قالوا أَضغاثُ أَحلامٍ ۖ وَما نَحنُ بِتَأويلِ الأَحلامِ بِعالِمينَ
They said: ‘[These are] confused dreams, and we do not know the interpretation of confused dreams.’
EXEGESIS
Aḍghāth (confused) is the plural of ḍighth which is any bundle of sticks, twigs, straws, blades of tall grass, and so on, which can stand on their own when growing and are relatively lengthy,[1] like in the verse, Take a bundle (ḍighth) in your hand and then strike with it (38:44). The term can be used to describe a dream that is a hodgepodge of various things.[2]
Aḥlām (nightmares) is the plural of ḥulm,[3] meaning a dream.[4] The root meaning of the word is to exercise rational control over oneself and emotions, avoiding things such as excitation and anger resulting in a state of calm and patience. Since this state is achieved in sleep, when the sleeper usually exhibits no emotions and appears calm, the dream is described as ḥulm. Similarly, the person who exhibits forbearance and patience is called ḥalīm.[5] In this way also the child that has grown up is said to reach the age of ḥulum, since they are now able to exercise rational control over their emotions, as in the verse, When your children reach puberty (ḥulum) (24:59).[6]
The word is here used in contrast to ruʾyā. Up to now, all previous dream-visions in the surah were described as ruʾyā. The word aḥlām is chosen here to contrast it with those and to indicate how the speakers dismissed the king’s dream as a mere product of a sleeper’s jumbled imaginations, as we shall now discuss.
EXPOSITION
They said: the court interpreters responded dismissively to the king’s request for an interpretation, being unable to discern any meaning in his dream.
Confused dreams: as we discussed in verse 4, most dreams do not actually have any hidden meaning or mystical aspect to them, but are simply the product of the sleeper’s imagination and the activity of his brain during his sleep state. Such dreams are liminal and convoluted in nature and searching for meaning in them is both pointless and impossible. They may rightly be described as confused dreams.
And we do not know the interpretation of confused dreams: they implied that the king’s dream belonged to a category of dreams that defied interpretation – one that held no discernible meaning, at least none that they (or any of their peers) could decipher. Thus, their response, we do not know, should be understood as a direct reply to the king’s demand: give me your opinion about my dream, if you can interpret dreams (verse 43).
It is possible that their failure to interpret the dream was itself divinely ordained – a necessary step in fulfilling God’s plan, setting in motion the events that would lead to Prophet Joseph’s (a) liberation from prison and his eventual rise to prominence.[7]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some have proposed that the courtiers actually understood the dream’s meaning but deliberately withheld it from the king, fearing it might unsettle him.[8] However, this seems improbable. A more plausible explanation is that they dismissed the dream as insignificant – perhaps even trivial – and sought to redirect the king’s attention toward matters they deemed more pressing, believing such visions unworthy of prolonged consideration.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.[9]
[1] Razi, 18/463; Ahkam, 3/1090.
[2] Razi, 18/463.
[3] Or ḥulum; both forms are correct (see Lisan, 12/145; Tantawi, 7/368).
[4] Tibyan, 6/146. Albeit the word aḥlām can also be the plural of ḥalīm, like in the verse, Is it their intellect (aḥlāmuhum) which prompts them to [say] this, or are they a rebellious lot? (52:32). See Bahrayn, 6/49, ḥ-l-m.
[5] Tahqiq, 2/319, ḥ-l-m.
[6] Mizan, 11/187.
[7] See also Tabrisi, 5/364.
[8] This option is entertained in Nemuneh, 9/423. Such a claim is also related in Qurtubi, 9/200.
[9] Genesis 41:8.