Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:47
[Joseph] said, "You will plant for seven years consecutively; and what you harvest leave in its spikes, except a little from which you will eat.
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 words of Allah, the Exalted: قَالَ تَزْرَعُونَ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ دَأَبًا فَمَا حَصَدْتُمْ فَذَرُوهُ فِي سُنْبُلِهِ إِلا قَلِيلا مِمَّا تَأْكُلُونَ (He said: "You shall sow for seven consecutive years; whatever you then harvest, leave it in its ear, except a small portion that you eat." — 12:47)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah, the Exalted, says: Yūsuf said to the one who asked him about the interpretation of the king's dream: (tazraʿūna sabʿa sinīna daʾaban): you shall sow for these seven years, as you were accustomed to sow in the years before that, according to your usual custom from the past.
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'Al-daʾb' means custom; hence the words of Imruʾ al-Qays:
Ka-daʾbika min Umm al-Ḥuwayrithi qablahā wa-jāratihā Umm al-Rabābi bi-Māsali
That is to say: as was your custom with her.
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His word: (fa-mā ḥaṣadtum fa-dharūhu fī sunbulih illā qalīlan mimmā taʾkulūn) — this is an advice which the Prophet of Allah ﷺ gave to the people, and an insight which he deemed beneficial for them: he charged them to preserve their food, as in:
19370 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: The Prophet of Allah Yūsuf said to them: (tazraʿūna sabʿa sinīna daʾaban) — the āya; by that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ intended continued subsistence.
