ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ
[He said], "Joseph, O man of truth, explain to us about seven fat cows eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry - that I may return to the people; perhaps they will know [about you]."
Tafsir
Verse range: 12:46
"Yusuf, O truthful one..."
The Meaning: They sent him to Yusuf, so he came to him and said: "Yusuf, O truthful one," meaning: O you who have reached the pinnacle of truthfulness.
He addressed him in this manner because he had experienced his circumstances and recognized his truthfulness in interpreting his own dream and the dream of his companion, as it came to pass exactly as he had interpreted it.
For this reason, he spoke to him with cautious language, saying: "That I may return to the people, so that they may know," because he was not certain of his return—for he might perish before that—nor was he certain of their reaction, for they might not come to know.
Alternatively, the meaning of "so that they may know" is: so that they may know your virtue and your status in knowledge, and thus they will seek you out and deliver you from your tribulation.
"He said: 'You shall sow for seven years consecutively, and what you harvest, leave it in its ears, except for a little of what you eat. Then there will come after that seven difficult years which will consume what you have stored for them, except for a little of what you preserve. Then there will come after that a year in which the people will be given rain, and in which they will press [oil and wine].'"
