Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 42

(Ayah 42) ➊ { وَ قَالَ لِلَّذِيْ ظَنَّ اَنَّهٗ …:} From this it is understood how distressing it is to remain in prison, which, according to some, is the graveyard of the living, that a patient person like Yusuf (peace be upon him) said to the man whom he thought would be released, to mention him to his master, that how a person is imprisoned without any crime. From this it is understood that to adopt the worldly means that Allah Almighty has created for deliverance from hardship is not against reliance (tawakkul), as is evident from «{ وَ تَعَاوَنُوْا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوٰى }» [ المائدۃ : ۲ ] (Help one another in righteousness and piety), and as Isa (peace be upon him) said: «{ مَنْ اَنْصَارِيْۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ }» [ آل عمران : ۵۲ ] "Who are my helpers towards Allah?" And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), after returning from Taif, sent a message to Mut‘im bin ‘Adi, then entered Makkah under his protection. Rather, a Muslim should adopt every lawful means of the world. He said: «{ وَ اَعِدُّوْا لَهُمْ مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِّنْ قُوَّةٍ }» [الأنفال : ۶۰ ] That is, for these disbelievers, prepare against them whatever you are able of power. However, even after that, trust will still be upon Allah alone.

➋ Satan made that cupbearer forget to mention him to his master, that is, the king, so Yusuf (peace be upon him) remained in prison for several years. The enmity of Satan with Adam (peace be upon him) and his progeny is testified by the Qur’an: «{ اِنَّهٗ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِيْنٌ }» [ البقرۃ : ۱۶۸ ] "Indeed, he is your open enemy." And the Qur’an has explicitly stated that the cupbearer’s forgetting was the work of Satan. Despite this, some scholars have considered Yusuf (peace be upon him) asking the cupbearer to mention him to the king as contrary to his resolve and the dignity of prophethood, and have considered the reason for his remaining in prison for so many years to be that Allah Almighty intended that Yusuf’s heart should not settle upon means. In this regard, these people also present the narration which Ibn Jarir has narrated with his chain, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If Yusuf (peace be upon him) had not said what he said, he would not have remained in prison for such a long period, because he sought deliverance from hardship from other than Allah." Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "This narration is extremely weak, because its narrator Sufyan bin Waki‘ is weak, and (his sheikh) Ibrahim bin Yazid (al-Jawzi) is even weaker than him."

➌ The word { فَلَبِثَ فِي السِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِيْنَ : ’’ بِضْعَ ‘‘} is used for a number from three to nine. Neither in the Qur’an nor in the Sunnah has the duration of this period been specified. Among the Tabi‘in, some said seven years, some said less or more, but now who can ask them who told you this duration? If it came from Bani Isra’il, then it cannot be relied upon, because according to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we can neither affirm it nor deny it. So the real thing is that the period was less than ten years, and Allah knows best how long it was.

42. 1. The word "بضع" is used for a number ranging from three to nine, according to the statement of Wahb bin Munabbih. Prophet Ayyub (علیہ السلام) remained in trial and Prophet Yusuf (علیہ السلام) stayed in prison for seven years, and the punishment of Bukht Nasr also lasted seven years. According to some, he remained in prison for twelve years, and according to others, for fourteen years. And Allah knows best.

42. And of the two, the one whom Joseph was sure would be released, he said to him: "Mention me to your master." But Satan made him forget to mention Joseph to his master, so Joseph remained in prison for several years [42].

[41] When the word "an" comes after the word "zann," it gives the meaning of certainty. (For details, see Mufradat al-Qur'an by Imam Raghib Isfahani.) And there are many other examples of this in the Quran as well. For example, ﴿الَّذِيْنَ يَظُنُّوْنَ اَنَّهُمْ مُّلٰقُوْا رَبِّهِمْ﴾ [2: 42] meaning those who are certain that they will meet their Lord, and Yusuf (peace be upon him) was certain regarding the cupbearer that he would be released from prison and reinstated to his former position. When he was about to leave the prison, Yusuf (peace be upon him) said to him to mention him to the king, that an innocent man has been imprisoned for a long time and that his attention is needed in this matter.

[42]
The Duration of the Imprisonment of Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him):

However, the cupbearer who was to be released became so engrossed and overjoyed with the news of his release and then the restoration of his job that he completely forgot to mention his benefactor, Sayyiduna Yusuf (peace be upon him), before the king. The forgetfulness has been attributed to Satan because Satan is never helpful or supportive in any good deed. His whispers are such that either a good deed is not performed at all, or if that is not possible, then his aim is that there be as much delay as possible in the performance of that good deed. Just as the Quran generally attributes heedlessness from the remembrance of Allah to Satan. As a result, several more years passed with him remaining in prison, and no one even thought to pay attention to his case. The Quran has used the word ﴿بِضْعَ سِنِيْنَ﴾, which applies to odd numbers less than ten, and according to the statements of the commentators, the duration of his imprisonment was either 7 years or 9 years.