Tafsir of Yusuf 12:6

After he, peace be upon him, cautioned him that his vision held great significance and warned him of that which he warned him, he began to interpret and explain it in a summary manner, saying: "And thus will your Lord choose you," meaning: He will select and elect you for Prophethood, as reported from al-Hasan; or for [people] to prostrate to you, as reported from Muqatil; or for momentous affairs, as al-Zamakhshari stated. Thus, it encompasses what has preceded, and it also includes enriching his family, averting the famine from them through his blessings, and other such things. Perhaps the best of these interpretations is the middle ground. The origin of al-ijtiba' (choosing/selecting) comes from the saying "I jabaytu the thing," meaning I have acquired it for myself. They explained it as "choice," because one only selects what he chooses.

Some have mentioned that God Almighty’s ijtiba' of a servant is His distinguishing him with a divine outpouring from which various honors are attained without any effort from the servant, and that is exclusive to the Prophets, peace be upon them, and those who approach their rank among the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. The [pronoun] referred to by this is either the ijtiba' for such a vision, in which case the mushabbah (likened) and the mushabbah bihi (that to which it is likened) are distinct; or it is for the verbal noun of the mentioned act, which is the mushabbah and the mushabbah bihi. "And thus" is in the position of being a descriptor for an implied verbal noun, and the verification of this has already been presented. It has been said here that the prepositional phrase is the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning "the affair is thus," though the affair is not as such. The kindness in mentioning the "Lord" added to the pronoun of the addressee is not hidden. He, peace be upon him, did not elaborate on the details that the vision indicates, fearing its dissemination, as it has been said.

"And He will teach you," a group went to the view that this is an independent statement, not falling under the scope of the comparison. By it, he, peace be upon him, intended to confirm his statement, verify it, and reassure the soul of Yusuf, peace be upon him, regarding what he informed him of through interpretation and explanation. Meaning: He will teach you "of the interpretation of events," i.e., that class of sciences or a significant portion of it, so that you may attain the truth of what I am saying. The emphasis on what preceded and the encouragement to receive what is to come with acceptance is evident. The reason for its exclusion from the comparison was justified by saying that, ostensibly, ijtiba' should be compared to ijtiba', and teaching is not ijtiba', so it should not be compared to it. This was challenged by noting that teaching is a type of ijtiba', and a species can be compared to a species. It was also said: the reason for that is that the meaning becomes "He will teach you a teaching like the ijtiba' through such a vision," but its awkwardness is evident, for ijtiba' is the point of comparison between the mushabbah and the mushabbah bihi, and that was not observed in the teaching. Some researchers said: There is no obstacle to including it in the comparison, provided that the meaning is the honor of that vision; meaning, just as He honored you with these glad tidings, He will honor you with ijtiba' and teaching, and there is no need to make them two comparisons or to imply "thus." You know that what naturally comes to mind is conjunction. There is no harm in what this researcher established for the direction [of the argument]. Yes, for the inception, there is a cogent face, even if it is not what naturally comes to mind.

It is apparent that the intent of "interpretation of events" is the interpretation of visions, since they are unseen reports through which God Almighty creates beliefs in the heart of the sleeper as He wills—and there is no restriction upon Him—or the "events" of the angel, if they are true, or of the soul or the devil, if they are not. Al-Raghib mentioned that ta'wil comes from al-awl, which is returning; it is the act of returning a thing to its intended goal, whether it be knowledge or action. The first is like His saying, Glory be to Him: "And no one knows its interpretation except God." The second is like his saying: "And for separation before the day of parting, there is an interpretation." The first also came in the meaning of politics (governance) where the outcome is considered; it is said: alana (he managed us) and wa'ala 'alayna (and he governed us). Ta'wil became common in the sense of taking a thing out of its literal meaning.

"Al-ahadith" (events/accounts) is a broken plural of hadith in a non-standard manner, as they said: batil (false) and abatil (falsehoods). It is not a collective noun for it, because grammarians have stipulated for a collective noun that it not be on a scale specific to plurals, such as mafa'il. Among those who explicitly stated it is a plural is al-Zamakhshari in al-Mufassal, and this is what he meant by "collective noun" in al-Kashshaf, for he, like others, often applies the name "collective noun" to plurals that deviate from the standard rule, so there is no contradiction between his two statements. It was said: it is the plural of uhu'duthah, but it was refuted by noting that uhu'duthah is a laughable story, like a myth, so it does not fit here, nor does it fit in the ahadith (sayings) of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, to be the plural of uhu'duthah. Ibn Hisham said: uhu'duthah from hadith is that which is talked about, and it is not used except for evil. Perhaps the matter is not as they mentioned; al-Mubarrad has stipulated that it is used for good, and cited the saying of Jamil, which is among those that spread and faded: "And when I came to visit Sa'da, I would see the earth folded for me, and its distance drawn near... the elegant, fair ones wish, when an uhu'duthah (story) ends, that she would repeat it." It was said: they pluralized hadith into uhu'duthah, then pluralized the plural into ahadith, like qati' (flock) to aqtah (flocks) and aqati' (groups of flocks).

That the intent of the interpretation of events is the interpretation of visions is what is reported from Mujahid and al-Suddi. From al-Hasan, the intent is the consequences of affairs. From al-Zajjaj, the intent is clarifying the meanings of the accounts of the Prophets, past nations, and revealed books. It was said: the intent by ahadith is the things brought about from the spiritual and physical realms, and their interpretation is the manner of inferring from them the power of God Almighty, His wisdom, and His majesty. Everything is contrary to the apparent meaning, as I see it.

"And perfects His favor upon you" by connecting the favor of this world with the favor of the Hereafter, or by adding kingship to the Prophethood gained from the ijtiba' and making it its completion, or by adding deliverance from trials and tribulations to the teaching. The mention of teaching was placed in the middle because it is a requirement of Prophethood and ijtiba', in observance of the order of external existence, and because teaching is a means to the completion of the favor; for his interpretation of the visions of his two companions in prison and the King's vision became a cause for his release from prison and his attainment of high leadership.

Some interpreted ijtiba' as the granting of high degrees, such as kingship and grandeur in the hearts of the creation, and the perfection of the favor as Prophethood, supported by the fact that "perfection of the favor" is an expression of that through which a favor becomes complete, perfect, and devoid of aspects of deficiency, and that is nothing for human beings except Prophethood, for all the positions of creation are deficient in relation to it. It was permitted that the vision itself be counted among the favors of God Almighty upon him, so the favors reaching him accordingly would be an instantiation of it, perfecting that favor, though it is not free from remoteness. It was said: the intent of ijtiba' is the effusion of that through which one is prepared for every good and honor; of teaching the interpretation of events, the teaching of the interpretation of visions; and of the perfection of the favor upon him, his deliverance from trials in the most perfect way, such that with his deliverance from them, he is one to whom others submit. In the teaching of interpretation, there is an indication of his becoming a Prophet, for that is only through revelation. The critique here is that interpreting ijtiba' as mentioned is not apparent, and that teaching containing an indication of Prophethood is debatable; the evidence mentioned does not prove it, for it is apparent that his brothers knew [the art of] interpretation, otherwise his father, peace be upon him, would not have forbidden him from narrating his vision to them for fear of their plotting. That they were Prophets at that time is something no one has held, and it is not likely to be held at all. Yes, they mentioned that interpretation is not known—as it should be—except by one who knows the correspondences between the images and their meanings, and knows the ranks of the souls that appear in the presence of their imaginations according to them; for the rulings of a single image vary in relation to persons of different ranks. This is a rare existence. Errors in interpretation have been proven even from senior scholars.

It was chosen that the intent by ijtiba' is the selection for Prophethood, by the teaching of interpretation what is apparent, and by the perfection of the favor, his deliverance from detested things. His saying, peace be upon him: "O my son, do not narrate your vision to your brothers," is a summary indication from him of the interpretation of the vision, as is not hidden from one with taste, and it also contains glad tidings. This is a following up of it with what is more exalted in the view of Yusuf, peace be upon him, and the reason for the placement of "teaching" in the middle is not hidden. The essence of the meaning is: just as He honored you with this glad tiding indicating your brothers' prostration to you and your high status over them, He will honor you with Prophethood and the knowledge by which you know the interpretation of things similar to what you saw, and the perfection of His favor upon you "and upon the family of Ya'qub" with deliverance from detested things. This, in the case of Yusuf, peace be upon him, is not hidden. Regarding the family of Ya'qub, the intent is his family—his sons and others. Its origin is ahl (people). It was said awl. We have verified this in more than one book, and it is not used except for one who has status, absolutely, and it is not added to that which has no intellect even if it has status, unlike ahl. So one does not say al al-hajjam (the family of the cupper) or al al-haram (the family of the sanctuary), but ahl al-hajjam and ahl al-haram. Yes, it may be added to that which is placed in the position of the sentient, as in the saying of Abd al-Muttalib: "And grant victory today over the family of the cross and its worshippers, O your family." In this is a refutation of Abu Ja'far al-Zubaydi, who claimed the impermissibility of adding it to the pronoun because he had not heard it added to it. Ya'qub, like his son, is a foreign name that has no derivation, so what was said about him being named that because he came out of his mother's womb following his brother al-'Iys is not satisfactory to the elite.

Famine, drought, dispersion of the fold, and other things that are general or specific. Some of them interpreted al (the family) as the sons, and the perfection of the favor as Prophethood, making the meaning: He favors you and the rest of the sons of Ya'qub with Prophethood. They used this as evidence that they later became Prophets. In Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, it is stated that Yusuf's vision of his brothers as planets, guided by their lights, is one of God's favors upon them, for it indicates that their affair would lead to Prophethood. Thus, every perfection of theirs that emerges from potentiality to actuality occurs accordingly, inevitably completing that favor. You know that what was mentioned does not serve as evidence that they became Prophets, due to the possibilities you have known. When a possibility affects evidence, the deduction is invalidated. Their vision as planets guided by their lights is far from being evidence that their fate is Prophethood; it only serves as evidence that their fate is to be guides for the people, and this is something that does not necessitate Prophethood. The Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "My companions are like stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be guided." We do not deny that the people became guides after God Almighty favored them with repentance; rather, they are, by my life, at that time among the most distinguished companions of their Prophet. It may also be said: if their vision as planets indicated that their fate was Prophethood, then the vision of his mother as a moon would be more indicative of that, and no one says this.

Some of them said: There is no obstacle to intending by the family of Ya'qub the rest of his lineage, and by the perfection of the favor, its perfection through Prophethood, but their Prophethood is not proven thereby, because it is possible to intend "He perfects His favor upon you" through Prophethood and "upon the family of Ya'qub" through something else, such as deliverance from a hated thing, for example. This is like your saying: "I showed favor to Zayd and to 'Amr," and it does not necessitate that the favor upon both be of the same type, for the statement is true even if you showed favor to Zayd with a position and to 'Amr by giving him a thousand dinars or by delivering him from an oppressor, for instance. This is apparent.

Some preferred taking al to encompass the sons, arguing that if the intent were the sons, the most apparent and concise way would have been "and upon your brothers," instead of what is in the sublime ordering. It was said: he only chose that over it because "brothers" immediately brings to mind the brothers whom he forbade from narrating the vision to, so Benjamin would not be included, and the intent was to include him. It was said: the intent by the family of Ya'qub is his followers who are upon his religion. It was said: Ya'qub specifically, on the basis that al is in the sense of the person. The remoteness of the two sayings is not hidden, and the latter is the most remote. He who made the perfection of the favor an indication of kingship made the conjunction on the grounds that they would benefit from its effects of glory, status, and wealth.

"Just as He perfected it upon your two forefathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq, from before"—meaning a perfection that is like the perfection of His favor upon your two forefathers from before this time, or from before you. The two noble names are an appositive to your two forefathers. Expressing them as "forefathers," despite them being the father of his grandfather and the father of his father, is to signal his complete connection to the Prophets, peace be upon them, and to remind him of the meaning that the child is the secret of his father, so that his heart may be reassured by what he was informed of. The perfection of the favor upon Ibrahim was either by Prophethood, or by taking him as a close friend (khalil), or by saving him from the fire of his enemy, or from the slaughter of his son, or by more than one of these. And upon Ishaq, it was either by Prophethood, or by bringing forth Ya'qub from his loins, or by saving him from slaughter and ransoming him with a great sacrifice, according to the report that he is the sacrificed one (al-dhabih). Many have held this view, and its verification will come, God Almighty willing. The matter of comparison regarding the other possibilities is easy, as it does not have to be from every aspect. The limitation in the mushabbah bihi to mentioning the perfection of favor without addressing the ijtiba' is a matter of sufficiency, as has been said; for the perfection of favor necessitates the precedent of favor that calls for ijtiba', inevitably.

As for his knowledge, peace be upon him, of what the vision did not indicate—either through clairvoyance, and the clairvoyance of a parent regarding his child is often true regardless of who the parent is, so what do you think of his clairvoyance when he is a Prophet?—or through revelation. It may be claimed that he deduced all of that from the vision. "Indeed, your Lord is All-Knowing" of everything, so He knows who deserves the mentioned matters, "All-Wise," the Doer of everything according to what wisdom requires, so He does what He does in accordance with the ways of His knowledge and wisdom. The sentence is an inception to verify the mentioned sentences.