Quran Universe
12:56

وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ يَتَبَوَّأُ مِنۡهَا حَيۡثُ يَشَآءُۚ نُصِيبُ بِرَحۡمَتِنَا مَن نَّشَآءُۖ وَلَا نُضِيعُ أَجۡرَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ

Wakathalika makanna liyoosufa fee alardi yatabawwao minha haythu yashao nuseebu birahmatina man nashao wala nudeeAAu ajra almuhsineena

And thus We established Joseph in the land to settle therein wherever he willed. We touch with Our mercy whom We will, and We do not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good.

Word by word
  1. وَكَذَٰلِكَAnd thus
  2. مَكَّنَّاWe established
  3. لِيُوسُفَ[to] Yusuf
  4. فِيin
  5. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe land
  6. يَتَبَوَّأُto settle
  7. مِنۡهَاtherein
  8. حَيۡثُwhere ever
  9. يَشَآءُۚhe willed
  10. نُصِيبُWe bestow
  11. بِرَحۡمَتِنَاOur Mercy
  12. مَن(on) whom
  13. نَّشَآءُۖWe will
  14. وَلَاAnd not
  15. نُضِيعُWe let go waste
  16. أَجۡرَ(the) reward
  17. ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ(of) the good-doers
Yusuf · 12:56Makkah

No good-doer's reward is ever lost.

The slave and prisoner now moves freely in the land

Yusuf's road
the wellthrown by brothers
slaverysold cheap
prisonfor no crime
then
establishedgoes where he wills
What happened to his patience
wastedall those years
kept and repaidnothing lost

Allah says He established Yusuf in the land. Ibn Jarir said he now moved freely after prison, hardship and slavery. Ibn Kathir says Allah did not let his patience with his brothers and in prison be lost, but rewarded it with help and victory.

The years you cared for a sick parent. The job where you stayed honest while others cut corners. The marriage you kept kind through hard seasons. None of it is lost. Allah keeps the record.

My patience went unnoticed, so it was for nothing.

Allah does not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.

Try this

Remember one hard thing you were patient through, and thank Allah that He saw it.

Related38:3938:40
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Thus did We give full authority to Yusuf in the land, to take possession therein, when or where he likes. We bestow of Our mercy on whom We will, and We make not to be lost the reward of the good doers (56)And verily, the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believed and had Taqwa (57)

Yusuf's Reign in Egypt

Allah said next,

وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَكَّنَّا لِيُوسُفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ

(Thus did We give full authority to Yusuf in the land), in Egypt,

يَتَبَوَّأُ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ يَشَاءُ

(to take possession therein, when or where he likes.) As-Suddi and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that this part of the Ayah means, "To do whatever he wants therein." Ibn Jarir at Tabari said that it means, "He used to move about freely in the land after being imprisoned, suffering from hardship and the disgrace of slavery." Allah said next,

نُصِيبُ بِرَحْمَتِنَا مَن نَّشَاءُ ۖ وَلَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

(We bestow of Our mercy on whom We will, and We make not to be lost the reward of the good doers.) Allah says here, We did not let the patience of Yusuf, from the harm his brothers exerted on him and being imprisoned because of the wife of the 'Aziz, to be lost. Instead, Allah the Exalted and Most Honored rewarded him with His aid and victory,

وَلَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ - وَلَأَجْرُ الْآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ

(And We make not to be lost the reward of the good doers. And verily, the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believed and had Taqwa.) Allah states that what He has prepared for His Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, in the Hereafter is much greater, substantial and honored than the authority He gave him in this life. Allah said about His Prophet Sulayman (Solomon), peace be upon him,

هَٰذَا عَطَاؤُنَا فَامْنُنْ أَوْ أَمْسِكْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ - وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَىٰ وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ

("This is Our gift, so spend or withhold, no account will be asked of you." And verily, for him is a near access to Us, and a good (final) return (Paradise).)[38:39-40] Yusuf, peace be upon him, was appointed minister of finance by Ar-Rayyan bin Al-Walid, king of Egypt at the time, instead of the 'Aziz who bought him and the husband of she who tried to seduce him. The king of Egypt embraced Islam at the hands of Yusuf, peace be upon him, according to Mujahid.