( اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا…) (Kill Joseph or cast him out to [another] land…): The Quran takes us to hear the brothers of Yusuf (PBUH) as they talk among themselves. Some of them said: ‘Kill him,’ while others said: ‘No, throw him into the ground’; meaning to cast him away into any land to let him die. We see here that Satan intervened, for he passes through the heart and pricks it, and this is envy. Even though they were brothers, and they were under the care of a noble Prophet, when envy enters the hearts, it leads to commit a murder. Envy is not just a sickness of the soul but can lead to the disruption of all balance, so a person cannot distinguish right from wrong, nor truth from falsehood.

(… يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ…) (… the countenance of your father will [then] be only for you…): That is, the attention of your father will be totally free for you.

(... وَتَكُونُوا مِن بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ ) (…  and you will be after that a righteous people):  They suggested to get rid of him, and then afterwards they will repent for this crime. Here a question is raised: Is it permissible to plan repentance in advance before committing a sin? The answer is: definitely not, for this is deceit, and far be it from Allah (swt) to be deceived by His servants. Repentance cannot be preplanned, and it is not acceptable for a person to say: I intend to disobey Allah and I will repent afterwards. Repentance is not accepted if it is prearranged and prepared in advance before committing a sin.