The brothers easily accepted that Benjamine had committed the theft, and had ruined their record and reputation in the sight of AZIZ. To acquit themselves of the guilt, they said:ِ

      ``If the boy steals, it is not very strange, because a brother of him, too, stole before!''

      Thus they tried to draw a red line of separation between themselves and their two step-brother. Joseph was vexed by their false charge, but kept his control, and divulged not his identity and other secrets. The poor chaps knew not that they all were in the power of Joseph, who slowly whispered to himself and said:ِ

      ``You are in a worse case, and Allah knows better what you describe.''

      Joseph knew well that his step brothers had all lost their very self and soul, and he wanted to have mercy on them. He never deemed of taking vengeance of them, and was only driving at making them to repent, and return to God.

      When Benjamine was arrested, they trembled with fear of their father's wrath, with whom they had made a solemn covenant to return Benjamine back to him. They found themselves indeed helpless, not knowing what was to be done at all.

      Therefore they earnestly begged the AZIZ of Egypt, who was now Joseph; to take one of them instead of Benjamine for having an old and aged father, who could not endure the deathful shock of what had happened to his son. But Joseph knew many things beyond the work of nature, that the brethren could not know it, and he therefore rejected their request, saying:ِ

      ``God forbid, that we should seize anyone except him with whom we have found our property. If we do that, we must then be of the oppressors.''

      Worthy of note is here that Joseph did not accuse his brother of theft here, and mentioned him as; ``Him with whom we found our property.''

      Accusing Joseph of theft by his brothers, goes back to his childhood. As a child his mother died, and his aunt nursed him. When he grew up and became a young boy, Jacob his father called him back to live with them. His separation was very distressful to his aunt, and therefore she tied a belt round his waist that was a relic venerated because of its association with Isaac the apostle of God. So when Joseph went back to live with his father, his aunt accused him of stealing the belt in order to be able to detain Joseph in her house, according to Jacob's religion and Law.