They said: "If the wolf were to devour him while we are (so large) a party, then should we indeed (first) have perished ourselves!" Yusuf 12:14 ⧉
Tafsir:
The reply given by Jacob to his sons shows that he had already guessed that it was not a question of Joseph playing and enjoying himself in some meadow, but that Joseph’s brothers had hatched a conspiracy against him. But a man who fears God is one who trusts in God. He had sensed what was going to happen, but he considered the power of God to be above everything else. With full faith in his Lord’s omnipotence, and in spite of sensing clear dangers, he consigned Joseph to the care of his brothers. This was the picture of a God-fearing person. By contrast, Joseph’s brothers presented a picture of people whose hearts are completely devoid of the fear of God. In making their plans to destroy a servant of God quite unjustifiably, they had forgotten that this was a world in which nobody had any power except God. They tried to present themselves as well-wishers simply on the basis of beautiful words, but before God, a person is treated as a well-wisher solely on the basis of his deeds.