Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:48
Then will come after that seven difficult [years] which will consume what you saved for them, except a little from which you will store.
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: ثُمَّ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ سَبْعٌ شِدَادٌ يَأْكُلْنَ مَا قَدَّمْتُمْ لَهُنَّ إِلا قَلِيلا مِمَّا تُحْصِنُونَ (Then there will come after that seven hard years, which will devour what you have prepared for them, except a small amount which you keep in store. — 12:48)
Abū Jaʿfar says: He says: After the seven years in which you will sow according to custom, there will come seven hard years; he says: years of drought and famine; (yaʾkulna mā qaddamtum lahunna): in those years there will be eaten from that which you have prepared as food and provision during the seven fertile years.
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Allah, the Exalted, said: (yaʾkulna) — He described the years as though they (the food) eat, while the actual meaning is: that the inhabitants of that region will eat therein, as was said:
Nahāruka yā maghrūru sahwun wa-ghaflatun wa-layluka nawmun wa-al-radā laka lāzimu
Here the day is described with negligence and heedlessness, and the night with sleep, while in reality one is during the day negligent and heedless, and during the night asleep — this because the listeners know its meaning and its intent.
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(illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn): except a small portion of what you bring to safety.
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'Al-iḥṣān': the placing into a fortress (ḥiṣn); its intent is preserving and storing.
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In the same sense as we have said, the people of interpretation also spoke.
Mention of who said this:
19371 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (yaʾkulna mā qaddamtum lahunna): he says: they devour what you had prepared as provision in those years; (illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn).
19372 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (thumma yaʾtī min baʿdi dhālika sabʿun shidādun) — those are the dry and exhausted years; (yaʾkulna mā qaddamtum lahunna illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn).
19373 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (thumma yaʾtī min baʿdi dhālika sabʿun shidādun) — those are the dry years; (yaʾkulna mā qaddamtum lahunna illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn): of what you store.
19374 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn), he says: what you store.
19375 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: (tuḥṣinūn): you preserve.
19376 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (yaʾkulna mā qaddamtum lahunna illā qalīlan mimmā tuḥṣinūn), he said: of what you set aside.
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Abū Jaʿfar says: These statements concerning His word (tuḥṣinūn), even though the wordings of the speakers about it differ, their meanings are kindred; and the root form of the word and its interpretation are as I have expounded.
