'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Joseph, O trustworthy one, interpret for us the dream of seven fat cows that seven lean ones eat, and seven green ears of corn and others that are dry, perhaps I may return to the people so that they may know." He said, "You will plant for seven years continuously, so what you harvest, leave it in its ear except for a little of what you eat. Then there will come after that seven hard years that will consume what you have prepared for them, except for a little of what you store. Then there will come after that a year in which the people will be aided and in which they will press (grapes)." The meaning: The messenger - and he was the cupbearer - came to Joseph and said to him: O Joseph, "O trustworthy one," and he called him trustworthy because he had tested his truthfulness in other matters. This is a form of exaggeration from (truthful). Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was called trustworthy because he confirmed others, as with every confirmation there is truth. The one who confirms the truths is also truthful. Based on this, the believers are called truthful in His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And those who believe in Allah and His messengers, they are the truthful ones." (Al-Hadid: 19) Then he said: "Interpret for us the dream of seven cows," meaning: for the one who saw in the dream seven cows. Al-Naqqash narrated a story in which it is said that Gabriel, peace be upon him, entered upon Joseph in prison and gave him glad tidings of Allah's mercy upon him, and that he would be released from prison. It is said that he had caused the king to have a dream that became a reason for Joseph's relief. It is narrated that the king saw seven fat cows coming out of the river, and behind them came seven lean ones that ate the fat ones. He was amazed at how they overcame them and how the fat ones fit in the bellies of the lean ones. He also saw seven green ears of corn and seven dry ones wrapping around them until they covered their greenness, and he was also amazed at that. And His saying: "Perhaps they may know," means: the interpretation of this vision so that the king's worry may be removed and the worry of the people. It is said: "Perhaps they may know" your status in knowledge and the essence of your virtue, and that would be a reason for your deliverance. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "He said, you will plant," the verse. This statement from Joseph, peace be upon him, contains three types of sayings: the first is an interpretation by meaning and wording. The second is offering an opinion and a command with it, which is his saying: "Leave it in its ear." The third is informing of the unseen regarding the matter of the eighth year, as said by Qatadah. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This may not be unseen, but rather the knowledge of the expression gave the cessation of drought after seven (years), and it is known that nothing cuts it except a clear fertility, just as it gave that the river is an example of time; for it is the closest thing to it, and the cows came as an example for the years. And "continuously" means: adhering to your habit in agriculture, and from it is the saying of Imru' al-Qais: Like your habit from Umm al-Huwairith before her.

The majority of the seven reciters read: "dā'ban" with the hamzah being silent. Only ʿĀṣim read it as "dā'abān" with the hamzah being pronounced. Abū ʿAmr facilitates the hamzah at the level of recitation. They are similar to: "nahrin" and "nahrin." The one who supports the saying of "dā'ban" is Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mubarrid; for in his saying: "tazraʿūn" there is a meaning of "tad'abūn." And for him, it is like: (qaʿada al-qurfusāʾ) and (ishtamala al-ṣammāʾ). Sibawayh sees the accusative of all this as being due to an implied action from the source term, indicated by this apparent meaning, as if he said: "tazraʿūn tad'abūn dā'ban."

And His saying: ﴿So what you have harvested, leave it﴾ is a reference to a noble, beneficial opinion based on the food of Egypt and its wheat, which does not last two years except by the means of keeping it in the ear; for when the grain remains in its husk, it is preserved. The meaning is: leave the crops in the ear except for what is necessary for eating. Thus, food accumulates and is stacked, and the older is consumed first. When the years of famine come, the people become stronger from that stored food, and they also store what is obtained in the years of famine, despite its scarcity. The years carry some of each other until the people are relieved. To these years, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, referred in his supplication against Quraysh: "O Allah, help me against them with seven like the seven of Joseph." He began with them, and a year came that consumed everything, until the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, prayed for them, and that was lifted from them and did not extend for seven years. It has been narrated that when Joseph, peace be upon him, came out and described this arrangement to the king and it amazed him, the king said to him, "I have entrusted you with overseeing this matter of food for these coming years." This was the first thing that Joseph was appointed to.

And he attributed eating to the years in His saying: "they will eat" broadly in terms of what is eaten in them, as He, the Exalted, said: ﴿And the day is clear﴾ [Yunus: 67], and as He said: (Your day is idle and your night is standing). This is common in the speech of the Arabs, and it is possible that the act of drought and the drying of the grains is called eating. In the hadith: "A year came that consumed everything." And the Bedouin said regarding the year: (The stars were scattered, and the meat was scarce, and the bones were dried).

And "tuḥṣinūn" means: you preserve and store, as Ibn ʿAbbās said. It is derived from ḥiṣn, which means protection and refuge, and from it is the protection of women because it means safeguarding.

And His saying, the Exalted: "yughāthū" is permissible to be from al-ghayth - which is the saying of Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujahid, and the majority of the interpreters, meaning: they are rained upon. It is also permissible that it be from (aghāthahumu Allāh) if He relieved them, and from it is al-ghawth, which is relief.

Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, and Asim read "ya'sirun" with a fatḥa on the ya and a kasra on the sad. Hamza and al-Kisai read it with a ta for addressing. The majority of the interpreters said: it is from the pressing of plants like olives, grapes, reeds, sesame, radishes, and all that is pressed. Egypt is a land of pressing for many things. It has been narrated that they did not press anything during the period of drought. And the milking from it is because it is the pressing of the udder. Abu 'Ubaida and others said: that is taken from 'usra and 'asr, which means refuge. From this is the saying of Abu Zubaid about 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him:

A supplicant seeking help, yet none to help him And indeed, it was a refuge for the one who was in need.

And from this is the saying of 'Udayy ibn Zayd:

If without water my throat were to choke, I would be like the branch in the water, my pressing.

And from this is the saying of Ibn Muqbil:

And my companion is a wild donkey, angry, That stands between the wild donkey and the pressing.

And from this is the saying of Labid:

So he spent the night, and the people journeyed at the end of their night, And he was not one to stop without a refuge.

Meaning: without a place of refuge. So the verse means: they will be saved by the refuge.

Al-A'raj, 'Isa, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad read "yu'sarun" with a damma on the ya and a fatḥa on the sad. This is taken from 'usra, meaning: they are brought by a refuge. It is also possible that it is from: 'asarat al-sahab ma'aha 'alayhim, as Ibn al-Mustanir said: its meaning is: they are rained upon. Al-Niqash reported that it was read: "yu'asirun" with a damma on the ya and a kasra on the sad, and it is stressed and made from the pressing of moisture. Al-Tabari refuted those who made the word from 'usra with a strong refutation without evidence.