Yusuf · Makki · ayah 36 of 111

Yusuf 12:36

وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ ٱلسِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ ۖ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَآ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰنِىٓ أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلْـَٔاخَرُ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰنِىٓ أَحْمِلُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِى خُبْزًا تَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّيْرُ مِنْهُ ۖ نَبِّئْنَا بِتَأْوِيلِهِۦٓ ۖ إِنَّا نَرَىٰكَ مِنَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, "Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing [grapes for] wine." The other said, "Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Two strangers in a cell bring Yusuf their dreams, and their reason is not his reputation but what they watched him do.

A reflection

They came for his goodness, not his gift

The familiar picture is of Yusuf as a famous dream interpreter. Word got round the prison, and the two young men came to the expert.

The ayah gives a different reason, and gives it in their own words. We see you as one of those who do good.

The commentaries ask what that goodness was, and the reading one of them prefers is concrete. When a man in the prison fell ill, Yusuf looked after him. When someone was in need, he gathered something for him. When a man was cramped for space, he made room for him. Another report adds that he consoled the grieving and worked hard at worship.

So the thing that brought these two men to him was not a reputation for reading dreams. It was watching him shift over on a crowded floor.

One commentary does record another view, that the word means skilled at interpretation. But the reading it prefers keeps the plain sense. They were saying: be good to us in this, as we see you being good in everything else.

On any hospital ward, patients will tell you who they talk to. It is rarely the most senior person. It is the one who noticed the water jug was empty and filled it without being asked.

People bring their real fears to the person whose kindness they have already seen. Yusuf's knowledge reached these men through a door his character had opened. That is usually the order: first the room you make, then the trust you are given.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.