Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:36
And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, "Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing wine." The other said, "Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the word of Allah, the Exalted: وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا وَقَالَ الآخَرُ إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَحْمِلُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِي خُبْزًا تَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said: I see myself pressing wine. And the other said: I see myself carrying bread upon my head, from which the birds eat. Tell us its interpretation; truly we see you to be among the doers of good.) [12:36]
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, the Exalted, says: Two young men entered the prison together with Yūsuf. By this He refers to something that has been omitted in the text, namely: ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا رَأَوُا الآيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّى حِينٍ — so they imprisoned him and brought him into the prison. And two young men entered the prison together with him. One contented oneself with the indication in His word وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ regarding the bringing of Yūsuf into the prison, without mentioning it explicitly.
The two young men were — according to what is reported [note 37] — two slaves of the great king of Egypt; one was his cupbearer and the other his cook. As follows:
19266 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: He — meaning Yūsuf — was thrown into the prison. وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ — two slaves of the great king Al-Rayyān ibn al-Walīd; one was his cupbearer and the other his cook — who had fallen into disgrace with him. The name of the one was "Mujlith" and the other "Nabū" — and "Nabū" was the one in charge of the drink.
19267 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazid related to us, saying: Saʿid related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ — that he said: "One was the king's baker over his food, and the other his cupbearer over his drink."
The reason the king imprisoned the two young men — according to what is reported — was:
19268 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: "The king had become angry with his baker; it had reached him that he intended to poison him, so he imprisoned him. And he also imprisoned the cupbearer, thinking that he had conspired with the baker. Thus he imprisoned them both; that is the word of Allah: وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ ."
قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا — it is reported that Yūsuf ﷺ, after he had been brought into the prison, asked the prisoners there what his work was; they asked him: "I interpret dreams." Then one of the two young men who had entered the prison together with him said to his companion: "Come, let us put him to the test." As follows:
19269 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: "When Yūsuf entered the prison, he said: I interpret dreams. Then one of the two young men said to his companion: Come, let us put this Hebrew slave to the test — and they pretended that they had seen something! [note 38] They asked him, though they had not seen anything. The baker said: I see myself carrying bread upon my head, from which the birds eat? And the other said: I see myself pressing wine?" [note 39]
19270 — Ibn Wakīʿ and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: "The two companions of Yūsuf had seen nothing; they only pretended to have had a dream in order to test his knowledge."
Others said: The two young men asked him about a true dream that they had actually seen, and truly believed in his knowledge of dream interpretation.
Mention of who said that:
19271 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: "When the two young men saw Yūsuf, they said: By Allah, O young man, we have come to love you upon seeing you."
19272 — [It was related to us], saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Yūsuf said to them when they said that to him: I adjure you by Allah that you do not love me, for by Allah — no one has ever loved me but that a trial came upon me through that love: my aunt loved me and a trial came upon me through her love; my father loved me and a trial came upon me through his love; the wife of my master loved me and a trial came upon me through her love for me — so do not love me, may Allah bless you! He said: But they refused anything other than to love him and to keep company with him wherever he was, and they marveled at what they saw of his understanding and his intellect. They had already had a dream upon their entry into the prison: Mujlith saw that he was carrying bread upon his head from which the birds ate, and Nabū saw that he was pressing wine. They asked him about this and said to him: نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — if you do that."
What is meant by His word أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا — that is to say: I see in my sleep that I press grapes. So it stands also in the reading of Ibn Masʿūd — according to what is transmitted from him.
19273 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Abū Salama al-Ṣāʾigh, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Bashīr al-Anṣārī, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyya — who said regarding the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: "innī arānī aʿṣiru ʿinaban." [note 40]
It is reported that this is in the dialect of the people of ʿUmān, that they call grapes (ʿinab) "khamr" (wine).
Mention of who said that:
19274 — It was related to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us — he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say regarding His word إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا : "That is to say: I press grapes. It is in the dialect of the people of ʿUmān; they call grapes khamr."
19275 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us — on the authority of Salama ibn Nubayt, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk — إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا — that he said: "Grapes; the land of such-and-such calls grapes khamr."
19276 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said regarding إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا : "Grapes."
19277 — It was related to me on the authority of Al-Musayyab ibn Sharīk, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Someone came to him and said: "I saw in what sleepers see that I had planted a vine of grapes [note 41]; it grew up, clusters came upon it, and I pressed them, then I poured it out for the king; he said: You will remain three days in the prison, then you will come out and pour wine for him."
وَقَالَ الآخَرُ إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَحْمِلُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِي خُبْزًا تَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ — Allah, the Exalted, says: The other of the two young men said: I see in my sleep that I carry bread upon my head — he says: I carry it on my head; "fawqa" is here used in place of "ʿalā" [note 42] — تَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ — from the bread.
نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ — he says: Tell us what that to which what we have told you we saw in our sleep leads, and where it leads, [note 43] as follows:
19278 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Yazid related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ — that he said: "by it" (bihi). Al-Ḥārith said: Abū ʿUbayd said: Mujāhid means that "the interpretation (taʾwīl) of a thing" is the thing itself. He said: From this also "the interpretation of a dream" — that is the matter itself to which the dream leads.
إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — the interpreters differed regarding the meaning of "doing good" (al-iḥsān) with which the two young men described Yūsuf. [note 44]
Some said: That was because he visited their sick, consoled their grieving, and when one of them was in need he collected for him.
Mention of who said that:
19279 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Saʿid ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: Khalf ibn Khalīfa related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Nubayt, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, who said: I sat with him in Balkh — he was asked about His word نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ : "He was asked: What was the doing of good of Yūsuf? He said: If anyone was sick he kept watch over him, if anyone was in need he collected for him, and if anyone became hard-pressed he relieved it for him."
19280 — Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Abū Isrāʾīl, who said: Khalf ibn Khalīfa related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Nubayt, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk — who said: A man asked al-Ḍaḥḥāk about His word إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — "What was his doing of good?" He said: "If anyone was sick in the prison he kept watch over him, if anyone was in need he collected for him, and if space became too narrow for anyone, he widened it for him."
19281 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of Qatāda — regarding His word إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — that he said: "It has reached us that his doing of good was that he tended their sick, consoled their grieving, and devoted himself to his Lord. And he said: When Yūsuf reached the prison, he found there people whose hope had been given up and whose trial was heavy. Their grief had lasted long. He began to say: Rejoice and have patience — then you will be rewarded; this has a reward, this has a recompense. They said: O young man, may Allah bless you — how beautiful is your face, and how fine is your character; we are blessed by your nearness! We do not wish that we were anywhere other than here, since we have been imprisoned, on account of what you tell us about reward, atonement, and purification. Who are you, O young man? He said: I am Yūsuf, the son of the chosen one of Allah Yaʿqūb, the son of the sacrifice of Allah Isḥāq, the son of the friend of Allah Ibrāhīm. And he was loved. And the warden of the prison said to him: O young man, by Allah, if it were in my power, I would set you free; but I will treat your nearness well and lighten your confinement — be in whichever house of the prison you wish."
19282 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Khalf al-Ashjāʿī, on the authority of Salama ibn Nubayt, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk — regarding إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — that he said: "He made room for the man in his seat and made caring visits to the sick."
Others said: Its meaning is إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — if you tell us the interpretation of our dream.
Mention of who said that:
19283 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq — who said: "They asked him about their dream and said: نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ — if you do that."
Abū Jaʿfar said: The soundest statement on this in our view is that which we have reported from al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Qatāda.
