Tafsir of Yusuf 12:43-44

Surah Yusuf (12): Verses 43-44

Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir) based on Mafatih al-Ghayb by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi

[The Context and Introduction]

Know that when Allah Almighty wills something, He prepares the means for it. When relief for the Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) drew near, the King of Egypt saw a dream: seven fat cows emerging from a dry river, and seven lean cows devoured them. He also saw seven green ears of grain and seven others that were dry, whereupon the dry ones wrapped around and overpowered the green ones. He gathered the dignitaries and mentioned this to them, which is what is meant by His saying: "{...and seven dry ones} O eminent ones, explain to me my dream."

The people responded that this dream was mixed and confusing, and thus they were unable to interpret or explain it. This is the apparent meaning, and within it are several issues:

Issue 1: Linguistic Clarifications

1. Al-'Ajfa' (Lean): Al-Layth said that al-'ajf means the loss of fatness. The verb is ʿajafa, yaʿjifu. The masculine form is aʿjaf, the feminine is ʿajfāʾ, and the plural for both genders is ʿijāf. In Arabic, the pattern afʿal (masculine) and faʿlāʾ (feminine) forming a plural faʿāl is rare, except for aʿjaf and ʿijāf. This is considered irregular, and they conformed it to the word simān (fat) because they are opposites, following the custom of matching opposites with opposites.
2. The Lam (Particle) in {للرؤيا تعبرون} (for the dream you interpret): Some scholars argue that the lām here is superfluous, placed there because the object (al-ruʾyā) preceded the verb (taʿburūn).
3. Al-Kashshāf's View: The author of Al-Kashshāf suggests that al-ruʾyā could be the predicate of an implied kāna (was), similar to saying, "So-and-so was capable of this matter" (kāna fulānun li-hādhā al-amr), meaning he was fully in command of it. In this case, taʿburūn would be another predicate or a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl).
4. The Root of 'Interpretation': It is said: ʿabartu al-ruʾyā, aʿburuhā, wa ʿabartuhā taʿbīran if you explained it. Al-Azhari narrated that this is derived from al-ʿabar, which means the bank/side of a river. Thus, ʿabartu al-nahr means I crossed the river to the other side. The interpreter of a dream (ʿābir) is so named because he contemplates both sides of the dream, reflecting on its extremities and moving from one side to the other.
5. Adghāth (Confused Dreams): Adghāth is the plural of ḍaght, which is a bundle of various plants and grasses, provided they are those that have stood on a stalk and grown tall, as indicated by the verse: "{And take in your hand a bundle...}" (Surah Sad: 44). If a dream is mixed with disparate, incommensurable elements, it resembles a ḍaght.

Issue 2: The Dream as a Means for Joseph's Release

Allah made this dream the means for Joseph's salvation from prison. This is because when the King was troubled and agitated by it—seeing that the deficient and weak element overpowered the complete and strong one—his innate disposition testified that this was not good and signaled some form of evil. However, he did not know the precise nature of the situation. When a matter becomes known in one aspect but remains unknown in another, people become intensely eager to complete that knowledge, especially if the person is of high status and vast dominion, and the matter indicates evil in some way. Thus, Allah strengthened the King's drive to attain knowledge regarding the interpretation of this dream.

Furthermore, Allah rendered the interpreters who were present incapable of answering this question and veiled the truth from them, so that this might become the means for Joseph's deliverance from his tribulation.

Note on the Interpreters' Response:

The people did not deny possessing the knowledge of interpretation altogether. Rather, they stated that the knowledge of interpretation has two divisions:

1. One where the dream is coherent and orderly, making it easy to transition from imagined concepts to spiritual, rational realities.
2. One where the dream is mixed and disordered, lacking any known arrangement—this is what is called adghāth.

The people claimed the King's dream belonged to the second category (adghāth) and then stated they did not know how to interpret this specific type. It is as if they were saying: "This dream is mixed from many things, and what is like that, we are not guided to it, nor does our intellect encompass it." This statement implies that even a master and profound scholar in this science might not be guided to interpret it.

It was at this point that the cupbearer (who had been saved) remembered Joseph's incident, as he believed Joseph was profoundly learned in this science.

[The Cupbearer's Intervention]

And he who was saved of the two [prisoners]—the cupbearer—said, and remembered after a time [i.e., after Joseph had been in prison for a while]: "I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me [to Joseph]."

[The Cupbearer's Request to the King]

[The cupbearer then addressed the King, saying]: "Joseph, O truthful one (As-Siddīq), explain to us the dream of seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry, so that I may return to the people, perhaps they will know [the truth/meaning]."