12:44 Yusuf (Joseph)

{ قَالُوا أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ } أي أحلام لا حاصل لها، ولا لها تأويل. وهذا جزم منهم بما لا يعلمون، وتعذر منهم، [بما ليس بعذر] ثم قالوا: { وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ الْأَحْلَامِ بِعَالِمِينَ } أي: لا نعبر إلا الرؤيا، وأما الأحلام التي هي من الشيطان، أو من حديث النفس، فإنا لا نعبرها. فجمعوا بين الجهل والجزم، بأنها أضغات أحلام، والإعجاب بالنفس، بحيث إنهم لم يقولوا: لا نعلم تأويلها، وهذا من الأمور التي لا تنبغي لأهل الدين والحجا، وهذا أيضا من لطف الله بيوسف عليه السلام. فإنه لو عبرها ابتداء - قبل أن يعرضها على الملأ من قومه وعلمائهم، فيعجزوا عنها -لم يكن لها ذلك الموقع، ولكن لما عرضها عليهم فعجزوا عن الجواب، وكان الملك مهتما لها غاية، فعبرها يوسف- وقعت عندهم موقعا عظيما، وهذا نظير إظهار الله فضل آدم على الملائكة بالعلم، بعد أن سألهم فلم يعلموا. ثم سأل آدم، فعلمهم أسماء كل شيء، فحصل بذلك زيادة فضله، وكما يظهر فضل أفضل خلقه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في القيامة، أن يلهم الله الخلق أن يتشفعوا بآدم، ثم بنوح، ثم إبراهيم، ثم موسى، ثم عيسى عليهم السلام، فيعتذرون عنها، ثم يأتون محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم فيقول: \"أنا لها أنا لها\" فيشفع في جميع الخلق، وينال ذلك المقام المحمود، الذي يغبطه به الأولون والآخرون. فسبحان من خفيت ألطافه، ودقَّت في إيصاله البر والإحسان، إلى خواص أصفيائه وأوليائه.

هذه الرؤيا من ملك مصر مما قدر الله تعالى أنها كانت سببا لخروج يوسف عليه السلام من السجن معززا مكرما وذلك أن الملك رأى هذه الرؤيا فهالته وتعجب من أمرها وما يكون تفسيرها فجمع الكهنة والحادة وكبار دولته وأمراءه فقص عليهم ما رأى وسألهم عن تأويلها فلم يعرفوا ذلك واعتذروا إليه بأنها " أضغاث أحلام " أي أخلاط أحلام اقتضته رؤياك هذه " وما نحن بتأويل الأحلام بعالمين " أي لو كانت رؤيا صحيحة من أخلاط لما كان لنا معرفة بتأويلها وهو تعبيرها فعند ذلك تذكر الذي نجا من ذينك الفتيين اللذين كانا في السجن مع يوسف وكان الشيطان قد أنساه ما وصاه به يوسف عليه السلام ذكر أمره للملك فعند ذلك تذكر بعد أمة أي مدة وقرأ بعضهم بعد أمة أي بعد نسيان فقال لهم أي للملك والذين جمعهم.

The Dream of the King of Egypt

The King of Egypt had a dream that Allah the Exalted made a reason for Yusuf's release from prison, with his honor and reputation preserved. When the king had this dream, he was astonished and fearful and sought its interpretation. He gathered the priests, the chiefs of his state and the princes and told them what he had seen in a dream, asking them to interpret it for him. They did not know its interpretation and as an excuse, they said,

أَضْغَـثُ أَحْلَـمٍ

(Mixed up false dreams), which you saw,

وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ الاٌّحْلَـمِ بِعَـلِمِينَ

(and we are not skilled in the interpretation of dreams.) They said, had your dream been a vision rather than a mixed up false dream, we would not have known its interpretation. The man who was saved from the two, who were Yusuf's companions in prison, remembered. Shaytan plotted to make him forget the request of Yusuf, to mention his story to the king. Now, years later, he remembered after forgetfulness and said to the king and his entourage,

أَنَاْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِتَأْوِيلِهِ

(I will tell you its interpretation,) he interpretation of this dream,

فَأَرْسِلُونِ

(so send me forth.) to the prison, to Yusuf, the man of truth. So they sent him, and he said to Yusuf,

يُوسُفُ أَيُّهَا الصِّدِّيقُ أَفْتِنَا

(O Yusuf, the man of truth! Explain to us..) and mentioned the king's dream to him.

Yusuf's Interpretation of the King's Dream

This is when Yusuf, peace be upon him, told the interpretation of the dream, without criticizing the man for forgetting his request that he had made to him. Neither did he make a precondition that he be released before explaining the meaning. Rather, he said,

تَزْرَعُونَ سَبْعُ سِنِينَ دَأَبًا

(For seven consecutive years, you shall sow as usual) `you will receive the usual amount of rain and fertility for seven consecutive years.' He interpreted the cows to be years, because cows till the land that produce fruits and vegetables, which represent the green ears of corn in the dream. He next recommended what they should do during these fertile years,

فَمَا حَصَدتُّمْ فَذَرُوهُ فِى سُنبُلِهِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّا تَأْكُلُونَ

(and that (the harvest) which you reap you shall leave it in the ears, (all) except a little of it which you may eat.) He said, `Whatever you harvest during those seven fertile years, leave it in the ears so as to preserve it better. This will help the harvest stay healthy longer, except the amount that you need to eat, which should not be substantial. Stay away from extravagance, so that you use what remains of the harvest during the seven years of drought that will follow the seven fertile years.' This was represented by the seven lean cows that eat the seven fat cows. During the seven years of drought, they will eat from the harvest they collected during the seven fertile years, as represented by the dry ears of corn in the dream. Yusuf told them that during these years, the remaining ears will not produce anything and whatever they try to plant, will not produce any harvest, so he said,

يَأْكُلْنَ مَا قَدَّمْتُمْ لَهُنَّ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّا تُحْصِنُونَ

(which will devour what you have laid by in advance for them, (all) except a little of that which you have guarded (stored).) He delivered the good news to them that after the consecutive years of drought, there will come a fertile year, during which people will receive rain and the land will produce in abundance. The people will then press wine and oil as usual.

They said this is ‘A jumble a mixture of dreams! And we are not knowledgeable in the interpretation of dreams’.

Commentary

After that, say the verses cited above, Allah Ta` ala created through the workings of what is unseen (Al-Ghayb), a particular way out for the release of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . This made the king of Egypt see a dream which caused him great anxiety. He assembled the known dream interpreters and soothsayers of his state and asked them to interpret his dream. None of them could understand the dream. The answer they all gave was: أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ ۖ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ الْأَحْلَامِ بِعَالِمِينَ : ' (It seems to be) a mishmash of dreams, and we do not know the interpretation of dreams.' The word: أَضْغَاثُ (adghath) is the plural form of: ضِغث (dighth) which literally refers to a bundle of chaff or husk separated from grain while threshing and is a collection of different kinds of waste material. The sense of their saying was that this dream was somewhat muddled, confused and an admixture of many thoughts and things, and they did not know how to interpret such dreams. Had it been a regular dream, they would have had interpreted it.