Tafsir of Yusuf 12:47

(He said) is an incipit (mista’naf) following the measurement previously mentioned. "You will sow for seven years daban" (Hafs read it with a fatha on the hamza, while the majority read it with a sukun. It has also been read as daban with an alif, without a hamza, as a form of simplification). In all these cases, it is a verbal noun (masdar) for the root da’aba. Its original meaning is "toil," and it is used metaphorically for "constant habit," because habit arises from the persistence of work which necessitates toil.

Its grammatical state (in the accusative) is as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the pronoun in "you will sow," meaning: "you will be toiling" or "possessors of toil." It is singular because the verbal noun is originally singular. Alternatively, it is an absolute object (maf’ul mutlaq) for an omitted verb, meaning: "you toil with toil." The sentence is also circumstantial. According to al-Mubarrad, it is an absolute object for "you will sow," which he considers analogous to qa’ada al-qurfusaa (he sat in the squatting posture), though this is not well-founded.

He (peace be upon him) interpreted the seven fat cows and the green ears of corn as seven years of fertility, and the lean, withered ones as seven years of drought. Thus, he informed them that they would persist in cultivation for seven years and exert effort therein, for by that, the fertility—which is the realization of the fat cows—is achieved.

It is said: The meaning is an imperative to cultivate. Thus, the sentence is informative in wording but imperative in meaning; it was presented in the form of a statement as a hyperbole in necessitating its existence, as if it had already occurred and he was reporting it. This is supported by the fact that the Almighty’s saying, "So what you have harvested"—meaning in every year—"leave it in its ears, except for a little of what you eat," implies an instruction. Do not thresh it, so that the weevils may not eat it, as is the case with the grain of Egypt and its surrounding regions when about two years pass over it. Perhaps he inferred this from the "green ears," which fits it being an imperative.

It is said: If this is not interpreted as an imperative, it would require the conjunction of an inception (insha') with an information (khabar), because ma is either conditional or relative (containing the meaning of a condition). In either case, because the consequence is an inception, it would be an inception conjoined to an informative sentence. It was replied: We do not concede that a conditional sentence whose response is an inception is itself an inception. Even if we concede that, we do not concede the conjunction; rather, the sentence is an incipit intended to advise and guide them toward what they ought to do, as it was not customary for them, just as the cultivation was not. Or, it is a response to an implied condition, i.e., "If you sow, then what you harvest, leave it..." Also, it is possible the imperative is the opposite of what they mentioned: that "leave it" (dharuhu) is in the sense of "you will leave it" (tadharunahu), but it was expressed in the form of an imperative because, through his guidance, it is as if he commanded them to do it.

The verified position, as stated in al-Kashf, is that it is more apparent that "you will sow" is in its original sense, because it is an interpretation of the dream, evidenced by his coming words: "Then there will come," and his words "So what you have harvested, leave it" are an interruption out of concern for their affairs before completing the interpretation; it contains what confirms the command of the past and the future, as if it had already happened, so he commands them with what is for their benefit. This is the miraculous structure.

Some mentioned that "what you have harvested," etc., on the assumption that "you will sow" means "sow!", is included in the interpretation, because the eating of the seven lean cows of the seven fat ones and the dominance of the withered ears over the green ones indicate that they will eat in the years of drought what was obtained in the years of fertility. The method of its preservation they learned from Yusuf (peace be upon him), so it remained for them during that period. It is said: "You will sow" in this assumption, and what follows it, is outside the interpretation. And all of it is as you see.

"Except for a little of what you eat" (i.e., leave that in the ears except for what is indispensable of the little that you eat in those years). It contains a guide toward moderation in eating. Al-Sulami read "what they eat" (ta’kulun) with a ya, signifying the third person, i.e., what people eat. Restricting the exception to what is eaten, rather than the seed, is because that is already known from his (peace be upon him) words: "You will sow for seven years."