Tafsir of Yusuf 12:42

{And he said to the one he thought} The one who "thought" is Yusuf, if his interpretation was by way of ijtihad (reasoning). If it was by way of revelation, then the one who "thought" is the cupbearer, and "thought" here carries the meaning of certainty.

{Remember me with your master} Describe me to the King with my attributes, and recount my story to him, perhaps he will have mercy on me and rescue me from this predicament.

{But Satan made him forget to mention it to his master} He made the cupbearer forget to mention him to his master. It is also said: He made Yusuf forget the remembrance of Allah when he entrusted his affair to someone other than Him.

{And he remained in prison for a few years} Al-bid' (a few) is between three and nine. Most opinions hold that he remained there for seven years.

If you ask: How does Satan have power over a human? I say: He whispers to the servant things that distract him from a matter, serving as causes for forgetfulness, until it departs from him and slips from his heart. As for causing forgetfulness ab initio (from the start), none has power over that except Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: {Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten} (Al-Baqarah: 106).

If you ask: What is the aspect of attributing the "remembrance" to his "master" (the King), when it is neither an attribution of a verbal noun to its agent nor to its object? I say: There is a connection (mulabasa) in the phrase "Satan made him forget the remembrance of his master," or "at his master," so the attribution is permissible because attribution occurs through the slightest connection. Or, it is based on the estimation: "Satan made him forget the remembrance of the news of his master," omitting the added word, which is "news."

If you ask: Why was Yusuf criticized for seeking help from other than Allah to remove his plight, when Allah says: {And cooperate in righteousness and piety} (Al-Ma'idah: 2), and says, recounting from Jesus (peace be upon him): {Who are my helpers for Allah?} (Al-Imran: 52)? And in the Hadith: "Allah is in the aid of the servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother," and "Whoever relieves a believer of a distress, Allah will relieve him of a distress from the distresses of the Hereafter"? And from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) could not sleep one night and asked for someone to guard him, until Sa'd came and I heard his snoring." Is this not like seeking treatment with medicine and gaining strength with food and drink? And if it is because the King was a disbeliever, is there not consensus on the permissibility of seeking help from disbelievers to repel injustice, drowning, burning, and similar harms?

I say: Just as Allah chose the Prophets over His creation, He chose for them the best, most excellent, and most appropriate affairs. It is better and more appropriate for a Prophet, when afflicted with a trial, not to entrust his affair to anyone but his Lord, and not to seek support from anyone but Him—especially if the one being sought for support is a disbeliever—so that the disbelievers do not gloat over him and say: "If he were on the truth and had a Lord to aid him, he would not have sought our help." Al-Hasan used to weep when he read this verse and say: "When a matter befalls us, we rush to the people."

{The King said: "Indeed, I see seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green spikes and others dry. O assembly, explain to me my vision, if you are able to interpret visions."}