Yusuf (Joseph): (35-36) Then it seemed good to them...

In this verse, there are several points of discussion:

Issue 1: The Imprisonment of Joseph (PBUH)

When the wife's husband became convinced of Joseph's innocence after seeing the signs (proofs), he naturally did not punish Joseph. However, the woman then employed every trick to persuade Joseph to comply with her desires, but Joseph paid her no heed. When she despaired of him, she devised another scheme. She told her husband: "This Hebrew slave is disgracing me among the people, claiming I solicited him. I cannot reveal my excuse. So, either permit me to go out and offer my apology, or imprison me as you have imprisoned me."

At this point, it occurred to the Aziz (the powerful man) that the most prudent course was to imprison Joseph until the talk about this incident subsided among the people and the scandal was reduced. This is the meaning of His statement: {Then it seemed good to them after they saw the signs, to imprison him for a time} (Yusuf: 35).

The term Bada' (seemed good/appeared) signifies a change of opinion from what it was initially. The "signs" mentioned refer to the proof of his innocence: the shirt being torn from the back, the scratching of her face, and the judge's confirmation to her: {Indeed, it is from your cunning; indeed, your cunning is great} (Yusuf: 28). We have already mentioned that other types of clear proofs emerged there, but the people kept silent about them in their pursuit of hiding the scandal.

Issue 2: Grammatical Analysis of {Bada'a Lahum}

The phrase {Bada'a Lahum} (it seemed good to them) involves a verb and its subject. The apparent structure suggests that the verb "seemed good" is attributed to another verb (the subsequent action of imprisonment), i.e., Bada'a Lahum Sijnuhu (it seemed good to them his imprisonment).

However, grammarians agree that attributing a verb to another verb is impermissible. If you say, "He went, he struck," it conveys no meaning. Therefore, they proposed that the implied meaning is: "Then their imprisonment seemed good to them" (Thumma bada'a lahum sijnahu), where the verb sijna (imprisonment) is implied and the verb laysijannahu (to imprison him) stands in its place.

I argue that intuition rejects making the verb the subject of the statement. No one can claim that the verb is the predicate (khabar) and then make the predicate the subject. We say: A noun can be a predicate, as in "Zayd is standing" (Zaydun qā'im), where qā'im is a noun and a predicate. Thus, being a predicate does not negate being the subject.

In this context, we have doubts: If we say ḍaraba (he struck) is a verb, then the thing being described as a verb is ḍaraba itself, meaning the verb becomes the subject.

If they argue: The subject being described as a verb is the form itself, which is a noun, then this implies that the subject being described as a verb is a noun, not a verb, which is false and baseless. Rather, the thing described as a verb, if it is a verb, then it is proven that a verb can be the subject. If it is a noun, the meaning is: "We informed about the noun that it is a verb," which is clearly false. There are deep discussions on this topic which we have covered in the books of Rational Sciences (al-Ma'qūlāt).

Issue 3: The Meaning of "For a Time" (Hīn)

Linguists state that al-Hīn (time/a period) is an unspecified duration of time, applicable to both short and long periods. Ibn Abbas interpreted it as the time until the talk ceased and the immorality spread in the city was forgotten. Some said al-Hīn here means five years, others said seven years. Muqatil ibn Sulayman said Joseph was imprisoned for twelve years. The correct view is that these specific durations are unknown. What is known is that he remained imprisoned for a long period, based on His statement: {And remember after an interval} (Yusuf: 45).

Regarding: {And two young men entered the prison with him}

There is an omission here. The implied meaning is: When they intended to imprison him, they imprisoned him, and this was omitted because of the subsequent statement: {And two young men entered the prison with him}.

It is said that these two were servants of the great King of Egypt; one was in charge of his food, and the other in charge of his drink. It was reported to the King that the food steward intended to poison him, and the King suspected the other assisted him, so he ordered both imprisoned.

There are several questions remaining in the verse:

Answer: Perhaps Joseph asked them about their sadness and grief, and they mentioned that they had seen this dream. Alternatively, perhaps they had seen him demonstrating knowledge of matters, including dream interpretation, at which point they mentioned their dreams to him.

Answer: Because of His statement: {he serves his lord wine} (Yusuf: 41), meaning his master. And because of His statement: {Mention me to your lord} (Yusuf: 42).

Answer: The dream of each one corresponded to his profession: one saw himself pressing grapes for wine, and the other seemed to be carrying bread on his head.

Answer: There are two opinions:

Opinion 1: When Joseph entered the prison, he told the inmates that he interpreted dreams. One of the two young men said, "Come, let us tell this Hebrew slave a dream we invent for him," asking him without having seen anything. Ibn Mas'ud said: They had not seen anything; they merely feigned it to test his knowledge.

Opinion 2: Mujahid said they had seen a dream upon entering the prison and came to Joseph (PBUH) to ask him about it. The cupbearer said, "O knowledgeable one, I saw as if I were in a garden, and there was a vine with three branches, bearing three clusters of grapes. I picked them, and it was as if the King's cup was in my hand, so I pressed them into it and served the King, and he drank." This is the meaning of his statement: {Indeed, I saw myself pressing wine}. The food steward said, "I saw as if there were three baskets of bread and various foods on my head, and the birds of prey were pecking at it." This is the meaning of His statement: {And the other said, 'Indeed, I saw myself carrying bread above my head, and birds were eating from it'}.

Answer: For several reasons:

1. If he did not intend sleep, mentioning {I press} would have sufficed without mentioning {I saw myself}.
2. His statement: {Inform us of its interpretation} (Yusuf: 36) indicated it was a dream.

Answer: There are three opinions:

1. The meaning is: "I press grapes that become wine" ('inaba khamr), meaning the grapes whose juice becomes wine, with the possessive noun omitted.
2. Arabs sometimes name a thing by what it will become if the meaning is clear and unambiguous. They say someone is "cooking date syrup" (dibs) when he is actually cooking juice.
3. Abu Salih said: The people of Oman call grapes khamr (wine), and this word reached the people of Mecca, so they uttered it. Al-Dahhak said: The Quran was revealed in the tongues of all Arabs.

Answer: The Ta'wīl of a thing is what it returns to; it is the ultimate outcome of that matter.

Answer: There are several interpretations:

1. It means: We see you practicing benevolence and exhibiting noble character and all praiseworthy actions. It is said he used to visit the sick and comfort the sad, so they said: "You are among the Muhsinūn (doers of good) concerning partners and companions."
2. It means he was extremely diligent in acts of worship like fasting and prayer, so they said: "You are among the Muhsinūn in matters of religion." Whoever is like this is trustworthy in what he says regarding dream interpretation and other matters.
3. It means: {Indeed, we see you among the doers of good} in the science of interpretation, because whenever he interprets, he does not err, as he later says: {and taught me some interpretation of narratives} (Yusuf: 101).

Answer: The Quran and rational proof indicate its validity. As for the Quran, it is this verse. As for rational proof: It is established that the All-Glorified (Allah) created the rational soul substance such that it can ascend to the celestial spheres and review the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Maḥfūẓ). The barrier preventing this is its preoccupation with managing the body. During sleep, this preoccupation lessens, strengthening its ability for this review. When the spirit encounters a state, it leaves specific traces corresponding to that spiritual perception in the realm of imagination. The interpreter deduces those intellectual perceptions from these imaginary traces. This is a summary; its details are mentioned in the books of Rational Sciences. The Sharia confirms this: It is narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) that he said: "Dreams are of three types: a dream where a man talks to himself, a dream sent by Satan, and the dream that is the true, veridical dream." This is a sound division in rational sciences. He (PBUH) also said: "The dream of a righteous man is one part out of forty-six parts of prophethood."

{7 < { He said, "No food will come to you both except that I will inform you of its interpretation before it comes to you. That is from what my Lord has taught me. Indeed, I have left the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah, and they, in the Hereafter, are disbelievers. * And I have followed the religion of my fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was not for us to associate anything with Allah. That is from the bounty of Allah upon us and upon the people, but most of the people are not grateful." } > 7

<}

Translation:

He said, "No food will come to you both except that I will inform you of its interpretation before it comes to you. That is from what my Lord has taught me. Indeed, I have left the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah, and they, in the Hereafter, are disbelievers. * And I have followed the religion of my fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was not for us to associate anything with Allah. That is from the bounty of Allah upon us and upon the people, but most of the people are not grateful."