His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Then it became apparent to them after they had seen the signs that they would imprison him for a time." "And two young men entered the prison with him. One of them said, 'Indeed, I see myself pressing wine.' And the other said, 'Indeed, I see myself carrying bread on my head from which the birds eat. Inform us of its interpretation, for we see you to be among the doers of good.'" When Yusuf refused the sin and the wife of the Aziz despaired of him, she demanded of her husband, saying: 'Indeed, this Hebrew boy has disgraced me among the people, and he is apologizing to them and describing the matter according to his choice. I am confined and hidden. Either you permit me to go out to the people and apologize (p-85) and I will deny him, or you imprison him as I am imprisoned.' At that time, it became apparent to them his imprisonment. Ibn Abbas said: So he ordered him to be carried on a donkey, and he was beaten with drums, and it was announced about him in the markets of Egypt: 'If Yusuf the Hebrew desires his mistress, then this is his reward to be imprisoned.' Abu Salih said: Ibn Abbas did not mention this narration except that he cried. And "became apparent" means: appeared, and the subject of "became apparent" is omitted, its estimation being: appearance or opinion. The plural pronoun in "to them" refers to the king alone, as there was consultation in the matter, and "they will imprison him" is a sentence that has been entered upon by the oath particle, and it is not permissible for the subject of "became apparent" to be "they will imprison him" because the subject cannot be a sentence in any way. This is the clear opinion of Sibawayh, and it was said: the subject is "they will imprison him," which is an error, and it is merely an explanation of the subject. And the "signs" mentioned in it, the people of tafsir have said that they are the tearing of the shirt - as Mujahid and others said - and the five parts of the face that were with the tearing of the shirt - as Ikrimah said - and the cutting of the women's hands, as Al-Suddi said. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The purpose of the speech is that they saw his imprisonment after the appearance of the signs that exonerated him from the accusation. Thus, it clarifies their injustice towards him, and the five parts of the face and the cutting of the women's hands do not contain any exoneration for Yusuf, nor can any exoneration be imagined except in the news of the shirt. If the speaker was a child - as it has been narrated - then it is a great sign, and if he was a man, then it is a sign in which there is some indication. The norm is that a sign is not expressed except in what is manifestly clear, and "the signs" may also refer to "the clarifying ones" in any degree of clarity that has been agreed upon. It is possible that the meaning of His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "after they had seen the signs" means: after it became apparent to them from the aspects of the matter and its indications that Yusuf is innocent. He did not intend to specify a sign, but rather all the indications of the entire story. And "the time" in the speech of the Arabs and in this verse refers to a period of time that is not limited, which can apply to both little and much. This is among its occurrences in the Quran. Ikrimah said: The time here refers to seven years, and it was said: rather it refers to a year.

And this is according to what the unseen revealed in the imprisonment of Yusuf. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, heard a man reciting "until a time" with the eye, and this is the language of Hudhayl. He said to him: Who taught you? He said: Ibn Mas'ud. So Umar wrote to Ibn Mas'ud: "Indeed, Allah has revealed the Qur'an in Arabic in the language of Quraysh, so with it teach the people, and do not teach them in the language of Hudhayl." It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "Yusuf, peace be upon him, stumbled three times: he intended and was imprisoned, and he said: 'Mention me before your lord,' and Satan made him forget the mention of his lord, so his imprisonment was prolonged. And he said: 'Indeed, you are thieves,' and it was replied: 'If he steals, a brother of his stole before.'

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And he entered with him the prison﴾. The meaning is: they imprisoned him, so he entered the prison with two young men who were also imprisoned. And this (with) can mean at the time of entry, and it may not be, rather they entered separately. It has been narrated that they were for the greatest king, al-Walid ibn al-Rayan. One of them was his baker, and the other was his cupbearer.

And the young man: the youth, and the term can refer to both a slave and a free servant. It is possible that these two are characterized by all of that, and the term is of those with the letter 'ya'. And their saying: (the youthfulness) is uncommon. It has been narrated that the king accused them of the baker among them wanting to poison him, and the cupbearer agreed with him on that, so he imprisoned them. This was said by al-Suddi. When Yusuf entered the prison, he won the people there with his good conversation, virtue, and nobility. He would console their sad ones, visit their sick, ask for their poor, and encourage them towards good. So the two young men loved him and stayed close to him, and the keeper of the prison and the one in charge of him loved him as well. He said to him: Be in any of the houses you wish. Yusuf said to him: Do not love me, may Allah have mercy on you, for indeed love has brought upon me calamities: my aunt loved me, and I was tested for her love; my father loved me, and I was tested for his love; and the wife of the Aziz loved me, and I was tested for her love by what you see. And Yusuf, peace be upon him, had said to the people of the prison: Indeed, I interpret dreams and I am skilled at it. It has been narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that the two young men used these two dreams to test him. It has been narrated from Mujahid that they saw that truly and wanted to ask him. One of them, whose name was (Nabu), said: I saw a vine with three beautiful branches, in it were beautiful clusters of grapes, so I was squeezing them and giving to the king. The other, whose name was (Majlath), said: I saw that I was coming out of the king's kitchen and on my head were three baskets containing bread, and the birds were eating from the top of them.

And His saying: ﴿I am squeezing wine﴾ it is said that he named the grapes wine by the outcome, and it is said that this is the language of the Azd of Oman, who call grapes wine. Al-Asma'i said: Al-Mu'tamir narrated to me that I met a Bedouin carrying grapes in a container, and I said: What are you carrying? He said: Wine, meaning grapes. And in the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: "Indeed, I see myself squeezing grapes." It is permissible that the description of wine is that it is squeezed, as the squeezing is for it and for its sake.

And His saying: "bread" it is narrated that he saw a dish of thareed above his head, and in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "Above my head is thareed that the birds eat from it."

And His saying: ﴿Indeed, we see you among the doers of good﴾ the majority said: They mean: in knowledge. And Al-Dahhak and Qatadah said: The meaning is among the doers of good in his companionship with the people of the prison and his kindness towards them. It is said that they intended to inform him that they see goodness from him towards them when he interprets for them what they saw, and Ibn Ishaq inclined towards this.