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 When he had furnished them with provisions, he placed the King's drinking cup in his own brother's baggage. Then someone shouted, "People of the caravan, you are thieves!" 70 They answered and turned towards them, “What is it you cannot find?” 71 They said: "We have missed the (golden) bowl of the king and for him who produces it is (the reward of) a camel load; I will be bound by it." 72 They said, "By Allah, you have certainly known that we did not come to cause corruption in the land, and we have not been thieves." 73 The officials said: "If you are lying, what will be the penalty for him who has stolen?" 74 "The punishment for that (should be)," they said, "that he in whose luggage it is found should be held as punishment. This is how we repay the wrong-doers." 75 So he began [the search] with their bags before the bag of his brother; then he extracted it from the bag of his brother. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his brother within the religion of the king except that Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We will, but over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing. 76 ۞ They said: "If he steals, there was a brother of his who did steal before (him)." But these things did Joseph keep locked in his heart, revealing not the secrets to them. He (simply) said (to himself): "Ye are the worse situated; and Allah knoweth best the truth of what ye assert!" 77 They said: "O powerful chief (al-aziz)! His father is an age-stricken man, (and in order that he may not suffer) seize one of us in his stead. We indeed consider you an excellent person." 78 "May God forgive us," he said, "if we hold any one but him with whom we found our property, or else we would be unjust." 79