And he raised his parents upon the throne (upon their arrival in Egypt) upon the seat of honor—as stated by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and others—out of honor for them, exceeding what he had done for his brothers.
And they fell down before him—that is, his parents and his brothers. It is also said that the pronoun refers only to the brothers, but that is not sound, for the vision necessitates that both the parents and the brothers fell down before him.
In prostration—meaning upon their foreheads, as is the apparent meaning. As Abu al-Baqa said, it is an estimated state (hal muqaddara), for the prostration occurs after the falling. This was permissible among them and followed the manner of greeting and honoring, similar to standing, shaking hands, kissing, and other customs prevalent among people for showing reverence and respect. Qatada said: "Prostration was the greeting of kings among them." God, the Exalted, gave this nation the greeting of peace (salam), the greeting of the people of Paradise, as an honor from Him, the Exalted, which He hastened for them.
It is also said: It was nothing but an inclination of the head. It is said: It was like a profound bowing (ruku') without placing the forehead on the ground. It is said: The intent is humility, and the "falling" (khurur) refers to "passing by," as in the words of the Almighty: And those who, when reminded of the signs of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. It has been said that the meaning is: they do not pass by them in such a state. Yet, you know that the wording is apparent in [the meaning of] falling.
It is also said—and attributed to Ibn Abbas—that the meaning is: They fell down for the sake of Joseph, prostrating to God in gratitude for the blessing He bestowed upon them. This is challenged by the fact that the Almighty’s words, And he said, "O my father, this is the interpretation of my vision," refute it, since [in the vision] it says, I saw them prostrating to me. This is defended by the claim that the one who says this considers the lam (in "for him") as causal in both instances. Others say the lam in both is in the sense of "toward," as in "praying toward the Kaaba." Hassan [ibn Thabit] said: "I did not know that time would turn away from Hashim, then from Abu Hasan... Is he not the first who prayed toward your qibla, and the most knowledgeable of people regarding affairs and traditions?"
The Imam [al-Razi] mentioned that the view that the prostration was for God, the Exalted, and not for Joseph, peace be upon him, is sound. The proof is that the Almighty’s words, And he raised his parents upon the throne and they fell down before him in prostration, indicate that they ascended and then prostrated. Had the prostration been for Joseph, peace be upon him, it would have been before ascending and sitting, because that would have been more conducive to humility, unlike the prostration of gratitude to God, the Exalted. Contradicting the apparent order is a clear deviation from the apparent [meaning]. He dismissed what was raised against it by what you have learned, and then said: "It is certain in my view, because it is far-removed from the intellect and religion of Joseph, peace be upon him, to be content that his father would prostrate to him, given his precedence in the rights of parenthood, old age, knowledge, religion, and the perfection of prophethood."
It was answered that the delay of the "falling" after the "raising" is not a definitive text regarding the intended meaning, because a sequence in narration does not require it to be in accordance with the sequence of occurrence. Perhaps its delay was to connect it with the mention of it being an interpretation of his vision and what relates to it. Also, it is possible that God, the Exalted, commanded Jacob to do that for a wisdom that only He knows, and Joseph, peace be upon him, knew of the command, so he had no choice but to remain silent and submit. It is as if in his words, "O my father," there is a sign of this, as if he were saying: "O my father, it does not befit one like you, given your majesty in knowledge, religion, and prophethood, to prostrate to your son, except that this is a matter I was commanded to do and a duty I was charged with." For the visions of prophets are true, just as the vision of Abraham to slaughter his son became the cause for the obligation of slaughter in reality. Therefore, it has come from Ibn Abbas—may God be pleased with them both—that when he, peace be upon him, saw his parents and brothers prostrating to him, he was appalled by it and his skin shuddered. It is not far-fetched that this was part of the perfection of God’s trial of Jacob, peace be upon him, as if it were said to him: "You were in constant longing for his reunion and sadness over his separation; now that you have found him, prostrate to him."
It is also possible that he, peace be upon him, only did it—despite his great stature—so that the brothers would follow him in it, for their ailment might have led them to arrogance toward him, which would have led to the stirring of old resentments and Joseph’s failure to pardon them. It is not hidden that the answer to the first point is of no avail, as you know that its foundation is to align with the apparent meaning. The possibilities mentioned in the answer to the second [point] were also mentioned by the Imam, and they are as you see; the best of them is the possibility that God, the Exalted, commanded him to do so for a wisdom that only He knows.
Some people went so far as to claim that the prostration was only from the brothers, fleeing from attributing it to Jacob, peace be upon him, for the reasons you know. This was refuted by what we pointed out first: that the vision necessitates universality. The Imam answered this by saying that the interpretation of a vision does not have to correspond to the vision in form and quality in all respects. Thus, the prostration of the planets, the sun, and the moon is interpreted as the honoring of the elders of the people toward him. There is no doubt that the journey of Jacob and his children from Canaan to Egypt for his sake is the ultimate form of honoring him. This amount is sufficient for the validity of the vision. As for the interpretation being the original, in perfect exactitude, no person of reason has mandated that.
The truth is that the prostration, in whatever sense it occurred, took place from both the parents and the brothers together. The heart inclines toward the view that it was an inclination like the greeting of the foreigners and many people today. It is not far-fetched that it was through the "falling," and there is no harm if it were from the parents while they were upon the throne of his kingdom; his vision, peace be upon him, does not reject this.
From before—that is, from before your prostration or from before these events. The adverbial phrase is linked to my vision. It is permitted to link it to interpretation because it was interpreted as this before it occurred. Abu al-Baqa permitted it to be linked to a suppressed state from my vision, and the validity of the occurrence of ultimate aims as a state has been discussed previously.
My Lord has made it a reality—that is, a truth. A vision is described as such, even if figuratively. A group parsed it as a second object for "made," which is in the sense of "rendered." It is also permitted that it be a state (i.e., He placed it as true), or an adjective for a suppressed source (i.e., a true making), or a source derived from other than the verb's wording but from its meaning, because "making it" is in the sense of "realizing it," and "a reality" is in the sense of "a realization." The sentence, according to what Abu al-Baqa said, is an estimated or concurrent state.
And He was gracious to me—the original, as in al-Bahr, is that ihsan (graciousness) is connected with ila (to) or li (for), as in the Almighty's words, And do good as God has done good to you. It is sometimes connected with ba, as in the Almighty's words, and to parents, good (ihsanan), and as in the words of Kathir 'Azza: "Do evil to us or do good, no blame is upon us, nor are we hated if you hate." Some interpreted this as ihsan implying the meaning of lutf (kindness). It is not hidden what refinement is in this, except that some denied the connection of lutf with ba, claiming it is only connected with lam. They say "God was kind to him" (latufa lahu), meaning He brought his desire to him with kindness. This is what is in the Qamus, but the known usage is its connection with ba, which is stated in the Asas, and upon which reliance is placed. It is said: The ba is in the sense of ila. It is also said: The object is suppressed (i.e., He made His graciousness to me), so the ba is linked to the suppressed object. This involves suppressing the source while keeping its operator, which is forbidden among the Basrans.
His words, when He brought me out of the prison, are in the accusative by ahsana (was gracious) or by the suppressed source according to those who see its permissibility. If it is causal, then the grace is the release from prison after he was afflicted by it and what was related to it. If it is temporal, it is other than them. He, peace be upon him, did not mention the story of the pit out of caution against rebuking his brothers and in order to forget what occurred from them, because the apparent meaning is their presence, as the speech occurred immediately after their falling down in prostration. Also, because the grace was only perfected after his exit from the prison due to his arrival at the kingship and his liberation from slavery and accusation, [the mention of prison] sufficed for what is implied by his words:
And brought you from the desert—that is, the wilderness. Its root is the "plain" of the earth; it was named so because what is in it appears (yabdu) to the viewer due to the absence of what conceals it, then it was applied to the wilderness in general. Their residence was, as it is said, in the outskirts of Syria in the desert of Palestine; they were owners of camels and sheep. Al-Zamakhshari said: "They were people of tents and livestock, moving toward water and pastures." Some claimed that Jacob, peace be upon him, only moved to the desert after his prophethood because God, the Exalted, did not send a prophet from the desert. From Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them both, it is said that Jacob, peace be upon him, had moved to Bada and resided in it, and from there he arrived to Joseph, and he has a mosque there under its mountain. Ibn al-Anbari said: Bada is the name of a known place. It is said: It is between Sha'b and Bada, and they are two places mentioned by Jamil: "And you are the one who made Sha'b beloved to Bada, to me, and my homelands are lands other than those." So "the desert" (al-badw) in this regard intends this place; it is said: "The people came to Bada (bada)" just as it is said: "They raided the lowlands (ghawran)" when they came to the Ghawr. The meaning is: He brought you from the direction of Bada. They were, in that case, city-dwellers. This is what al-Wahidi said in al-Basit, and al-Qushayri mentioned it, but it is extremely contrary to the apparent meaning.
After Satan had sown discord between me and my brothers—meaning corrupted and provoked. Its root is from naz'a (goading) the beast when it prods it and drives it to run. He attributed this to Satan metaphorically, because it was through his whispering and casting [of ideas]. In this, there is also a shielding of them from rebuke, and he mentioned it to exalt the matter of grace, for the blessing after the trial is more beautiful in its setting. Al-Jubba'i, al-Ka'bi, and the Judge used the verse as evidence for the falsity of Jabr (compulsion), but there is a view on this.
Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills—meaning subtle in His management of it, for there is no difficulty but that the will of the Almighty penetrates it and becomes easy before it. This is what more than one has said. Its conclusion is that the "Subtle" here is in the sense of the Knower of the hidden affairs, the Manager of them, and the One who eases their difficulties. Due to the penetration of His will, may He be glorified, when He desires something, He eases its causes. He is called "the Subtle" because what is subtle is easy in its penetration. This is indicated by the words of al-Raghib where he said: "The subtle is the opposite of the dense; the subtle is expressed as light movement and the handling of precise matters." So God, the Exalted, is described by it due to His knowledge of the subtleties of matters and His kindness to the servants. The lam is linked to "Subtle" because the intent is "Manager of what He wills," as was said by more than one. Some said: The meaning is "for the sake of what He wills." Regarding the first [view], it is transitive with the lam, and regarding the second, it is not. What is in that has already been discussed.
Indeed, it is He who is the All-Knowing—of the aspects of interests—the Wise—who does everything according to the way of wisdom, and none other. It is reported that Joseph took his father, peace be upon them both, through his treasuries. When he entered the treasury of paper, he said: "O my son, how undutiful you are! You have these papers, yet you did not write to me over eight stages?" He said: "Gabriel commanded me." He said: "Did you not ask him?" He said: "You are more intimate with him than I, so ask him." He said: "Gabriel, peace be upon him, [said]: God, the Exalted, commanded me to do that because of your saying, And I fear that the wolf will eat him. He said: "Then why did you not fear me?"
This is a clear excuse for Joseph, peace be upon him, in not informing his father of his safety. More than one has explicitly stated that he, peace be upon him, was inspired to conceal the matter from his father until the book reached its end. But the question remains that Jacob, peace be upon him, was among the greatest of prophets in soul, fatherhood, and lineage, and was famous in the corners of the earth. Whoever is such, and then a horrific event happens to him regarding his most beloved children, that event would not remain hidden; rather, it would necessarily reach such fame that everyone would know it, especially since the long period had passed while he was in that sadness for which proverbs are struck. Joseph, peace be upon him, was not in a place far from his place, nor was he dwelling in corners of concealment, nor was he of lowly mention; rather, he was the reference point for the common and the elite, and a caller to God in secret and in public, in times of joy and trial. So how was his matter obscured, and the news of him not reach his father?
The answer to that is that it is only a case of the breaking of the norm. They differed on the duration between the vision and the appearance of its interpretation. It is said: eighteen years. Abdullah bin Ahmad reported in Zawa'id al-Zuhd from al-Hasan that the duration was eighty years. Ibn Jarir reported from Ibn Jurayj that it was ninety-seven years. From Hudhayfah that it was seventy years. Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Qatada that it was thirty-five years. A group reported from Salman al-Farisi that it was forty years, and this is the view of the majority. Ibn Shaddad said: "And to that the interpretation of the vision concludes." God, the Exalted, knows best the truths of matters.
