17 Preface قالوا يا أَبانا إِنّا ذَهَبنا نَستَبِقُ وَتَرَكنا يوسُفَ عِندَ مَتاعِنا فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئبُ ۖ وَما أَنتَ بِمُؤمِنٍ لَنا وَلَو كُنّا صادِقينَYusuf AliThey said: “O our father! We went racing with one another,1 and left Joseph with our things; and the wolf devoured him.... But thou wilt never believe us even though we tell the truth.”2They wanted to make out that they were not negligent of Joseph. They were naturally having games and exercise, while the boy was left with their belongings. It was the racing that prevented them from seeing the wolf. And Jacob’s fears about the wolf (12:13 above) made them imagine that he would swallow the wolf story readily.They were surprised that Jacob received the story about the wolf with cold incredulity. So they grew petulant, put on an air of injured innocence, and brought out the blood-stained garment described in the next verse.