يا صاحِبَيِ السِّجنِ أَمّا أَحَدُكُما فَيَسقي رَبَّهُ خَمرًا ۖ وَأَمَّا الآخَرُ فَيُصلَبُ فَتَأكُلُ الطَّيرُ مِن رَأسِهِ ۚ قُضِيَ الأَمرُ الَّذي فيهِ تَستَفتِيانِ
O my prison mates! As for one of you, he will serve wine to his master, and as for the other, he will be crucified, and vultures will eat from his head. The matter about which you inquire has been decided.’
EXEGESIS
Ṭayr (vultures) (sing. ṭāʾir) means any bird in general. Vultures is the translator’s interpolation, although it is reasonable to assume that the birds would be vultures in this context.
Quḍiya (has been decided), the passive perfect of qaḍā, denotes the consummation of a matter – whether in speech, action, or divine will.[1] It conveys decisive finality, appearing in contexts of legal judgement (ḥukm), irrevocable decree, and ordained fate. Unlike near synonyms like ḥakama (to rule) or faraḍa (to ordain), qaḍā implies an absolute resolution of a matter.
Tastaftiyān (you inquire) is the dual present tense verb from istiftāʾ, which means to seek the fatwā of an issue. As discussed in verse 36, fatwā comes from the root fatā, which means something that has reached complete maturity. Thus, for example, a young man that has reached adulthood is called a fatā. A legal or religious edict is called a fatwā because it is different to a simple opinion (naẓar) in the sense that it is a completed and matured view on the matter.[2]
EXPOSITION
O my prison mates: after he was done with his exhortations and invitation to the faith of Abraham (a), Prophet Joseph (a) once again addressed his companions, returning to the questions they had posed to him.
As for one of you, he will serve wine to his master: the master being the king, meaning he will be made the royal cupbearer. If he already had that position before, it meant he will be returned to that position.
And as for the other, he will be crucified: crucifixion was an ancient method of punishment that endured in Egypt for centuries, though its precise form likely evolved over time. In Sūrat Ṭā Hā we are told the Pharaoh at the time of Prophet Moses (a) threatened to crucify the magicians by fixing them on the trunks of palm trees, Surely I will cut off your hands and feet from opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees (20:71).
And vultures will eat from his head: to serve as a public deterrent, crucified corpses were often left exposed long after death. Over time, scavengers – vultures, ravens, or other carrion birds – would descend upon the bodies, feeding either on the decaying flesh or the maggots infesting it.
The matter about which you inquire: this refers to the inquiry they had made about the interpretation of their dream.
Has been decided: the unwavering certainty with which Prophet Joseph (a) conveyed the interpretations demonstrates that his knowledge was not mere conjecture – unlike the speculative approaches of mystics or dream specialists when asked to decipher visions. Rather, his understanding arose from divine inspiration, granting him decisive insight into the true meaning of their dreams.[3]
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Joseph said to him, ‘This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer.’ … And Joseph answered, ‘This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat the flesh from you.’ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.[4]
Note: While the Quran does not make mention of it, many exegetes have similarly added the detail of three days based on the details that were supposedly in the dreams.[5]
[1] Tahqiq, 9/315.
[2] Tahqiq, 9/28.
[3] See also Tabrisi, 5/359; Nemuneh, 9/413.
[4] Genesis 40:12-22.
[5] See for example Tabrisi, 5/358; Tabari, 5/224-225.