قالَ تَزرَعونَ سَبعَ سِنينَ دَأَبًا فَما حَصَدتُم فَذَروهُ في سُنبُلِهِ إِلّا قَليلًا مِمّا تَأكُلونَ
He said: ‘You will sow for seven consecutive years. Then leave in the ear whatever [grain] you harvest, except a little that you eat.
EXEGESIS
Daʾab (consecutive) denotes continuous, habitual action, carrying the sense of something done persistently or consecutively,[1] as seen in the Quranic reference to the way (daʾb) of Pharaoh’s people and those before them (3:11), indicating their characteristic pattern of behaviour.[2] It is said linguistically the root daʾab relates to the meaning of taʿab (fatigue), suggesting that such persistent repetition naturally leads to weariness.[3]
EXPOSITION
He said: Prophet Joseph (a) replied immediately, without complaining, without being resentful or bitter that the man who had forgotten him there for so many years was now coming to him only when he was in need of help again. He also did not ask for anything in return, or make any demands prior to giving them their answer. Rather, he answered honestly and selflessly. This is a quality of virtuous people, who will not withhold their knowledge from anyone when they are in need of it.[4]
You will sow for seven consecutive years: you will continue farming as you have in the past years,[5] resulting in a standard yield.
Then leave in the ear whatever [grain] you harvest: Prophet Joseph (a) did not merely interpret the dream for them but also proposed a solution to the crisis that he foretold.[6] He advised them to leave the grain in the ear, meaning in an unthreshed state.
The classical exegetes have pointed out that leaving the grain unthreshed would stop it from being infested with weevils and other pests and it would store better over many years. This is because the husk can act as a natural barrier to infestations.[7] Prophet Joseph’s (a) instruction to store grain in its ear (unthreshed) relates to this concern of preservation. It is known that storing grain in an unthreshed state can slow the build-up of pest infestations. This can depend on the type of grain and pest though,[8] but we may assume here that for their purposes it indeed was better to leave it unthreshed.
Except a little that you eat: the exception likely prioritised consuming older stocks first, a precursor to today’s ‘first-expiring, first-out’ inventory systems.
The Egyptians lived along the Nile and their life was dependent on it. The river has predictable seasonal floods, which would bring along silt and result in the surrounding flood plains to be inundated with rich black fertile soil, ideal for planting crops. With little natural rainfall,[9] their livelihood was dependant on these floods, which in addition to fertilising their fields, was also used for irrigation. In years of bounteous floods, the food production of the Nile deltas well exceeded what the Egyptians themselves required and – especially during later periods – agricultural exports were an important part of their economy. The Egyptian empire’s main pillar was perhaps this great agricultural wealth, which the rulers taxed and used to fund amongst other things their grand and famous government projects and monuments. In years of drought when the river did not flood, there was predictably great difficulty, both for the Egyptians themselves and those who depended on them for food exports.
We also infer from later verses that these surplus grains were primarily stored in the central government’s granaries and storehouses. These reserves were then distributed to the people as needed, even to those from neighbouring lands. This is reflected in Prophet Joseph’s (a) request: Put me in charge of the country’s granaries (verse 55). Later, we see how his brothers travelled from Canaan to Egypt to purchase portions of grain, further illustrating the centralised and far-reaching nature of this distribution system.
The seven consecutive years should then be referring to seven years of good harvest, whereas the seven hard ones (verse 48) should refer to years when there was drought and the river did not flood sufficiently or at all.
There are lessons in this event to be learnt. It teaches us the critical importance of foresight, prudent resource management, and collective preparedness. Individuals and governments alike must plan for future uncertainties, storing surplus provisions in times of plenty to safeguard against scarcity. Prosperity should never be squandered through wastefulness, as the future remains unknown.[10] Moreover, Prophet Joseph’s (a) centralised management of Egypt’s reserves highlights how structured, well-regulated systems – rather than unchecked individualism – can more effectively secure societies against crises, ensuring equitable distribution when hardship strikes.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Zamakhsharī argues that tazraʿūna (You will sow) is a predicate (khabar) that is being used as an imperative, likening it to the verse, Have faith (tuʾminūna) in Allah and His Apostle (61:11). He claims that the imperative Then leave (fadharūhu) in the ear is evidence for understanding tazraʿūna as an imperative as well.[11] The translation does not need to be modified for such an understanding, as the English You will sow allows for this understanding as well. Abū Ḥayyān relates Zamakhsharī’s opinion and retorts that there is no reason that fadharūhu being an imperative would result in tazraʿūna also being used as an imperative. Rather, tazraʿūna is Prophet Joseph (a) informing them about what will occur based on his knowledge of the unseen.[12] Considering the context of what is being said, this latter understanding is much more appropriate as Prophet Joseph (a) is interpreting the dream and based on that prophesising to them what will happen.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dreams are one.’[13]
Note: In the Biblical account, the king (Pharaoh) dreamt twice, once about cows and once about grain stalk. The Quran does not explicitly state that he dreamt twice.
[1] Tibyan, 6/149; Razi, 18/365; Tahqiq, 3/188, d-ʾ-b. Although Ṭūsī prefers ‘continuous’. See also Tabari, 12/136.
[2] Mizan, 11/189.
[3] Alusi, 6/444.
[4] See Qaraati, 4/216.
[5] Tabari, 12/136.
[6] Munyah, 14/183.
[7] As related in Tibyan, 6/149; Qurtubi, 9/203.
[8] See https://www.fao.org/4/t1838e/t1838e1f.htm.
[9] Egypt has in fact the least rainfall of all countries in the world. See https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.PRCP.MM?most_recent_value_desc=true, accessed: 25/09/2024.
[10] See Qaraati, 4/216-217.
[11] Zamakhshari, 2/476. Ṭabrisī reports such an understanding from Ibn Abbas as well, without the accompanying grammatical explanation (Tabrisi, 5/364).
[12] Muhit, 6/285.
[13] Genesis 41:25-26.