Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 37

(Ayah 37) ➊ { قَالَ لَا يَاْتِيْكُمَا طَعَامٌ …:} Yusuf (peace be upon him) was already established on the religion of Allah and monotheism. In prison, Allah the Exalted placed this wisdom that he found freedom from worldly affairs and seclusion, had more opportunity for remembrance and contemplation, and his heart was emptied of attachment to the disbelievers, so the chest became even more illuminated with the light of prophetic knowledge. Now, when both of them needed to ask Yusuf (peace be upon him) for the interpretation of their dreams, Yusuf (peace be upon him) deemed it necessary to first invite them to faith in monotheism and the Hereafter, and then tell them the interpretation of the dream. For this reason, he took some time from them to talk, but at the same time reassured them so that they would not become anxious, saying that the food which is given to you, before it comes, I will surely tell you the interpretation in any case. The phrase "before the food comes" indicates that the time for food was near.

➋ For the exegesis of { ذٰلِكُمَا مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِيْ رَبِّيْ … : ’’ ذٰلِكُمَا ‘‘}, see verse (32), that is, the interpretation of dreams is one of those sciences which Allah has taught me, such as Shariah, wisdom, livelihood, trustworthiness, etc. The meaning is that I will interpret not by guesswork and conjecture, but with true knowledge. The priests and court advisors of Egypt were skilled in the science of interpretation, so Allah the Exalted especially granted this knowledge to Yusuf (peace be upon him), so that when the time came, it would become clear what difference there is between the knowledge granted to the Prophet of Allah and the knowledge of any other great scholar, as if this was also a miracle granted to Yusuf (peace be upon him). Here, this question would naturally arise: how did you acquire these sciences, among which is the science of interpretation? In answer to this, Yusuf (peace be upon him) stated the reasons for this blessing upon himself in contrast to that entire society, then invited them to monotheism in a most wise manner. Thus, the first thing he said was that these sciences have been granted to me by my Lord, the Exalted, ({’’ اِنِّيْ تَرَكْتُ ‘‘ } in {’’اِنَّ‘‘} is for stating the reason), because I left the community and religion of those people, despite living among them and growing up there, I never adopted it, who do not believe in Allah and are also deniers of the Hereafter, because such people are not even worthy of these sciences.

37. 1. That is, the interpretation I will provide will not be based on conjecture and guesswork like that of soothsayers and astrologers, in which there is a possibility of both error and correctness. Rather, my interpretation will be based on certain knowledge that has been granted to me by Allah, in which there is no possibility of mistake.

37. 2. This is the reason being stated for the inspiration and divine knowledge (with which you have been blessed): that I have abandoned the religion of those people who do not believe in Allah and the Hereafter, and as a result, these favors of Allah have been bestowed upon me.

Yusuf said, “Before the food you are provided with comes to you, I will inform you of the interpretation of your dreams. This is the knowledge [37] my Lord has taught me. I have left the religion of those who do not believe in Allah and who deny the Hereafter.”

[37]
Prophet Yusuf Explains the Principles of Islam to the Prisoners:

Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) replied to them that he would certainly tell them the interpretation of their dreams, and he would inform them even before their food arrived. But before that, he considered it necessary to explain that the knowledge of dream interpretation which Allah had taught him was a special favor of Allah upon him, and Allah’s grace and favor are bestowed only upon those who devote themselves solely to Allah, worship Him alone, trust in Him, and do not associate anyone with Him. He said that he would never accept the religion of those people (the Egyptians) who neither believe in Allah nor in the Day of Judgment. Rather, he followed the religion of his forefathers, Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Prophet Yaqub (peace be upon him), and these elders used to worship Allah alone and never associated anyone with Him in worship. Adopting such a religion is indeed a great favor and grace of Allah. If only people would understand this. On this occasion, from Prophet Yusuf’s explanation of the principles of religion to those prisoners, several things become apparent, for example:

1.
The Best Time for Preaching:

The best opportunity for preaching is when the listener himself is eager to listen. These prisoners certainly wanted to hear the interpretation of their dreams and were waiting for it. Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) took full advantage of this opportunity and first began to explain to them the principles of religion. If he had told them the interpretation of their dreams first, perhaps they would not have been willing to listen to such things afterward, or even if they listened, they would not have taken any interest in them.

2. There had been countless ups and downs in Prophet Yusuf’s previous life, but he had never preached in this manner at any occasion. This shows that it was during these days that he was granted prophethood.

3.
The Era of Prophet Yusuf’s Prophethood:

During this preaching, by mentioning the names of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Ishaq (peace be upon him), and Yaqub (peace be upon him), it becomes clear that these elders were quite famous in the region of Egypt as well, and this was a good reputation. It was also intended to clarify that he was not presenting anything new, but rather saying what the people of truth have always said.

4. Just as he considered this opportunity valuable and took advantage of it, during the long period of eight or nine years in prison, he must have had many such opportunities. Thus, this prison itself became the center of his preaching activities.