Tafsir of Yusuf 12:54

"And the King said, 'Bring him to me...'"

It is said istakhlasahu (he chose him) and istakhassahu (he singled him out) when one makes a person purely for oneself and exclusive to one's own service.

"And when he spoke to him..."

He witnessed in him that which he had not anticipated.

"...he said, 'Indeed, you are today among us established [in status]...'"

Meaning: possessing status and rank.

"...and trusted.'"

Meaning: entrusted with everything.

It is narrated that the messenger came to him and said, "Answer the King." So he left the prison and prayed for its people: "O Allah, incline the hearts of the righteous toward them, and do not conceal the news from them," for they are the most knowledgeable of people regarding news of current events. He wrote upon the door of the prison: "These are the dwellings of trial, the graves of the living, the gloating of enemies, and the testing of friends."

Then he bathed, cleansed himself of the filth of the prison, and put on new clothes. When he entered upon the King, he said: "O Allah, I ask You for the best of his good, and I seek refuge in Your might and power from his evil." Then he greeted him and prayed for him in Hebrew. The King asked, "What is this language?" He replied, "The language of my forefathers." The King spoke seventy languages, so he addressed him in them, and Yusuf answered him in all of them. The King was amazed by him and said, "O truthful one, I would like to hear my vision from you."

He said, "You saw cows," and he described their colors, their conditions, and the place from which they emerged. He described the ears of grain and everything regarding them in the exact manner the King had seen, not omitting a single letter. He said to him, "It is your duty to gather food in the granaries, so the people will come to you from all directions to obtain provisions from you, and there will be gathered for you of the treasures what has not been gathered for anyone before you."

"He said, 'Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I am a knowing guardian.'"