وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجنَ فَتَيانِ ۖ قالَ أَحَدُهُما إِنّي أَراني أَعصِرُ خَمرًا ۖ وَقالَ الآخَرُ إِنّي أَراني أَحمِلُ فَوقَ رَأسي خُبزًا تَأكُلُ الطَّيرُ مِنهُ ۖ نَبِّئنا بِتَأويلِهِ ۖ إِنّا نَراكَ مِنَ المُحسِنينَ
There entered the prison two youths along with him. One of them said: ‘I dreamt that I am pressing wine.’ The other said: ‘I dreamt that I am carrying bread on my head from which the birds are eating.’ ‘Inform us of its interpretation,’ [they said], ‘for indeed we see you to be a virtuous man.’
EXEGESIS
Fatayān (two youths) is the dual of fatā, which means a young man in the prime of his youth. It can also be used to refer to slaves, whether male or female (fatāh). The root of the word means something that has reached complete maturity. Hence, 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.
Arānī (I dreamt): as explained in verse 4, the root raʾā refers either to that which is seen with the eye (ruʾyah) or that which is seen in a dream (ruʾyā). From the context it is obvious that here it means to see in a dream, although it could literally be translated as ‘I see myself’. The present tense is used probably to indicate a continuous action, meaning it was a recurring dream, or perhaps because their dreams were so vivid it was as if they were seeing them at that very moment.
Khamr (wine) comes from khamara, meaning to cover something. Wine is called khamr because it covers the intellect. Hence, the pressed juice of grapes is called khamr when it is allowed to ferment and become an intoxicant.
Although khamr is the final product and squeezing the grapes is only part of that process, the action is described by using the name of the final product in order to avoid confusion, like one who says ‘I am baking bricks’ even though it could be said that what they are actually doing is baking the mud in order to produce bricks. The same expression is used in English when we say ‘pressing wine’ instead of ‘pressing grapes’.
Taʾwīl (interpretation) was discussed in detail in verse 6, and it means the final outcome of something that has its roots in a previous event or statement. It here means how the premonition that the two men saw in their dreams will manifest in reality.
EXPOSITION
Verses 36-42 introduce us to the second dream event of this surah. This time it is a pair of dreams. This time is also different, since it is not a prophet of God who has experienced such dreams, but a pair of convicts. We are given little information about their guilt or innocence, knowing only some scant details about them, such as that they were polytheists, young men, one of whom at least was in service to the king, and that they were at least righteous enough to be able to recognise Prophet Joseph’s (a) piety.
This dream event is hence significant because it tells us that one does not need to be a pious saint or prophet to experience dreams of great significance. It is also interesting that two men both simultaneously dreamt dreams that foretold their futures. Of course, we later learn that this was an important part of God’s divine plan for Prophet Joseph (a), as one of the dreamers would eventually act as the means of his release from prison.
There entered the prison two youths along with him: the governor and his friends did as they had decided and sent Prophet Joseph (a) to prison. At the same time two other young men were also condemned to prison. One of them was in charge of bringing wine for the king (the cupbearer), whilst it is claimed the other was the royal baker. It is said that there was a plot to poison the king and the two were arrested in suspicion of aiding with that plot. If that is true, then further investigation into the matter must have proven the guilt of one and the innocence of the other.
Prophet Joseph (a) and the two men spent some time together, and at some point during their mutual imprisonment, the two men each saw a dream. They did not immediately begin to tell of their dream as soon as they entered the prison. Their description of him as we see you to be a virtuous man suggests that they had come to know him.
I dreamt that I am pressing wine: on its own, a dream simply about pressing wine does not seem worth mentioning or even remembering. The dream must have had some details or some other element attached to it which made the man feel that it was significant and that he must find out the interpretation of it.
Also, the fact that they were in prison and possibly facing execution doubtlessly made them pay extra attention to their dreams.
The other said: ‘I dreamt that I am carrying bread on my head from which the birds are eating’: unlike the other dream, this one does seem more memorable, although it too may have had some special element or emotion attached to it.
Inform us of its interpretation: like many cultures – both ancient and modern – the Egyptians attributed profound significance to dreams, often seeing them as portents of future events. They were seen as genuine conduits of divine messages and foresight, a belief rooted in observable reality and echoed in modern understandings of the subconscious. Given the men’s situation, they were especially anxious to know what the future had in store for them.
For indeed we see you to be a virtuous man: during their imprisonment with Prophet Joseph (a), they had come to recognise his pious, righteous, and trustworthy character.
Also important to note is that they said Prophet Joseph (a) is a virtuous man, not ‘a knowledgeable man’. This is because the type of knowledge required to interpret dreams is spiritual in nature, and not academic. Like many other cultures, in Ancient Egypt it was generally the role of priests to interpret dreams and hence when they recognised Prophet Joseph (a) as a pious man, they thought it appropriate to ask him.
For more on dreams and visions, see the Topical Article under verse 4.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It is reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that while Prophet Joseph (a) was in prison, he would make sure those who needed space would get the space they needed, or if they needed something else, he would gather it for them, and if any of them got ill, he would stand by and attend to them. Many exegetes have pointed that this behaviour was the reason why the two youths said we see you to be a virtuous man.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
It is claimed that upon entering prison, Prophet Joseph (a) openly announced his ability to interpret dreams – prompting the two youths to test him by fabricating a false dream. However, there is no evidence for such a claim. Moreover, it is strange to assume that the two youths would make up dreams, only to have those fabricated dreams accurately predict the future. Finally, it is unbecoming of a prophet to indiscriminately advertise his gifts like a marketplace fortune teller looking for customers.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them. They continued to be in confinement for some time. Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realised they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’ And they said to him, ‘We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.’ Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.’ The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, ‘In my dream, a vine was in front of me. And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.’ … When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, ‘I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.’
Note: The same details of the dreams – which are not found in the Quran – are related in an opinion attributed to al-Shaʿbī, who was apparently relying on the Torah or scholars from the People of the Book for this.
- In Bereshit Rabbah it is mentioned that the crime of the baker was that a pebble was found in the loaf he had baked, and as for the cupbearer a fly was found in the drink he had served.
- In Targum Jonathan it is mentioned that they had conspired to poison the king.
[1] Raghib, p. 625.
[2] Tahqiq, 9/28.
[3] Mizan, 11/77.
[4] Zamakhshari, 2/469.
[5] See Mizan, 11/185.
[6] Tantawi, 7/367. See also Munyah, 14/181.
[7] Jawhari, 2/649, kh-m-r.
[8] Tibyan, 6/138.
[9] Tabrisi, 5/356; Baghawi, 2/491.
[10] As evidenced by verses 42 and 45.
[11] As indicated by maʿahu (along with him). See Zamakhshari, 2/468.
[12] See Tibyan, 6/138; Tabari, 12/127. Although this claim seems to be purely speculative.
[13] In a hadith from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), it is mentioned that it was the very next day (Ayyashi, 2/176). It is not unimaginable that people would recognise the piety and good character of a prophet like Joseph (a) even after spending only one day with him.
[14] Mizan, 11/171.
[15] Munyah, 14/175.
[16] Tabari, 12/128.
[17] Kafi, 2/637; Wasail, 12/14; Qummi, 1/344; Tabrisi, 5/356. Ṭabarī also reports this opinion, but attributes it to al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Qatādah (Tabari, 12/128).
[18] Related in Tabrisi, 5/356; Tabari, 12/127.
[19] Genesis 40:1-17.
[20] See Zamakhshari, 2/469.
[21] Bereshit Rabbah 88:2, accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.40.1?lang=bi&with=Bereshit%20Rabbah&lang2=en.
[22] Targum Jonathan on Genesis 40:1, accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.40.1?lang=bi&with=Targum&lang2=en.