Surah Yusuf, Ayah 46

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,

This begins with the address: يُوسُفُ أَيُّهَا الصِّدِّيقُ (Yusuf, 0 the truthful one ... ) in verse 46. It means that this person reached the prison and de-scribed his intent in a manner that he first confessed to the truthfulness of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in word and deed, and then requested him to give an interpretation of a dream. The dream he related was: The king has seen that seven fat cows are being eaten by seven lean ones; and he has seen that there are seven years of grain which are green and seven others which are dry.

After having related the dream, this person said: لَّعَلِّي أَرْ‌جِعُ إِلَى النَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (so that I may go back to the people, that they may know). It means: If you tell me the interpretation, it is possible that, when I go back to the people and report the interpretation to them, it is likely that, in this way, they get to know your excellence and expertise.

According to Tafsir Mazhari, the format of events present in the world of autonomous images is what one sees in dreams. In that world, these images have particular meanings. The edifice of the art of interpreting dreams solely depends on knowing what a particular autonomous image in that world means. Allah Ta` ala had blessed Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) with perfection in this art. As soon as he heard the dream related, he knew that seven fat cows and seven green ears denote seven years during which crops will grow well as usual - because animal-driven ploughing to level land and grow grain has a distinct role in it. Simi-larly, seven lean cows and seven dry ears of grain mean that, after the first seven years, there will be seven years of severe famine. As for the seven lean cows eating the seven fat ones, it means that the grain stored during the first seven years will all be eaten up during those years of famine - remaining there will be some grain needed for sowing.

Though the king of Egypt was a polytheist and a wine drinker, God made him see a true dream of the future. This shows how God helps the preacher of truth. One way is to make the potential convert see a dream which impresses upon him the preacher’s importance. As a result his heart is softened and fresh opportunities are opened up for the dayee. Only when the king’s wine-server heard about the king’s dream was he reminded of the incident in prison. He related his personal experience to the king and the courtiers of how Joseph’s interpretation of his own dream and that of another prisoner had proved to be absolutely true. Thereafter, with the permission of the king, he went to the prison to ask Joseph about the interpretation of the king’s dream. The introduction of this aspect of Joseph’s personality provided a way for him to be released from prison. God could have arranged for his immediate release as soon as the wine-server was out of prison. He could have made the drink-server fulfil his promise and mention Joseph to the king as soon as he was back in the palace. But every work of God is performed at the ordained time. It is not the way of God to perform any task before the time appointed for it.