Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:41
O two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his master of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire."
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: يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا وَأَمَّا الآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْ رَأْسِهِ قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ (O two companions of the prison, as for one of you: he will pour wine for his master; and as for the other: he will be crucified, so that the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decided concerning which you both sought a ruling.) [12:41]
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, the Exalted, says — as a report about the words of Yūsuf to the two men who entered the prison together with him: يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا — he is the one who saw himself pressing grapes; he will pour for his master (rabbi) — what is meant is his lord (sayyid), that is, their king [note 5] — خَمْرًا — he says: he will be his cupbearer.
19294 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا : "His master (sayyid)."
And as for the other — he is the one who saw himself carrying bread upon his head from which the birds were eating — "he will be crucified, so that the birds will eat from his head." It is mentioned that when he had given the interpretation of what they had communicated to him that they had seen in their sleep, they said: We saw nothing! Whereupon he said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — he says: "The matter concerning which you both sought a ruling has been settled." [note 6] Allah's decree concerning you both, of what I told you, has been established. [note 7]
With what we have said concerning this the scholars are in agreement.
Mention of who said that:
19295 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh — who said: "The two who entered the prison with Yūsuf said: We saw nothing! Whereupon he said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ ."
19296 — 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 Sufyān, on the authority of ʿUmāra ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh — قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — that he said: "After they said what they said, he communicated it to them; they said: We saw nothing! Whereupon he said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ ."
19297 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAlqama, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh — concerning the two young men who came to Yūsuf with the dream — that they had only done a dream as if they had had it, in order to test him. After he interpreted their dreams, they said: We were only jesting! Whereupon he said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ .
19298 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra, 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. One of them said: I see myself pressing grapes! And the other said: I see myself carrying bread on top of my head from which the birds eat? نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ! Whereupon he said: يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا وَأَمَّا الآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِنْ رَأْسِهِ . After he had given the interpretation, they said: We saw nothing! Whereupon he said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — on the basis of what Yūsuf had interpreted."
19299 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: "To Mujlith he said: You will be crucified, so that the birds will eat from your head. And to Nabū he said: You will return to your work; your master is pleased with you. قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — or something to the same effect."
19300 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me — he said: Ibn Jurayj said: [.......] concerning which you both sought a ruling. [note 8]
19301 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — who said: قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — at their word: We saw no dream — we were only jesting! He said: The dream has come true in accordance with my interpretation.
19302 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning His word الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ — and he mentioned the like of it.