Then will come after that seven difficult [years] which will consume what you advanced [i.e., saved] for them, except a little from which you will store.
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,
(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,
Said in verse 48 was: ثُمَّ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ سَبْعٌ شِدَادٌ يَأْكُلْنَ مَا قَدَّمْتُمْ لَهُنَّ (Then there shall come, after that, seven hard years which shall eat up what you have stored for them). Since, seen in the dream was that seven lean cows ate up the seven fat ones, therefore, while giving his interpretation of the dream, he considered it appropriate to say that the years of the famine will eat up what they had stored over the past years. Though, an year is no eatable, the sense is that the people and animals will eat up during the time of famine whatever grain was stored up during past years.
The context of the story shows that this person, after having found out the interpretation of the dream, returned to the king and told him about it. He was pleased with it and convinced of the intellectual and spiritual excellence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . But, the Holy Qur’ an has not considered it necessary to mention all these things because they are self-explanatory. What transpired later was described by saying:
Tazkirul Quran
Maulana Wahiduddin KhanOn ayahs 45–48
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.
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
![Surah Yusuf 12:48 in Arabic with its translation: “Then will come after that seven difficult [years] which will consume what you advanced [i.e., saved] for…”](/surah/yusuf/48/image.jpg)