

Quran 12:17 is āyah 17 of Surah Yusuf (Joseph), chapter 12 of the Qurʾān — a Meccan (Makkī) surah of 111 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 12:17?

Tartīl presents Quran 12:17 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.